RE: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 - UK Launch

["Kenneth Watt" <kwatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Last night saw the official launch party for MCE 2005 to the UK press.
> Unfortunately I was unable to make it but while I wait for the press
pack
> to
> arrive here are some pictures and details from the launch...

There are just one or two small flies in the ointment here, Sky for a
start!

It's all very well and good having such a system but it will still rely on
a
Heath Robinson IR control affair for a Sky box which is what really puts me
off the whole HTPC idea in many ways. So you still have to faff about with
IR emitters and whatnot and suffer a degraded picture and have no Dolby
Digital if you want to record to any HTPC, so a waste of space IMO for
those
of us that actually care about such little details.

But here are the biggest bugbears of any such systems...

To listen to your MP3 collection you have to have a screen on! Not ideal
and
the sound through the TV just ain't that good in most people's living
rooms.

Since most people out there actually do not have their TV hooked up to an
audio system of any kind, let alone a DD/DTS capable one, then you have to
wonder just who's going to buy this and why.

Bar DVI/D-Sub any output I've seen to a TV is crap, just more degradation
in
the quality if you use S-Video and, even at that, the TV or display has to
accept the input. Even many of the LCD sets out there do not have a DVI
input on them.

Great idea which really needs time to mature and stop being so flaky, it
also really needs a small, say 6" or 7" LCD on it, so you can see
what's
going on without having to turn the telly or PJ on just to listen to a bit
of music or see what the weather forecast is.

Roll on MSTV, downloadable TV programming... at a cost! ;)

But that's just my opinion.

K.