Casey Chestnut says 'what i want to know is how does MCE get its interface over to the XBox?'

This is a laymans answer: We ported the Media Center rendering engine to the XBox 360.  Instead of using a Remote Desktop / Terminal Server paradigm like we did with MCX v1 we send all of the 'stuff' which defines the UI over the wire to be parsed on the XBox 360.  All of the logic (i.e., managed code) stuff stays on the PC. Content (audio and video) is sent out of band and decoded locally on the XBox 360 as well.

First of all, I love his conclusion (I couldn't have said it better myself)...

'...existing XP Media Center Edition 2005 users have a wonderful and free update that gives them new capabilities and better stability and performance. And potential Media Center PC buyers no longer have any reason to hold out. Either way, UR2 will give you the best possible PC-based DVR and digital media experience available today. Highly recommended.'

There are a few inaccuracies in Pauls review though...

Paul --> '...you can still only record two shows at a time, even with four tuner cards installed.'

False. You can do 4 recordings all at the same time. 2 x NTSC and 2 x ATSC while playing back a recorded show (NTSC or ATSC) on the Media Center PC and / or Media Center Extender(s).

Paul --> Microsoft has added a fourth zoom mode, intelligent zoom. In this mode, the edges aren't actually pushed off the side of the screen; instead, the center of the picture is stretched more than the edges”

Actually, it's exactly the opposite. Its stretched LESS in the middle and MORE at the edges.

Paul --> Media Center does a "soft reboot," shutting down and restarting all 6 of its background services (such as those that control TV recording and scheduling).”

False. We only restart ehShell.exe -- all other Media Center services are left untouched.  In addition, the conditions in which the restart of ehShell.exe will occur are very, very specific.  In a nutshell, the restart happens only if we can guarantee there will be NO user experience impact at all. A simple example is there is no restart if you are listening or watching any content, or recording a show. I can see this feature might become thorny for some -- Ed Bott has already asked 'So what happens if I’m recording a movie from a pay channel that runs from 3:00 AM to 5:00 AM?'  The answer is your recording is not affected. In fact, end users should never even know this feature is there at all.

Why did it seemingly take us so long to get Emerald (aka 'Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005') in your hands (after all RTM was a couple of months ago)...?

Well, for starters....

• Check out the official press release at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/oct05/10-14DigitalLifePR.mspx.

• Remember a few months ago when we announced over 2 million sold? Joe Belfiore, in a 'Happy Birthday' open letter to Media Center users, customers and partners, tells us there have been 4 Million Media Center PCs shipped to date!  Four major releases in as many years -- who says Microsoft can't ship software?!?!

• Emerald brings several new features to Media Center.

• Emerald sets the stage for you to enjoy a Media Center Extender experience as it should be...

• Every Xbox 360 that ships will have Windows Media Center Extender functionality built in, allowing seamless access to all the digital entertainment stored on a media center PC in any room of the home.
• Xbox 360 will be provide the richest, most hi-fidelity Media Center Extender experience to date (all that groovy, swoopy, 3D goodness).
• We will get high definition content playback on the XBox 360!

• There are four new online resources launching today...

• For consumers there is Media Center on Windows Marketplace and the Media Center Section at www.download.com.
• For companies and developers there is the Media Center Partner Website and the Media Center Partner Directory (designed for Business-To-Business). Get listed at the latter by visiting http://www.mediacenterpartners.com.

• http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/default.mspx has gotten a much needed facelift.

• We added a new Games category (including two partners) for the US version of Online Spotlight.

• Our friends in Denmark, Norway and Sweden have their very own Online Spotlight.  Our international designers and developers are coming on strong: The Norway Online Spotlight is launching with at least nine (9!) partners and Sweden with at least twelve (12!).  By contrast, US Online Spotlight originally launched with only three.

• The following partners launched today in the US version of Online Spotlight...

• MTV Overdrive. Overdrive is MTV’s broadband network, delivering the hottest video content to Media Center PCs. Overdrive provides access to live performances, music videos, artist interviews, never-before-seen footage of MTV shows, the latest news, movie trailers and more. It’s all online and all on demand, now at the touch of a remote control button.
• DISCover. Designed exclusively for Media Center PCs, DISCover’s My Games gives customers access to a wide range of PC games that they can digitally demo, buy and stream. Customers can view an in-depth game guide with screen shots, box art and descriptions for thousands of top games, and can purchase “boxed” games via top online retailers with the ease of a Media Center Edition remote control.
• Game xStream. Game xStream’s now-live gaming-on-demand service for Online Spotlight connects users to its extensive catalog of video game titles from leading game developers, from which they can buy and stream games instantly. Within minutes of pressing the Buy button from a Media Center Edition remote control, gamers can begin playing graphic-intensive games from publishers including Merscom LLC, Global Star Software and Encore Inc.

And several more new experiences will launch later this year or early next...

