Ian Dixon's Blog

Podcast: The Custom Integrator Show Installment 013

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (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

The Media Center Show #213 – Ed Bott

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:50:00 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]

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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

Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (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?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (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?

Is a Consumer targeted Microsoft Phone on the way?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:06:38 GMT

There have been rumours for years about Microsoft bringing out their own mobile phone (as opposed to the current strategy of Windows Mobile on OEM hardware) which has been denied by Microsoft but according to Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley an ad agency has been picked to handle “Pink Project”.

Microsoft has been keeping close to the vest details about Pink. I’ve heard from my tipsters that there will be one Pink phone manufacturer. Some are saying it’s Motorola or possibly Sharp, both of which have manufactured Danger-based phones. Pink’s “user experience”/user interface, which is codenamed “Purple,” is meant to appeal to an audience not so different from the traditional Sidekick audience.

I think it makes sense for Microsoft to offer some kind of lifestyle phone with the Zune software built in that is aimed at consumers and leave the OEMs to target businesses, it must be killing Microsoft to see the rise of Android, Palm and the continued success of the iPhone and the incredibly slow pace of WinMo development. I am sure I am not the only one abandoning WinMo in favour of a more up to date OS and I would love to be surprised by a cool new Windows Mobile 7 based device, lets hope they get it out before things get terminal for WinMo

Mobile Media Center for Windows Mobile

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:44:01 GMT

Just as I move away from Windows Mobile to Google Android along comes an application for Windows Mobile that I would like. Mobile Media Center for Windows Mobile enables you to listen to music , watch pictures, play videos and keep up with RSS feeds/podcasts/vodcasts. With the media capabilities been limited in Windows Mobile this makes a good addition to the OS but I don’t think its enough to move me back.

It would be good if the developer could add some syncing integration with Windows Media Center oh and you may recognise the look of the application, it looks familiar to me!

Features, instructions and the free download are on the developers web site

(via mce-community.de)

Tranquil’s little T3N

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Just spotted a very neat little Atom N270 based system on Tranquil’s web site. You may know Tranquil as the makers of Windows Home Server boxes and this little box could be used as a Home Server or a nettop type device. It comes in three colours and can take up to 2GB of ram and up to 2TB hard disk. The starting price is £199 £119(ex VAT) and there are configurable hard disk options, I wonder if the N270 has the power to me a Media Center system? It would make a nice little project to put Windows 7 on the box and see how it handles Media Center

More details on Tranquil’s site

Video Library 2.0 alpha

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:41:55 GMT

JackLuminous in TGB forums has posted details of of Videolibrary 2.0. As you can see from from the screen shots the app is very impressive and adds to the list of great designed Windows Media Center application. Here are some of the changes for the new version (taken from the forum post):

Custom archived tv expressions no longer supported. Too much confusion about xml and formatting.
The plugin does not scan for folders at all. It simply queries the database. This database is populated by a hidden console app that is launched when the plug in runs. If the console app, VideoLibraryService.exe, is already running then it will not be run again. This exe scans the watched folders every 5 mins (default setting) and does file watching.
Spanned-folders no longer used or supported.
Uses mencoder to transcode dvds when playing on extenders. The transcoder is also used by the dvd library (Vista) and Movie Library (Windows 7). There is an annoying problem on extenders where playback abruptly stops after 30 mins - 1 hour. The file is always transcoded completely but on Windows 7 (not sure about Vista) playback just stops --I don't know why.
Context menu allows all files in a gallery to be played in current viewing order. Also allows playing all randomly.
Metadata xml schema changes
When downloading movie metadata, the plugin will look for dvdid.xml files and use the id to get the info from the dvd info cache. If no dvdid.xml files are present the n the app will use themoviedb.org.
Supports a playback playlist that can contain episodes or movies
Supports advancing forward/backward through the current playlist
Supports adding to the playlist using the context menu or the details page
Detailed logging can be turned on by setting "EnableDebugging" to "true"
Press play on a video to play it
Press play on a series to play the whole series in episode order
Press play on a season to play the whole season in episode order
Click on a series to go directly into it. If you want to see the series details then you have to use the context menu.

