Tech Spotlight

When Microsoft released its first version of Windows Media Center Edition (MCE) around the holiday season of 2002, they thought they were entering a booming market and envisioned everyone running MCE in there living room.  Jump ahead almost 6 full years, and it has not come to fruition and I highly doubt it ever will.

For everyone that doesn’t know what MCE is, it’s software running on a computer that operates like a Tivo style DVR (Digital Video Recorder), where you can schedule, record and pause TV.  It has many advantages over Tivo.  You can store and view pictures, movies and music and play them back on your TV.  There is also no monthly fee associated with MCE, unlike Tivo.  I have personally used MCE for 3+ years now and I couldn’t live without it.  The menu structure is so easy to navigate and it holds all my digital content in one place.

The main drawback of MCE is that people don’t want to put a loud, bulky computer in there living room, family room or den.  I build my own computers, so my unit actually looks like a piece of home theater equipment, small in stature, and I used ultra quiet fans, that can barely be heard even in the quietest of settings.  There are very few pre-built MCE computers available on the market, and the ones that are, cost an abundant amount of money.

While Microsoft missed the boat on this one, they have developed Media Center Extenders this year, which basically just transfer your content wired or wireless from a computer elsewhere in your house to a small, Tivo-like device that can be placed in your living room.  I will delve into the pros and cons of Media Center Extenders by the end of the month, and let you know what is out there to purchase.