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PowerDVD Ultra 9 First Impressions
So you want to watch Blu-ray movies on a computer? Then PowerDVD Ultra 9 is the program for you. The latest version of Cyberlink’s media player, at a cost of $99, is all about high definition movies and Blu-ray, plugging the hole left Vista’s lack of native Blu-ray support. PowerDVD Ultra 9 is a [...]
Continue reading...How to Prioritize Tuners in Vista MCE
2. May 2008
I have been looking for a way to prioritize my tuners in Vista Media Center. Why do I want dictate which tuner is used as the default? Mainly to avoid digital rights management. I currently use the HDHomerun as a QAM tuner to receive unencrypted HD channels on my computer. This [...]
Continue reading...MyMounter Plugin: Mount an ISO Image in Media Center
26. March 2008
With Cyberlink’s PowerDVD Ultra no longer playing hard drive based HD movies from ripped HD-DVDs and Blu-ray discs, the only way to watch such movies is to “mount” an ISO image of the disc and then watch it using PowerDVD. Not an easy thing to do while in Vista Media Center. MyMounter, brought to you [...]
Continue reading...List of Vista SP1 Media Center Fixes
24. February 2008
Vista Service Pack 1 fixes several items in Media Center. This Service Pack is more an incremental step in the evolution of Media Center and not the next leap in features. Besides a roll-up of hot fixes, SPI adds the following features: Adds support to enable new types of Windows Media Center Extenders, such as [...]
Continue reading...How CableCard DRM Benefits Microsoft
29. November 2007
SageTV has been adding all sorts of media center features to its product line, including clear QAM support and HD media extenders. They are completely out-innovating Microsoft. With all the features they are delivering, there is one lingering problem: SageTV does not support digital cable tuners and CableCards (i.e. cannot watch.record premium HD [...]
Continue reading...Clear QAM | Make Your Own HD Box Sets of Your Favorite Programs
7. November 2007
Did you know that your cable company most likely provides your local HD channels via clear QAM (i.e. without encryption)? The availability of these channels, through what is know as Clear QAM, is usually not too publicized by your cable company. Clear QAM essentially is unencrypted digital cable without a set-top-box. The [...]
Continue reading...Turning Your Xbox 360 into a Media Extender
1. November 2007
Extremetech has an article on how to turn your Xbox 360 into a media extender. As I have mentioned before, the Xbox 360 is the only version 2 media extender to work with Vista’s Media Center. From the article: Once you’ve configured the Xbox 360 and your PC, you can share almost any media on your [...]
Continue reading...XBox 360 Arcade | Best Media Center Extender?
24. October 2007
Microsoft has announced details on the new Xbox 360 Arcade, the replacement to the initial Xbox 360 Core. The Arcade will retail for $279.99, which will be cheaper than the announced price of several stand alone media center extenders. It makes you wonder how media center extenders are going to differentiate themselves [...]
Continue reading...HP’s Pavilion Elite m9000t Desktop Reviewed
19. October 2007
Computer Shopper has reviewed one of HP’s flagship media centers, the Pavilion Elite m9000t, albeit without a digital cable tuner. Is it me or have digital cable tuners fallen into obscurity? Computer Shopper overall was impressed with the system. Looking at HP’s site, a pretty well-equipped system with a digital cable tuner and [...]
Continue reading...Lifextender: Vista Media Center Commercial Remover
17. October 2007
One advantage that Media Center PCs have over their Tivo and DVR brethren is the ability to remove commercials from television recordings. Lifextender is the latest plugin for Vista Media Center that does just that, automatically remove commercials. From Lifextender’s website: Lifextender is pretty simple. It scans the directory that Media Center records TV to every [...]
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2. March 2009
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