I’d really like to know what’s going through Microsoft’s head right now. Let’s examine the life of a unique product that Microsoft released:

Stage 1: Release the product to limited OEM’s, and have high system requirements.

Stage 2: Release an upgrade to the product, but keep it to OEM’s. Overhaul the user interface and lower system requirements. Release updates to improve stability, and begin the process of creating an avid user base.

Stage 3: Release an update to the product, but incorporate it with a mainstream product. Overhaul the user interface, include new features, all while keeping your avid user base happy.

Stage 4: Release a highly-anticipated update, but keep it to OEM’s. Include support for several new features, but keep some very important features out of the picture.

You’ve probably already picked up that I’m talking about Microsoft’s Media Center technology. It started out as a very limited-exposure product, became more popular with MCE2005, and received mainstream attention in Vista.

Since Vista was released, Microsoft has been hinting at a secret project that was codenamed “Fiji.” At first it was thought that Fiji was a kernel update that focused on Media Center. As time went on, things got really quiet and Microsoft didn’t say much about it. Then within the past month Microsoft released a statement about Fiji, saying that it supports new standards (ClearQAM for us, and some DVB stuff for Europe).

It was hoped that Fiji would be the ticket for DirecTV’s HDPC-20 tuner, but thus is not the case either. Nor is there any h.264 support.

At least there’s support for new standards. And the ability to use analog and digital tuners. But there’s a catch. Unless you’re a tester or you’ve purchased a new machine from a vendor, you’re not going to get this update. It’s OEM only.

Allow me to rant on this for a moment..

Way back in the day when I first started testing Media Center, my grand vision was having a home theatre PC that controlled all of my media. I didn’t want a lot of boxes, and eventually I wanted to get a case that looked like it was a part of a home theater setup. It was a grand vision, and still is–just partially realized (I’m still missing the case).

There’s a lot of people out there who live and die by Media Center, but don’t rely on a OEM to get them there. They’re like me: building a machine how I want it, plug it into a TV, and stand in amazement at how cool the media center concept is.

When I’ve dedicated a high-performance PC to power my Media Center, it’s an insult when a major update is released that completely writes you off. When something goes mainstream, I don’t think major updates should go through the OEM channel. If anything, they should release it for general use, but not through Windows Update. They’d keep the general population happy because their “you need your OEM to hold your hand through this” updates would not go mainstream, and they’d keep us enthusiasts happy because we have access to updates that we can install if we so choose. 

Nevertheless, I’ll end my ranting. Despite the fact that this update is OEM only, you can still get the update through “other” channels. And that’s what this post is about.

I acquired KB953272, and despite Microsoft saying it only works on a fresh install, I was able to install it on my machine just fine. My TV settings were wiped, but it only took a couple seconds to get everything back together.

Having the “Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008″ installed for a short time, I’ve noticed the following differences:

- Native ATSC support. My ATSC channel lineup looks correct now (10.1, 10.2, etc. instead of the oddball 10xxx channels).

- Better UI usage. When I re-ran the TV signal setup and told VMC to use 1080p, it changed the colors a tad and spread out where things were laid out on the screen. It feels much nicer, where previously it felt like the middle of the screen was a little crowded (or like VMC knew you were on a widescreen, but it still kept things within a 4:3 setup).

- Better Guide. In the old guide, VMC would only get the main channels (10, 18, 24). Any subchannels were ignored, and the media guide displayed no data. Now all channels are detected and the entire channel guide is listed. Very cool!

- UI Quirks. Not sure if it’s because of the update itself, or because of my “unsupported upgrade path,” but the UI is a little jumpy sometimes. If I’m watching live TV with a caption showing the current program, pressing the up/down buttons will bring up another dialog under the previous dialog with the channel changer. I have to wait for that previous dialog to disappear.

- Speed. Many parts of VMC feel faster, while other parts feel a bit sluggish (mostly when accessing the network to playback files. The playback is fine, but navigation seems a tad slow).

- dvr-ms is dead. Long live wtv! Unfortunately, nothing but Media Center plays it..

Now begins stability testing. Let’s see how well this upgrade works in the long run..

~Jaker

As described in my last post about getting HDTV to my Media Center, it’s a definite inconvenience for homebrew projects to get anywhere with HDTV. DirecTV and it’s HDPC-20 tuner seemed like the best solution, but since I’ve heard that the project keeps getting pushed back, and we probably won’t see anything from them until 2009 or 2010–a long time from now.

