Tweak MCE was a PowerToy released for Media Center 2005 which allowed access to certain settings which are not exposed in the Media Center UI, and otherwise would require manual registry editing to modify. When Update Rollup 2 came out the existing version of Tweak MCE did not recognise it as a supported version of Media Center since the version number changed from v3.0/v3.1 (Update Rollup 1) to v4.0. In addition to supporting Rollup 2 there are a few extra options included in this version for some of the new features such as My DVDs and overscan.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3400190a-511a-4a3a-9b89-524511a76f58&displaylang=en

There have been a number of reports of the Creative Portable Media Centers removable battery expanding, becoming lodged within or damaging the player.

Continued at source

Along with Rollup 2 Microsoft has also released Q908250 which is mainly an update for the non US technologies used in Media Center (DVB-T/Freeview, Teletext). For DVB-T especially this is a very important update.

The fixes included in this package are:

Electronic Program Guide shows scrambled DVB-T channels.

In regions where the Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting Services (DVB-T) signal is offered, an issue was identified with scrambled channels in the Electronic Program Guide. This issue is fixed by this update. If you download the Electronic Program Guide before you install this update, you may have to apply this update, rescan channels, and then download a new Electronic Program Guide.

DVB-T services are not found.

In regions where the DVB-T signal is offered, an issue was identified where TV services were not found after users selected DVB-T as the signal type. This update resolves this issue.
 

Teletext subtitles disappear after you use transport controls.

In regions that support Teletext, an issue was discovered where Teletext subtitles disappear when users use transport controls such as pause, fast forward, rewind, or play. This update resolves this issue.

A playback initialization error occurs on resume when you suspend or hibernate a computer that is playing a DVD.

On some computers, when you suspend or hibernate the computer that is playing a DVD, you receive a playback initialization error on resume. This update resolves this issue.

Interoperability with some third-party TV software.

Additional third-party TV software is included with some computers. This update enables third-party TV software to work better with Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

Support for additional optical media drives.

With Update Rollup 908250 installed, Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 supports Matsushita DVD RAM UJ-846s drives.

Finally the big day has arrived! This year Microsoft has chosen to go with an update to Media Center 2005 rather than putting out a whole new version and branding it MCE 2006. The update goes under the name ‘Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005’ and is available free to all legally licensed MCE 2005 owners from Windows Update.

This update does put in place some changes for the Xbox 360 specifically but the update as a whole does have quite a lot of scope beyond that. The .net portions of Media Center now run through version 1.1 SP1 of the .net framework rather than 1.0 SP3. This in itself brings speed improvements.

With Rollup 2 Media Center is moving into 20 new countries this year (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and Turkey), with 11 new languages.

In the USA the supported tuner number has been raised to 4 (comprised of two NTSC and two ATSC tuners), however for all other regions this has not been changed.

DVB-T/Freeview Radio is supported in Media Center now, and you can record it as well but on Media Center the radio does not ‘look’ the same. Media Center still does not support MHEG-5  (Standard used for ‘Enhanced Interactive Services’) so Media Center constructs a graph that only connects to the MPEG audio and displays a Media Center ‘Digital Audio Service’ Message on screen. In the UK the radio is delivered as ~64-192kbit. I was actually quite surprised when Hauppauge announced their own DVB-T radio plug-in since I’m sure they were aware of this feature (which is not tuner specific) being present in the update even when they first announced their beta. AC-3 audio over DVB-T is now also supported.

The UK channel exclusion list for DVB-T has been adjusted to remove E4 from the list. After upgrading to Rollup 2, E4 should be detected by simply performing a digital service scan. This avoids the unpleasantness required previously of diving into the registry and manually changing this.

A new power mode called ‘Away Mode’ is also introduced. This relies on support from the motherboards BIOS and as such is not going to be supported by all Media Center PCs (new machines). Essentially Away Mode shuts off audio and video but unlike other power modes it is able to respond to USB events and still perform tasks like recording TV in the background.

The updates to the DVD burning function are quite nice. The major feature being pushed on this is that you can now burn some HDTV shows with Media Center to produce a Standard Definition DVD (Should you have the Sonic Encoders installed). However something I think is probably one of the more useful fixes here is that the Sonic DVD engine should no longer die if it hits a discontinuity in the dvr-ms file (either broadcast related by not receiving data for that specific part of a show, or man made by using dvr-ms editing tools). The number of pictures you can have in a DVD slideshow has been increased from 99 and the ability to add content from other machines has been added.

