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[loraan]

This article is relevant to MC:

http://features.engadget.com/entry/1882345133499767/

Take from it what you will.

[JimH]

Nice one.  Thanks.

[Rob L]

Call me miserable if you like, but I don't want it to do any of those, frankly...

Of course that article is entirely US-centric anyway - most of it doesn't really apply outside.

[paulr]

Sorry, I don't see how that article is US-centric at all.  They are just listing things that are required for these devices to become widly popular...

How is having 4 tuners, easy DVD archiving, HDTV support, support for large libraries, increased stability, image filters, etc US-centric?  I would think that these "features" would apply equally to anyone, anywhere.   ?

[Sauzee]

Sorry, I don't see how that article is US-centric at all.  They are just listing things that are required for these devices to become widly popular...

How is having 4 tuners, easy DVD archiving, HDTV support, support for large libraries, increased stability, image filters, etc US-centric?  I would think that these "features" would apply equally to anyone, anywhere.   ?

Most people in less wealthy countries have rather more basic needs. I suppose you could say it is unfair to call it US-centric but it is true that the issues raised are of more interest to people in highly affluent nations.

[JimH]

Europe might be disappointed to be considered less affluent than the U.S.   So might Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and many other up and coming parts of the world.  A lot of HDTV sets are made in China.  

[kiwi]

I would like a good way of cataloging DVDs in MC.

kiwi

[JustinChase]

I would like a good way of cataloging DVDs in MC.

kiwi

Please

[hit_ny]

Of course that article is entirely US-centric anyway - most of it doesn't really apply outside.

The only thing US-centric in that article is Tivo. Something i don't expect to stay that way for long. Time shifting TV broadcasts using a HD will become the norm elsewhere too.

You might think that HDTV broadcasts in the US would have happened sooner but the US probably has the largest number of TV sets that would have to be replaced with new (expensive) HDTV ones. Not happening anytime soon. The only channel that i was aware of that offered HDTV was HBO.

In fact the FCC i think alloted bandwidth for HDTV broadcasts (some yrs back) but most channels just used the extra space for more "you guessed it" normal broadcasts.

M$ media center is available to anyone with an internet connection.

Good points in that article.

I liked the suggestion about allowing user profiles. Multi-user ratings has been asked for a long time. So far the solution is to create custom fields to do it.

How well does MC record TV broadcasts ? anyone know

The My radio section is something thats discussed oftern here. i get the idea its still not as stable as it could be in MC.

The other points are already handled well in MC.

[Chris Shaw]

Interestingly, the most advanced PVR I know of is only available in the UK - the Sky+:
http://www.sky.com/skyplus
It has two digital satellite tuners and one MPEG2 decoder. That means it can record two satellite channels simultaneously while playing back a recorded programme. Because it is recording the digital stream, there is zero quality loss. It supports AC-3 (which is broadcast with most major films on Sky). The thing Tivo has that is better is its suggestions system.

[Jakester]

Both Dish and DirecTV have satellite receiver/DVR combos that do the same thing as the Sky unit ...

[Rob L]

HDTVs might be *made* in China, but the US is pretty much the only place that's actually *using* HDTV.

Similar, TiVo - we might have Sky+, but TiVo it ain't. It certainly doesn't have half the features current TiVos have.

Microsoft's Media Center isn't making any significant gains in Europe either.

The current trend, that's likely to continue, in Europe, is for it to be tied into the service provision (like Sky+).

Outside of that, the market for the kind of systems they're talking about in that article is *very* niche in Europe.

Even caller ID isn't *that* big.

[gpvillamil]

HDTVs might be *made* in China, but the US is pretty much the only place that's actually *using* HDTV.

Ummm... I'm reading this on my HDTV, in Japan, where they are pretty much standard.

[paulr]

HDTVs might be *made* in China, but the US is pretty much the only place that's actually *using* HDTV.

No.  Actually, I believe that the US is adopting this technology later than a lot of other countries.  I saw an HDTV at the Smithsonian about 15 years ago and it still isn't in widespread use here in the US.  Japan has had them for quite some time.

Anyway, the point of the article was not necessarily aimed at Microsoft and Tivo in my opinion.  I took it as a list of general requirements for any company that wanted to succeed in this arena.

[Rob L]

OK, OK, so the US and Japan. That still leaves a lot of world out there...