The Digital Lifestyle.com: Windows Media Center news, podcasts, videos, forums and wikis

The Home Server Show 48 - ioSafe CEO Robb Moore

homeservershow — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:24:00 GMT

OverDrive Audiobooks as mentioned by Chris Lux.

Congratulations to Jared Finkenbinder for winning AIC 2009. Announcement at WeGotServed.com.

Add-In: Fireplay Installer

Jim Collison Blog - Follow Jim's SmartPhone Search

Long time listener and friend of the show, Jose Ortiz, Pixel Concept - Tech news with a heavy dose of Cell Phones.

ioSafe - It has been fun doing this review and video. I think that everyone should have one of these drives.

500Gig external ioSafe Solo for less than $150. What are your precious memories worth?

Don't forget to watch the video of me burning the ioSafe.

My Blog at thedigitallifestyle.com

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So we can't see Internet TV here in the UK?...... well actually...

jem101 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:23:00 GMT

As we all know, we media center users in the UK are the poor relations with regard to content compared to US users-specifically we lack the Internet TV option(s) on our media center setup.

Well actually that might not really be true, while experimenting with my set up, I've managed to enable the Internet TV 2.0 Beta option on my W7 MC setup and be able to view the content. Now it has to be said that the content itself is somewhat less than stunning but so what? it's the principle that counts.

Now before we start this does involve making a couple of (minor) registry changes and as we should all know messing about with regedit can lead to a completely non-functioning PC requiring a complete re-install, but if that doesn't scare you off then this is the procedure that I've used on both my W7 PCs and it works every time.

Firstly a little preamble. I clean built both machines with version 7137 and when I initially installed W7, I told them I was in the US, i.e. all of the regional settings were set to US. Now this might or might not be relevant to the process working properly and I'd really need to do some more experiments to check this.

So having built the PC with Windows 7 set as being in the US, I did notice a few extra features had appeared, MSNBC News.com among others (which actually worked), I added my single DVB-T tuner and ran the setup. I told it I was in the UK, set my postcode etc. and the TV section was then properly setup. I naturally then lost all of the extra features.

So I fired up REGEDIT and navigated to the following sections

HKLM / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Media Center / Settings / MCE.GlobalSettings

and changed the value of systemGeoISO2 from GB to US (which is the old trick of getting Vista media center to show the DVD library and movies search features which were also a US only option)

Then navigated to

HKLM / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Media Center / Settings / ProgramGuide

and changed the value for strCountryCode from GB to US

We then need to force a full media center update so I opened an administrative command prompt and typed in

c:\windows\ehome\mcupdate -uf

and lo and behold the Internet TV Beta 2.0 tile appeared along with the MSNBC News.com tile both of which work without having to mess around with VPN tunnels to a US IP address, I even have the extra Internet channels listed at the top of my TV guide.Annoyingly I also have a tile for the older Internet TV 1.1 (which I used to be able to get working fine in Vista if I used a US proxy) which doesn't seem to work at all - it pops up a message saying that there is no content available for the UK.

All seems perfect however if you check the update log, you will see an error related to downloading the guide data which is fair enough as it now thinks you are in the US and the headend IDs no longer match up. Basically unless you reset the strCountryCode value back to what it was, your guide data will not update but once you do change it back then when the next update happens, the Internet TV tile will vanish again.

So what I have done is to export two versions of the ProgramGuide registry key-one with strCountryCode set to US (called US Settings.reg) and one with it set to GB (called GB Settings.reg)

Next I have created a windows cmd file (which is similar to a standard batch file) which contain the following commands;

regedit /s "c:\utilities\GB Settings.reg"

start / wait c:\windows\ehome\mcupdate.exe

regedit /s "c:\utilites\US Settings.reg"

start /wait c:\windows\ehome\mcupdate.exe -uf

regedit /s "c:\utilities\GB Settings.reg"

exit

which does the following

a) load in the registry settings for GB where c:\utilites\GB Settings.reg is the location of the exported registry key with strCountryCode set to be GB. The /s runs regedit in 'silent mode' so it doesn't prompt.

b) Runs the standard mcupdate which updates my guide data ok (at this point the Internet TV tiles will vanish)

c) loads in the registry settings for the US

d) run mcupdate and force a full update of media center which gives me the tiles back. You will see an error in the update log here saying that the headend data is invalid-and this part does take a while to complete.

e) Just to tidy everything up, reset the registry settings back to GB.

