|
|
Ian's digital lifestyle and Windows Media Center Blog
June 2008 - Posts
-
My main Media Center PC developed a power supply problem a few weeks ago and I have been on a lower spec backup PC and while it’s working it’s underpowered for driving 5 Extenders so I am on the market for a new Media Center PC. Over the last couple of Read More...
|
-
You may remember the Ultimate Media Center Enthusiast Setup competition I ran a while ago, and that to your votes the winner was DWAnderson , it as a very close vote but I think DWAnderson won because of the lower budget for the project. He won the fantastic Read More...
|
-
I haven’t done a live show for a while so next Tuesday 8:30pm UK / 12:30pm PST I am going to hook up the webcam and do a live Q & A session. I am open for questions on any digital lifestyle or Media Center topic but I especially want to take the opportunity Read More...
|
-
Over the last year Windows Vista has come in for a tremendous amount of criticism, some of justified but most of it not and lots made by people that had never used the OS but I get the feeling that the perception is slowly starting to swing back Microsoft’s Read More...
|
-
When MSNBC called Windows Media Center PCs a miss earlier this week I wrote my reply but I thought I would save the post for my first post on TechRadar.com's Digital Home Blog . My thoughts were this: Windows Media Center is a service and not a product. Read More...
|
-
Terry Walsh on WeGotServed.co.uk has the scoop on the code name for the next version of HP’s MediaSmart Server ( good job they avoided a country name ) Terry can’t give details of the features yet but he did say “I think you’re going to be impressed” Read More...
|
-
An interesting development from Google, they have launched Google Media Server a UPnP gadget for Google desktop. It will use Google Desktop Search to locate media files and server them to UPnP clients like the Xbox 360 and HP's MediaSmart connect. I guess Read More...
|
-
Tonight I will be the guest along with Brian Burch, Director of Marketing for HP's Connected Entertainment group on HP’s Webinar talking about the new MediaSmart Connect. This is the new Media Center Extender for HP. The session is very interactive so Read More...
|
-
Listen Here I have a great show this week, Warner Crocker from Gottabemobile.com talks about making your digital lifestyle mobile. We talk about the rise of the low cost mobile PCs, UMPCs, tablet PCs and MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) and how the product Read More...
|
-
The BBC have launched a beta of the iPlayer 2.0 which they say has a more “cinematic” experience, great for slacking off work and watching TV but there is still no official Media Center version. If I miss a BBC show I want to watch it on my LCD TV along Read More...
|
-
Fun story of the week, apparently Fiji (the country) are upset with Microsoft over the use of the Fiji name. According to the post on Australia’s ABC radio news “Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told Fijilive his country wants an amicable resolution Read More...
|
-
Sony have released two new TP1 models. The TP1 is the circle shaped PC that would make a nice Media Center machine, according to EngadgetHD there are two models out one of which is in white with a 2.1GHZ Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, GeForce 8400M GT graphics Read More...
|
-
I loved HP’s TouchSmart that was shown off a the HP event in Berlin ( see this video ) and according to engadget HP are shipping the unit now via the US store but nothing on the UK store yet. Read More...
|
-
Microsoft have put out a couple of updates for Windows Media Center, the first ( via Dennis Morgan ) is for the Extender functions on the Xbox 360. Issues that are resolved by this update: This update addresses the following issues. These issues occur Read More...
|
-
I have been looking for a blogging tool for Windows Mobile for while somthing like Windows Live Writer for Windows Mobile and it looks like I have found one called Diaris 2.1. It supports Community Server,Live Spaces, Das Blog and other MetaWeblog providers. Read More...
|
-
You may remember the beta of MceFM I talked about back in March , MceFRM is a Last.FM addon for Vista Media Center with features like using the More option from Media Center to select MceFM and then listen to more artist like the one you selected. Damian Read More...
|
-
I have been a TVTonic user since the I first got Media Center and it’s great to see that they are partnering with NBC to bring the Olympics to Windows Media Center. The nice thing about TVTonic is that it downloads and caches the content on the local Read More...
|
-
HP are launching a new Media Center Extender products called the MediaSmart Connect . It is not just a Media Center Extender it is also a digital media adapter that can stream content from both Vista and XP. One thing I like is from the Connect UI content Read More...