You can download the alpha version (at your own risk!) and read all the details on the TGB post

Media Browser to go commercial?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:15:00 GMT

One of the most popular Media Center addons at the moment Media Browser could be going commercial. I saw on Twitter that Sam could be taking the application “for profit” but the code will remain GPL. Media Browser is a great application and it will be good to see the team get some reward for their efforts but making profit from Media Center applications can be difficult with only a small number of users prepared to pay for application.

I haven’t see official details from Sam yet but good luck to the Media Browser team if it is true

UPDATE: Sam has posted his thoughts on his blog where he talks about the dilemma of creating free software. It looks like Sam is going take a break from MB, head over to his blog and let him know your thoughts

TDL Post Roundup

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:33:00 GMT

Not much Media Center news about this week but there were plenty posts on the site. I posted three videos this week, a look at an Air Mouse GO for controlling a HTPC, a quick look at HP’s DV2 slim notebook and a video looking at controlling Windows Media Center with an Andriod phone. On The Media Center Show I talked Play To and web streaming with Microsoft and on The Custom Integrator Show we talked UPNP and DLNA

Video: Streaming content from Windows Media Center with an G1 Android phone

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

One great new feature of Windows 7 is “Play To” and DLNA support, Windows Media Player can operate as a media player, server and controller and the Xbox 360 Media Center extender sessions can be controlled via DLNA. Because WMP is using DLNA you can use it in conjunction with other DLNA devices and not just Microsoft devices, so when I got my new G1 phone (based on Google’s Android OS) I searched for a DLNA app. The application I found is called AndroMote which works as a media player and controller, from the app you can select music, videos or photos on a media server and then choose to play the content on the phone or another DLNA device. I used AndroMote to stream music from my Windows Media Center PC to a notebook and to an Xbox 360 extender session, you can create playlists and control volume on the remote device.

I found the app worked well most of the time but was a little quirky, it worked best with music and pictures and there is a limit of 5 items in the playlist on the free version the full version is 2.9u euros and I have a video of it in action. The video was recorded with a FlipHD and its a little blurred but you will get the idea

Download WMV – Download M4V

Freeview HD starting in the UK December 2nd

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:34:38 GMT

Freeview HD is to start broadcasting in the UK on December 2nd with the transmitter that I use Winter Hill (Granada region) going first. As of yet there is no hardware to take advantage of the new DVB-T2 signal but Media Center should be in a position to receive it when the new hardware arrives (see this post for details). Next month I will be interviewing Microsoft about the new format so all we need now are some announcements TV card makers

Via Endadget HD

Podcast: The Custom Integrator Show Installment 012

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:24:36 GMT

Derek has just posted this weeks edition of The Custom Integrator Show, this week we continue on UPnP Technologies the DLNA platform built into Windows 7. If you like the show don’t forget to subscribe!

Subscribe via RSS - Subscribe via iTunes - Subscribe with Zune

Installment 012 of The Custom Integrator Show is live. We continue our discussions on UPnP Technologies and the whole DLNA platform built into Windows 7. We actually spend much of this Podcast reviewing the ADDCEP architectural model we introduced in Installment 011 (http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/blogs/custom/archive/2009/06/16/the-custom-integrator-show-installment-011.aspx), so the text in that blog post covers the topics discussed in this Installment. We complete the ADDCEP layers by covering the Control, Eventing, and Presentation services, but leave out most of the examples because they are more applicable to the A/V features of the DLNA platform, which we will be discussing in more detail in our upcoming Installments.

The Custom Integrator Show Installment 012

Silverlight 3 coming to the Xbox 360 (updated)

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:52:00 GMT

As @simonster points out Silverlight is on the 360 already and this is talking about Silverlight 3

Microsoft have announced that Silverlight is coming to the Xbox 360 at the moment its in the context of advertising but I don’t see why it can’t apply to media playback as well. It would be nice to think that Silverlight Media Center apps like the Netflix apps and some of the channels used in TunerFree MCE would work on the Xbox once Silverlight is up and running on it

Microsoft reveals Windows 7 pricing details

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:49:23 GMT

Ed Bott has all the details on the Windows 7 Pricing announced today, I guess the headline prices is that if you pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium you can get it for $50 and $100 gets you the Professional upgrade. The offer is open from June 26th in the US and Canada and July 15th in the UK and after the promotion ends the price for Home Premium update is $120 and $200 for the full package. Microsoft also announced details of the Windows 7 Upgrade Options program in which any PC purchased with Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate from June 26th to January 31st is entitled to a free upgrade to the equivalent Windows 7 edition

Read Ed’s post for all the details, what do you think about the prices is $50 about right?