All I need to do each morning is to right-click on the command file, run it as an administrator and watch it all happen automatically. What I intend to do but haven't gotten around to it yet is to schedule this command to run overnight in place of the built-in mcupdate task. As both my machines are 'live' media center computers, I'm loath to make too many changes too quickly less I break something and suffer the wrath of my family!

This procedure has worked everytime for me on both W7 media center computers I have at home. I presume it will also work for anyone else who wants to give it a go unless it is only working for me because of some fluke when I originally built the machines. Please give it a go, as long as you are happy playing around with registry settings and see if it works for you. Hopefully this technique will still work with the RTM and shipping versions of W7.

John

Podcast: The Media Center Show #214 – Chris Lux

Ian Dixon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:32:00 GMT

This week I am talking to Media Center enthusiast and medical student Chris Lux. Chris recently spent some time in Kenya and we talk about his experiences with technology in developing countries, plus we talk about streaming media with Chris’ setup. I also have a round up the weeks news

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow214448.mp3[/mp3]

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Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Show Times:

00:23 Coming up
01:15 How To Build A Great Media Center For Your Home
01:42 Media Center Integrator Alliance Offers Training at CEDIA Expo 2009
02:44 MSDN document on how to load listing data into Windows Media Center
03:29 Why have The Digital Lifestyle Mobile Blog?
05:28 Welcome to Chris Lux
07:27 Getting started with Media Center
10:51 Watching movies
11:20 Visiting Keyna
13:14 Equipment
16:30 Netbooks
18:27 Windows Home Server
21:00 Tech in developing countries
22:30 Installing Windows 7
31:32 Using content with Windows Home Server and Media Center
40:02 Luxlive.spaces.live.com

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

UK Mobile broadband hotspots mapped

Ian Dixon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:31:09 GMT

UK regulator Ofcom has mapped UK 3G coverage of all the main UK mobile networks including Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and 3. What is interesting is the how huge areas of the UK have no 3G coverage and each of the operators areas differing coverage. With us wanting constant internet access on our mobile devices the UK networks are going to have to improve the coverage to make it available for all

Download the PDF with each networks coverage from Ofcom

The Media Center Show #214 – Chris Lux

Ian Dixon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:36:00 GMT

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow214448.mp3[/mp3]

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Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Show Times:

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

Freeview TV with Netbook built in

Ian Dixon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:33:59 GMT

Bristol Interactive is building a an all in one TV PC based on a 22 inch or 32 inch Freeview TV with an Atom powered Netbook running inside the case. It has a 160GB drive, Air Mouse, network ports and comes with Windows XP. I have seen combined units before but this is one of the first I have seen from the UK with an independent Freeview tuner and PC. It’s Expected to show up in supermarkets for less than £500 and could good in a kitchen or bedroom but I would go for a small PC and monitor for a better experience and put Windows 7 on it.

More details from the Guardian:

The 22-inch model shown above is a standard Freeview TV set. Click the remote, however, and you've got what amounts to a built-in Atom-powered netbook showing Windows XP on the TV screen. The PC part also includes a gigabyte of memory, 160GB hard drive, four USB ports, an RJ45 Ethernet port, a circular "air mouse" and a wireless keyboard. (The one in my photo looks like a Hillcrest Loop Pointer.) The screen resolution is 1680 x 1050 pixels, which is far more than you get on a netbook.
Bristol Interactive's chief executive officer Paul Fellows says: "This is a full digital television set: a Freeview chassis for the UK market. The red button works, and the TV is completely independent of the PC functions. You don't have to be in Windows to watch TV."

One thing that's missing is Wi-Fi, because of the reliability issues and the potential for support costs. An Ethernet cable works better if you want video, and Fellows expects this will be a main function: buyers will be using the BBC iPlayer, and watching YouTube and similar videos. Internet radio is another attraction.

thanks to @umdivx for the tip

Windows 7 Family Pack, Anytime Upgrade prices leak

Ian Dixon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:05:48 GMT

Ed Bott had the scoop on Microsoft offering a Family Pack for Windows 7 and now he has a leak of the pricing information:

Like a set of product listings from Expercom that includes a WINDOWS 7 FAMILY PACK/ HOME PREMIUM UPGRADE (GFC-00236) with a listed price of $136.95.

