Windows Media Center Edition

I had it on my toshiba that got stolen. basically turns your pc into a tivo.

it isn't good enough yet, imho, with its non-tivo type stuff (displaying videos/pics/music from disk)to really use as the only viewer/player.

I'm not sure if it'll work with that particular tuner, if you have a part #, make or model #, etc., you can probably check with microsoft.

Only time I ever used it was to show off the laptop to friends. I'd run the video out to a 42 inch panny plasma, and then fire up MCE, they loved it.

me too

I have been interested in this too...

Why pay for Windows Media Center? A ripped off bloated piece of crap in my humble opinion.

There are already several free programs out there that perform this task

Tv Tuner software: dScaler, WinDVD recorder
Interface: MyHTPC or other (google for 'HTPC')

umm..

dude, who said anything about paying?

mce is just the app and drivers for related hardware, not like it is a whole new version of xp. You could probably install it on any xp box without having to register it or anything.

for just the tv stuff, it worked perfect on the toshiba. the tuner on the toshiba had an external IR receiver, and an IR signal repeater to stick on the cablebox. You just go through a bit of setup to tell it what cable lineup you have, which cable box you use, then test it a bit, and it downloads updated listings whenever you turn on the pc. The one thing I noticed in my few brief uses of it was that it recorded automatically, as soon as you started watching tv. Which meant I had to stop recording whenever I used it, cause I didn't want that crap filling up my laptop hard drive.


I sacrifice this banana, so that the a plague of stuck pixels does not fall upon me. have mercy, pixel pantheon.

oh yeah the 30 day demo version.
My 8886 uses a Bt878 (Brooktree?) chipset which is one of the most common tuner chipsets.I'm guessing the 8890 uses the same so I also it work fine given the popularity.

XP Media Center will not install without the correct serial on the computer ie. It can't be done as an upgrade. It must be installed as a fresh install unless you can figure away to change your serial.

If you want a better frontend for a HTPC tra the forthcoming SageTV 2.0.

Navigator Extreme

I have an Alienware Navigator that is running XP Media Center. It can only be installed as a fresh install. It is not an app. upgrade to windows like the plus pakages. The original media center was flawed in a few places, but the MCE 2004 is top notch. It does functions like tivo without the monthly charge. It's guide and record features are absolutely excellent. Also the online radio play in 5.1 is sweet.

The new version supports widescreen displays, 720p resolution, full 5.1 dolby, and much much more. This is a huge improvement over the old version, and something no other software I have seen can do. Not to mention it is easy to set up and simple to navigate. Basically it is the best add on available to the person who has a top of the line home theater. I have impressed so many people with this little function that I am the talk of my little town. I only wish Sager would put it in the 4780 like HP does with the ZD7000 series.

I am using this with a Mitsubishi 65" widescreen HDTV
Bose lifestyle 50 home theater
and a 20.1" Dell Ultrasharp LCD.

If you try the software and get all the driver details resolved than you will never be upset with it, but I don't know how to set it up on a PC that was not designed for it like the Sager lappys. Good Luck though. If you manage to get it done than please post your results.

Brandon

The video chipset in the Sager's is outdated and not supported in Media Center. I think that Emuzed is the premier supplier of PVR functionality. Their products are used by many manufacturers (HP, AlienWare, etc.) and many 3rd party resellers, (Pinnacle, Adaptech, etc.). Their stuff also has excellent specs. However, the actual Media Center hardware specs call for the tuner to have 3DY/C functionality. But, judging from the available published specifications, I don't think that any of the available internal or USB PVR devices actually have it. I did find a reference to an NEC chipset that supports it and also found an ODM PCI card that supports it.

I think that the next version of these devices (I'm talking about the hardware) will perform close to what you would expect in a modern TV. Also, having the electronics in a separate USB device is probably preferable for signal/noise issues.

As far as the new install issue, not really a problem, just do a new install on your box and choose your desired OS on boot-up.

Actually the best Capture card is definately the Hauppuage cards. AW has replaced nearly all of the Emuzed Maui cards with the Hauppuage ones and they have fixed a ton of problems with glicthy sound, pixelation after long usage, sudden freezing, and smeared playback. I was so happy when I got rid of that POS Emuzed Maui card. AW actually did something right, but don't forget the 1.17 or 1.18 driver or the Hauppuage stinks too.

Brandon

Brandon - Which version of the Maui did you have? They are currently on version 3.

The specs for the Happauge WinTV USB PVR 2 are not quite as good as Emuzed's - 12Mbit max vs. 15Mbit max. Also, sound Happauge max's at 44.1K vs 48K for Emuzed. Possibly, your experience was with an older version?

Anyway, I think that the next gereration will be out soon, so I am waiting.

I know a new Emuzed USB (Bali III?) is due out soon.

This link lists most of the available devices and provides links to comments and reviews.

i cannot say for sure because I got rid of the Maui card about eight months ago. They may very well have gotten better with the new cards. Perhaps if Alienware does start selling media centers again they will try a new generation Maui card. The one that shipped in the Navigators was a nightmare for customer service and they were real adiment about replacing them ASAP for all customers with problems.

Media Center itself also accounted for some of the early problems, but the new one is so much better that I can't believe they were are on the same computer.

I will check out the new maui specs when it comes out and maybe upgrade if I find an issue with the current one. So far so good.

Thanks,
Brandon

well

I heard snapstream was very good. who, or who knows who, who has tried it? (Lotta whos!)