[michaeltscott]

I should probably bury this under the " BEWARE! 800lb gorilla approaching! " topic, but I won't.


Though only useful to people who are using Media Center PCs, this device from Linksys is kinda cool. Gives you full access to your MCPC's stored media, remotely and wirelessly. It also has component video outs--a nice touch, though I doubt that you could stream HD video over wireless A or G.

 

[HookedOnTV]

Does anybody know what kind of material this thing supports? Will it do HD? Divx, WMV?

 

[HookedOnTV]

I went ahead and called Linksys. Only standard definition.

 

[Paul_PDX]

None of the media center extender devices can play HD content according to the Microsoft presentations and FAQ. That still makes the upcoming IODATA and Kiss devices the most interesting boxes on the horizon for me.

 

[epshih]

Quote:

Originally posted by HookedOnTV Does anybody know what kind of material this thing supports? Will it do HD? Divx, WMV?

I guess theoritically, it should support ONLY those formats supported by MCE or at least a sub-set of what MCE handles. But it certainly won't support a superset of what MCE can handle. The Extenders are really nothing than a remote client to MCE. So if MCE doesn't handle it, the Extenders certainly won't.

 

[epshih]

I've also hear rumored that the Extenders have a base requirement for the MCE server's CPU. I think I heard it was like P4 2.8 minimum. Anyone know if this is true and if it's actually physically enforced at the h/w or s/w level, or is it more of a "we won't support your studdering problem because your cpu doesn't meet our Extender's specs"?

 

[rlinx5]

Looked at the manual requires PC with windows XP Media center 2005 installed, otherwise seems impressive. Anyone have Idea of cost? Passed on a couple of other products that required Win XP because I am running win 2K. On Microsoft's site there is also a media center extender for the XBOX. Hopefully Microsoft has solved the problem of playing DRM protected files on these media center extenders most of the other standalone media players I have seen such as my D-Link DSM-320 play only unprotected content. I have seen websites with ways to convert protected music files to unprotected ones. It just seems like a hassle to have to convert all the music downloads you buy. Easier for me to just rip files from the CD.

 

[slocko]

Remember when everyone was scoffing at Microsoft's Media Center PC?


Now it looks like vendors are rushing to have their products be compatible with it.


Never underestimate MS.


They took over the pc, servers, then the pda, and soon cell phones. I just bought my first pocket pc phone, HP 6315, and now I don't know how I long I subsisted with just a regular phone.

 

[michaeltscott]

Slocko, the Media Center Extender is an MS technology. Like the MS Media Center PCs, OEMs like Linksys are their "manufacturing partners" in it. I'd warrant that it's mounted on a specified processor and running firmware primarily licensed from Microsoft, differing only in some logo graphics and external cosmetics (what we call "industrial design") from HP's version. It's not a "compatible product"--it's virtually a MS designed product.


There's much less leeway for product differentiation with these than there are with the MCPCs, where cabinet styles and combinations of peripherals beyond the minimum required can make them more distinctive. These things can't even be as differentiated as Pocket PCs, which themselves are pretty homogenized.


We're marching toward unified user-interfaces for everything, with Microsoft garnering more and more of the public mindshare. I'm not saying that it's necessarily a bad thing; it's certainly good that all automobiles are operated using the same set of basic controls (manual vs automatic transmission not withstanding). It is somewhat dangerous, though, like gradual lose of genetic diversity. It's certainly nothing to gleefully gloat about.


It kind of reminds me of that stupid movie, "Demolition Man". At one point, as they walk into a very fancy restaurant bearing the Taco Bell logo, Sandra Bullock's character explains to Sylvester Stallone's character (who's been frozen for many years) that Taco Bell won the "franchise wars" and now all restraurants are Taco Bell.


BTW, rlinx, it costs around $300, making an Xbox+MCE for Xbox a much better buy at around $149 for an Xbox and with a couple of bundled games and $79 for the MCE for Xbox kit; $228 altogether. The only disadvantage of the Xbox solution is that you have to actually press the physical "ON" button at the console to start it and, unless it permanently installs the MCE software on the hard drive, possibly switch discs. Xboxes are also not very quiet. On the other hand, you can play many hundreds of games on them, with new ones available every day .