Also leaked are some of the windows Anytime Upgrade prices, eg $81.95 to go from Starter Edition to Home Premium. Checkout Ed’s post for all the details, is $136.95 the right price?

Will the Windows 7 Launch Kick-Start DLNA in the CE Market?

Ian Dixon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:03:53 GMT

Derek sent me a link to an interesting article on how Windows 7 could kick start DLNA in the CE market. While DLNA has been around for years and Microsoft have supported part of the spec in Windows Media Player its not until Windows 7 that Microsoft really embraced the technology . As I talked about last week DLNA opens up lots of possibilities and with Windows 7 driving DLNA into the mainstream we could see demand from consumers for the hardware to support the protocol. We are not just taking media stream either there are protocols things like printing too, so no more messing with printer sharing and permission just right click on a document and do “Print To”. So once you have Windows 7 the next step is to look for DLNA compatible CE devices to go with it, Christmas 2009 could be a big season for DLNA. Read the post for the rest of the details and this weeks Custom Integrator Show (out later this week) delves deep in to DLNA

Dock It!

simonster — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:27:00 GMT

The number one reason I chose the iPhone is the innovative Eco system that’s built up around it, not only in terms of the great apps that are available but also the hardware. Apple make a beautiful, minimalist doc that looks super but it really cost some cash, not only for the dock but also for the cable that’s required. Combined the cost is about £40. A quick scout on eBay turns up lots of lower cost alternatives, the best value of which I found was the Belkin TuneSync. Available for about £10 delivered it offers the same charging and sync benefits of the Apple dock but with the very useful addition of a 5 port USB hub.

It’s a great device and works superbly, clearing away s

Some of the clutter from the desk. It’s more functional than the Apple dock and a quarter of the price. The only minor flaw is that it’s lacking in weight so when the iPhone isn’t docked the weight of the USB cables tips it up by a quarter inch.

MSDN document on how to load listing data into Windows Media Center

Ian Dixon — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:11:55 GMT

On MSDN Microsoft have posted documentation on how to import program data into the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) data store for Windows 7 Media Center. While this was possible via a bit of hacking in previous versions of Windows with Windows 7 it is officially supported. The document details the command line tool and the format of the MXF XML file that can be imported into Windows Media Center

The command line tool is LoadMXF and the import document is XML based, the syntax for the can be found in the document.

Windows Media Center Guide Listings Format

Microsoft Corporation

June 2009

Applies to: Windows® Media Center is included in Windows® 7 Home Premium, Windows® 7 Professional, Windows® 7 Ultimate, and Windows® 7 Enterprise.

Summary: This document describes how to import program data into the Electronic Program Guide data store for Windows Media Center on a Windows 7 computer. The main audience for this document is developers who want to build applications to import external Guide data into Windows Media Center and are familiar with Guide and MXF file format.

Media Center Integrator Alliance Offers Training at CEDIA Expo 2009

Ian Dixon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:20:42 GMT

The Media Center Integrator Alliance has posted details of the training on offer a CEDIA Expo in September. There are classes on Optimizing the PC as an A/V Source, Integrating Digital Cable, Networking for Media Distribution and Designing a Media Center Ecosystem. Also at the show MCIA and Microsoft will be announcing the winners of the 2009 Ultimate Install Contest.

More details from CE Pro

07.02.2009 — BEAVERTON, Ore. – Media Center Integrator Alliance (MCIA) in collaboration with CEDIA University recently announced its Media Center Series training sessions taking place during CEDIA Expo 2009. The training sessions are designed to teach integrators skills for successfully installing Windows Media Center as the entertainment platform in a home. The Media Center Series will offer four separate courses that cover everything from optimization of a Media Center PC to network design and configuration and digital cable installation.

Why have The Digital Lifestyle Mobile Blog?

