GADGETotW: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

[Guest dc_demand]

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

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I noticed the same thing with the French Orange Rom. Looks like video sync features are disabled in this wmp10 mobile build for some reason. Can't be my system, since I also have a SDA Music, which synchronises tv recordings without any problems... -though those still won't play fullscreen in wmp10 due to the 160x120 resolution of encoded video :D -

I was already wondering if any other people encountered this problem, since you are the first one I heard about it! Hope there'll be a fix or something soon!

Roderick

[Guest boden01]

Paul

Did you manage to get your C500 to sync recorded TV? As above I am having no luck. ;)

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

I have a Dopod 585 atm, but will try and dig out a C500 and test it...

P

[Guest MatthewNCB]

For the people who are considering venturing into the MCE Arena, my suggestions would be to wait probably 1 or 2 months. As there are some developments going on with regard to form factor, technology and features. I am currently using a demo product based on the new BTX Standard. Its shaped like an amp, and looks good under the TV, and should be releasd soon.

Noise is absolutely at a minimum, and the one i'm using comes complete with dual tuners, Wireless adapter, and dual DVD Writer. But doesnt comes with CPU HDD and Memory. Allowing you to customize to your budget/desire.

Add one of these

(Out next month) and you get a really workable Media Centre and PC from 10 feet wire free and from the comfort of the sofa!

Add a Linksys Media Extender (Nice little review Review here)

(not officially available ;) in the UK yet) and you have access to all of you digital content from anywhere in the house! Still using the MCE GUI.

I love it!

[Guest rekall]

When you say 'shaped like an amp' what does that mean? ;) Can you give us any pictures?

[Guest winterdog]

i like MCE but fell it is a bit on the heavy waight side for my needs

I have atached a pic of xbox media center(XBMC) an open source project

this has no tuner

dispaly photos

pays video over network(most codex i know including quicktime)

plays video/music steams from outside world

play music music from the network/local

rip your cd using lame encoder (makes a sweet job to )

hooks to IMDB/CDDB

reports the wether (from the wether chanell)

has python scripting engine for you to write you plugins/apps

is onlay the cost of an xbox (99 quid) (and a quick nonevasive procedure known as a soft mod)

i think it rocks ;)

XBMC

[Guest MatthewNCB]

HP have something similar available in the States only. I have attached a pic.

These are definately nice bits of kit but loads of cash.

The HP one would be around £2K over here. spec is

Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 530J with HT Technology

• Windows XP Media Center

• 1024MB DDR SDRAM

• 300GB 7200 rpm hard drive

• 300GB Personal Media Drive

• Double-layer DVD±R/RW drive with LightScribe, CD writer capabilities

• NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6600 graphics card

• Intel High Definition Audio

• 9-in-1 digital media card reader

• Personal video recorder with dual NTSC TV tuners, over-air ATSC TV tuner

• Remote

• Media drive bay

HP.bmp

[Guest rekall]

i like MCE but fell it is a bit on the heavy waight side for my needs

I have atached a pic of xbox media center(XBMC) an open source project

this has no tuner

dispaly photos 

pays video over network(most codex i know including quicktime)

plays video/music steams from outside world

play music music from the network/local

rip your cd using lame encoder (makes a sweet job to )

hooks to IMDB/CDDB

reports the wether (from the wether chanell)

has python scripting engine for you to write you plugins/apps

is onlay the cost of an xbox (99 quid) (and a quick nonevasive procedure known as a soft mod)

i think it rocks  :D

XBMC

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep already got XBMC (my Xbox is sofmodded with UXE - a great piece of software!). Trouble with XBMC is it uses the Xbox, first and foremost an ugly piece of equipment. Its noisy! And finally does not record! Having said that XBMC is a very cool app...;) I just want MCE as its more user friendly etc for the wife and kids :D

My intention is to use MCE to record things etc in the living room and use XBMC in the other room to stream MCE content (inc recorded TV) :D

Edited April 21, 2005 by rekall

[Guest winterdog]