Podcast: The Media Center Show #212 - Play To and Web streaming

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:02:00 GMT

This week Simon Many and I chat with Edwin and Gabe, Program Managers in the Windows Experience team at Microsoft talking about “Play To”, DLNA and streaming media over the internet with Windows Media Player. Windows 7 introduces internet content streaming with WMP and you can even stream Recorded TV over the internet

I also have email and a round up the weeks news

In the interview we refer to a list of Play To compatible devices which you can find HERE

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow212447.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
01:28 Email: Netflix VMC
01:44 Comments from last weeks show
03:12 Email: DVB-T2
05:21 Windows Media Center to get Freeview HD
06:00 Media Browser Beta 2.1.0.0 Released (updated)
06:20 New Xbox for 2010?
07:10 Archos Windows 7 Tablet PC, great for Media Center on the go
08:00 Video: First look at a Air Mouse GO Plus Mouse for HTPCs
08:50 Video: First Impressions of a HP DV2 Notebook
09:00 First Impressions of a HTC G1, or bye bye Windows Mobile
11:03 Wanted for round table, views on Mobile OS
11:42 Welcome to Gabe, Simon and Edwin
13:37 Feedback on Play To
15:04 Play To devices
21:00 Transcoding and Windows 7 support
28:27 Internet streaming with Windows Media Player
37:00 Sharing content and security issues
41:00 Streaming Media in Windows 7 – network settings
43:10 Streaming Recorded TV
48:12 Multiple user accounts and Windows Live ID
1:00:01 Play To in Windows Media Center?
1:03:00 Multi-room support in Windows Media Player?
1:07:00 Microsoft Blog: Media Streaming with Windows 7

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

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

Neowin interview the Zune HD source

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:53:00 GMT

Back in May there were lots of rumours about the Zune HD that really got people talking about the Zune platform, the rumours of a touch screen HD turned out to be true and the Zune HD is due out in September. Neowin have an interview with the Microsoft software engineer that leaked the info and has some interesting comments in the Q&A, read the page for the details but one interesting comment was that the Zune HD is going to be “a center of entertainment" for the whole household” which sounds very interesting. Roll on September!

RR: How much is Zune HD projected to cost?
TK: The prices are not set in stone yet, but the 16GB will be somewhere in the range of $249 -$280
RR: You know what I am most excited about, Tegra, how do you feel about it?
TK: I think it's a great idea ... because Tegra brings to the table a lot of new stuff and I think it was a really smart idea on Microsoft's part to do this with the next-generation Zune.
RR: How has the Zune software changed?
TK: The Zune software has evolved to meet the needs of the Zune HD. it is also going to become much more a "center of entertainment" for the whole household. Microsoft also plans to have Zune interact with a variety of other Microsoft services.

Windows 7 branded HTPC

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:36:00 GMT

Checkout this pictures of a Windows 7 branded custom Media Center box, it looks like its an Microsoft internal design used a trade events and conferences. I think its based on a high end Silverstone caseOriginAE S21T case (thanks to Kojak71 for the update, it costs around £1000!) . Anybody else have any cool designs?

via uxevangelist

Engadget hands on Zune HD video

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:05:09 GMT

Engadget has managed to get hold of a new Zune HD and have recorded a video of the device in action. It looks very nice device with the OLED touch screen and hopefully points to the direction Windows Mobile 7 may take. Will you be getting a Zune HD?

Checkout the video and there is a nice picture gallery too

Video: First Impressions of a HP DV2 Notebook

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:31:00 GMT

HP’s DV2 is a thin and light notebook computer with 12.1" screen, very sleek design and comes with the 500GB drive. It’s slightly bigger than a Netbook and as small as my HP Tablet PC so its would be great for carrying around and as it comes with Windows Vista Home Premium it includes Windows Media Center

AMD sent me the DV2 to review and so far I have only had chance to take a quick look at it, it could do with Windows 7 installing on it so I can compare it to the rest of my machines (and get rid of the German version of Windows!)