Ian Dixon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:11:15 GMT

I want to introduce the new Mobile Blog on The Digital Lifestyle. First why start the blog? Well I have been a fan of mobile devices since I got my Apple Newton back in ‘94 and then moved on to a Palm Pilot. Where it really got interesting for me was when I got my first Casio Windows CE powered device and then going on to the Compaq iPaqs, I enjoyed Windows CE and when it became Windows Mobile and my devices had email and the internet I had the perfect device. Over the years I have continued to use Windows Mobile with various devices but the world moved on and Windows Mobile didn’t, Apple brought out the iPhone and the way we thought of mobile devices changed, when Google developed the Android operating system and Palm developed WebOS Windows Mobile looks like a tried old OS. I have got a G1 running Android and left WinMo behind, its a great OS and I love the thousands of app that can run on it.

I really hope that Microsoft can catch up soon but using Windows Mobile with a stylus is just not as user friendly as a capacitive touch screen, I can’t see WinMo 6.5 make things much better and I have high hopes that Windows Mobile 7 will be a moden OS but in the mean time I will go with other systems.

So the new TDL Mobile blog will focus on my experiences integrating Android with my systems at home and Simon May will be talking about his experiences going from Windows Mobile to a iPhone 3GS. We are going to be talking about applications, hardware and integration so look out for my first post soon and Simon has his post up already

If you have any comments or suggestions let us know and you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE

Cross posted from The Mobile Blog

Why have The Digital Lifestyle Mobile Blog?

Ian Dixon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:09:00 GMT

If you have any comments or suggestions let us know and you can subscribe to the RSS feed HERE

TDL Post roundup

Ian Dixon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:43:00 GMT

In the last week on The Digital Lifestyle.com I pondered the death of Extenders and wonder whether DLNA will come to the rescue plus will Microsoft offer a family pack for Windows 7 and Ed Bott returns to The Media Center Show. Here are some of the other posts from the last week:

How To Build A Great Media Center For Your Home

Ian Dixon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:53:26 GMT

Thanks to Paul for sending a link to an interesting PDF on how to build your own Media Center, it’s designed for enthusiasts looking to start out on the Media Center road as it covers the hardware and software needed to get up and running. As well as covering Windows Media Center it also looks at alternative platforms and additional software apps like the Hulu dekstop that can compliment.

The guide is a PDF and can be downloaded from Makeuseof.com

How much are your memories worth?

simonster — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:25:44 GMT

This is a little off topic for Media Center but you’ll see the link in a little while. One of my contacts on Twitter got in touch about the ~~latest~~ first Panasonic Blu-Ray recorder available in the UK and it looks like a very cool unit, in fact it’s not far off got most MCE features built in, which is an interesting move. What this really shows is that there’s a very genuine consumer desire for the features we take for granted with Media Center and competition is good for spurring innovation – the compression that this box can do around HD content’s really interesting.

What got me interested though is that they’ve worked out just how much our digital memories are worth to us, using a very clever mathematical formula…in the UK 4 in 10 would sell their Christmas for less than £500 but a wedding would go for £3,000,000…I’ve already asked “D” if she’s willing to sell ours next year and she said “yes, as long as we spend the money on another one!” any offers?

You can work out the value of your memories just here using the spreadsheet, and check out Panasonic’s Blu-Ray Media Centre worrier just here. Take this into the context of how you can backup and archive those memories and suddenly you’ve got a business case built to use to sell it to the holder of your purse strings.

So folks, I’m guessing I know the answer, but would a box like this make you move away? I know it wouldn’t make me move but it’s an interesting question for Sunday evening.

Welcome to The Digital Lifestyle Mobile Blog

simonster — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:54:08 GMT

You probably know that both Ian and I recently acquired new mobiles, in my case it was the iPhone 3GS and in Ian’s the G1, for both of us it’s a big departure and we both want to share our experiences, so Ian’s started this blog. I think it’s right that I explain briefly why I’ve gone for the iPhone (and away from Windows Mobile) and I’m sure Ian’s planning to do something similar.

I want to talk a little about Windows Mobile (WinMo as I and others call it). I LOVE this platform, for the past 10 years (and the past 5 years of my own mobility) it’s been THE best platform out there (IMHO) bar none, with the best developer community (XDA Developers rocks) and some of the most innovative applications and by far the best email solutions in both Exchange and Windows Live. However…

I’ve been swayed to Apple by the developer community, you see unlike WinMo right now, people WANT to develop for iPhone. It’s new, it’s cool, it’s hip and people are developing great solutions and doing it before they develop on other platforms. I really wish that the WinMo community was in as good a shape, but I don’t see it attracting new (and therefore innovative) talent right now, when it is I’ll consider going back.