 

[plasmamaniac]

What is this IODATA device that you speak of? Can we learn more Master Po so the lowly grasshopper can attain a more learned status.

 

[epshih]

 IS THIS the Media Center Extender for XBox or is this something else? Kinda hard to tell from the title.

 

[michaeltscott]

Looks like it--it doesn't ship until next month sometime. Strange that it's so hard to find anyone listing it for sale yet. Here's a page at xbox.com that shows a tiny picture of the box at the top and several screen from the UI. Yum! Music browsing by album cover.

 

[michaeltscott]

Quote:

Originally posted by plasmamaniac What is this IODATA device that you speak of? Can we learn more Master Po so the lowly grasshopper can attain a more learned status.

I believe that what he was referring to was this device, recently under discussion in this thread. It is a red-laser DVD player capable of playing WMVHD and DiVX HD formats from disc (at least) and a variety of media types over a network.

 

[Lupe]

Question(s):


Does the Windows Media Center PC play all the formats supported by the Windows Media Player such as WMA Lossless?


Also, does the extender support all the formats played on the MCPC's?


Just someone tying to figure it out?

 

[plasmamaniac]

I've read that the Extenders have a base requirement for the MCE server's CPU of P4 2.8 GHz minimum. I have an HP Pavilion Notebook PC with 2.66 GHz. Will it work for me? Is 2.66 GHz close enough? Does anyone know?

 

[jimre]

The Media Extender is essentially a "Remote Desktop" client. All of the user interface actually runs on the main MCE machine. I'd imagine this PC would need to be pretty fast in order to run both the local MCE interface, plus the interface for one or more media extenders.

 

[michaeltscott]

Quote:

Originally posted by plasmamaniac I've read that the Extenders have a base requirement for the MCE server's CPU of P4 2.8 GHz minimum.

Could you rephrase this? Are you saying that you've heard that, to use a Media Center Extender, the Media Center PC's CPU must be a P4 2.8 GHz or better? If so, where did you read that?

 

[michaeltscott]

Quote:

Originally posted by jimre The Media Extender is essentially a "Remote Desktop" client. All of the user interface actually runs on the main MCE machine. I'd imagine this PC would need to be pretty fast in order to run both the local MCE interface, plus the interface for one or more media extenders.

I don't think that it a remote desktop or that the UI runs on the host. What would lead you to that impression? It'd be a very strange way to try to do this.


For one thing, running multiple RDP connections requires a Windows Server license--XP Pro, the base of MCE, can only support a single desktop. Then, as you point out, it would put a huge strain the host. A number of the activities performed on the Media Center PC, such as browsing a television guide, can be done without accessing the host at all (in fact, the MCX FAQ states that you can't look at the television guide if you don't give the MCX internet access). MCX for Xbox has integration with Xbox Live. There's an XBL mechanism whereby people on your "Friends List" can invite you to "come out and play"--I assume that it can interrupt whatever you're doing with the MCX to show you these.


If I were designng this, I'd do as little on the host as possible, merely streaming media on request to the MCXs (it supports up to 5 per MCE). That'd allow the minimum spec MCE to support multiple MCXs. So far as I can find, there is no minimum spec for an MCE if you're using MCXs.

 

[michaeltscott]

Quote:

Originally posted by plasmamaniac I have an HP Pavilion Notebook PC with 2.66 GHz. Will it work for me? Is 2.66 GHz close enough? Does anyone know?

I just realized that you're asking whether your notebook would be sufficient to be an MCE with one or more MCXs networked to it. Is that correct? If so, was the notebook sold to you as a Media Center Edition PC? If not, you should realize that your notebook can't be upgraded to WinXP MCE. The only way to get the that version of Windows is to buy it pre-installed on a PC (there's at least one notebook, from Toshiba).

 

[plasmamaniac]

I thought that Microsoft was going to sell the MCE 2005 O/S software to be installed on your PC after you uninstall your current OS. At there site they give you to specs and requirements and it stated P4 2.8 Ghz. I have 2.66 GHz and wanted to install that and then buy the extender. All I want to do is to listen to MP3s and look at pictures on my Fujitsu P50 plasma. Maybe I should just connect it via SVGA cables.