pilotbob
02-26-2008, 10:51 AM
Wow... I have recently watched a few videos on On10.net about some of the features that Windows Media Center PC has. I didn't know you could do alot of stuff, just some examples...
1. Use the XBox 360 as an extender, so you only need an ethernet drop for each TV, not a cable drop. (I already have 2 360's... one broke and I replaced it prior to the warranty extension. Then got it repaired after the warranty extension.)
2. You can have up to 5 extenders for your media PC.
3. The XBox 360 will allow you to watch HD channels and recordings. The XBox will downconvert them to 480p for you.
4. You can store recordings on a Windows Home Server so you don't need two machines with alot of storage.
5. There are stand alone extenders out now... although from what I see they cost the same as the basic XBox, so I'm not sure why you wouldn't just get an XBox... (well one reason is you can get an 802.11n extender. XBox doesn't support N... so if you don't have a cable to your location I guess this would be needed for HD streaming.)
6. You can access your MCE over the web and watch recordings and live TV... no slingbox needed.
7. You can pause a show in one room, and continue watching it in another.
8. You can hook up your phone to the MC PC and get caller ID display on your TV... also there is an add-on app that will keep track of the calls, whether they were answered, etc.
Lot's of other cool stuff. I am almost having buyer's remorse on my TiVO now.
The only downside, no CableCARD systems are available for DIY systems. You need to get an OEM system that supports it, but they aren't cheap. But, I would almost be willing to go back to BHN since there stuff is in clear QAM.
Does anyone know if all the FiOS stuff is in clear QAM? You "must" have cableCard in your TiVO to recieve QAM stuff.
Anyway... check on the videos:
http://on10.net/tags/Show+Us+Your+Home/
The Hakan Olsson and Steve Lindsay focus the most. The Steve Lindasay shows most of the cool stuff listed above.
BOb
1. Use the XBox 360 as an extender, so you only need an ethernet drop for each TV, not a cable drop. (I already have 2 360's... one broke and I replaced it prior to the warranty extension. Then got it repaired after the warranty extension.)
2. You can have up to 5 extenders for your media PC.
3. The XBox 360 will allow you to watch HD channels and recordings. The XBox will downconvert them to 480p for you.
4. You can store recordings on a Windows Home Server so you don't need two machines with alot of storage.
5. There are stand alone extenders out now... although from what I see they cost the same as the basic XBox, so I'm not sure why you wouldn't just get an XBox... (well one reason is you can get an 802.11n extender. XBox doesn't support N... so if you don't have a cable to your location I guess this would be needed for HD streaming.)
6. You can access your MCE over the web and watch recordings and live TV... no slingbox needed.
7. You can pause a show in one room, and continue watching it in another.
8. You can hook up your phone to the MC PC and get caller ID display on your TV... also there is an add-on app that will keep track of the calls, whether they were answered, etc.
Lot's of other cool stuff. I am almost having buyer's remorse on my TiVO now.
The only downside, no CableCARD systems are available for DIY systems. You need to get an OEM system that supports it, but they aren't cheap. But, I would almost be willing to go back to BHN since there stuff is in clear QAM.
Does anyone know if all the FiOS stuff is in clear QAM? You "must" have cableCard in your TiVO to recieve QAM stuff.
Anyway... check on the videos:
http://on10.net/tags/Show+Us+Your+Home/
The Hakan Olsson and Steve Lindsay focus the most. The Steve Lindasay shows most of the cool stuff listed above.
BOb