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Microsoft Bringing TV to Xbox

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it's-about-time dept.

grazzy writes "Microsoft is set to release its Windows Media Center Extender for Xbox mid-November. The device will allow you to view recorded and downloaded media content stored on your PC via your Xbox.""

5 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. I'd rather... by unfortunateson · · Score: 4, Interesting

    have a TV tuner, and PVR software on my XBOX than just playback.

    There are enough media players out there (such as the GoVideo 2730) able to play anything Universal Plug & Play provides, that making my XBOX another player is, frankly, dull.

    --
    Design for Use, not Construction!
    1. Re:I'd rather... by dabraun · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The MCE Extenders give you the ability to watch live tv and use the guide, pause/rewind/skip, scedule recordings etc. All of the PVR functionality that is in Media Center on the PC is also available on the extender device. The fact that all the real work is taking place on the PC 'server' is transparent.

      Media Center is basically putting together a client/server model where a single PC may serve multiple client devices at the same time. The devices all have access to the same content on the PC and share the tuners that are installed on the PC.

      For all the XBMC fans here - MCE has moved far beyond what XMBC offers in terms functionality - and knee jerk reactions won't change that. XMBC is itself a pretty blatant rip-off of the MCE interface (I never realized how true this was till I looked at Tivo and ReplayTV and realized that they DON'T look like MCE - but XBMC does.)

      There are definitely downsides to the MCE Extender story at this point - to be honest about it:

      - It will not remote DVD playback - partly because of DRM concerns and partly because remoting the DVD menus is non-trivial. The XBox with the extender software will however play back DVDs locally (think of the XBOX Extender Kit as a superset of the XBOX DVD Kit)

      - It does not output HDTV resolutions (though there have been some rumors that an update might enable this)

      - The slick UI transitions that you see on the local MCE PC do not occur on the remote XBOX Client. I am not sure if this is the case for the non-XBOX extenders.

  2. With XBox 2 around the corner.... by marktaw.com · · Score: 5, Interesting

    With XBox 2 around the corner, it seems to me that Microsoft is firing the first salvo in the upcoming Media Center wars. Sony and Microsoft both want to be the entertainment hub of the living room - video games, TV, music, movies... all in one.

    I guess M$ has an advantage in that they control the desktop, but I think they're making a mistake by releasing XBox 2 so early. The hype simply isn't there the way it would be if they waited for Sony, and once the PS3 does come out, everyone will be comparing spec's. By releasing now, they're locking in at a lower specification level.

    Surprisingly, Sony's answer, the smaller PS2 doesn't even have a hard drive. I guess this means they're not seriously pushing the PS2 as an entertainment appliance.

    Nintendo, in contrast, is holding out until the PS3 release date for their next generation system, but pushing their DS handheld now in it's place. Since Nintendo has a reputation for good handhelds, they can gain some foothold here and convert people who want handheld to console compatability (which I suspect isn't that many people).

  3. Re:too bad... by dabraun · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Getting Media Center Edition no longer requires purchasing a new overpriced system. Some references:

    MCE 2005 OEM (Software) - $140
    http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?desc ription=32-102-311&depa=0

    MCE 2005 Remote - $40
    http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?desc ription=80-100-851&DEPA=0

    Xbox MCE Extender software (includes remote - is what this whole article is about) ... $58
    http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10385209 &loc=101&sp=1

    LinkSys MCE Extender (standalone/wireless) -
    http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10382669

    HP has one too also can't find it for sale yet
    http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product =438918&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&

  4. Media center extender functionality is in SP2 by cualexander · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If everyone would stop the microsoft bash train and look for a second they would see that if you would update to SP2 and Media Center 10 you can download a update called Media Center Connect, which lets Windows Media Player 10 connect wirelessly to any UPnP device. Why is this cool? Because thats what they are doing to the XBOX. Making it a UPnP Device. Which means I can access my 250 gig hard drive that is full of TV shows legally captured with my ATI card and play them back at random without more wires. Its actually a cool little product. Media Center 10 will play every format you can throw at it but OGG, which no one uses, and AAC, which is the apple standard, but thats like 2% of the total digital media market. Get with the program people. Microsoft isn't that bad. I run Windows XP for weeks at a time, only to turn it off to upgrade a piece of hardware or something like that.