I’m not going to go into a full rundown of the iPhone right now, there are plenty of other places to get that but I will say that it’s got the best navigation of any devices I’ve ever used, and it’s the least glitchy too. Also – so far – not a single application has borked the thing, which is a testament to the App stores quality controls around code. The camera’s good too, the autofocus superb and the white balance that the software provides is actually way better than by camera. My email isn’t push any longer, but it’s still quick enough for me, calendar functions are first class thanks to Exchange and with all this, and quite a bit of playing and using Tweetdeck, I’m getting a days battery life.

Eco-systems are important, and one of the things that sets the iPhone miles apart from everything else is accessories. Everyone needs to learn that eco-systems in this space spread to hardware, not just software. I’ve got a nice little doc on my desk, I’ll post about that soon, I’ve got a superb screen protector, and a silicone case and I’ve almost got a bedside alarm clock that will charge and play music from my phone and not one of those things other than the iPhone is made by Apple.

So I guess this is a welcome to a new part of a journey for me, trying to get the iPhone working well with Media Center and my other toys and I’ll be letting you all know about how I get on. Fire your iPhone (iPod) tips at me in the comments, I need tips. The final words – I HATE ITUNES, simply the worst software that I’m now forced to use.

Episode 36-Derek Flickinger

Athursby — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:36:00 GMT

This week we’re joined by one Derek Flickinger. You might know DrFlick from The Custom Integrator Show over at The Digital Lifestyle. He has some great insight into how to use Media Center for whole home solutions and he was nice enough to share them with us this week. It was great having Derek on and he’s welcome back anytime!

As well, we’re announcing our first contest this week! It’s our first opportunity to provide a prize to our listeners and we’re pretty excited about it. From now until 12:00 noon on Wednesday the 8th of July, simply answer the following question by using our contact form: What year was Interactive Homes Inc. incorporated? You can only get the answer by listening to the show so head down a bit and hit that download link. Or better yet, use one of the subscribe buttons further down and listen every week!

When you send us the answer by using the contact form, be sure and include your name and email address so we can contact you for shipping information. The winner will be decided by random draw during next week’s show. Pretty simple: The names go in a hat and the one pulled is the winner. Tune in next week to see if you’ve won!

What are you entering for you ask? This week we’re giving away a Hava Platinum HD. Adam reviewed this tuner awhile back and Hava has been gracious enough to let us give it to one of our listeners. Follow the links above to get all the details.

Click here to download this week’s show!

	Entertainment 2.0 Subscriptions

The Home Server Show 47 - MVP, Smartphones, and Fire!

homeservershow — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:45:00 GMT

Today I am joined by Jim and John and we talk about everything under the sun. We might even mention a home server here and there! We mostly cover the ioSafe Solo video that was posted on July 1st as well as the new MVP's, and some smartphone discussions.

Here are the links to items discussed on show 47.

Windows 7 Pre-Order Announcement. Order yours today before July 11, 2009.

WGS Windows 7 Options and Details

MSWHS Nod32 Antivirus

iPhone Client for WHS

Fantastic deal on the ioSafe Solo 500 gig drive at Provantage.com

Microsoft Smartphone???

Leave me a voicemail with Skype! Click me to call HomeServerShow.com

Follow the Podcast on Twitter!

Don't forget to vote for the Home Server Show at Podcast Alley.

My Blog at thedigitallifestyle.com

Podcast: The Custom Integrator Show Installment 013

Ian Dixon — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:10:00 GMT

This weeks edition of The Custom Integrator Show is live, this week we finish talking about about the core UPnP Technologies and talk about what is a Internet Gateway Device and why it may not be a Router. We also talk about now DLNA could be used to connect the home where Extenders may have failed

The Custom Integrator Show Installment 013 is live. This Podcast finishes up our discussion of the core functionality of UPnP Technologies and takes us into the services within and Internet Gateway Device (IGD). We discuss the differences between the common term "router" and the more appropriate term IGD, especially for the perspective of the UPnP services included within the device. We refer to the diagrams of an IGD posted in the blog for Installment 012 previously (http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/blogs/custom/archive/2009/06/26/the-custom-integrator-show-installment-012.aspx). We also talk a bit about testing the IGD's configuration, especially when it comes to some of the new services available in Windows Home Server and Windows 7.

