You're not happy unless you've got your TiVo or your MCE (Microsoft Media Center Edition).
Intel's technology will be more visible to consumers in Microsoft Media Center PCs, which have so far failed to capture the public's imagination.
Toshiba just doubled the capacity of their Gigabeat V30 earning their Microsoft Portable Media Center player a swank new V60E moniker.
Users can opt to include the Microsoft Vista Media Center for easy recording of TV programs and interactive navigation between videos, music and TV programs.
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We fully expected Microsoft put minimal effort into Media Center on Windows 8, but we have to say we didn't expect it to get like this.
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You will either need to download a third-party player I suggest the free, and excellent, VLC Player or put your hand in your pocket and pay Microsoft for the Windows 8 Media Center Pack.
This workaround relies on the fact that Microsoft is currently offering, for a time limited period, free upgrades for the Media Center add-on, and it is this process that is flawed because Microsoft does not check the validity of the original key used to activate the copy of Windows 8 Pro before dishing out another key.
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So in an attempt to bring the entire Media Center experience to the extenders it appears Microsoft has added native transcoding.
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At this point most aren't happy with Microsoft's progress of adding new features to Windows Media Center, but lucky for Blu-ray fans there are other companies willing to pick up the slack.
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And no matter what your feeling are about Microsoft, it's hard to argue that the Vista Media Center isn't a pleasure to use.
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If the cheapest way of getting something in your living room which will play movies, stream video content from your Media Center PC, if it's the Microsoft vision, or directly off the network if it's the Sony vision, for 300 bucks, that's a lot cheaper than today's media streamers or even TiVo-like devices.
"We're still early when it comes to the awareness that you can even do this, " says Hakan Olsson, a senior product planner for Microsoft 's eHome group, which includes the company's Media Center platform.
Maybe Microsoft will eat the entire DVR market for lunch with a combination of Media Center, Windows Home Server and the Xbox 360.
We already knew that Microsoft was planning to roll out the 2005 version of their Windows XP Media Center operating system tomorrow, but the bigger deal is that they're also announcing what's known as Plays For Sure.
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In the 90s Gateway introduced a line of Destination PCs that were designed for living room use, Microsoft later built some of the best TV and PC integration with their Media Center efforts, and even Apple has added a ten foot user experience to Mac OS with its Front Row UI.
Competition is good and at Microsoft's booth we got to see a demo of the new Cyberlink PowerDVD Media Center player.
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This doesn't preclude someone from making tuners for Windows 8 Media Center, but it certainly does indicate what type of support said manufacturer can expect from Microsoft.
ENGADGET: Two more nails in the coffin for Media Center, start-up options and tuner certification
Microsoft is releasing an update to its Xbox Live service tonight which will transform the Xbox into a full-on media center.
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