Windows XP Media Center Edition Review

Harpreet writes "It took 2 months but someone finally published an informative review of the new Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system. AnandTech's review has got everything you could want, including pictures galore. It looks like the folks who make the Linux based Video Disk Recorder have a new standard to live up to." Update: 01/08 21:06 GMT by T : Read on below for a different (Free software, CD-based) approach to computer-A/V integration.

Trunkboy writes "There are a lot of PVR projects out there (Freevo, TiVo, Dave&Dina, etc... but MoviX is a little different. MoviX is an entire distribution (linux of course) that is designed to play avi/mpg/mp3/etc files from a computer. Upgrading is easy, because it boots from a CD! Videos/music can be stored on a local hard drive, or on a network share. This project is incredible, but needs more developers. Stop in and give Roberto a hand -- MoviX shows some great potential!"

Comments

Well

[TerryAtWork]

Let's see how much unwanted DRM they lumber THIS one with...

Re:Well

[wompser]

Interesting. I think it was modded as redundant (though it was the first post) because it says what everyone was already expecting it to say. I mean, of course the first post on a microsoft media story is going to be anti-MS with reference to any one of the most hated MS practices (insert your favorite: DRM, closed source, monopoly behaviour, Pallidium, clubbing baby seals, etc.)

This says something interesing about the Slashdot mindset: anti-MS statements are considered redundant whether they've already been stated or not. (well Duh!)

Re:Well

[tealover]

Why? Because it will limit the theft of copyrighted materials?

Re:Well

[timmyf2371]

No. Because it will limit our fair-use rights protected by law.

Re:Well

[Daniel Phillips]

...and that's why You'll always put a "personal firewall" on Your windows-machines and never let them out unless You specifically tell it to.

Putting a firewall on a box that's already running hostile code is a non-starter in terms of security. Remember, Microsoft has complete access to your system, and can do whatever they want to your firewall, including ignoring it completely. You'd be much better off front-ending your XP box with a firewall running on a Linux machine.

Re:Well

[Eric Damron]

You really have never heard of fair use?? Well then, from the copyright law:

107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use38

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include-

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Freevo

[Any_User]

This seems like a push to remove Freevo and the other Tivo-like software out of the market. The only problems with the PVR software your run on your general purpose computer is that other software gets in the way. I would prefer a dedicated machine for PVR usage and another for generalized computing.

Re:Freevo

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the restrictions that Microsoft has apparently put on this software will more than likely encourage the development of "Freevo"-ware. I don't know if companies like Tivo will be able to compete with Microsoft even on a "level" playing field (doesn't mean that they can't try), but this sort of thing happens all the time in the computer industry. The thing to be really concerned about is a Microsoft-Entertainment Industry alliance that will try to sue and pass legislate against anyone who wants unfettered access to these technologies.

Some things are better left off the computer

[FortKnox]

I have a TiVo.
I use a TiVo instead of piping my cable through my computer for a reason.
Its the same reason I have a football games on my GameCube.

Some things are just better without the PC.
Why would I use awkward PVR abilities of my PC (requiring me to sit in a specific spot, and use a mouse) when I can plop down on my couch and pick up the TiVo remote?
There's a reason speciliazed components sell better than PC software geared to do the same thing.

Re:Some things are better left off the computer

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to mention another good reason: PCs make a lot of noise. I'd rather be listening to the TV when I'm watching, rather than the whine of hard drives: Tivos are generally fairly quiet.

Re:Some things are better left off the computer

[geekoid]

PCs are cheap, and easy to upgrade. You do not need a 1000 dollar PC to make a pvr. You can do it much cheaper, with more feature(if you desire) and use different media to save you shows.Want to save it to Digital tape? no problem, cdr? no problem.

You don't have to worry about spyware telling somebody what shows you recorded, and then having it tell someone everytime you watch it.

Those are the advantages of using a computer. as far as asthetics, get a case that matches your entertainment center.

Re:Some things are better left off the computer

[scenic]

Well, you're right about some things. To bring this back a bit more on topic, if you choose XP Media Center, then you may be wrong. This is from the article:

There are a lot of improvements that must be made in order for MCE to really take off however; first and foremost, the performance issues we encountered are unacceptable. Unfortunately, it may take mainstream Hyper-Threading enabled Pentium 4s with an 800MHz FSB in order to mask the stuttering issues that occur during normal use of MCE as a PVR. As far as stability goes, we'd expect the limited number of hardware vendors to more thoroughly stress test and ensure their machines won't be crashing in a media center environment; like we've mentioned before, who wants to explain why their TV just blue screened?

You may really need a big ass expensive machine to do this right. Also, one other concern that they didn't address is sound. When my Tivo is recording and the room is silent, I can barely pick up the hard drive writing sounds. No fan, no other hum, nothing. Would you really expect that from a PC? I used to have a server in the room with dual CPUs and 3 hard drive (one SCSI monster) which made my room sound like you were in a car on the highway. Even after removing SCSI drive and one IDE drive, and otherwise altering the fans, it's still too loud for the living room.