The Custom Integrator Show Installment 013

DrFlick — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:00:00 GMT

The Custom Integrator Show Installment 013 is live. This Podcast finishes up our discussion of the core functionality of UPnP Technologies and takes us into the services within and Internet Gateway Device (IGD). We discuss the differences between the common term "router" and the more appropriate term IGD, especially for the perspective of the UPnP services included within the device. We refer to the diagrams of an IGD posted in the blog for Installment 012 previously (http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/blogs/custom/archive/2009/06/26/the-custom-integrator-show-installment-012.aspx). We also talk a bit about testing the IGD's configuration, especially when it comes to some of the new services available in Windows Home Server and Windows 7.

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheCustomIntegratorShow013269.mp3[/mp3]

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To summarize some of the associated terminology, I have decided to include a glossary of terms associated with UPnP Technologies. These will come in handy if you decide to dig in deeper as part of understanding how the protocols interoperate between devices. I encourage you to visit the UPnP Forum's web site at http://www.upnp.org/. A really good document to check out is the UPnP Device Architecture at http://www.upnp.org/resources/documents.asp. You will notice that there are several updates to it. There is a link for downloading all of the published documents as a single file at the top of the list (http://www.upnp.org/resources/upnpresources.zip). That is the easiest way to get all of the specs at one time. There is quite a list of DCPs for all of the services associated with an IGD at http://www.upnp.org/standardizeddcps/igd.asp. It is interesting to note that most of them were ratified in 2001, and indicator of how long these technologies have been out in the industry. Keep in mind, also, that there still is a lot of work being accomplished by the Working Committee on the IGD Version 2 specifications.

BASIC UPnP GLOSSARY

action

An action represents a command that a client issues to perform a specific function. It takes zero or more arguments.

argument

An argument is a parameter to an action.

control point

A control point is a controller (such as an application) that retrieves device and service descriptions, sends actions to services, queries service state variables and receives events from services. Applications that allow a user to use or run a device, such as a CD player device, are considered control points.

device

A device is a container of other services or devices. A device may contain other logical devices.

device description

A device description is a list of the generic properties of all the devices in a physical device, including the services, the device's hierarchy, and its properties.

device type

A standard device type is denoted by urn:schemas-upnp-org:device: followed by a unique name assigned by a UPnP forum working committee.

There is a one-to-one relationship between UPnP device templates and device types. UPnP vendors may specify additional device types; these are denoted by urn:domain-name:device: followed by a unique name assigned by the vendor, where domain-name is a domain name registered to the vendor.

event

An event is a notification of one or more changes in state variables exposed by a service.

evented variable

An evented variable is a state variable for a service that, when changed, triggers an event. Any control points that are subscribed to a variable's event source then receives notification of the change. A non-evented state variable is never included in an event notification.

property

See state variable.

root device

A root device is the top-most device in a device tree. For example, if you are accessing a VCR/TV combination device called a viewing station, there are three devices: the viewing station, the VCR, and the TV. The viewing station is considered the root device.

service

A service is a logical functional unit. Services expose actions and model some or all of the states of a physical device using state variables.

service description

A service description is a list of the actions a service provides, and the state variables associated with the actions.

service object

A service object is the UPnP Control Point API representation of a service. A service object implements the IUPnPService interface.

service type

A service type is a URN that identifies a service. There is a one-to-one relationship between a UPnP service template and a service type. Several standard service types are defined by the UPnP Forum working committees. The service types are in the form urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:serviceType:version. For example, a scanner service type could be urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:scanner:1.

UPnP vendors may specify additional services. Such services are denoted by urn:domain-name:service:serviceType:version where domain-name is a domain name that is registered to the vendor.

state variable

A state variable is a piece of data that describes some part of a service's state.

UDN

Stands for unique device name. A UDN uniquely identifies a device; it is based on the UUID (universal unique ID).

In our next installment, we start diving into the fun stuph - the A/V side of the UPnP Technologies, DLNA, and how devices communicate and handshake across the network. Many integrators really do not need to know the underlying protocols at this level, but I firmly believe that, if you take the time to understand how it works, it makes configuration and troubleshooting a lot easier in the long run.