All the specs are available on HP's site and the US price is $699.99 and in the UK £466.97 on Amazon

Download WMV – Download M4V – Watch via Youtube

Crestron announce Windows CE based Sideshow WIFI remote control

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:39:47 GMT

Crestron have announced a new Windows CE based wifi remote control that is designed to work with the their home automation systems, the MPC-3X" has 27 programmable buttons, a 2.8-inch QVGA display and 802.11a/b/g wireless networking. While its designed to work with the company’s own systems it does have Windows Sideshow built in so you would be able to control Media Center, browser the guide data and get news updates on it.

It’s a real shame we haven’t seen that many sophisticated Windows Media Center remote controls that have Sideshow on them, the Ricovision remote disappeared and was very expensive anyway. Other than a tech preview for Windows Mobile there is very little out in the wild supporting Sideshow and I would not be surprised to see it die completely in the future which is sad as it had real promise

via windowsfordevices.com

Spec:

Processor -- TI OMAP2430 (clock speed n/s)

Memory -- 128MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage
Display -- 2.8-inch touchscreen with QVGA (320 x 240) resolution and 500:1 contrast ratio
Keys -- 27 pushbuttons, including a five-way navigation pad, three context-assignable "hard keys" below screen, thumb-operated "more" button, and system power button
Networking -- 802.11a/b/g and two-way, 2.4GHz RF
Other I/O:
- USB 1.1 port
Battery:
- 1000mAh lithium-polymer battery
- 5 hours continuous operation at full brightness
Operating range -- 32 to 104 deg. F (0 to 40 deg. C)
Dimensions -- 7.94 x 2.55 x 1.04 inches (201 x 65 x 26mm)
Weight, including battery -- 6.5 ounces (182g)

Belkin Launch Gigabit Powerline

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:42:35 GMT

I have been playing with Powerline networking for a while and have my Windows Home Server happy connected via a pair of Netgear adapters but the bandwidth is nothing like the speeds Belkin have quoted with their new Gigabit Powerline HD with speeds of 1000Mbps. That should be ideal for streaming HD video around the home and at $149.99 (£107) its not to expensive

More details on Belkin’s site

Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit (F5D4076) - $149.99

Ideal for ultrafast high-quality transmission of multiple video streams, reducing online gaming latency and quickly transferring large data files

Includes one single-port Adapter for a gaming console, HDTV, or a computer and another single-port Adapter to plug into a router

Stream multiple HD movies and game online

Improves Internet connectivity in remote rooms or places hard to reach with wireless connections

Provides a secure, stable networking signal

Push-button security

Plug-and-play setup

Mesh network:

Adding a third (or more) Belkin Powerline Adapter enables Gigle’s xtendnet™ feature that provides increasing networking stability and performance by creating a transparent mesh network.

Compatible with HomePlug®AV products

Video: First look at a Air Mouse GO Plus Mouse for HTPCs

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:12:00 GMT

When you have a HTPC there is nothing worse that trying to use a mouse on your knee or sofa, there are track ball solutions but they still need a flat surface and keyboards with built in trackpads but they are very fiddly to use, this is where the Air Mouse comes in. As well as being a traditional laser mouse it operates in the air using a Gyration control. It its a bit like a Wii controller but pin point accurate, it also has gesture controls and assignable controls.

In this video I take a look at what is in the box and take a look at how it works

The retail price for the package is £89.99

Download WMV – Download M4V – Watch via Youtube

Archos Windows 7 Tablet PC, great for Media Center on the go

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:52:11 GMT

A couple of weeks ago Archos (mainly known as manufactures of portable media player) announced an interesting new Tablet PC and I didn’t post about at the time but Derek Dunipace sent me an email saying what a great Media Center system it would make . It’s a 9 inch tablet PC comes with a touch screen, Windows 7 and dual DVB-T Tuners so it will make a great Media Center on the go. It very thin weighs less that 800 grams and has a Atom processor with 80GB drive and Bluetooth, web cam,3G option and 1024x600 screen

I still use my Samsung Q1 as a portable devices around the home and this looks like it would be a great replacement and having built in tuners means you can take TV anywhere with you.

