Showshifter DVB

Give your PC a Media Center-like makeover.

Cynics could easily dismiss Showshifter as little more than a trumped-up media jukebox, but Home Media Networks' application is a much more significant idea. Much like Windows XP Media Center, it's a media-orientated operating system that gives you instant access to all the music, video and photo files stored on your computer. You can also use the software to play audio CDs, watch DVD movies and, with a TV tuner card such as Hauppauge's WinTV Nova-t USB (£100), watch and record television programmes to your hard disk.

If you've ever seen a Windows XP Media Centre PC in action, you'll notice the obvious similarities. The large text and simple menus make Showshifter exceptionally easy to use either on a PC or on a TV screen. To use Showshifter with a telly, however, you'll need to have a graphics card with a TV-out socket. And, depending on where in the house your computer lives, you may also need a specialist remote control (such as those recommended on the Showshifter website) or a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Unfortunately, it's just this sort of thing that's likely to put some people off Showshifter. The fact is that to get the most out of the application, you need to amass all the right hardware and set it up yourself - unlike Windows XP Media Center PCs where everything is pre-configured to work out of the box. There are a few other chinks in Showshifter's armour, too. In its current form, for example, you can't burn video directly to CD or DVD from within the application. Hence, any recorded TV programmes or movies on your hard disk require lengthy, complex format conversions and authoring before they can be committed to disc.

However, the relatively low cost of Showshifter and any extra hardware required, combined with the effort needed to set it all up, is a pretty small price to pay when stacked up against the £1,000-plus price tag of a new Media Center computer.

Contact: Showshifter 0131 625 1482
www.showshifter.com