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I would love to see Windows Media Center at the heart of my entertainment system, but until CableCARD hardware support becomes more readily available and less expensive, there is no way that is going to happen. There are several higher-end HTPC companies that have had great WIndows Media Center machines with CableCARD support, but they were extremely expensive. Dell and HP have had models in the past that were less expensive, but  far exceeded in cost compared to even the most expensive TIVO (w/ 3-yr subscription). And some of those Dell and HP models have been discontinued. It would be nice to see MS get more involved with Cable Labs to somehow reduce the cost associated with getting external/internal CableCARD tuners. Once I can get a Windows Media Center w/CableCARDs to compete in price with a TIVO S3/HD w/3-yr subscription, then we are talking.

Thanks for the update! I am a new VMC with CableCard user and LOVE IT. The only improvement I would make is to get a subscription music service to plug into Media Center (currently one of my extenders, the D-Link750, will play music from my Rhapsody library, but it requires a computer on the network to be up in uPNP mode.).

I heard you railing against VMC and the extenders in Windows Weekly and am scratching my head. I think this system is phenomenal, and kind of what I have always dreamed of having. I am a regional sports fan and will not give up cable, so the Apple TV's appeal is overwhelmingly bewildering.

Other than the occasional irritating "Copying Prohibited" flags I see on some channels randomly the new update has been pretty nice.

Mostly eye-candy but I do like how they've re-done the in-channel mini-EPG and enabled access to your recordings via the taskbar jumplist.

Actually I'm hoping for of a solution that does not involve a cable card. Cost, hardware fiascos, OEM only...geez. I cringe ever time I hear cable card. What Media Center REALLY needs to be widely adopted by most techno-illiterate consumers is native HD support for any geographic location, H.264 (insert codec here). This is widely agreed upon (technical and legal difficulties aside) a large consensus at places like Engadget and The Green Button.

Agreed on the extender functionality...good move by MS.

I wish that DirecTV would get to that rumored HDPC-20...that looks like a sweet little sat. tuner made to work with MC. But, alas...so far it has been nothing but vaporware.

--tayme

oops, sorry, I meant to include with other post b/c this is somewhat off topic for this blog entry, but what about Windows 7 playing well with Windows Home Server? Has anyone had a chance to observe this...Paul? I've heard but not observed that W7's Homegroup and WHS don't play well together.

@ tayme

yeah the HDPC-20 has been 'temporarily shelved'

www.engadgethd.com/.../HDPC-20

I was looking forward to that. There was a time when TV sets were 'cable-ready'...plug the coax into the TV and you were golden. Wonder if we'll ever see computers/HTPC/Media PC's be 'cable-ready', 'satellite-ready' or whatever...

tayme

Ed Bott's reported about a month ago that DirecTV killed the HDPC-20.

blogs.zdnet.com/Bott

Which sucks for those of us wanting to replace their aged but still amazingly good UltimateTV boxes.

I wish they'd work with SKY in the uk (digtial sattelite broadcasters) to find a way to let Media Center work as a sky receiver.

Bummer...I missed that on Engadget...and I don't regularly read Bott...That sucks...it had promise, I think.

--tayme

tayme

While they said they'd killed the HDPC-20 the people at DirecTV did make it sound like they were working on something else to integrated a DirecTV tuner kit with Media Center in the letter Ed Bott quoted.

Still, DirecTV has been promising a solution for a while now with nothing shipping to show for it.

I do have a DirecTV tuner connected to my MediaCenter PC via the standard A/V in ports and I use an IR blaster to tune the box. In reality, it is the best IR blaster that I have ever used. I remember the days of connecting TiVo to DTV. The TiVo IR blaster sucked.

The quality of the recordings that I get are not too bad...but nowhere near HD quality. I like being able to copy the recordings over to my laptop to watch them when traveling.

--tayme

Damn DirecTV. Love the service -- been a subscriber for a decade now and wouldn't even leave for cable -- but they have definitely slowed on innovation. They need to get into the game and develop a box that will work with MC yesterday.

-OT

@Tayme,

>my MediaCenter PC via the standard A/V in ports and I use an IR blaster to tune the box.

Damm dude, you have an eye for the toys.   Can you also pass along the brand of your IR blaster.   Thanks in advance!  

P.S.  My XE104's are on there way now I just need to figure out how I am going to bridge them as I have a 3 room addition with its own power source.

Yawn!

More TV manufacturers need to integrate MC extender technology into their TV sets. Samsung needs to jump on board.

@Yawn! - Yeah, my wife thinks I'm nuts. Our house is full of gear. I usually throw a few things on craigslist once a year to clean it out.

The IR Blaster that I have is the one that shipped with my HP Computer and Media Center Remote Control. I'm not sure who made the thing...maybe HP, but more than likely somebody else.

Regarding the bridging of your XE104's...so, there is no common power between the sections of your house? That may prove troublesome...

--tayme

@Yawn! - The more that I think about it, the more I can't remember if the IR Blaster plugs into the TV Tuner card or the Remote Control Base station for the Media Center Remote...I sat it up a couple of years ago and it has been left alone to do its thing. I'll have to look when I am at home later on...I'll let you know.

--tayme

Paul has some interesting stats about Media Center following CES last week: CES is the first consumer

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