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[kewe65]

I recently dumped cable TV access and replaced it with a HTPC running MC16, Windows MC in a room where the PS3 is running PlayOn.  All of this was done because I realized we don't watch any programs that I can't already get on the internet (not all of which are available in Hulu/Hulu Plus).  What I have right now is three remotes, a keyboard and a mouse

I dearly want to dump the need to access these other methods and just use MC, a single remote and the keyboard/mouse only when required, which means i don't want to have to browse to different websites using them.

Each has its pros and cons.  PlayOn on the PS3 just plain sucks.  I hate the PS3 GUI and aside from the literally dozen or so included channels, PlayOn relys on 3rd party plugin development that is the equivalent of iPhone apps - for every one decent one, there's thousands that don't function properly, don't work at all, or are useless.  WMC works very well with the scanned broadcast channels - the ease of use of the interface to play and record, change aspect, etc. works far better than MC.   MC cannot access either PlayOn or Roku even though both are DLNA compliant - both are seen by MC16, but inaccessible.  GoogleTV doesn't seem good because its not much more than a web interface and I've read some networks block access from it.  Apple is crapple to MC in general.   Roku has the widest choice and a decent interface, plus the soundbridge has been supported.

Are there any that access internet TV which MC can recognize and render?   Are there plans to extend support to the 2nd gen of those devices?

[Castius]

I hear your pain i'm in the same boat.

I still have cable because i have very limited over the air channels.
So i went with a Google TV for now. Since it was pretty cheap now.
Yes things are blocked. But i can get to most of it through playon.
Not through DNLA but through m.playon.tv
Google TV has been nice but it need that honeycomb update bad.


But MC overall was such a better visual experiences. Except for the TV portion and theater view.
I really like the way googleTV feels on the TV. The Video pass through. And browsing at the same time.
I know this is pretty much possible with MC. But it's not done in the way that works very seamlessly.
It's not something i could hand over the wife and expect her to not loose her mind.
A small example is when i browse a web page on googleTV is tries to size the page to look good on a TV.
It's only job is to look good on a TV.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed MC developers into a full media environment with theater view.
But so far TV and theater view are coming up short.

[JimH]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed MC developers into a full media environment with theater view.
But so far TV and theater view are coming up short.

Can you provide any specifics?

[kewe65]

Can you provide any specifics?

Agree with Castius.  The user interface within Theatre View needs to provide a more integrated experience. 

Three basic functions need to be part of the interface
1. PVR
Need ability record or schedule recording live TV programs from either the guide or the info of a program.  then be able to select "recorded tv" under the Television option to select from all the programs that have been recorded.  WMC does this very well.  WMC has the ability to switch the aspect based on the program/channel by clicking the more info button on the remote and scrolling

2. Internet and Live TV
Hulu:
- No integration with my account so cannot leverage HuluPlus or my queue or playlists. 
- Cannot browse as the hulu site does, can only view the popular titles of tv and movie sections and do a search.
- One thing i discovered is that the Hulu Desktop app has an integration feature with windows media center, which allows me to click hulu in WMC and launch to that app and when i close it takes me back to WMC.

Internet:
- Connect to one of the internet to TV devices.  Roku seems like the logical choice.  Is DLNA so could punch out to the Roku player or pull in the content into a internet tv view/listing of channels/programs.  MC16 sees Roku and PlayOn, just cant read the data.  My experience with PlayOn is avoid it. 

Live TV:
- I dont use cable so maybe its limited, but the antenna scan grabs the channels but cant load a guide, so there's no info.  WMC didnt seem to have trouble with this.

3. Allow channel surfing while viewing.  Again WMC does this pretty well - i would just point you there as a decent reference point.  It tells you when it must stop a program based on what you want to do - ie, view the internet tv options while watching live tv it forces you to stop live tv viewing, but does allow me to browse the guide while a channel is in the background.  it also has two different ways to view the guide using either the up down arrows or the green button and it either puts the tv in the background or puts into a PIP box on the bottom...
Speaking of, PIP would be a good feature.

Definitely checkout how the Hulu Desktop app works with WMC.  It seems like thats still in beta mode as not all the same programs are there as on the website, but the layout is very good and the way you can bounce between it and WMC is easy to use.

Kevin

[bunglemebaby]

- One thing i discovered is that the Hulu Desktop app has an integration feature with windows media center, which allows me to click hulu in WMC and launch to that app and when i close it takes me back to WMC.