=D-

The Media Center Show #213 – Ed Bott

Ian Dixon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT

One of my favourite guests returns to the show this week. Ed Bott returns to talk Windows 7 and how its progressed from beta to RTM and how its different from the Vista development. Ed also talks about the product editions and which one is best for Media Center users.

I also have email and a round up the weeks news

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow213110.mp3[/mp3]

Listen Here (download mp3) - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe with Zune

Vote for the show on podcast Alley - Join The Media Center Show Group on Facebook - Join the Windows Live Group - Follow me on Twitter

Show Times:

00:23 Coming up this week
00:57 Email: How many tuners in Windows 7?
02:40 Email: STB integration
05:31 Freeview HD starting in the UK December 2nd
05:34 Streaming content from Windows Media Center with an G1 Android phone
06:52 Media Browser to go commercial?
07:37 Video Library 2.0 alpha
08:08 Mobile Media Center for Windows Mobile
09:03 Welcome back to Ed Bott
09:35 How Windows 7 has progressed
11:09 XP’s life cycle
13:53 Should XP SP2 been a new OS?
16:27 XP Mode
19:13 Windows 7 SKUs
23:56 Why get Windows 7 Professional
26:33 Why not get Ultimate :)
26:54 What is Anytime Upgrade
30:08 XP will not die!
33:01 Upgrades
35:55 Pricing – SEE ED’S POST
39:22 Download options
41:20 RTM
45:33 Crapware
51:54 Are Extenders dead?
54:52 Xbox 360 as an Extender
58:12 Zune and the Xbox 360
1:00:00 The Media Center team at Microsoft
1:04:00 Where next for Windows Media Center?
1:07:00 The DTV transition
1:10:00 See you next week

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

The Media Center Show #213 – Ed Bott

Ian Dixon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:50:00 GMT

I also have email and a round up the weeks news

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow213110.mp3[/mp3]

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Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

Clubhouse tags: clubhouse, media center, windows media center, how-to

Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium?

Ian Dixon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:04:25 GMT

Guest on this weeks The Media Center Show (posted later today) Ed Bott has been doing digging in the Windows 7 license and has found that Microsoft may be offering Family licences packs for Windows 7 Home Premium. Read Ed’s post for the details but if he is correct and its priced correctly it would be ideal for Media Center enthusiasts to upgrade their homes to Windows 7. With Homegroup being such a usefully feature of Windows 7 it makes sense to get all your machines upgraded and if a family pack if offered at the right price then I think Microsoft could be on to a winner. The question is what is the right price?

Extenders are dead, long live DLNA?

Ian Dixon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:52:34 GMT

While I was recording this weeks instalments of The Custom Integrator Show (out Friday) we were talking about UPNP, DLNA and Play To and this got be thinking about the future of digital media in the home and Extenders. First let me say that I love the concept of Windows Media Center extenders, I have an Xbox 360 connected up to my TV and audio equipment, I also have a HP Extender that I use in other rooms around the house. While I am happy with the Xbox 360 I know lots of people can’t put up with the noise and want a simpler device than a games console, the 3rd party Extenders like the Linksys and HP are under powered and don’t deliver the same experience plus they have been over priced. All the extender manufactures seem to have bailed out on the Extender model, at CES Toshiba promised to an Extneder but its not been seen yet. I would love to see TVs and Bluray players with Extender functionality built in but due to the small number active Media Center users there isn’t the demand for this. So my solution is to use the DLNA platform, because DLNA is a self describing protocol and is designed for different vendors and equipment to talk to each other there is no need for manufactures to code for Media Center specifically they can implement DLNA. So my Sony TV could consume Recorded TV from my Media Center box by using my home network and I could use my phone as a remote control, my hifi can play music from my Windows Home Server and the manufactures don’t have to know about each others system as long as the systems talk using standards. While most of this is in place now there are some things missing like scheduling recordings and this is where a Mesh Webguide come be used. I know the overall experiences would not be as good as Extenders, I can’t see the manufactures coming up with as elegant UI as Media Center but at least its achievable. I can see Windows doing all the transcoding and serving the media, recording scheduling and then lightweight DLNA clients around the home.

It isn’t the grand vision of Windows Media Center and Extenders but at least its achievable, Microsoft do seem to be investing in the transcodling / Play To features of Windows where as manufactures don’t seem interested in Extenders and maybe Microsoft isn’t either?