Windows XP Media Center Edition: Exposed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 8, 2003 2:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
A Remote Controlled PC
Although all Media Center PCs ship with a keyboard and mouse, the preferred method of controlling the Media Center interface is via remote; after all, who wants to flip channels with a keyboard?
Microsoft left the OEMs up to design and implement their own remote controls, so they will vary from one Media Center PC to the next. For this test we used HP’s remote (above), which is a little over 8” long and about 2” wide. The buttons have good tactile feel and the remote itself feels just like any home theater remote, albeit a bit skinnier than most (see it compared to a standard Toshiba TV remote below).
The remote communicates with its receiver using an infrared signal, which does require line of sight between the remote and the receiver itself. The HP remote in particular is relatively good at not being too directional, although it's not as flexible as ATI's Remote Wonder that uses radio frequency to communicate.
The receiver itself carries a USB 1.0 interface, which is all that is necessary considering the limited amount of data that is sent between the receiver and the system itself. The remote essentially sends keystroke combinations to the receiver over IR which are then sent directly to the system, definitely not enough to saturate the 11Mbps USB 1.0 interface at all.
The HP IR Receiver
The receiver has two 1/8" outputs for IR blasters; which are necessary if you're using a set-top cable box. The IR blaster works just like any other, the remote sends its signals to the receiver which then retransmits the channel switching to the cable box. Because of the additional step, switching channels with a cable box/IR blaster takes longer than usual but that's to be expected.
IR Blaster
It is worth noting that there is no serial connection on the HP receiver for a direct connection to a cable box. Some PVRs offer a serial link to a cable box in order to avoid using an IR blaster, which makes switching channels much quicker. Not having a serial link in this case would be a huge drawback for cable box users, although it is something that is potentially fixable. We haven’t seen any designs that support a serial link to an external cable box but there’s nothing stopping a manufacturer from doing so.
The software side of the remote is fairly simple; a single driver is all that's necessary to get the receiver up and running, then a quick setup through MCE will ensure the remote is working properly. The remote is functional outside of MCE but it cannot be used as a mouse replacement like ATI's Remote Wonder; the directional pad can't be used to move your pointer around.
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GreyMack - Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - link
Excellent review, but I don't think it was harsh enough.baboon68 - Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - link
Well, if nothing this article shows that MCE is NOT capable of settling comfortably the living room for a variety of reasons. MCE does not do away with the windows menu and the instability/driver issues. The HP box is certainly worse than a custom assembled Shuttle SSF or Ahanix box. The latest ATI Multimedia Center software in conjuntion with an RF (not IR) control is also quite close to the MCE experience - I have one and it works quite well on a cheaper Athlon 2K+. ALso free/cheap updates to the ATI software can only make it better - never mind the HDTV capability using the 40$ adapter. And last bat not least, if I look at the additional capabilities of Freevo or MythTV (Weather, RSS feeds, MAME, etc.). Also missing - at least from the article - is a discussion of: support for people outside of the US, possible DVB-S card support, external IR Transmitter support (to control a Sat receiver box), and more.I think the MCE is at best another flawed attempt by Microsoft to market beta quality software at a loss or at the expense of hardware integrators to gain market share in the Tivo market.
Anonymous User - Monday, October 20, 2003 - link
After reading this article I'm not clear why the author thinks MCE is preferable to alternatives like ATI All-in-Wonder, which sounds like does the same things and is more flexible what computers it will work with. In particular, the author says the MCE interface is significantly better than ATI but doesn't adequately explain why. Also, the ATI remote will work without line-of-site required and can control the computer mouse, which MCE can't. Seems like ATI is a better deal.Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - link
Do the same thing for freewww.mythtv.org
Anonymous User - Friday, August 29, 2003 - link
This is a great review. Will a Dual processor xeon machine combat the stuttering? i presume its compatible as its xp pro based.Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
Thank you, AnandTech! Your review is extremely helpful, as it debunked some of the myths of Windows Media Center. Plus, it gave me inside look of the machine I'm looking to buy.Still, I have one question: About the "skip" function, when you skip 30 seconds ahead, does the machine record the commercials also or does it only record the areas not skipped? If it doesn't, is there some kind of software that can erase the commercials?
Anonymous User - Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - link
yeah basicallyAnonymous User - Thursday, July 17, 2003 - link
So, the the final word is the MCE is just Xp pro plus PVR right.. ???Anonymous User - Saturday, July 12, 2003 - link
This is a great review. It explains every aspect of this Media Center PC in great detail. I have looked all over the internet to find a review like this and this is the only one I could find. Thanks alot. This will make me even more jealous to buy it since I am planning to purchase one.