Checkout the video of the Tablet PC in action

TDL Post Roundup

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:44:00 GMT

Here are a selection of posts hitting TDL in the last week, on The Media Center Show I talked streaming content with David McCabe from The Home Server Show, Richard Miller and Adam Thursby . On The Custom Integrator Show Installment 011 we talked DLNA and last weeek I got a HTC G1 phone and have been very impressed with the Android OS.

First Impressions of a HTC G1, or bye bye Windows Mobile

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:19:35 GMT

I know this is not directly Media Center related but it is relevant to the whole ecosystem as I try will be trying to integrate my new phone with the rest of my system over the next few weeks.

I have been using various mobile devices for years, I started with a Apple Newton in 1994 which I loved (and still works) and then went on to a Palm Pilot (which was ok) and then to a Casio Windows CE device around ‘98. I have stuck with Windows CE and moved on with it to Windows Mobile, I have seen Windows CE progress over the years and I find it sad how Windows Mobile has been left behind modern Smartphone world.

I have become frustrated with Windows Mobile, my latest device a HP 910 Messenger is nice hardware but Windows Mobile 6.1 is essentially the same as Windows Mobile in my 6 year old iMate PDA which is almost the same as my my 10 year old Compaq iPaq. In other words the WinMo 6.1 looks and feels 10 years old. Yes you can get lots of apps for it, I have TomTom sat nav which is great but there is nothing new of exciting in it and I have looked with envy at newer phones like the iPhone, Palm Pre and Android

So I broke down and got a HTC G1 that runs Google’s Android OS, sure the iPhone is a great phone but it’s not available on Vodafone in the UK (my company uses Vodafone) and I am not a big Apple fan (I hate iTunes) and I want some thing a little different.

My first impression of the G1 is that the hardware reasonable, the capacitive touch is great (so no more finger nails to try and select tiny buttons in Windows Mobile) but its the OS that shines, is very slick and modern and leaves Windows Mobile looking like a very out dated and clunky OS. Out of the box Android has some nice features like a great Web Browser (based on Webkit) and great integration with Gmail but it with all the 3rd party apps that it really shines. There are thousands of free and paid application some are really great like ShopSavy where you can scan a product barcode and it will search for the product online and give you online prices, local availably and reviews. There are internet radio players, twitter apps, apps for syncing with Exchange email and just about anything you can think of.

One interested application is AndroMote a DLNA controller app, you can select a Media Server and a Media Player and then control music, pictures or video play back. I had it working streaming content from my Windows Home Server to Media Center running on my Xbox 360. I will do a post on AndroMote another time

Back to the G1, the whole phone is a pleasure to use, its fast, responsive and easy to use, it feels modern the market place is full of great application. There are some downsides: The G1 has no headphone socket so you need a mini USB to headphone adapter and the default music player is a little basic and the battery life is no so good, I have not done a full day test yet but if you use wifi, Bluetooth and keep play with the phone like I do I doubt you will get a full day out of it but you can buy extra batteries and larger capacity ones too.

One thing I have noticed that I am sure other G1 users and iPhone users have found is that it’s not just a phone it really is a Mobile Internet Device and it means you can leave the PC behind and still have full internet access unlike the very poor experience you get with Windows Mobile. I will miss the simple tethering of WinMo and the Exchange email but I am sure there are 3rd party apps that will fill the gaps ( TouchDown for Exchange is great) and I will be still using my Zune for music and podcasts but there is such a massive potential with Andriod, I am going to download and start developing apps for it (a Windows Media Center Remote Control app) so I am really enjoying the G1 and Android

Maybe I will come back to Windows Mobile with the release of WinMo 7, I have tried 6.5 on an old Treo and while its an improvement on 6.1 its not enough to keep me on the OS

So look out for more posts on integrating Android and Windows Media Center

New Xbox for 2010?

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:53:09 GMT

TG Daily are saying that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaking yesterday stated that there will be a new Xbox 360 in the stores in 2010. He said the the console will have a built in camera and a “natural interface” which could be based on Project Natal. I haven’t seen any other sites talking about the new but TGdaily say its official.