An optimise feature has been added which will restart key Media Center services at a set time each day if Media Center is not in use. While it does allow better performance if you keep the system running day after day, the very inclusion of such a feature would seem to represent a quick fix to a larger problem in Media Center 2005.

With suitable hardware such as the Niveus Ice Vault a new feature called My DVDs becomes available which allows Media Center to work directly with a DVD Changer. When you then go to My DVDs on the main menu you are shown a list of all the films in your changer with names, cover art and other information which the machine will automatically fetch from the internet in the same way track information is fetched for Audio CDs in WMP.

Happy Third Birthday, Windows XP Media Center Edition!

An open letter to Media Center users, customers and partners

Joe Belfiore, General Manager, Windows XP Media Center

'My son just turned two years old. For his entire life, the TV set in our family room has been a magic box that constantly offers him reminders of his childhood — a photo slide show of his cousin Serena visiting from Florida; “The Hoppity Song,” perfect for jumping and dancing at a button-press; videos that Dad took of him first walking, or swimming, or even being a goofball and kissing his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. Sometimes in the middle of the night when he wakes up, my wife or I sleepily bring him into our bedroom and let him watch a video to calm him down — he long ago learned which icon next to the My Videos folder on the screen he should point to so that we would cue up the right one, completely on demand.

Alexander will never know a world without being completely surrounded by digital images of his life, or where every TV set in the house doesn’t instantly give him access to the music he wants to listen to — any song in the world — or the TV show he wants to watch, someday even any show in the world. And thanks to all of you who have worked with our team at Microsoft to make this vision a reality, there are 4 million households right now around the world that will enjoy the same “digital life” that my family does every day.

This month, Windows^® XP Media Center Edition turns three years old. It was just three short years ago that the first PCs became available in the U.S., Canada and Korea with Media Center Edition and since then a HUGE amount of terrific stuff has happened with Media Center — and I am writing this letter to say an enormous, resounding THANK YOU to all the enthusiastic users and highly engaged partners who have been part of the community which is making this happen. (Shoot, in some parts of Europe and Asia, Media Center isn’t even two yet!)

2005 has been a giant year for Media Center:

·         130 PC manufacturers and more than 7,000 system builders around the world are shipping PCs with Windows XP Media Center Edition, with prices that range from more than $5,000 to under $500, in form factors that you can carry, that you can put next to your TV or that you might keep in a closet. These PCs have a huge range of features, from a terabyte or more of storage to learning remote controls, DVD changers, “instant-on” capability and support for voice control. The innovation is staggering.

·         Media Center Extender has hit its stride and is about to explode. Linksys and HP have both successfully introduced the concept of an inexpensive and quiet device that gets you all the value of Media Center in every room of your house, and on Nov. 22 Xbox 360™ will be launched around the world to enable the world’s first integrated, high-fidelity, high-definition extender experience to end up in the hands of literally MILLIONS and MILLIONS of consumers. Undoubtedly, we will look back at this as the “Year of Media Center and Xbox 360.”

·         More than 40 companies are offering hundreds of hardware products designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition. These include TV tuners, wireless networking equipment, keyboards, remote controls, portable video players and much more. All these things are designed to work specifically with Media Center Edition and to let people upgrade and add on to their experience.

·         More than 75 companies around the world are offering terrific on-demand content, services and applications for Media Center through Online Spotlight, written to the world’s best platform for “10- foot” experiences designed to be displayed on TV and navigated with a remote control. These services deliver engaging scenarios ranging from MTV Overdrive’s new music videos on demand to Discovery Channel’s previews of upcoming shows. Other services providers in the U.S. include America Online Inc., Discovery Channel, Fox Sports, Movielink LLC, MSN^®, Napster LLC and more. And Online Spotlight is now available in many countries around the world where Media Center is shipping. Did you realize that in 2004, ABC Enhanced TV won an Emmy Award (for Advanced Media Technology) for the Media Center version of its hit show “Celebrity Mole: Yucatan”? Interactive TV is actually happening today on the Media Center platform — not bad for a platform that is just three years old.

      And, besides these large companies, a thriving community of individual developers is also creating cool add-ons, such as support for eBay auctions, Netflix rentals and Skype phone calls all on your TV set; remote-control software that runs on your cell phone which allows you to control Media Center Edition, contacts, e-mail, weather, traffic, lottery results and much, much more. (Check out http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/mediacenter or search for “Media Center” on Download.com to explore the possibilities.) It’s amazing to all of us working on the software how far these folks have taken it, and you can bet we’ll keep working to make this platform better and better so that the innovation continues to grow.