|
-
Don’t forget to register for HP’s Webinar on the new HP MediaSmart connect. The first one is with Ed Bott today at 10am PST and I will be the guest on Thursday 1pm PST (9pm UK) with Mike Garcen and Patrick Norton guest on future Webinars. Here are the Read More...
|
-
On Microsoft's consumer electronics blog they have posted part two of the Media Center university video. This is a presentation given by Mike Seamons at EHX Spring 2008 and the video shows optimizing Windows Media Center, connecting with a Zune and removing Read More...
|
-
6 Cable Cards on one system! How much TV do you need? I guess the rule is you can never have to many tuners and with 6 cableCARD tuners you will need plenty of disk space (via eHomeUpgrade ) Cannon PC , the award winning Media Center specialty company, Read More...
|
-
EngadgetHD takes a look at Extenders available for Windows Media Center, incuding the Xbx 360, D-Link Extender, Linksys and the new HP Extender. I will be testing out HP's Extender on Monday evening Vista Media Center really sets itself apart from any Read More...
|
-
After a few days working away I am back and catching up on news and email. The first item in my in inbox is Automated Home's Top 10 podcast list and I was very pleased to see The Media Center Show make the top 10. What is especially pleasing is company Read More...
|
-
Microsoft has bought TV ad company Navic and makes it's self a player in the Cable Ad market. Is this just another attempt to get in to advertising or a sign of a more cohesive look at advertising and content delivery? With the advertising in place Read More...
|
-
There is something special about Microsoft Surface and I am not sure I know what it is. At first it looks like just a touch UI but when you play with it ( as I did at CES ) it has a very different feel from any other PC input device. I am waiting to see Read More...
|
-
Listen Here This week I am talking to Jason Leonardelli from Life|Ware talking about the Innoventions Dream Home at Disneyland . The project is a home of the future featuring Windows Media Center, Home Automation, Microsoft Surface and many other technologies. Read More...
|
-
Alexander Grunder from eHomeUpgrade got to visit the Disney Innoventions Dream Home that opened this week (and featured on this weeks The Media Center Show ) and has some great content showing off the home. Alexander has a good look at HP’s new TouchSmart Read More...
|
-
Brandon on the Windows Experience Blog takes a look at HP’s new Extender (and don’t forget you can still register for the webinars ). Brandon looks at the form factor, the connections and the remote I will be hooking my review unit up to my system over Read More...
|
-
HP have launched the MediaSmart Connect (formally known as the HP MediaSmart Receiver). This is the dedicated Media Center Extender first shown at CES that as well as being a Media Center Extender will also stream content from other sources. So far there Read More...
|
-
Mark McCall of AutomatedHome.co.uk and previous guest on the The Media Center Show interviewed me last week about podcasting, blogging and the digital lifestyle, the interview is available for listening to now . It’s fun being a guest on a podcast Read More...
|
-
Are you going to Disneyland Resort? If so make sure you checkout the new Dream Home, and I will be talking about the home on a future show: ANAHEIM, Calif., June 16, 2008 - Today, the Innoventions Dream Home became latest attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, Read More...
|
-
Back at CES Microsoft where showing off the Origami Experience 2.0 for UMPCs. This is add on application for UMPCs that is designed for touch and the 7 inch screen. 2.0 looks like a complete re-write of the original software and has features like touch Read More...
|
-
Microsoft looks to be expanding Windows Media Center features for the Japanese market. They will be adding ISDB-T support which is the Japanese digital TV format and multilanguage closed-captioning. Also being added is TV Asahi, NHK, NTV, TBS and Fuji Read More...
|
-
I have been a happy Treo 750v user for quite some time it works well with Exchange for my corporate email and I can use Gmail's IMAP features for my personal email. As the Treo was getting a bit old I was thinking of trying some of the newer Windows Mobile Read More...
|
-
Here are a selection of photos from HP's Connecting Your World Event: HP's TouchSmart A selection of HP Notebooks HP MediaSmart TV with Windows Home Server to the left Voodoo's latest system Terry Walsh from Wegoserved.co.uk Read More...
|
-
On the blog for Windows Live for TV they have announced that Beta is closing down, not that anybody has been using this or that is a shock as Chris Lanier reported that it was closing down a while ago. While I don't think it was a good implementation Read More...
|
-
If you have been following the problem with the copy protection bug that hit a few weeks ago Microsoft's Consumer Electronics Installer Blog has details on the fix that is included in the June update: On Tuesday June 10th, 2008, at 10AM PST, Microsoft Read More...