The other kicker about the DirecTV/satellite-based option is I have finally accepted the fact that I’m just not facing the right way for satellite. Satellite requires you to have a clear view of the southern/south-western sky, and I’m the exact opposite of that. So even if/when DirecTV decides to become the coolest company ever by releasing their Media Center tuner (not OEM, *cough* *cough*), I’ll still be facing the wrong way to even get a signal.

Right now I’m still rolling with good old OTA. It’s classic, it’s digital, but it sucks pretty bad. Granted I am using just a wire for an antenna, there’s rarely anything I ever want to watch on TV. South Park on Comedy Central? Nope. Bill Nye’s new show on Planet Green? Nadda. Local on the 8’s on The Weather Channel? Sadly, nothing.

Now I’m starting to reconsider my options once again, and take a look at the Media Center-ready options that are out there. Since satellite is out of the picture, I won’t be looking at that this time.

OTA

Yes, OTA works with Media Center. I have it, I use it. It ain’t pretty, but it’s there. Too bad Microsoft decided to release the last Media Center update to OEM’s only (give it time–you’ll see a rant on that soon), so I can’t use both my analog (while it’s around) and digital tuners at the same time. I guess I’ll go a little easy on OTA at this point, since it has let me watch the Olympics (but I could use the Media Center app for that anyway).

AT&T U-Verse

If I went the U-Verse route, I’d be demanding some kickback from AT&T on this one. I’ve already got them for internet and cell. I know it’s not their usual 3-in-1 packaged deal, but still..

U-Verse is basically AT&T’s rendition of IPTV. It’s TV over your DSL connection. This option would be a plus, as I’d get a DSL upgrade to a faster speed in the process. Based on the technology, it seems technically viable that a software tuner could be created to support an incoming U-Verse stream (seeing that the hardware boxes are just multicast clients that stream whatever the client requests). Heck, even AT&T’s U-Verse tuners are based on Microsoft’s MediaRoom technology (granted they’re based out of a different division, but it’s still from the same company).

If you had a Media Center, and you had the option to get U-Verse, and the setup basically consisted of plugging your Media Center into your network and away you went, would you use it?

I sure as hell would, and you’d be crazy not to! Unfortunately, it seems that they disagree, and this is not an option. U-Verse on the Media Center is only available via the FrankenCable(TM) setup, where the signal would go to the STB, then to the Media Center, then to the TV. With HDTV, this really isn’t an option, as you’ll run into quality loss and likely some DRM restrictions.

Which is too bad, as this would be a great option.

Cable (again)

I only bring up cable again because this time I have a slight fighting chance for it this time. Recently I purchased a new Dell computer for home use. With this machine I had the option (but didn’t get) the ATi TV tuner. With this tuner, my computer would be ready for a CableCARD. I’d have the option of either using the tuner on my homebrew machine (if it worked), or I’d be upgrading my Media Center with a Dell machine and I’d take the other machine. Even better is the news we’re hearing that CableCARD is wising up and has announced that only content flagged for protection has to be DRM’d (compared to the current policy, where CableCARD DRM’s everything it sees, eats, and breathes).

The catch here–since I didn’t purchase the tuner when I bought the computer, I haven’t seen any place where I can buy it now. It seems like I had my chance, and now I apparently missed it.

If I did a way to get that reader, then cable would definitely be an option. Except I’m not the hugest fan of cable, since they have a bad habit of raising prices at nonspecific intervals. Not a fan enough that I’d go a different route, even if it meant using the FrankenCable(TM) system? Possibly.

In conclusion, it’s a good thing for Microsoft that they have such an enthusiastic fan-base for their Media Center product that people are willing to put up with it’s technical downfalls. Yes, Media Center has made a great addition to my home theater setup, but it’s HDTV setup just isn’t there. Any HDTV setup that is there now (that’s you, CableCARD) is almost prohibitively expensive and so locked down that it’s damn-near impossible to go that route either.

Considering my options, I’ll probably go with the U-Verse option, as IPTV is a cool concept to me. I’ll also probably have to go with the FrankenCable(TM) setup as well, but perhaps I’ll be happily surprised when I do more research about it. But hear this, AT&T, I’ll take my time researching this, and I won’t be able to recommend you with confidence to my other Media Center friends until we see something that’s a bit more unified. I know in the ’90s it was “hip and cool” to have all of those STB’s around your entertainment center. But now it’s 2008. We’re all about thinking green, and the fewer STB’s I have, the better.