• mtvU. Through nonstop streaming service that can be watched continuously, or by using unique on-demand capabilities empowering visitors to customize their experience, mtvU’s broadband platform showcases a powerful lineup of original programming serving as a gateway to the latest new music, as well as a source for one-of-a-kind student produced content that will drive and direct the network.
• VH1 VSpot. VSpot is VH1’s new broadband entertainment network that delivers the best video programming on demand to Media Center PCs. VSpot offers thousands of music videos, exclusive performances, artist interviews, live event coverage and behind-the-scenes access. Customers may also watch VH1 shows, movie clips and trailers, and VSpot originals on demand at VSpot.
• Comedy Central. Windows XP Media Center Edition will optimize a soon-to-be-launched broadband channel by providing users with a variety of gateways to access Comedy Central content whether it’s short- and long-form video, audio or text.
• Akimbo. The Akimbo Service will offer Media Center customers more than 5,000 programs from more than 75 partners, including British Broadcasting Corp., National Geographic Society, Discovery Communications Inc. and the Hallmark Channel, as well as hard-to-find specialty offerings such as independent films from IFILM Corp. and Undergroundfilm.org — all available through the Media Center interface. At DigitalLife, Akimbo will be showing for the first time Major League Baseball playoff games delivered the next morning to Akimbo subscribers in a 10-minute condensed version.
• (More) AOL. Building on the availability of its AOL Music on Demand service, AOL will extend additional features to the Media Center PC, including its AOL Pictures digital photo service and AOL Radio Featuring XM.

• Lots more partners announcing stuff over at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/2002/winxpmediacenter/partner.mspx.

• More countries are getting Media Center starting today: Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.

• More countries will get a genuine, official Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) by the end of the year (meaning they won't have to hack one in): Belgium, Czech Republic/Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden.
 
• We published a revised Software Development Kit available online and offline.  You can instantly drill down into the Important Changes to Media Center Edition for the details on the new stuff.  Want to be ready for developing in Media Center for Windows Vista? Start here and here.  We also published a higher level overview of the SDK (PowerPoint Presentation) which can introduce you to developing for Media Center.

...and that's only a partial list.  Listen for all of the news from Digital Life in New York (Matt Goyer is there).

And we aren't slowing down resting on our laurels either: The entire team is now squarely focused on delivering even more goodness in Media Center for Windows Vista.  Stay tuned!

Found this over at http://www.jackcheng.com/...

I'll have more to say later about this comparison. BTW, I'm flying down to Silicon Valley today -- anyone want at Apple want to have me over late this evening to chat...?

I've heard rumors of this for over four years now: http://www.apple.com/imac/frontrow.html.

Frankly, I'm underwhelmed -- I really expected Apple to have much more to brag about, especially given their momentum with iPod over the last couple of years.  Based on everything I'm seeing, Front Row doesn't even have feature parity with the first version of Media Center released back in October 2002. No hint of a developer platform either -- that's a shame -- I was really looking forward to dusting off my Mac coding skills again.

But don't get me wrong -- I do think this is a good thing.  The halls here in Building 50 are buzzing with excitement (and yes, it's positive excitement -- we love this stuff).  It's classic Microsoft vs. Apple, and we haven't really had that for a lonnnnnng time, and some of us miss that competition.

So, welcome back Apple, it's good to see you again!

What do you think -- was this a good move for Apple?

This is too funny: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8335653541

This happened a couple of weeks ago so I'm a bit tardy about telling you.  Check out the new landing page at http://msdn.microsoft.com/mce.  We refactored the page a good bit to help you drill down on all the great resources at MSDN and elsewhere on developing applications for Media Center.

Let me know what you think...

I posted a couple of quick samples / tools you might find handy...

onRemoteHandler.zip contains a complete onRemoteEvent handler which traps all of the remote control buttons passed into hosted HTML applications. Well, almost all -- I didn't explicitly include the 'More Information' button because we don't really recommend you leverage that button.

KeyPress.zip is a utility function which will present a Media Center dialog for each button press passed into hosted HTML applications.  I've used this in the past to confirm my remote control presses were actually being passed into the pages if experiencing some weird behavior.  It's especially helpful if you are using frames and you need to validate the button presses are being passed from parent to child.

Visit Donate To American Red Cross Hurricane Relief To Enter Raffle for a Copy of Visual Studio 2005, Office or Windows to learn more.  Only 5 donors so far, 4 great prizes.  That's quite surprising to me, but good for you if you haven't donated yet -- the chances of winning are extremely high.

Those affected by the hurricane still need our help, so take time today and give.

I've got to talk with folks like Tim Sneath more often -- with lot's of Avalon team members it's hard to make the rounds regularly; There are many of them and only one of me until we get the other Program Manager hired.  In Build an Avalon Web Browser Application Tim states WBAs are '...perfect for enterprise applications where you don't want to deploy anything to the client (simply browse to http://myserver/myapp.wba) and they'll also be great for really immersive web experiences as Avalon becomes more ubiquitous on the desktop.'

Hey Tim, did you forget developers will be able to create Media Center experiences using Windows Presentation Foundation Web Browser Applications?  If you (or others) need a refresher, check out Lot's of Goodness for Media Center Developers at PDC05.

I had the distinct privilege of spending some quality time with Peter Nears, Jason Tsang and one other MVP representing Windows Shell -- all flew in from the Toronto area this evening, but were up for chatting at the Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Seattle tonight.  Thanks for the stimulating conversation and the great, honest feedback we have come to expect from such passionate supporters of Microsoft.