|
-
As Brian Burch from HP talked about on show 156 HP are launching the MediaSmart Connect a new Extender for Windows Media Center and over the next couple of months HP and Microsoft are hosting a series of webinars talking about and demonstrating the new Read More...
|
-
Listen Here [EDIT: Audio problem fixed] A special show this week as for the last three days I have been in Berlin at HP’s Connecting Your World event . HP had a massive launch of new notebooks and the fantastic new TouchSmart System. I managed to get Read More...
|
-
While I am here in Berlin Microsoft have posted the June update for Media Center: SUMMARY Microsoft has released the June 2008 Cumulative Update for Windows Media Center for Windows Vista. This update rollup is intended for computers that are running Read More...
|
-
At HP's event today in Berlin I have chance to have a quick play with the new TouchSmart system. This video gives you a glimpse of the UI and the kind of thing it can do. I recorded it myself while operating the PC so the video is not brilliant but you Read More...
|
-
One of the most exciting products being shown today is HP's new TouchSmart system. As I said before the hardware is a beautiful looking all in one design: This is combined with HP's own touch software that you can edit photos, view calendars, create playlists Read More...
|
-
Lots going on but not much time to write about it. Today I watched the HP keynote that opened HP's "Connecting Your World" event, the keynote was presented by German broadcaster Cherno Jobatey and with execs from HP such as Todd Bradley They Read More...
|
-
iPlayer MCE is a Vista Media Center addin that enables watching BBC iplayer content directly from Windows Media Center and Martin Millmore has added Channel 4 downloads as the latest feature. Channel 4 recently launched a Watch Online service, which offers Read More...
|
-
Release Candidate of Power Pack 1 will be available for public testing today. Power Pack 1 is an update to Windows Home Server that provides a range of new enhancements, including: Support for PCs running Vista x64 Backup of home server Shared folders Read More...
|
-
On Monday I am heading over to Berlin for HP's Connecting Your World event. HP will be discussing their new products and strategy and I hopefully will be bringing you some interviews on systems for the connected home and the digital lifestyle. On Read More...
|
-
Embedded Automation have a selection of videos showing off their new mPanel product. mPanal is a 7" wall mounted touch screen that can control home automation and Media Center system as well as being able to play back music from Media Center Read More...
|
-
I have really enjoyed Ed Bott’s series on on getting Vista to work for you and he is back the the final part talking about search. Search is one of my favourite features of Vista, I never go hunting in All Program to launch a program I just type it’s Read More...
|
-
Somewhat overshadowed by the AMD’s “Puma” launch this week was AMD launch of AMD Live! Home Cinema at Computex 2008 and according to Jake Ludington this could be game changer. Jake says that AMD’s chipset supports HD (including Blu-ray) through Read More...
|
-
On Microsoft’s consumer electronics blog they have a link to part 1 of the Media Center University video. The video was taken at EHX Spring's Media Center University , I am watching it now, it has some good tips on connecting up a Media Center system Read More...
|
-
Listen Here This week I am talking to Michael Toscano from Autonomic Home a company developing some interesting solution for Windows Media Center including control software for UMPCs and laptops. They also have a very interesting solution for whole home Read More...
|
-
If your on the look out of the a new sound card and want the highest quality you should checkout the latest sound card from ASUS. The ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 is the first HDMI ready sound card, the card is HDMI 1.3a compliant and decode audio from HD sources Read More...
|
-
Sadly I had to return my loan Extenders back to Linksys so I can’t test the updates Linksys has put out for the Extenders. Chris Lanier has details on the updates for the Extender that you should see the update in the settings section of the Extender, Read More...
|
-
AMD’s new platform for laptops “Puma” look interesting for mobile users wanting to take their content with them. It combines the AMD Turion X2 processor and a Radeon HD 3000 graphics chip and promises to deliver “ Full HD Experience ”. It will be interesting Read More...
|
-
A few weeks ago there was a bit of outcry by some bloggers that Microsoft had enabled DRM in Media Center when users were blocked from recording “ American Gladiator ” ( see this story ) and that “once again Microsoft kills its products with DRM”. Chris Read More...
|
-
Finally Sideshow comes to Windows Mobile, well in a developer preview. This means that you will be able to use Sideshow gadgets on your Windows Mobile phone. I have just downloaded and installed it and the first thing I noticed is that its says you need Read More...
| |
|