My point is just that having a PC vs. having an appliance involves more than just upgradeability. One of the reasons that modifying an appliance should void a warranty is that Tivo or ReplayTV can make assumptions about cooling, noise, and ventilation based on their tests on fixed hardware. You throw those out the window if you decide to put a 10000 RPM drive into your Tivo.

Also, aesthetically, the HP they used didn't really look like it belongs in my entertainment center... it's vertically oriented, has a keyboard (!!!), and it otherwise annoying.

Anyway, I guess if you have a spare PC or lots of money and want to get upgradeability in a familiar setup, go for it. I'd rather stick with my Tivo, with it's known privacy issues and have a quiet living room with low power consumption. I can see a place for both, and I'm sure people will buy the one that makes the most sense for them.

Sujal

Re:Some things are better left off the computer

[Zathrus]

You don't get it. Yes, a HTPC can do more, but it doesn't do it as well. Nothing on the home built front comes close to the usability or features of a TiVo within the PVR realm. Sure, you can build one that does other stuff, and that's a valid thing, but every solution out there is kludgy and inelegant.

Of course, if you'd bothered to read some of my past comments you would've noted that I recommend AVSforum for HTPC needs, and that they've been doing HDTV time shifting for two years now. I know quite well of what I speak.

MSFT marches on....

[Giant Ape Skeleton]

This is just further evidence that any technological convergence is by necessity, first and foremost, a marketing convergence.

------

More cliches

[M.C. Hampster]

We need to develop some sort of global cache list so we can add the following from the article:

Today's PCs on the other hand are infinitely more powerful than current set-top boxes...

Isn't this a bit of an exageration? Obviously, they can't be "infinately" more powerful, but are they even considerably more powerful? I'm not too familiar with the spec's on PVR's, but I would bet they aren't that weak.

Re:44 Page EULA

[shepd]

>Once again, this is done fairly quickly using the remote just by holding the down-arrow and then hitting ok.

So, basically, they didn't read it at all. If the reviewers can't be bothered, will the users be?

For all we know, it might say in there that you need to give your first born to Bill G.

Do I really want this?

[Beebos]

Do I really want my PC recording The Simposons while I play Unreal Tournament 2003?

I don't think so! I have a 3.06 P4 with an ATI 9700 and its pretty much maxed out while playing UT 2003. I bet them same will be true with the upcoming Doom title.

I'd much rather have my Replay 4500s doing their recording thing while I'm doing my computing/gaming thing.

You can get two or three Replays for the price of a Media Center PC, I think. You can hook them up to your network and share programing between them, your PCs and friends on the net. And they won't steel CPU cycles from your PC.

The ASF wrapper also currently prevents transcodin

[t0qer]

The ASF wrapper also currently prevents transcoding into other media formats, such as DiVX.

No it doesn't :)

Re:Need faster processors? Whatever...

[ilsie]

Tivo rarely exhibits any slowdown

You ever try to reorganize 34 season passes? It takes about 10 minutes.

Strange modding here...

[ryman]

What the heck? Who are MSFTards who modded this guys post? Hmmm...Microsoft XP Media Center Edition...watching TV on your PC...Digital Rights Management...this guy's not trolling, he's got a valid (and very ontopic) concern here. If there's any justice, the mods will get metamoderated into oblivion.

Yikes! Huge file sizes!

[McSpew]

Any TiVo owner will immediately spot this little issue: namely, that 93GB of disk space equals 5 hours 8 minutes of record time at best quality. Even if the space available for PVR functions is 75% of 93GB (as implied in the screenshot), that's still about five hours for 70GB of disk space.

Maybe MCE's definition of "best" quality is dramatically higher than TiVo's, but TiVo can store about 9 hours at "best" quality on a 30GB HD. On a machine with 70GB of disk space, it would easily be able to record over 20 hours at best quality. Why can MCE only squeeze a quarter as much video onto the same amount of space?

Also, I find it ironic that MCE has such grievous hardware requirements. It requires a TV tuner card with hardware MPEG-2 encoding, yet still requires a really fast CPU, fast RAM and a fast, big hard drive. Admittedly, TiVo's aren't sharing their hardware with other apps (in most cases), but first-generation TiVos managed to squeak by with a 50MHz PowerPC and 4400RPM hard drives. Surely, MS can squeeze stutter-free performance out of moderately powerful CPUs and HDs, can't they?

Re:Do Not Remove

[UnixRevolution]

I believe the question here is "why didn't they use a board that hasn't got onboard VGA in an effort to save money?", not "why can't i use both connectors at once?"

The answers for the latter question that have been put forth are very good. those for the former are nonexistant, so here goes.

PEOPLE ARE FUCKING STUPID!#(%&!#(*%&)!

i believe that should clear up any confusion.