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RSS feedsWhen Microsoft launched its Media Center Edition of Windows XP it was hoping that it would finally put the PC into the living room. The computer would then become the centre of home entertainment, recording TV, displaying pictures and videos, as well as playing music.
However, it hasn't quite gone the way the company hoped and I remain just as sceptical as before. From the outset it looked as though Media Center was just Windows XP with a fluffy menu slapped on top.
This image wasn't helped by many of the first Media Center releases, which used a standard PC case. Who would want an ordinary tower dominating the living the room?
With high costs to original equipment manufacturers, in addition to the cost of the PCs, it looked like Media Center was just a gimmick. Enthusiasts were also locked out of using it and were denied the opportunity to buy the operating system as a standalone package to build their own PC.
Microsoft currently has no plans to change this, stating that the strict hardware requirements means it can't guarantee it will work with all hardware configurations.
But with companies like Elonex and Hi-Grade releasing attractive, hi-fi inspired products, it looked like the Media Center wasn't quite so dead in the water. To see what Microsoft is making, we thought it was time to use one in the home for a few months.
To this end, I was presented with a new Elonex Exentia. Time to hook it up to the TV, plug in the cable set-top box and see what, if anything, Media Center can do.
Getting started
Opening the box, the first thing that struck me about the Exentia is the all-in-one design. It is well designed, making it perfect for a small room or bedroom. However, it's not ideal for a lounge. I've already got a TV bigger than its built-in 17in screen and would prefer a box that looks more like a hi-fi component.
That said, the Exentia was very simple to get working. All I had to do was connect the power cable, network cable (802.11g is also available), composite video and audio cables to the NTL digital set-top box, and connect the IR transmitter used to change cable channels. If, unlike me, you have an aerial you can also connect this and use the Media Center's tuner.
At this point I didn't connect any of the video outputs such as S-video to the TV, as the Exentia's own screen is easier to use for configuring Windows.
Like other Microsoft products, Media Center uses a wizard for configuration. Windows XP Pro users will recognise the first couple of steps, as they're identical right down to having the option of joining the PC to a domain.
I don't have a domain at home, so I skipped this step and created a new user for myself, followed the rest of the wizard steps and booted into Windows. At this point it looks exactly like any other PC, until you hit the Media Center button on the supplied remote control.
This starts up the Media Center menu which is entirely controlled by the remote. It was now time to configure the PC to work with my set-up. At first, this is pretty simple: the Exentia correctly detected that the composite input was to be used and that there was no aerial connected to the analogue tuner.
So far so good, but now it was time for the altogether more challenging task of getting Media Center to work with a set-top box. The wizard tried to detect my set-top box by getting me to point the NTL remote at the PC and press keys when prompted. As hard as I tried it refused to work and, in failing, stopped its own remote from working.
Giving up on the automatic option I manually selected my box (a Pace model) from the provided list. After a bit of trial and error I chose the correct IR profile. But the job wasn't over yet, as the transmit speed has to be set. In my case, the set-top box wouldn't respond to anything other than slow, which made changing channels quite tedious.
Finally, the TV guide was updated over my broadband connection, although it's capable of using dial-up too. This process is very slick and, as guide updates are free, much better than on rival products.
With everything in place, it was time to get it hooked up to a TV, which proved more than a little difficult. With the S-video out connected to an AV amplifier, getting a picture on screen was achieved by simply extending the Windows desktop onto the TV using Windows' Display Properties.
I could even make the TV the primary display, where the Media Center front end was very easy to read and use. However, there was the problem of the Exentia's own display. Disabling it in the display properties left the TV as the sole display, but it also killed the Media Center menu.
The mouse cursor would appear on an otherwise blank screen, but I couldn't do anything else. In the end, I had to resort to setting the Windows background to black and dropping the brightness and contrast on the Media Center to give the impression that it was turned off.
Finally, I ran into a little trouble with the sound. Running an optical cable into the AV amplifier doesn't disable the internal speakers, while turning the volume down affects all outputs. The only answer is to plug a mini-jack into the headphone socket.
Despite these niggly little problems, the Exentia was now ready to run. I started off using it for TV where, for the most part, it's very good. Media Center buffers a rolling 30 minutes of each TV station, which means you can rewind and pause live television. It's perfect for those times when the doorbell goes or something starts to bubble over in the kitchen. I got quite used to having this ability.
The TV guide is equally good and, as it's stored locally, is incredibly fast to browse. TV shows can be recorded on a one-off basis, all episodes or just new episodes. There's no need to forget to record a TV show, and Media Center even takes care of changing channels on set-top boxes or through its own tuner.
