Media Center Entertainment (MCE) 2005 -- The Death of TiVo?

Posted by Tim Ending on Oct 31, 2005

Technology and innovation can be a funny thing. It can lead to the rise and dominance of a particular brand or franchise in a relatively short time but at the same time that technology can lead to the dominance of another brand/franchise at its (the original innovator's) expense.

Often, the original innovator is relegated to obsolescence while the newer innovator triumphs in the marketplace. This can often be attributed to additional innovations or a better business plan by the newer innovator.

When a new technology hits the market -- wheter laserdiscs, DVDs, Betamax or Divx -- I can often say I'm one of the first ones to line up to buy. The usual term for folks like me is "early adopters". We're the ones who usually get burnt: stuck with irrelevant beta technology as a product line./technology matures.

When the personal digital video recorder (DVR) debuted -- made by ReplayTV aka Showstopper -- I was first in line. Now someone sees me pausing TV and they say, "Oh, I see you have TiVo."

Time-shifting, or the ability to pause, forward, rewind or record TV, freed me from the world of VCRs, and its accompanying evils. I surely can never go back -- DVR technology to me was the "road to Jericho" moment.

TiVo using the same technology model, marketed itself well and reached critical mass. Its business model was subscription based and, together with partners like DirecTV, it was able to reach a wide marketplace with recorders branded "Powered by TiVo." Long story short, some believe that DirecTV, tired of paying a franchise fee, decided to develop its own "TiVo" software and cut the original out.

Enter Microsoft. In case you have been on a three-year sabbatical in Antarctica, MSFT has been on a quest to enter family/living rooms through its Media Center Entertainment aka MCE.

With Mr. Gates as the software architect, the realization was that MSFT is/has approached critical penetration in the marketplace, and in order to fuel future growth the PC has to evolve from its office/productivity model to, you guessed it, a fun, lovable and entertaining model for whole-family entertainment. It's a make or break.

Initially many laughed at the concept, (some still do), but personally I think I've seen the light. With so much money involved, I'm reluctant to call a bluff. Anyway, the concept is relatively simple: to transition the PC into an audio\video component with intelligence, usability and useful features side by side with your other components. I suspect it may be the goal to eventually replace your a/v receiver. Hmmm.

Using the existing codebase on which Windows XP is built and utilizing the same feel, while redesigning the interface and layout for a "friendlier" experience, MCE was created with the end user in mind. Third generation down and you can tell progress has been made.

Media Center 2005 is a product that integrates things you do not usually associate with a computer, such as TV and entertainment in one interface. It provides a one-stop center for TV recording, music, interactive album-picture viewing, radio tuner, DVD burning, and many other features all accessible from one interface.

Once equipped with a dual tuner, MCE can support up to three Tuners, one of which can be HDTV. With DVI, or component connections, you can record one program while watching another -- now that's multitasking! MCE comes with a free, easy, interactive, electronic programming guide (EPG), unlike some providers who charge a fee for this. If you are interested in HDTV support, make sure that the video card supports this with connections like RCA component-out jacks and/or DVI. You may have to shop around a bit because for some reason most systems have only S-Video or composite connections which do not natively support HDTV. One drawback of MCE computers is that high definition (HDTV) is only accessible with an installed over-the-air tuner (OTA). What that means is you will not be able to record premium cable or satellite channels like HBO or Showtime in high definition.

It ships with an integrated FM tuner which you can also time-shift. Included are excellent search features and easily accessible controls. There's a picture slideshow with neat transitioning of slides, and superb recording conflict management which is better than most. MCE ships with a number of freebie tools like the popular aquarium screensaver, Windows Audio Converter, Windows Dancer (an animated character) dancing to your tunes, party mode, and music playback with easy playlist creation (which can be used to burn onto a CD). DVD playback and recording is also very easy.

Music is intuitively organized with automatically downloaded album art just as on the CD sleeve insert -- it really makes your music collection not only easy to browse but is also fabulous eye candy.

The feature list for MCE is comprehensive at a price TiVo and many others just can't match. You pay once, just like when you buy a computer, and don't have to deal with service subscription fees as with other providers. MCE price-points are pretty sane with decent systems ranging from $800 to $1900.

Furthermore, the user interface is clean and well designed. It does a good job of hiding the intricacies that make MCE run. For example, you can view pictures stored in a folder on you computer with neat transitional effects without looking at the insides of the PC, which can intimidate some not-so-techie users. Nevertheless the engine that runs MCE 2005 is neatly hidden "under the hood" but easily accessed should you want to. It all looks like the XP Home/Pro operating system layout.

Installing MCE is a breeze; it guides you through a series of prompts and questions. In the end you will be able to fully enjoy the media experience. Control of the Media Center is through either a remote, wireless keyboard or mouse. You will find the remote is most often used to communicate with the system. When it comes to the wireless keyboard and mouse, care should be taken in the placement of the remote sensor since poor placement can lead to spotty reception and can hinder the experience.

Media Center PCs are built by Microsoft Partners. Essentially you can't walk into a store and buy Media Center software standalone without the machine or hardware. Initially MSFT was restrictive as to who could build MCE PCs. Nowadays, there is a good number of system builders taking part in the building of MCE PCs. Competition is a good thing, now Media Center PCs don't have to look boxy or boring. Builders like Shuttle, http://sys.us.shuttle.com have designed some really catchy looking systems. Even HP, (whose remote is very user friendly), has also offered alternative designs.

One optional accessory that may be indispensable -- depending on intended use or viewing requirements -- is the Media Center Extender. In essence, this is a thin client (box) about the size of a DVD player that will access the content residing on the Media Center PC. It can be flexibly installed away from the Media Center in another roo, like a bedroom, basement or living room.

The PC will support up to five Media Center Extenders. Connectivity options to the Media PC include wired or wireless. From experience, wired is the way to go using an Ethernet network -- especially if you're going to stream HDTV material. But wireless also works, though it's prone to service drops. Being small and unobtrusive, it could be the desired connection to your HDTV display.

The extender layout is not unlike the one on the PC. If your Media PC is equipped with two or more tuners, it means Mom can watch her soaps in the bedroom while Dad watches the game in the den. In party mode, it's possible to stream the same music to all the media extenders in a house.

With a future update, Media Centers will be able to support the highly anticipated Xbox 360. In addition, there will be support for Media Center access remotely, from your office, for example. Scenario 1: You forgot to record your "Desperate Housewives" guilty pleasure. Now you'll be able to remote in to your Media Center (assuming you have a broadband connection at home), and schedule the recording from wherever you are. I loved this feature on the ReplayTV unit.

An MCE 2005 is high on my gift recommendation list this holiday season. It will please every family member. The cost-to-benefit ratio is hard to beat. As for the early adopters who had the previous versions, like MCE 2004, I would advise them to beg, borrow or steal for this update. Usually I don't root for MSFT, but this time my thirst for media self-entertainment got in the way.