·         We’ve had terrific collaboration with broadcasters and other folks in the TV industry, and some of the results from these collaborations have already started to become visible. In Europe just a few weeks ago, we announced an alliance with Nagra, one of the world’s leading producers of conditional access technology that’s used by cable and satellite operators to protect premium digital TV broadcasts. Together with Nagra and Canal+ Group (a French satellite service), we demonstrated a tuner device that enables Media Center to deliver protected digital content not just on the Media Center PC but also to extender devices around the home network. This technology isn’t yet ready to be shipped in products you can buy, but the prototype device gives you a glimpse of a near-future where Media Center works with these types of services. In the here and now, of course, this fall’s update to Media Center Edition includes support for high-definition (HD) over-the-air broadcast in the U.S. (with dual-HD tuners), and can enable you to watch that HDTV on your Xbox 360!

It’s very exciting for me to look around at all the enthusiasm out there for Media Center, and once again I say thank you. There’s something special about the PC industry and the fact that it openly encourages partners of all kinds to innovate and ship creative solutions — it’s hard to keep up with! There’s definitely a buzz within the development team at Microsoft as, every day, posts from blogs are forwarded around our group — maybe something about the next cool new Media Center PC, or the latest speculation or wishes about features in the next year’s upcoming release. (I’m personally a fan of Thomas Hawk and Ian Dixon — thanks for your ideas and suggestions!) We love hearing from all of you and are doing our best to listen and keep the right new features coming.

It’s not very often that a “professional job” gets to be as exciting as mine has been — I know that I’m very fortunate to be at the center of an incredibly exciting time in history, working on a product and technology that I’m very proud of, and — in particular — surrounded by the support of a wide array of talented and capable partners and users here in our Media Center community. It blows my mind that we’ve seen Media Center go from 0 to 4 million in just three short years. (Consider this: According to Strategy Analytics, in the first three years, only 2 million stand-alone DVRs were sold worldwide!) 

As I look forward to the future, I can’t help but be excited about the terrific stuff we have in mind and in store for all of you. Our team is already hard at work on the Media Center software that will be part of Windows Vista™, and I’m certain you’re going to love it. It won’t be TOO long until you’ll get to see screenshots, demos and beta releases — so sit tight, and once again I’ll say THANK YOU for all the work and support in these years.

Happy Birthday, MEDIA CENTER EDITION!

Joe Belfiore
General Manager, Windows XP Media Center'

bit-tech.net is currently hosting a number of pictures of the Xbox360 from this weeks Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/08/24/xbox_360_media_center  

This week Microsoft has made an official announcement about the pricing and details of the packages that will be on offer. This time around there is a base Xbox 360 Core System ($299.99 U.S./€299.99/£209.99), and also a premium package ($399.99 U.S./€399.99/£279.99)

“This premium edition — distinguished by signature metallic detailing on the console itself — comes fully loaded for the ultimate gaming experience, with components and accessories that would cost more than $200 if sold separately:

Xbox 360 console. Sexy styling that packs a punch — three powerful core processors are poised to pump out 720p/1080i output, 16x9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound and DVD playback right out of the box.

• Xbox 360 Hard Drive (20 GB). 20 GB and detachable, the hard drive allows gamers to store their games, music, downloaded trailers, levels, demos and community-created content from Xbox Live Marketplace.

• Xbox 360 Wireless Controller. Hassle-free high-performance precision wireless gaming features the Xbox® Guide Button for quick access to digital movies, music and games libraries as well as a range and battery life of up to 30 feet and 30 hours of life on two AA batteries.

• Xbox 360 Faceplate. The removable Faceplate comes in stylish “chill” (white) and can be swapped out with custom Faceplates to reflect gamers’ personalities or decor.

• Xbox 360 Headset. This lets gamers strategize with teammates or trash-talk opponents while playing games on Xbox Live.

• Xbox 360 Component HD-AV Cable. This connects gamers to the world of Xbox 360 games and graphics through high-definition and standard-definition connections.

• Xbox Live Silver membership. With this, gamers can chat with friends online, send and receive voice and text messages, and access new content from Xbox Live Marketplace demos such as trailers and casual games from Xbox Live Arcade.

• A bonus Media Remote:  Included for a limited time, the integrated control center for the entire digital experience lets consumers play DVDs, movies and music, as well as access their Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PC's controls with a single remote.

