Not got to CEDIA yet but one of Ben Drawbaugh’s predication sadly looks wrong, there will be no DISH tuner for Windows Media Center. Engadget said:
we’ve received a number of tipst letting us know that Microsoft and DISH have pulled the plug on the DISH Network Tuner for Windows 7 Media Center.
Testers have reported that the DISH tuner had been working ok with Windows Media Center but it looks like DISH have canned the Media Center project. It could be because of the limited number of potential users
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Boy, it really does seem to be that Windows 7 Media Center has wonderful features and support for us Europeans but North America is losing out for a change.
We’ve got fantastic DVB-T and DVB-S support but all the ‘promised’ support similar markets in the US is just not happening.
A very sad story. I’m sure they were scared from a support point of view. Though I’m not a Dish network user, it does pave the way for more competition on media center!
@Peterfnet, what do you mean by “..more competition on Media Center”?
If Microsoft can’t get Cable Labs to budge on PC requirements (making it possible to install cablecard on most PCs) or get Satellite service providers to partner with…then I think Microsoft should start considering entering a partnership with a IPTV provider (ex. MobiTV) here in the U.S.
Frankly, there only 8 non over-the-air channels we want Live. There are other shows we like but we can catch them via Hulu..or would be more ideal, available through Zune Pass via Media Center UI.
A Sky Digital/HD solution is looking more unlikely now.
@JohnCz I mean more competition for payTV providers. In the US, we have cablecard which is painful. CableLabs has only over the air TV to compete with on native integration via Media Center. If these DISH or DirecTV tuners were to come out, I bet these newer CableCard tuners would be hitting the market quicker. Perhaps addressing SDV and Tru2Way
So, on the eve of CEDIA, Dish pulls away thieir tuners, just as DirecTV did on the eve of the release of Fiji. On the eve of the release of Vista, MS announced the term for use of CableCards, which was a deal breaker for many Media Center enthusiast. And where is the IPTV U-Verse client promised with the release of the xbox 360?
Similarly, four or five years ago many TV mfrs released CableCard equipped TV on the market, only to see them disappear within a few months. The higher cost of the sets, as well as the quirks and limitations imposed by the CableCard technology, were a deal breaker. Today, we wait as tru2way is delayed again. Past is prologue.
Microsoft should know by now that these providers have no intention of ever opening up their user base to third party solutions.
Personally, I am currently very happy with Media Center, but that’s because I have ditched my cable provider for OTA (better quallity), downloads (better economics), and streaming (better choice, but that’s not gonna work for everyone. While Microsoft perhaps cannot directly support devices such as the HD-PVR for drm/copy protection reason, they should definately consider tacit support, such as the use of m2ts in .wtv.