Yep already got XBMC (my Xbox is sofmodded with UXE - a great piece of software!). Trouble with XBMC is it uses the Xbox, first and foremost an ugly piece of equipment. Its noisy! And finally does not record! Having said that XBMC is a very cool app...;) I just want MCE as its more user friendly etc for the wife and kids :D

My intention is to use MCE to record things etc in the living room and use XBMC in the other room to stream MCE content (inc recorded TV) :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i found this a bit loud too but you can tinker with the fan speed/ temp to kickin

makes it prety silent

it definetly is on the ugly side but i just hide it away with an IR extender next to my amp. seen places thath make skins in the style of an AV amp but the whole idea is to keep cost under 100 quid and that is just expence

Edited April 21, 2005 by winterdog

[Guest sisniper]

Hi Paul

I was hoping that MCE's built in Synch function would work with the C500 but it dosnet.

instead I have to use WMP10 to synch but dont fully understand the problem, if WMP10 can do it why cant MCE???? Any ideas anyone ?

Simon

[Guest Dr_StrangeTrick]

Thanks for the info Paul.

Got me thinking now ;)

[Guest rekall]

i found this a bit loud too but you can tinker with the fan speed/ temp to kickin

makes it prety silent

it definetly is on the ugly side but i just hide it away with an IR extender next to my amp. seen places thath make skins in the style of an AV amp but the whole idea is to keep cost under 100 quid and that is just expence

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry to loose track of the original thread here - where did you get your IR extension and does it work well? I was thinking of putting all my AV gear in a cupboard and using one of these so the TV is the only thing visible (well actually I would like to hide that as well but leads on to projectors etc and the wife would kill me ;)) Thanks

[Guest Mark T]

I'm using S-Video SCART and it's great.

An LCD or Plasma would probably be nicer tho ;)

P

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm familiar with PC type display connections (VGA, DVI, HDMI), but I don't really know any audio/video connections other than SCART and the red/white/yellow circular connectors (not even sure what those are called!). What is S-Video, S-Video SCART and RGB?

It sounds like most people are using these MCE PC's just for home entertainment. Does anybody actually use them for regular Windows type applications like Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office etc.? Even Microsoft don't recommend a CRT TV for running desktop applications on a MCE PC. I found this on the Microsoft website:

Q. What kind of displays can I connect to a Windows XP Media Center PC?

A. The Windows XP Media Center PC can connect to a variety of displays:

• Media Center PC and desktop monitor. With computing and entertainment functionality in one place, this setup is ideal for locations where space is at a premium, such as a studio apartment or dorm room.

• Media Center PC and desktop monitor and TV. Use the desktop display for computing and the TV for entertainment.

• Media Center PC and high-resolution display. A high-resolution display, such as a plasma or projection TV, provides sufficient resolution for desktop tasks, like reading e-mail or surfing the Internet, and offers a home theater-like experience for TV, home movies, and DVDs. When connected to a widescreen display, 16:9 support lets you toggle between normal, zoom, and stretch video modes.

On a separate issue, if you have a MCE PC and a some kind of set top box (cable, satellite) and surround sound system, is there even any point in getting an LCD TV? Surely you don't even use the TV part of it, in which case all you need is a large LCD monitor? Any advice from anybody out there?

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

Yep, a large LCD monitor will be fine ;)

P

[Guest evilsilverfish]

I've already got Sky+ and Tivo for PVR and they're both great; but was wondering how much you use Media Centre for viewing pre recorded materiel like films and listening to music?

Quality wise, how would you compare the audio and video output of DVDs against a quality stand alone player (assuming best connections and AV Amp)?

Also, is it a useable web browsing platform?

Cheers,

Mike

[Guest Kallisti]

In defence of the XBox+XMBC not being able to record shows, it can however play xbox games ;) The cost difference really makes this the top option for me (I've got one in the living room, one in the playroom), might get one for the bedroom etc...

My wishlist for it would be to be able to access my Sky+ recordings (no hope), and for them to hurry up and get the DVD menu system working and released! In the meantime however I'm using a modded MS DVD software which is fine.

FWIW, with very little effort, my xbox is setup so that anyone can use it pretty easily. Choose videos and the list on the right shows all the shows currently available, music lists all the artists, pictures has a view of my photo folder on my PC.. It's all very slick.