I'd love to see full Hulu integration myself, but you can currently launch Hulu Desktop from MC's Theater View. It works pretty well for me. I also launch YouTube Leanback this way.

Options > Theater View > Items To Show > Add... > External Program
Then just find the path to Hulu Desktop and input it. (Windows 7 path defaults to "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\HuluDesktop\HuluDesktop.exe")

[Castius]

In regards to internet.
I have added a web page to the main theater view.
But clicking on any links open new browser windows.
And on my system they opened on the Computer monitor instead of the TV
So it was better to add an app called Kylo (A Browser made for TV)

In regards to TV
When you do use the TV Tunner in the PC. I prefer a grid based EPG.
Not the end of the work but it woudl be nice
And right now i have very limited channels through my TV Tunner
Google TV does a HDMI pass through so I can just control the cable box.
This would fix any issues I have with get cable though my HTPC.

My trial is expired so it's to add much more detail about the TV section.

But in regards to the Google TV.  A good example of the difference between the two.
GTV has a "Whats on" Section. This has categories like "movies" or "sports".
It knows whats on based on the EPG. But then it looks up the cover art for what is currently on.
When i select something it sends IR blast to the cable box to change the channel.

So MC has MUCH better Local media. But for TV integration does not feel like the rest of MC.

[kewe65]

I'd love to see full Hulu integration myself, but you can currently launch Hulu Desktop from MC's Theater View. It works pretty well for me.

Except that Hulu does not have the rights to include all the same programming in the desktop version.  I tried that myself but even the simple stuff that is well covered in Hulu such as the Comedy Channel, doesn't have the most popular programs in the desktop version.   The Daily Show is one of many examples..   YMMV based on taste of course, but it's the integration I'm looking for.

I've been using the Roku 2 device now for about a week and am very impressed.  (MC sees it as its DLNA - registers as "Roku Streaming"; shows up in Gizmo as a play through selection on my Galaxy S2, but the device can't respond obviously.  I'm curious why they dropped audio streaming altogether from their hardware)

But anyway, the interface is simple.  the remote is simple.  it has extensive catalog of free, one-time and monthly fee based 'channels' and unlike playon, they all are pre-validated to work.
Its drawbacks are the lack of integration to media sources and that there is no antenna/OTA HDTV options.  So, ironically, when the HD version is plugged into an analog TV, i can use the TV remote to switch between Internet and Antenna, but with the HDMI option to the TV, i cannot.

Where this leaves me is not using MC for anything except audio/video/photo playback/viewing in the home theatre room.  I use Windows MC for watching and recording the local broadcast stations because it has all the info and record features.  It even wakes the PC from sleep to record the scheduled events without me doing anything but browsing the guide and clicking "record".  one click.

[bunglemebaby]

I tried that myself but even the simple stuff that is well covered in Hulu such as the Comedy Channel, doesn't have the most popular programs in the desktop version.   The Daily Show is one of many examples..   YMMV based on taste of course, but it's the integration I'm looking for.

My mileage seems to vary by what's available actually... I get The Daily Show via Hulu Desktop. It's one of the main shows I watch using it. I don't have a paid account or anything either. I don't use Hulu a ton, but I haven't noticed any difference in what's available between the website and desktop app.

It's rather aggravating that there are more 10-foot interfaces available on a Roku than there are on a HTPC (regardless of the software used). The market in this area is a mess, with every box maker seeking to get as many content providers as they can on their boxes, while content providers seek to get on as many boxes as possible, while most of them ignore the HTPC market entirely. This seems to mean, that at least for the time being, if one wants to have local media availability, live TV, and internet streaming providers all available in the same room there is still a need for multiple boxes (and remotes), multiple software applications and often extra hassle. Hopefully a decent set of standards emerges for internet streaming content. That seems to me to be the only realistic hope for a piece of niche software like MC (or even something open source like XBMC) to act as a conduit for all those sources.

Alright, the rambling ends here. -JB

[kewe65]

agreed, my rant is the same.

As it is, i have several remotes to switch between the HTPC (live TV) and Roku, and I don't use MC on the HTPC for anything but media.  This was not the original plan as i thought i could use MC for everything but the internet tv.

Perhaps MC can get on the same bandwagon as Roku and others and simply incorporation the same idea into its software, getting access to the same sources?  Perhaps outside the business strategy of the software...