My guess is it will be a re-packaging of the 360 (hopefully with new quieter cooling) with Project Natal built in. If its lower profile and quieter in Media Center mode I will be happy

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at The Executive’s Club of Chicago today, discussing “the role of innovation in changing economic times.” TG Daily covered the event live from the Hilton Chicago. During his speech he addressed many economic issues, and touched on the importance of innovation. However, it was his Xbox announcement which has our publication excited.

Media Browser Beta 2.1.0.0 Released (updated)

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:23:00 GMT

Jas Manghera has details of the new Media Browser 2.1.0.0. The core of the application has been updated making it a lot faster and there is a new plug in framework and DVR-MS support (so you get the same experience with TV files as you do with the rest of Media Browser)

UPDATE: Jas has added a download link

One of my favourite new features is video podcast support, so you can watch video podcasts like the TDL video show (more episodes coming soon!) directly from Media Browser and if the podcast are in WMV format they will play on Extenders

There are a ton of other new features, best to checkout Jas’s blog (you can hear Jas and Sam talking about Media Browser on The Media Center Show #202)

Podcast: The Media Center Show #211 – Streaming Content

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:50:00 GMT

This week I am talking to David McCabe from The Home Server Show, Richard Miller and Adam Thursby about streaming content around the home, including how to stream downloaded content. We also debate the future of Extenders and what we would like to see in the Zune HD

I also have a roundup of the weeks news

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow211865.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
01:12 Big Screen EPG – ‘by Remote’ (2 Foot PVR Client for Media Center)
02:10 Trouble with the DTV transition and Windows Media Center
02:45 Windows Media Center users on Xbox 360/Windows 7 down for 24 hours
03:30 Members blog
03:35 The Custom Integrator Show Installment 011
05:16 Catch up with David
06:39 Catching up with Adam and Richard
08:02 Downloading content
09:46 Streaming with Windows Home Server
15:00 Extenders
17:30 Xbox 360 and a dedicated Microsoft Extender?
22:46 Zune HD as a portable extender, yes please!
28:21 Combined experience
31:20 MKV support
38:40 Streaming VOBs
40:17 Converting videos
43:39 Netflix in Windows Media Center
48:00 PlayOn
52:12 Tunerfree MCE
59:40 See you next week

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

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

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) in Windows 7

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:34:27 GMT

One of the areas improved in Windows 7 is wifi support and if you have a new router it may support WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)

On Channel 10 they have a video with Gabe Frost and Yatharth Gupta from the Windows 7,(Gabe has been on the show before talking Play To and will be returning to the show soon) talking about WPS and how it works with Windows 7, Vista SP2 and wireless printers

Setting up and connecting to wireless networks will be a much simpler task in Windows 7. And for those of you with shiny new wireless routers with WPS - Wi-Fi Protected Setup - the process will be even easier.
Gabe Frost and Yatharth Gupta from the Windows 7 team join me in the studio to talk about Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) in Windows 7 and what to look for when buying your next Wi-Fi device.

Improving Audio Glitch Resilience in Windows 7

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:31:57 GMT

When you are using your PC as part of a home theatre audio glitches can really drive you mad, your watching a movie and its getting to the interesting bit just as Windows 7 stutters over the audio ruining the moment. Microsoft have a detailed post on how they have improved Windows 7 to avoid audio issues like that, I have found that laptops seem to suffer from it more than desktop systems and have never been able to pin it down to a single issue.

The post details what can cause the issues, who is experiencing it and what they are doing to resolve the issue in Windows 7

What Causes Glitching?

In previous posts, we’ve touched on a variety of ecosystem initiatives and challenges that we’ve undertaken for Windows 7, including application compatibility, accessibility, and system performance, among others. Tracing the root cause of audio glitching leads us to a similar place: because Windows runs on a huge variety of hardware configurations and multitasks between dozens of applications, it is challenging to ensure that all of the programs and drivers running on your computer will work together in exactly the way you expect.

