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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Recording TV in 2005
Recording TV hasn't changed much with MCE 2005, although there are still some features we'd like to see. The biggest feature that's still missing is the ability to save the timeshift buffer, so if you're watching a TV show and half way through it decide that you'd like to record it, it will only start saving after you hit the record button, regardless of the fact that the rest of the show is physically on your hard drive in Media Center's buffer. It's not uncommon for a set-top PVR to lack this feature but it's a feature that ATI has had in their DVR products for a while, and something that shouldn't be too difficult for Microsoft to implement - and incredibly useful at that.
It's very easy to see what you've got scheduled to record through the Scheduled option under the Recorded TV menu.
Media Center does support prioritizing of series recordings, but the settings for recording priority are buried beneath many layers of menus - My TV > Recorded TV > Scheduled > Series > Change Priorities. Once you get to the menu, it's simple to figure out how things work - the up arrows increase priority and the down arrows will decrease priority. Then in the event that there is a conflict and you're not around to manage it, Media Center will use your priorities to determine what to record and what gets the boot.
The recording settings haven't changed in 2005, using the Recorder Storage settings screen you can set MCE to record to a separate drive to improve multitasking performance.
Just like in MCE 2004 you can automatically pad all recordings by starting the recording early and letting it go longer whenever possible for those pesky shows that never seem to start or end on time.
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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..