The Windows Media Center option can be added to Windows 8 Pro after upgrade for free.
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Users can control extensive audio libraries with the remote control, with included support for iTunes and Windows Media Center.
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The included remote gives the user easy control of their iTunes or Windows Media Center library from across the room.
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Windows Media Center handled recording and watching 1080i TV channels (using the terrestrial Freeview HD service in the UK) with no issues.
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With all the bad news around Windows Media Center this week, many enthusiasts are wondering about the future of Media Center.
ENGADGET: Is the future of Windows Media Center with Windows Home Server?
Remote Kitten was a mixed blessing as a Windows Media Center controller.
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The software is a version of its embedded device software, overlaid with the Windows Media Center interface, with media streaming and remote-control capabilities.
At first it might seem like a stretch to connect the future of Windows Media Center (WMC) with Windows Home Server (WHS), but hear us out.
ENGADGET: Is the future of Windows Media Center with Windows Home Server?
From a software perspective, a Media Center extender does only one thing: deliver the Windows Media Center experience to a TV without a PC attached to it.
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Currently getting 3rd party codecs like DivX and Xvid working within Windows Media Center has worked well enough with 3rd party solutions, but the next best thing is native support.
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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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We already know that a Windows Media Center PC can stream HDTV via WiFi to an Xbox 360 via the Windows Media Extender functionality, so maybe we're sticklers on these kinds of statements.
We go on a few rants before settling on something we're happy to see -- DirecTV's HDPC-20 is DISH's Draco project for Windows Media Center sounds good, especially in light of DirecTV's "suspended" HDPC-20.
This Windows Media Center 2005-powered machine delivers that crystal clear HD video via the ATI X1600 graphics card, and AMEX even throws in a "multi-function" remote to control the action from your oh-so-comfy loveseat.
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TiVo and Windows Media Center users that rely on CableCARDs to get 'em HD goodness have had a unique reason to prefer Verizon FiOS TV over the competition, which is apparently at its last stop.
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With a VESA mount, you can hang it in your bedroom and use Windows Media Center to pull in content from your main PC or even plug in a digital cable tuner and use it as a stand-alone entertainment system.
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Now, in the latest Release Preview of Windows 8 the folks at Redmond have gone out of their way and disabled the ability to boot directly to Windows Media Center -- a feature required for any proper HTPC build.
ENGADGET: Two more nails in the coffin for Media Center, start-up options and tuner certification
Extender for Windows Media Center.
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Not to be left out from the CES announcements, the DV8000 also has some new tricks: the Windows Media Center Edition operating system is an available option, as is HP's Ultra BrightView display technology, which adds a second lamp over the standard 17-inch BrightView LCD.
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From this ad and from looking around a bit, the laptop looks like it will have a 2GHz Core Duo processor, dual 200GB HDDs, a TV tuner, 1920 x 1080 WUXGA 17-inch LCD, NVIDIA's GeForce Go GT 7600 256MB graphics, Bluetooth, WiFi, dual S-Video out, and Windows Media center.
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
The Companion is compatible with Windows 7 Media Center PCs, including PCs using Ceton TV tuners, PCs using non-Ceton tuners and PCs that do not have a TV tuner.
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With Windows Vista Media Center installed, the device will then be capable of storing all your digital media for pumping back out the TV or other PCs on the home network.
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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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So if you pop in a DVD "infected" with Protect DVD-Video, it can't be read by Windows Media Player, Media Center Edition, or any DirectShow-based software, thanks to a Universal Disc Format that tricks your machine into believing that the IFO file is zero bytes long.
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Sync: After you run the Portable Media Center Setup disk, you are ready to add music, videos and pictures to your Portable Media Center using Windows Media Player 10 and a USB 2.0 cable.
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Now we come to find out some even worse news about CableCARD and Vista: not only will you not be able to re-stream your high def media to other Windows machines (sorry, Vista capable Media Center Extenders only, i.e. the Xbox 360, and not much else), you won't even be able to transcode and sync to your PMC or other devices, as is currently possible.
Maybe Microsoft will eat the entire DVR market for lunch with a combination of Media Center, Windows Home Server and the Xbox 360.
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.
ENGADGET: Two more nails in the coffin for Media Center, start-up options and tuner certification
After we ramp this all up to the long-term future of TV, we come back to reality with Windows Home Server's inclusion of Media Center features -- while not to the level of a true headless Media Center PC, this move might foreshadow (maybe not too-distant) future development of just such a kit.
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