Audio is especially sensitive. In order for you to hear music from your speakers, data needs to be delivered to your audio hardware approximately every 10 milliseconds, or 30 times in the blink of an eye! The challenge is that your PC is usually doing a lot of other things at the same time you’re listening to music, such as streaming that YouTube video or downloading that new song, and many of these other tasks have complex timing requirements as well. As you can imagine, it doesn’t take much – a slow network driver or a graphics driver that requires plenty of CPU time – to prevent your audio from reaching your ears in a continuous fashion.

Podcast: The Custom Integrator Show Installment 011

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:24:27 GMT

Better late than never! Here is the latest edition of The Custom Integrator Show. Derek and I discuss UPNP and DLNA and how these technologies work together, as ever Derek has a wealth of knowledge on this topic

This installment continues our focus on home networking by taking a look at the age old question “Now that our devices are connected together, what will they say to each other?” We hear a lot about the Digital Living Networking Alliance (DLNA) certification for some of the new technologies built into Windows 7 like Play To and FrameIt, but what does DLNA compatibility really mean and how do the protocols actually function on the wire? To understand this, we start by taking a look at the UPnP Technologies, which are the basis for many of the newer peer-to-peer communications services used for communicating with Internet Gateway Devices (IGDs), Digital Media Renderers, Digital Media Servers, and the like.

The Custom Integrator Show Installment 011

Windows Media Center users on Xbox 360/Windows 7 down for 24 hours

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:15:48 GMT

I have been see reports on Twitter and on TGB that the Xbox Live service is down for 24 hours maintenance and its affecting Windows 7/Xbox 360 Extender users. If your running Windows 7 and use the Xbox 360 as an Extender when the extender session connects to the PC it attempts to connect to Xbox live which fails as XBL is down so no extender, another blow for WAF!

I am not sure why there is a dependency on XBL but I have been told this will not be an issue in the final version of Windows 7

I do have a dual boot system with Vista so I could go back for a day but most of my recordings are in WTV anyway and who wants to go back after running Windows 7!

“Xbox LIVE will be offline for scheduled maintenance on Tuesday, June 16, starting at 08:01 a.m. UK time for up to 24 hours. Thank you for your patience.”

Trouble with the DTV transition and Windows Media Center

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:41:45 GMT

Looks like Microsoft have fumbled the DTV transition and managed to break some of the channels in Windows Media Center, there are work arounds if your affected but you have to wonder how the issues got under the radar as its not like there was plenty of notice. Media Center lives and dies by the quality of the guide data and the WAF gets a massive hit when it fails to record.

If you affected checkout the thread on TGB and checkout Ed Bott’s post with the great comment from Doug Anderson “However, as my wife observed: Media Center users and little old ladies appear to be the only ones adversely affected by the changeover.”

Also checkout Ben Drawbaugh at EngadgetHD, Chris Lanier and GeekTonic

TDL Postround

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:08:00 GMT

Lots of great posts on TDL this week, from Media Center Alerts to the June update and the new applications. This week on The Media Center Show I talked to Paul Thomas from Mediavue and if your missing The Custom Integrator Show it should be out later today!

Here are some posts from the last 7 days:

Big Screen EPG – ‘by Remote’ (2 Foot PVR Client for Media Center)

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:36:56 GMT

Niall has details of his new component for his Big Screen EPG application called “by Remote” which is a 2” remote EPG application similar to Webguide. Before you get to excited this is only for EPG data imported via Big Screen EPG but its still a great tool for remote scheduling recordings. Now how about a Webguide replacement app Niall?

Full details on Niall’s blog

‘Big Screen EPG - by Remote’ (codename) is designed to target both 2 ‘ and 1 “ clients – by providing a Silverlight 2 client for the desktop (which is hence usable on most versions of Windows and Mac o/s) – an XHTML expierience (Mobile site) with reduced functionality - as well as an iPhone optimized HTML site.
The ‘server’ product is currently deployed as a single .exe file (only 400k in size) – which contains it’s own inbuilt Web Server (so no need to install IIS or Casini) – and all required content (such as the Silverlight .xap) and host pages/images are delivered right out of this single .exe as well (and are embedded as resources). In a simple configuration - users can then expose the required ports via their firewall - so this client can be accessed from remote locations (over the internet) – or via the local network.

