Windows XP Media Center Edition

Windows XP Media Center Edition is a version of Windows XP based on Windows XP Professional and designed around being a Home Entertainment System. It includes specialist optimizations for TV recording and playback, DVD playing, video playback, recording and editing, picture view, music listening, and other functions related to the main features. The latest edition, MCE 2005, was released on October 12th, 2004.

Due to strict hardware requirements, including a TV tuner capture card with built-in, hardware based MPEG-2 video encoding and decoding and a high-end graphics card, this operating system cannot be bought separately, it must be bought pre-loaded on a new PC. MCE 2005 supports up to 3 tuners on a single computer.

The hardware specs have been increased by no small margin over the normal Windows XP specs. MCE 2005 requires a minimum of a 1.6 GHz (or equivalent) processor, and 256 MB of RAM. That's with only one tuner, no extenders, and a hardware encoder and decoder. Users wishing to use Media Center Extenders, or that don't have hardware decoders are recommended to have at least a 3.0 GHz processor, 512MB-1GB of RAM, and at least two tuners. Of course larger hard drives are recommended, and Microsoft is pushing to cases that resemble other home theater equipment, but neither of those are requirements.

Microsoft has released their own first party remote, receiver and IR blaster with MCE 2005.

With the latest edition of MCE, Microsoft has added support for additional networked devices called Media Center Extenders; the extenders allow users on other TVs to receive all the same content that is available on the TV connected to the MCE computer (except HDTV content), over wired or wireless Ethernet. The devices are to be built by third parties such as Linksys. Microsoft is also marketing a Xbox Media Center Extender, which does the same but takes advantage of the parts already built into the Xbox. MCE 2005 currently can support up to 5 Media Center Extenders per household.

The new Xbox 360 has inbuilt Media Center Extender capabilities for using with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Eradicating the need for the current add-on for the Xbox.

Also available with MCE 2005, are the new Portable Media Center devices; these are small Game Boy-like devices that allow users to bring to view their Media Center content with them on the road.

Contents

1 Versions 2 Hacks 3 External links 3.1 Blogs for MCE 2005

Versions

Currently there have been four different versions of MCE.

• Media Center Edition The first release based directly on Windows XP Professional, this release was only available from Tier 1 computer manufactures (HP, Dell, et al)
• Media Center Edition 2003 Included support for FM Radio among other changes.
• Media Center Edition 2004 Included with Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Media Center Edition 2005 The first edition of MCE available to non-Tier 1 system builders (ie local mom and pop shops), includes support for Media Center Extenders, and CD/DVD-Video burning support. This version also removes the ability for a MCE computer to join a domain.

History of Microsoft Windows

Windows: 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.x | NT | 95 | 98 | Me | 2000 | XP | Server 2003 | Server 2003 R2 | CE | Mobile | Longhorn | Blackcomb

Hacks

There are emerging a number of hacks that change the intended features of Media Center Edition. Among them include allowing the running of the Media Center Edition programs on non-Media Center Edition OSs, including Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003, to get an enhanced feature set otherwise not available with MCE 2005. There are also hacks that allow the joining of the domain at anytime (http://www.neowin.net/comments.php?id=26497&category=main).

External links

• Official Microsoft Media Center Edition Website (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/)
• Listing of Logo'd Hardware Partners for MCE 2005 (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/partners/dfw/partnerlisting.mspx)
• Xbox Media Center Extender Page (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/xboxmediacenterextender.htm)
• The Green Button: The Main MCE Community Website (http://www.thegreenbutton.com)

Blogs for MCE 2005

• Addicted to Digital Media (http://blog.seanalexander.com)
• Windows XP MCE 2005 Wiki (http://www.matt-fletcher.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=MCE_2005_-_Windows_Media_Center_Edition_2005_Resources)de:Windows XP Media Center Edition