Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005: Feature and Performance Investigation
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 12, 2004 12:19 PM EST- Posted in
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Final Words
Media Center Edition continues to be the coolest looking highest performance PVR/DVR (with a fast enough system) out there on the market today. The interface continues to be clearly ahead of the competition even with companies like SnapStream closing in on them. The navigation through the beautiful 10' UI is as natural as you can get; the learning curve on the Media Center interface is probably the easiest there has ever been in any Microsoft OS, which is extremely important for success in the consumer space. From a product standpoint, Microsoft has built the foundation for perfection with Media Center Edition, and the 2005 version simply adds a 2nd floor to the building.
The problems with Media Center Edition continue to be the same ones that have plagued it all of its short lived life: 1) cost, and 2) stability.
The cost issue is simple, a PC costs far more than a set top PVR like a Tivo. The only way to justify the cost is to do what most businesses do when they buy something expensive, use it for as many things as possible to get your money's worth. In the case of a Media Center PC, the idea would be to use the Media Center PC not only as your PVR but also as your main computer. There are problems with this arrangement, not only that you need a fairly high performance system but also that you can't have someone watching TV while you're using the computer to do work without the use of a Media Center Extender, which is another expenditure.
The Media Center PC continues to thus be a good proposition for college students or other people living in closed quarters where there isn't enough room for a TV alongside a PC. It will be interesting to see how well Media Center Extenders are priced, as they will finally allow for the MCE PC to break out of the dorm room and into the home.
The stability issue is one that can be controlled to an extent, but is much more difficult to control if the MCE PC is also being used as an everyday work/school/play PC. The best bet is to control the stability as much as possible through the use of MCE certified drivers, MCE certified hardware, and avoiding things like aggressive memory timings and most definitely overclocking. While your system may be perfectly stable in every other application, MCE changes the playing field considerably.
In the end, MCE continues to be a niche product, but if you have the means, then its definitely one worth going for.
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jamawass - Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - link
First post, longtime anandtech reader. MCE 2k5 looks good from all the reviews I've read but at around $170 (with essential remote)is just too expensive as the reviewer pointed out. With the type of hardware you need to run it, you're looking at $1000 at least. With networked DVD recorders with tivo capabilities ( which are much more stable) getting better in the $400 range why would I put mce in my living room?glennpratt - Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - link
Best solution for mom is to have TV and Computer connected and running at the same time. And yes, if mum can use windows and operate a TiVo, she can use MCE. Just make sure you get nice and stable components.GodsMadClown - Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - link
You know what? I look at this and see a market for dual-core.tantryl - Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - link
I'm trying to figure out whether this is something that you could, well, give to mum for example. Or mom as you crazy americans call them.Presume a nice setup, 3+GHz or equivalent, Hauppage TV Tuner, 80GB system drive and 200GB storage/video drive, 512MB or 1024MB RAM (not info given by Anand as to what difference this might make?), all MCE approved components, with the necessary remote all set up in a quiet case...
Would Ma be able to use it? Would she be able to handle swapping between the monitor and a regular TV? Would she be better off having a physical switch that changes the signal from into the PC to into the TV?
So Anand - you think this is something mum could use?
glennpratt - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
9 & 10 - I have not seen one copy protected file yet and I use both analog antenna and digital cable for over a year. It is up to the station to set the flag to lock the file, which IMO is fair. Also, you can convert the file after the fact to WMV using DVR2WMV. I like the low CPU usage that hardware MPEG2 brings, and if i decide I like the program I can convert it and archive it.Reflex - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
#10: Part of the 2005 release is that its available to system builders or sites like Newegg for do it yourselfers. I do agree about codecs, but its not a *huge* deal to me.segagenesis - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
#9 - I would prefer BeyondTV solely for the fact I can do whatever I want with recorded shows. And I dont have to buy a new computer just to get the *software*.PrinceGaz - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
Windows MCE will never be any use for people serious about video until it allows you to select what codecs you want to use for encoding from all the DirectShow codecs installed on your system. Having to use the proprietary MS stuff with all their DRM garbage is unsuitable.rbV5 - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
Nice Review Anand. I'll be building one of these shortly using dual eHome Wonder cards and HDTV Wonder (hopefully MS will release the patch soon.) I ordered MCE + the remote from Newegg earlier today, so i should be on it by the end of the week.kurisu - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
I still think the interface is pretty attractive. I see this doing well in the market..