But it's not perfect. I found that at times the NTL box wouldn't let Media Center change its channel. The only solution is to disconnect the power for a few seconds and power it up again. I blame the firmware on the set-top box for this flaw, as it's notoriously flaky and prone to crashing.
However, the way that channels are changed is not the fault of the box. It's very slow to switch between channels thanks to the IR transmitter being set to the slow speed. It's also annoying that the order of cable or Sky channels can't be rearranged to create a list of favourites, although this ability is there for channels received through the TV card.
I also learned - the hard way - to keep well away from the NTL remote, as pressing the mute button might seem like a good idea, but it cuts all sound from your recordings.
Music
Media Center isn't just about recording TV, though. It's also there for digital music, pictures and videos. Taking music first, the interface is just as easy to use as the other parts of the software.
Music can be browsed by artist, genre, album or track. The interface downloads album art automatically, which makes it visually easy to locate the music you want. It's also very easy to copy a CD using a simple menu option, although it uses wma not mp3.
Getting your own mp3s on to the PC is a little harder. There's no option to copy files from memory stick or CD and I had to return to Windows and use the Media Library in Windows Media Player.
While I could copy files over the network, there was no avoiding the Windows interface, as the Library has to be populated from that PC. Playlists also have to be created through Media Player. The Remote Desktop can be used, but this feels like a step too far.
Pictures and video
Unfortunately, the same process applies to video files. It's slightly easier with digital pictures, as directories containing images just need to be copied into the My Pictures folder. Once there, using Media Center's slideshow option is brilliant.
The panning and transition effects are really good and make an otherwise dull slideshow a lot more interesting. Naturally, music can be played at the same time.
DVDs can be played as normal, although there are some limitations. First, the Media Center vendor has to bundle the system with DVD Playback software, otherwise there's no codec for playback.
Second, UK PCs will be locked to Region 2 DVDs. Getting a crack for them can be a little trickier than standalone players, as the DVD drive will need a firmware update. You need to make sure you get the exact firmware for the drive to avoid damaging it beyond repair.
The verdict
I got used to having a Media Center in the house. It meant I never had to miss a favourite TV programme, thanks to the easy recording settings. It helps that the electronic programme guide is so easy to use and free. The interface is incredibly simple to use and, whatever you think of Microsoft, credit has to be given. In particular, the picture slideshow option is excellent.
Media Center is not perfect though. First, there should be no need to return to the Windows interface which is very difficult to read on a TV. While this can be put up with, the price of Media Center systems remains an issue.
Essentially, a Media Center is a high-spec PC with a price tag to match. You have to expect to pay around £1,000, which is a lot of money to part with.
If it was more like an appliance with only the Windows front end and a price tag in the region of £500, it would be excellent. As it stands, it's a good system, but one for people with cash to burn.
TV under control
If you like the sound of a Media Center, but don't want to go through the expense just yet, there are alternatives that offer some of the facilities or functionality.
The most obvious is to add a TV tuner card into your PC, or use one of the freeview set-top boxes that will plug either into your TV or via USB into your computer (such as the Hauppauge DEC 2000-t). You'll then have your all photos, music and TV on one machine.
If all you want is the ability to record and control TV more intelligently, then Sky Plus (or Tivo, although this is harder to buy now), could be the answer.
The Sky Plus box costs £199 and no longer comes with an additional fee, provided you subscribe to two premium channels. It is incredibly simple to use - a lot of software manufacturers could learn from the interface's ease of use - and will record about 20 hours of programmes on its 40GB hard disk.
But its best features are its ability to pause live TV, rewind up to one hour of live TV depending on your settings, and the fact that it can record two programmes simultaneously.
While recording two programmes you can't watch another Sky channel, but you can watch terrestrial TV or a previously recorded programme. You can also quickly set up a series link so it will automatically record future episodes.
Our Sky system crashed twice in the first few days of use, but otherwise it worked without a hitch. Sky believes that a 40GB hard disk provides plenty of recording space, but we found it did begin to fill up quite quickly. Also - obviously - it only works if you subscribe to Sky.
Upgrades are due in the coming months, including the ability to record the interactive feeds and to remotely record programmes via a text message sent to Sky. If you want to control how you watch TV, Sky Plus is definitely worth considering, especially if you are an existing subscriber.
See also:
Windows Media Center is set to bring your PC into the living room, but will this new form of home entertainment take off? 12 Jul 2004All Desktop Computers
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