An idea that has been trying to take hold for some time is the concept of a home theater PC. Such a computer promises the ability to store, mange, and play movies, music and pictures of all sorts. This multimedia hub should ultimately unite our audio equipment, DVD players, CD players, Blu-ray players, consoles and digital multimedia into a single, easy package that’s operable with a remote control. To see if I could meet all of these goals, I set out to make an “HD Home Theater PC” that I could connect to a 52” HD ILA 1080p television and digital home theater sound system.
The 2001 release of Windows XP Media Center Edition made strides towards my goal, but hardware support was lackluster and the product was only available from OEMs like HP. Thankfully, ensuing years have seen three successive iterations of Windows XP MCE and a great improvement in media center hardware. Now on version 2005, the software is available under Microsoft’s OEM license that requires the product be purchased with a qualifying piece of hardware; thankfully almost any hardware qualifies. Though the need to buy small hardware to acquire MCE will put a dent in the savings, MCE is still something of a deal at a full $25 less than XP Professional with all the same — and many extra — features.
Aside from a new skin and the Media Center, Windows XP MCE is just like XP Pro.
The Windows XP Media Center Edition interface.
Come 2008, we’re finally seeing a wide selection of hardware capable of handling the intricacies of high definition playback. Now that the industry is perhaps ready to tackle the task, let’s see what sort of hardware might be required to make such a project work.
RSS Feeds