The news at CEDIA that CableCARD will now be open to all has got everyone worked up about Microsoft getting things right and that the platform is back where it needs to be. However, while the news of CableCARD getting unlocked from OEM only machines is fantastic I’m not sure it chances much in the marketplace. First of all, AMD appears to be out of the marketplace which is actually a much bigger deal than people might think. While this hasn’t been confirmed, reports out of CEDIA showed

Customers get new capabilities, more options, and a better digital cable experience in Windows Media Center. ATLANTA, Sept. 9 -- Today at CEDIA EXPO 2009, Microsoft Corp. discussed key Windows Media Center features for Windows 7 and announced a series of initiatives that enhance the digital cable experience in Windows Media Center. With the addition of native support for additional international broadcast TV standards, including QAM and ATSC, there will now be support for switched digital video

While I still haven’t seen specs updated to confirm how I believe CableLabs would handle Tuning Adaptor’s with OCURs , I can confirm that the next firmware release (in theory 1.19) will support Tuning Adaptors as CableLabs has officially approved all ATI OCURs as Tuning Adaptor ready (hooray for me being wrong!). In addition the firmware should allow for less DRM on non-flagged CableCARD recordings . Expect more next week at CEDIA. This is one of the very few predictions that Ben at Engadget

Charlie Owen, a former Media Center team member wrote a post this week about Media Center expanding its marketplace, specifically going from the current enthusiast market to a more mainstream market . Charlie analysis comes to the pretty simple answer of “ It's possible, but highly unlikely at this point.” I had previously come to this conclusion, but to me the real question is “ will Microsoft attempt to develop for the enthusiast market?” Lucky for me, Charlie replied

This weekend I installed Windows 7 on my Media Center and thought about writing a review. However, I think Ben successfully did that already so rather than try and recreate it I’d rather know what you think. Looking through Ben’s list of new features and changes, the one thing I noticed was that the vast majority of them are visual changes to the UI or straight up eye candy. Sure, they add additional functionality but channel logos, TV show images, colored coded EPG, and fancy fading

I don't believe that Hulu has a large interest in Media Center, but those very same mockup’s that show Media Center’s “PCTV” marketing also show Hulu as a key experience. My guess is that the material Microsoft provided to Lippincott said Media Center provides an Internet TV experience, and the designers took that as Media Center providing access to the most popular service for online TV shows. I don’t believe that the content providers are interested in seeing Hulu

It has been my theory that Microsoft is slowly ditching the concept of using and promoting Media Center as a whole home entertainment experience and moving to the “TV on your PC” concept which they have been actively promoting over the past 6 months. This concept is something that most Media Center enthusiasts don’t want to believe as it turns Media Center into a product that most current users have no interest in. What better way to find out the future of Media Center than looking

Reports suggest that the Digital TV switch in the US went by with little confusion or problems. Of course, if you rely on Windows Media Center your experience likely wasn’t in line with those reports. Ben said the transition is causing grief for Media Center users , but for most that might be an understatement. Microsoft seemed to think they were prepared; after all they deployed a nice Service Alert tile in Media Center on the 9 th that explained the issue . What they didn’t do is update