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

I use it for all my music and all my DVD viewing, and find the quality excellent (particularly using TheaterTek).

It's only really useable for web browsing if you have a Plasma / LCD...

P

[Guest winterdog]

Sorry to loose track of the original thread here - where did you get your IR extension and does it work well? I was thinking of putting all my AV gear in a cupboard and using one of these so the TV is the only thing visible (well actually I would like to hide that as well but leads on to projectors etc and the wife would kill me ;)) Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The ext. is just an joypad extention leed from Game that it was prety cheep :D

the IR reciver just gets slapped in the end

[Guest fraser]

I also vouch for the XBox Media Centre software, it is outstanding. It plays almost any media format, and I've got a collection of silly videos from emails going back 10 years that it'll play all but a few. An XBox is what, 100 pounds now? Add a chip, some open-source (fully legal) software, and you have the best DVD player on the market. With Ethernet and internet access. You can stream trailers from the Apple site or listen to shoutcast radio.

Sure, you don't get recording, but what you can do is setup a PC to do that, and keep it in another room. The XBox is only on when it's being watched. Lets face it, most of us who are doing these types of things probably have at least one PC on 24/7 at home!! Just set up the capture on that box, and have it write to a network share. Then you don't have to worry about spending a fortune on building a quiet PC. Yes, the XBox is a little noisy itself, but you can mask it in a TV unit or even put it in a cupboard. Or, you could simply replace the harddrive and the fan that produce the noise with quieter ones. Plus, the videos you record are not restricted in any way, can be viewed on any PC running in the home (laptop + wifi, mm mm!), or burnt to disk if you want to watch them again or "lend your tape" to someone who missed that episode.

Because it's the only app running on the device, it never stutters, jumps etc. I've found that is has around a minute of video buffer, evident when you take a disk out (and it still plays). This is great for playing scratched/damaged disks. As I said, it's the best DVD player money can buy. And it just keeps on getting better, it's continously updated.

Oh, and there is no hastle setting up a remote; a bain of most media centre endevours. With the XBox, you buy the standard remote for 20 quid, and it just works. The player is designed around your remote, which is the same as everyone elses. Makes for a great user interface.

But hey, all of these systems are uber cool! I reckon TV will be commonly delivered over the net within 3-4 years. The networks will soon cotton on the fact they can distribute their shows, with advertising, on the net, perhaps even using p2p. With this, they get exact download figures, which aren't viewing figures but it's still infinately better than the current ratings systems. I'm just in shock as to why none are doing it NOW! The BBC are leading the way, and they are doing it not-for-profit!

[Guest squall]

anyone know if this is genuine?

http://classifieds.nochex.com/viewad.asp?i...704134171419744

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

I'd be willing to bet it's not genuine at that price!

P

[Guest squall]

its very cheap, but the rest of the site seems ok... may buy it and check, i think credit card protection would cover buying fake software accidently wouldnt it?

[Guest Microsoft]

OMG! GAMECUBE? BETRAYER!

[Guest tvo]

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.

I recommend getting a Pentium M system and - if you can find one - an external powersupply. (I've tested an Asus barebone with extern powersupply - no moving parts)... This will make the whole thing VERY close to silent.

And about the plasma/lcd/crt thing; LCD is the way to go. With plasma, you risk a burn-in if you use Windows MCE. This won't be a problem with an LCD. Also, the resolution is significantly better. And CRT - well... After seeing the whole thing on a big LCD - you'll never want anything else...

[Guest fraser]

And CRT - well... After seeing the whole thing on a big LCD - you'll never want anything else...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm still not convinced. Every LCD/plasma I have seen has looked "digital" and artificial. Could just have been the shop maxing out the contrast to make it look "vibrant" (i.e. brighter than it's neighbouring sets, which is what sells TVs), but I dunno. Just didn't look nice.

And LCD doesn't have a patch on CRT for resolution. The only big draw for me would be the flatscreen and shallow depth; I'm sitting on the fence for another year or two. Plasma is to be avoided due to short set lives of the current generation.