~Jaker

Of any personal software or hardware project I have ever taken on, Project Mythbox has undoubtedly been the most successful. Since that day, the Mythbox has undergone several iterations:

Version 1: Original Configuration, as seen in the original post.

Version 2: Original Configuration, except with a Hauppauge MCE-500 Dual tuner (MCE05)

Version 3: AMD Athlon64 3000+, 2GB RAM, 256MB 6800 Ultra, Hauppauge MCE-500 Dual tuner (changed around 03/07) (MCE05, and Vista Media Center x32/x64)

Version 4: Intel E6550 Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320MB 8800 GTS (changed 02/08) (Vista Media Center x64)

It was version 4 that I switched from S-Video (which was converted to Composite anyway) to Component and noticed a great difference in video quality. The unfortunate thing was text seemed to be blurred a little bit, but the color quality was much greater.

At any rate, I’ve got a powerful Media Center rig that, at this point, doesn’t have any way to really display it’s power. There’s antenna TV hooked up (but few channels come in clear at all), a DVD player, and then the music/applications. It does a great job of playing music, but I’d like it to do a bit more.

To give this Media Center some video options, I could do the following:

• Get cable, but not use the set top box so the Media Center does channel changing. A good idea, but I can write off digital cable and HDTV, as it just won’t happen (CableCARD’s specifications are outrageous, and absolutely nix any homebrew projects like this).
• Get cable, and use the set top box and the Media Center together. Less equipment is better. I’ve done that with satellite, I’d rather not do it again. There’s also that HDTV problem–it’s not going to happen. I don’t want to lose picture quality.
• Get satellite, and use their set top box with the Media center. Again, less equipment is better. There’s always the chance that something will go weird (and it usually did. A personal favorite of mine was if you navigated to a channel that you didn’t subscribe to, you couldn’t change away from it unless you had the satellite remote). The same for HDTV here as well–you can’t get HDTV to a computer then to a TV. It’s encrypted and protected to way too many levels, and it’s not worth the trouble (or the chance of it downscaling a resolution).
• Ask cable and both satellite companies if they’re ever going to do anything about this. Ah, here’s progress! After calling Time Warner Cable, I was told that the only way I’ll get CableCARD functionality is if it’s built into my TV. There is a CableCARD reader for Vista Media Center PC’s (ATI’s OCUR), but the rules and licensing behind it basically prohibit any way I’ll ever be able to use it. Cable is out.
  Next was checking with satellite. Previous knowledge suggested that I check DirecTV, as they seemed to have something more concrete. Dish Network said they were testing a HTPC (Home Theatre PC) card, but it was still in testing. With DirecTV, all I could find was the same thing–still in testing, unreleased, and unknown. Until I found a forum post where people were voting on the next satellite technology they wanted. Once of the options was a “htpc20.” One image search later and I found paydirt! The DirecTV HTPC20 Dual-tuner. It’s still unreleased, but if they’ve got advertising and a product name attached to it (and calling sales confirms that the product exists), that’s a very good sign. While it’s still an extra box outside of the media center, it let’s the media center do all of the controlling. The only way DirecTV can drop the ball on this one is say something like “we’ll only support OEM products.”

So, my research was somewhat successful. I found the product that I’ll likely go with. Now I just have to wait for them to release it. Once that’s done, I think I’ll be able to close the Mythbox Project until the next big thing in A/V happens.

~Jaker

[Update 03/30/08: Microsoft has issued closed beta invites to selected lucky bastards in the Media Center beta group (sadly, I'm part of the group but didn't get an invite). Looks like they're testing out the next release of Media Center, dubbed "Fuji." There's even a disclaimer on the page for a hardware agreement with DirecTV. This is good progress, but that sadly leaves the greater public out. I'm betting we won't see anything until September at the very earliest.]

[Pathetic Plea to the Media Center Team: If you read this, I know my survey initially said I didn't have an HDTV or DirecTV. As an avid fan of MCE, I'd love to get in on this. I'm already waiting for the device so I can subscribe to DirecTV, and a gracious invite to the beta would only make that happen sooner. Search your hearts--you know this geek would be ecstatic. You can find me at jakertberry-at-hotmail-dot-com.]