Re: Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 - UK Launch

["Andy Laurence" <andy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: "Kenneth Watt" <kwatt@xxxxxxx>
> > 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.

Not sure of the capabilities of MCE, but most pc-based solutions will take
a
sky card as input.  Although, having typed that, I suspect they don't do
the
cards for encrypted channels.  Scrap that thought then!

> 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.

Not always.  My system has an amp/speakers for the sound, and a laptop TFT
for the video.  Currently running Xlobby (so no TV yet), but likely to
switch to MythTV when I work out what this thing that doesn't require
Windows is  ;-)

> 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.

Us.  It's what the tinkerers want.  We have an amp/speakers instead of the
TV speakers, and we want to fiddle around making it work.  It's hardly
mass-market stuff.  Of course, you *can* use the TV for sound - nothing
stopping you.  Also, it's only a small cable to connect to the hifi.

> 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.

I'm no videophile, so I don't have a problem with that.  I'm happy with
Tivo
on the normal quality.

> 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.

You can easily purchase a small LCD for under £100 that'll do that.

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

:-)

> But that's just my opinion.

....and we all have our own.  Here is where we share them, and learn to
evolve them.

Cheers,
Andy
--
http://www.andylaurence.co.uk