The Xbox 360 Core System comes standard with what consumers need to jump right into next-generation games and media, and is fully expandable to the complete Xbox 360 experience:

• Xbox 360 console. As with the premium edition, three powerful core processors pump out 720p/1080i output, 16x9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound and DVD playback right out of the box.

• Xbox 360 Controller. This wired controller features an extended nine-foot cable and a comfortable, enhanced ergonomic design.

• Xbox 360 Faceplate. Like no other console before, the Xbox 360 console allows customization and a removable Faceplate that comes in stylish “chill” (white), which can be swapped out with other custom Faceplates to reflect gamers’ personalities or decor.

• Xbox 360 Standard AV Cable. This connects gamers to the world of Xbox 360, delivering great next-generation graphics and games using standard-definition connections. “

For more details see:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/aug05/08-17EuropeNA360PricePR.mspx
http://www.xbox.com/en-gb/cultureSelectLanding.htm

The Xbox 360 in addition to being a games console can also act as a Media Center Extender which allows you to stream standard and HDTV television, videos, movies, music, and photos from your Media Center 2005 PC. All Xbox 360 consoles will come with this feature out of the box (though core does not include a remote control). If you don’t have a Media Center 2005 machine (or have more than one PC) it will be possible to access photo’s and music stored on other Windows XP machines through the Xbox’s ‘Media Blade’. The Xbox 360 Extender requires an update to Media Center which will be available free for Media Center 2005 owners to download before the end of the year.

“CyberLink Corp., a leading developer in providing integrated solutions for the Digital Home, announced the development of an MPEG-2 software encoder plug-in for the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (MCE) and its upcoming Update Rollup 2 version. This plug-in drastically reduces costs for tuner card manufacturers by avoiding reliance on hardware chipsets when recording TV content with MPEG-2 video and audio quality.

The major trend in the consumer PC market is the ability to record live TV content. Previously, TV tuner cards utilized hardware encoding due to insufficient chipset speed and computing power, which curtailed demand and lowered margins for manufacturers and system integrators. However, CyberLink has developed an alternative and cost-effective solution for hardware manufacturers and system integrators the MPEG-2 video and audio software encoder plug-in for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. This software solution drastically reduces the dependency on costly hardware encoding chipsets.

As computing power increases, reliance on powerful, quality, but yet inexpensive software applications and encoders - such as CyberLink's MPEG-2 encoding solution - will exponentially increase," said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink. "CyberLink's expertise and specialization in digital video software technology puts us at the forefront of digital TV recording and playback technology, ensuring our OEM partners have the most cost-effective yet quality solutions for adapting to the industry's current and foreseeable demands. End users will also greatly benefit from the superb reliability and performance of CyberLink's MPEG-2 software encoder."

It will be interesting to see how well Cyberlink’s encoder actually works in practice and what their minimum system requirements are. Pricing on this will be an interesting angle. If you buy a TV card for ~£40; and then buy this encoder which will probably be in the £10-20 range (I'd expect, price TBA) …you are approaching the cost of a Hauppauge WinTV PVR150 hardware encoder card. Personally I would consider the £10-20 extra for a hardware encoder money well spent, but I can see why this would be attractive to system builders. Particularly so if you could reasonable handle dual tuners (since it defiantly would be cheaper than a hardware solution).

Now this does look kind of cool. Coming in September Microsoft are planning to release a 3-in-1 keyboard for Windows XP Media Center 2005. It combines a 116 key keyboard, with the functions of the Media Center remote and a thumb mouse. In addition to this it is also able to control the volume and power of a TV Set.

As expected you also have the short cut keys for Media Center functions which appear on the remotes such a My Music, Live TV and More Information. The Media Center ‘remote keys’ on the left and right side of the keyboard will also light up when one is pressed to provided easy access in low light conditions. A key lock is also included to prevent inadvertent keystrokes when it is not in use (which helps to avoid draining the 4 AA batteries needed to power it). The Media Center Keyboard works at a distance of up to 30ft over IR, using the existing* Media Center Infrared Receivers used today for the remote controls.

The expected retail price around $105 USD (equivalent to £60GBP/87 EUR), although BestBuy are currently listing it at $99.99 upon release.

* To use this keyboard you will need a PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and a Media Center Infrared Receiver which has been updated with KB888795. This keyboard cannot be used with a Media Center Extender, which is a bit of a shame really as the intended usage areas for these products do overlap.

Microsoft Hardware Homepage:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=040

Large Image:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/images/gallery/hardware/RemoteKeyboard_lg.jpg