Blu-ray gets Managed Copy next year, requires new hardware

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:44:55 GMT

Ben Drawbaugh has details of a new managed copy feature coming to Blu-ray next year. It looks very complicated, requires new hardware and the copy will be wrapped with DRM, so I don’t hold out much hope for it. Will it mean that we can copy Blu-ray disks to our Media Center systems and then stream the content around the home? I doubt it! Make sure you checkout Ben’s post for a great diagram

It took over three years, but mandatory Managed Copy is set to become a reality next year as each studio is required to sign the recently finalized AACS license by December 4th 2009, and any studio that signs early receives up to a 25 percent discount on licensing fees. What isn't mandatory, though, is hardware support, and although the current generation of players definitely won't work, most expect the majority of new BD devices to. The cost (you didn't think it'd be free, did you?) and the number of copies is up to the studio, but at least one copy will be allowed. That copy can be made via a menu on the disc and can take the form of another Blu-ray Disc or a DRM-laced Microsoft file.

Podcast: The Media Center Show #210 – Mediavue

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:20:00 GMT

This week I am talking to Paul Thomas from MediaVue a UK based Media Center systems reseller, we talk about about their products, the issues effecting Media Center sales and the implications of Windows 7

I also have a round up of the weeks news and details of how to stream DVDs to Extenders without transcoding

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheMediaCenterShow210350.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
01:20 Download the free TDL Reader
01:58 TwitterMCE – Twitter from Windows Media Center
02:42 TouchRC – Control Media Center from Windows Mobile
03:24 Windows Media Center guide to surviving the switch to digital TV in the United States
03:50 Windows Media Center – Service Alert
04:06 Converting and Streaming Home Movies with the HP MediaSmart Server
04:52 Windows 7 General Availability Announced
05:24 Playing Ripped DVDs on Media Center Extenders without conversion or playlists
06:50 Plugin developers wanted for TuneFreeMCE
07:28 June 2009 Updates for Media Center
08:47 Welcome to Paul
09:02 Background on MediaVue
11:00 Media Center in the home
12:00 The product range
13:29 Customers
16:50 Case design
17:07 HTPC or Xbox 360?
19:00 Graphics cards
21:07 Components
22:01 TV Tuners
23:11 Sky or internal tuners
23:41 Windows 7
26:49 Windows 7 performance improvements
32:00 Thanks to Paul

Music by Ian Dixon

Technorati tags: Windows Media Center, podcasts

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

Media Browser alpha testing started

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:23:00 GMT

Fans of Media Browser will be pleased to know that they have started testing 2.0.12 and according to the post on theHTPC.net its going to be an exciting release. Unfortunately there are no screen shots yet but it should look like the preview shots shown a couple of weeks ago.

Pictures from the June 4th post

The new root page:

Activated trailers plugin:

Coverflow:

Detail:

Poster:

Thumb:

Thumbstrip:

June 2009 Updates for Media Center (Updated)

blog@thedigitallifestyle.com (The Digital Lifestyle (Ian Dixon)) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:20:00 GMT

Jason Tsang has details of the updates coming down from Windows Update for Vista Media Center (KB967632) and Vista with TV Pack (KB966315)

[UPDATE: The KB pages are up now and there have been some minor changes, thanks to peterfnet]

June 2009 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista (KB967632)

Fixes an issue where closed captioning will turn off when the focus changes from Live TV playback
Fixes an issue where sometimes during Live TV playback, a blank blue bar would be displayed on the screen
Increases the number of tiles that are supported on the top level of the Media Center start menu
Fixes a top Watson crash issue
Fixes a Windows Media Center TV Guide issue that is related to the digital TV switchover

The update replaces the previous cumulative updates

Download Links:

June 2009 Cumulative Update for Media Center TV Pack for Windows Vista (KB966315)

Issue in which a blank blue bar may appear on the screen during the Live TV playback.
Issue with Media Center parental controls and Windows Media Player on Windows Vista x64-based systems.
Issue in which black screen may appear when you play DVD.
Increases number of tiles supported on the top level of the Media Center start menu.
Issue in which the seek bar is not displayed correctly on some Media Center extensibility applications.

Download Links: