Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 GADGETotW: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Welcome to Gadget of the Week! What with all the talk of Windows Media Player 10 on the C500, I thought it'd be kinda cool to do a quick piece on Windows Media Center, one of my very favourite gadgets ;) What is it? Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (phew!) is at it's most simple level a special version of Windows XP... you can find the Microsoft page here - it has a ton of info, check it out :D The Microsoft official blurb says: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is an operating system that enables you to enjoy the best in home entertainment, personal productivity, and creativity on your home PC in an easy, complete, and connected way. With Media Center Edition 2005, you can store, share, and enjoy all of your photos, all of your music, all of your home video, and even recorded TV in one sleek and easy to use place. Computers powered by Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 are called Media Center PCs. They are complete Windows XP-based PCs enhanced for home entertainment. These computers represent the evolution of home PCs into digital media hubs that bring together your entertainment choices and allow you to access them with one remote control. which just about sums up Media Center. Imagine it sitting under your TV, as the hub of all your entertainment needs - DVD, Video, Music, Pictures etc. etc. Yes, it's the 'PC in every living room' thing again :shock: Here's my Shuttle box tucked under my TV: Where can I get it? Well, you can buy Media Center PCs from most of the major PC vendors, or you can build / upgrade your own PC... Pre-built systems on Froogle (which start at about £520 from Dixons...): Click Here If you want to build your own, a Media Center (aka MCE) OEM OS licence will set you back in the region of 80 UK pounds, and then you'll want to kit yourself up with a MCE Compatible TV Capture Card, and a MCE Remote! Why do I want it? If you don't have a PVR already, having one is cool. You can't beat both being able to pause / rewind Live TV, but also not having to watch things when they're ON anymore, just watching what you've recorded. Media Center works with Terrestrial Analogue, Terrestrial Digital, and Satellite / Cable by controlling your existing set top box. Now if only Sky made PCI cards... :| Media Center really works well as the centerpiece of your Living Room! I've ripped all my CDs, loaded on all my camcorder digital videos, put all my digital camera pictures on, and now everything is there, when I want it, at the click of the remote. FINALLY, with Windows Media Player 10 on my mobile and a nice little 1GB MiniSD card, I can autosync music / video over to use on the move. I have a question... Something else you want to know? Just reply to this post with any questions (I know you're bound to have some, MCE is a huge topic in itself) :D P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Incidentally, if anyone's interested, here's my MCE box build: OS:Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Case: Shuttle SN45G2 Processor: Athlon XP 3000 Memory: 1GB RAM Hard Disk: WD 160GB 8MB Cache Optical: NEC DVD-RW SD/MS/CF: Shuttle Card Reader Graphics: NVidia GEForce 6600 (S-Video toToshiba 36ZD26) TV Capture: Hauppauge 250MCE (S-Video from Grundig Sky) Decoder / DVD: Theatertek MultiRegion: DVDIdle Pro Network: Microsoft USB Wireless 54g Remote: Logitech Harmony 680 Audio: Onboard SPDIF to Technics Receiver to Mission Flat Panels Antivirus: CA EZAntivirus (DO NOT USE MCAFEE!) Keyboard/Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Keyboard / Mouse Combo WebEnabled: WebGuide2 ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rekall Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 (edited) Been thinking about this for a while. I have a freeview Thomson DHD4000 PVR box but it lacks some features such as Season pass etc and was thinking about building my own. How much did your system cost and is it silent ;)? p.s. what sort of fans did you use? I have some from quietpc.co.uk but I still think they create a lot of noise - especially the CPU fan. Edited April 21, 2005 by rekall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RazorD Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I have a question, not directly related though! I have a Media Center PC already, but i cant figure out how to make it sync video to my C500 (Yeh, i did the french rom update). The only way i can see to sync recorded tv is to use Windows Media Player, but when i try, it says it was unable to convert to the format required by the device. I've tried using to sync to device option in more programs in MCE, but it only lists Music as syncable ;) Thanks! -Raz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest babybob Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 also another unrelated question Did that TV stand come with your TV or extra? With nippas on the way that looks perfect for stopping little hands! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hax Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Paul, with MCE, is it possible to stream video over to an XBox running XBMC? And, if so, can that stream be the "live" input, or only video already stored on the HDD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dearsina Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 FINALLY, with Windows Media Player 10 on my mobile and a nice little 1GB MiniSD card, I can autosync music / video over to use on the move. Autosync? Do you mean that you can access all your stuff on the move over GPRS/WiFi? If so, could you then in theory access it from any other computer too, as long as they have WMP11? sina london Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mark T Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Paul, Is it possible to connect a Media Centre PC into a regular CRT TV using a SCART or analogue video lead, or does it have to be a flat panel (LCD or Plasma) with a "PC type" connection such as VGA, DVI or HDMI? The only time I've tried connecting a PC to a regular CRT TV using the yellow video cable, the picture quality was fine for watching DVD's, but absolutely lousy for Windows desktop etc. However, I'm not sure whether it's because the graphics card on my PC wasn't good enough, or because a regular TV simply doesn't have a high enough resolution for PC applications. Regards, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest awarner [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Just wish I could get my Hauppauge 500MCE Dual tuner card to work correctly Tuners aside the added features and plugins you can get for MCE are excellent from cataloging your movie collection to weather reports from around the world, all of which blend seamlessly into MCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest calle Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Nice! I've been thinking about building my own system but havn't, yet.... ;) One question, I think I've read something about controlling WMCE with a PPC-device over the net and that you can program recordings and so on. Is that true and have you tried it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 It came with the TV and yes, it keeps the little one away from the gadgets ;) P also another unrelated question Did that TV stand come with your TV or extra? With nippas on the way that looks perfect for stopping little hands! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I'm using S-Video SCART and it's great. An LCD or Plasma would probably be nicer tho ;) P Paul, Is it possible to connect a Media Centre PC into a regular CRT TV using a SCART or analogue video lead, or does it have to be a flat panel (LCD or Plasma) with a "PC type" connection such as VGA, DVI or HDMI? The only time I've tried connecting a PC to a regular CRT TV using the yellow video cable, the picture quality was fine for watching DVD's, but absolutely lousy for Windows desktop etc. However, I'm not sure whether it's because the graphics card on my PC wasn't good enough, or because a regular TV simply doesn't have a high enough resolution for PC applications. Regards, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 WebGuide2 kinda lets you do that, not sure if it would work on a PocketPC tho? http://www.showtell.com/mce_webguide/2/download.asp P Nice! I've been thinking about building my own system but havn't, yet.... ;) One question, I think I've read something about controlling WMCE with a PPC-device over the net and that you can program recordings and so on. Is that true and have you tried it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rekall Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Any chance to a reponse to my q's: How much did your system cost and is it silent? What sort of fans did you use? I have some from quietpc.co.uk but I still think they create a lot of noise - especially the CPU fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dazza12 Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Paul, with MCE, is it possible to stream video over to an XBox running XBMC? And, if so, can that stream be the "live" input, or only video already stored on the HDD? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hax, As far as I recall, you'll need to buy the Xbox Media Centre Connector. You then install this on the Xbox. Yes, you can stream video and also view live TV with it. However, I don't think you can get the Xbox kit anywhere in the UK yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I bought it bit by bit, so don't have an overall cost, and no, it's not silent, but it's quiet ;) I bought the Shuttle case with the Silent PSU option, and swapped the internal fan for the quitest one I could find (can't remember the name). I also replaced the southbridge(?) fan with a heatsink. The 6600 has a fan tho, so would like a passive cooler for that. I also removed the back of the TV stand to get a bit of air circulation :D P Been thinking about this for a while. I have a freeview Thomson DHD4000 PVR box but it lacks some features such as Season pass etc and was thinking about building my own. How much did your system cost and is it silent :D? p.s. what sort of fans did you use? I have some from quietpc.co.uk but I still think they create a lot of noise - especially the CPU fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 No, you'd be best of with the XBox Media Center extender dazza12 mentioned (only available in the USA atm). P Paul, with MCE, is it possible to stream video over to an XBox running XBMC? And, if so, can that stream be the "live" input, or only video already stored on the HDD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newmoomin Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 What TV is that mate? I have been thinking of doing this to replace my tivo and half broken TV. The tivo is geat, but i limited and i want built in freeview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Toshiba 36ZD26. Don't think i'd ever buy a CRT again nowadays tho, being a PC MCE is so much better suited to a Plasma or LCD with DVI... P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rekall Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I bought it bit by bit, so don't have an overall cost, and no, it's not silent, but it's quiet ;) I bought the Shuttle case with the Silent PSU option, and swapped the internal fan for the quitest one I could find (can't remember the name). I also replaced the southbridge(?) fan with a heatsink. The 6600 has a fan tho, so would like a passive cooler for that. I also removed the back of the TV stand to get a bit of air circulation :D P <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for that. I assume from your description this is a single analogue tuner card? I am after a twin tuner DTT freeview card - any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ben Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Gosh.. I haven't posted for years! But this post got me going again. I am a HUGE fan of MCE 2005 ever since I started playing last November. It has only been the last few months that I've got it all setup, not because its difficult, but because I am picky! If you want to get the best possible quality then get yourself one of these cables made up.. http://www.idiots.org.uk/vga_rgb_scart/ You'll need a Radeon card and Powerstrip to make it work, but it gives you RGB quality and its flippin brilliant. Although if not made correctly it may harm your TV slightly (!) My only complaint is that I can only record Sky via S-Video, and whilst the quality is good its a shame it can't record in RGB (sadly no cards supported by MCE2005 available that do it) As I said its been a while since I posted, and I don't know what the rules are on posting links to other forums, but have a peek at The Green Button Cheers ! Ben. Paul, Is it possible to connect a Media Centre PC into a regular CRT TV using a SCART or analogue video lead, or does it have to be a flat panel (LCD or Plasma) with a "PC type" connection such as VGA, DVI or HDMI? The only time I've tried connecting a PC to a regular CRT TV using the yellow video cable, the picture quality was fine for watching DVD's, but absolutely lousy for Windows desktop etc. However, I'm not sure whether it's because the graphics card on my PC wasn't good enough, or because a regular TV simply doesn't have a high enough resolution for PC applications. Regards, Mark <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Not sure as i'm, as you say, on single analogue... ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Oh for a PCI Card with a Sky Decoder in and a 50" LCD TV... ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dr_StrangeTrick Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 This may sound like a silly question but forgive me. With Media Centre can you still do regular PC stuff like Word, Excel and games Medal of Honour, Call of Duty etc :?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Of course ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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