Mon 10/6/03 -- Your local stores are probably decorated for Halloween rather than counting the shopping days till Christmas yet, but Microsoft opened the holiday season last week with the unveiling of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, an upgrade of the special version of Windows XP Professional introduced in July 2002 for TV-tuner- and remote-control-equipped PCs -- computers designed to fit into living or dorm rooms instead of traditional home offices or dens.
As before, Win XP Media Center combines access to regular Windows applications, Web browsing, and e-mail with a special, readable-from-across-the-room interface for remote-controlled enjoyment of live and recorded TV shows, DVD movies, digital music, image slide shows, and other entertainment. The system is designed to restart swiftly from standby mode, rather than turn off and take time to boot up as regular desktops do.
New features in the revised operating system -- which will be available as an upgrade for owners of existing Media Center PCs, but not for other Windows versions -- include support for FM and Internet radio as well as TV tuners, with the same TiVo-style ability to pause, rewind, and record programming; easy viewing of digital-camera slide shows simply by inserting a SmartMedia or CompactFlash card into a slot; and one-click copying of all tracks to the system's hard disk while listening to a music CD. (Media Center's native file format, needless to say, follows Microsoft's digital-rights-managed Windows Media 9 standard instead of a rival such as MP3.)
Media Center 2004 also offers enhanced support for 16:9 aspect ratio or wide-screen displays; a Calibration Wizard that optimizes viewing for different display types such as CRT and LCD monitors and projectors; automatic downloading of TV listings from the Internet; on-screen Caller ID notification of incoming phone calls; and "silent" personal video recording that wakes from standby mode to record desired shows, or does so while you use the PC for other tasks.
Microsoft is also touting a handful of third-party applications and enhancements for Media Center Edition (as well as its own MSN TV Internet news, weather, and stock-ticker service and downloadable Power Toys like a version of Solitaire for play with the remote). Sonic Solutions' PrimeTime Deluxe ($80) integrates home-movie or recorded-TV DVD burning into the Media Center environment. The on-demand movie libraries Movielink and CinemaNow have signed up for Media Center 2004's Online Spotlight download area, as (by Christmas) will the 500,000-track Napster music service and Live365 Internet radio network.
Jupiter Research, a division of WinPlanet parent company Jupitermedia Corp., says it expects Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 to supplant Windows XP Home for mid-level PCs over the next 12 to 18 months. The firm says a July 2003 online consumer survey shows that 34 percent of users would like to record TV shows for viewing on their PC monitors, but that number climbs to 51 percent if they could watch the content on their living-room TVs.
An Upsell from Plain Old PCs
The new release opens Media Center PC sales to Japan, China, France, Germany, and the U.K. as well as last year's original markets of the U.S., Canada, and South Korea. And Microsoft says that over 40 PC manufacturers are shipping Media Center 2004 systems, designed to inspire consumers to view their PCs as hubs of home entertainment instead of generic workhorses (and, in turn, to buy better-equipped, higher-priced multimedia hardware instead of generic desktop boxes).
Two big brands that sat out the first wave of Media Center PCs, Dell and Sony, have adopted Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, though both will continue to offer alternatives. Dell has added build-to-order Media Center configurations of its Dimension 4600, 4600C, and 8300 desktops, but starting October 17, all Dimensions and some Inspiron notebooks -- including regular Windows XP Home Edition systems -- will come with new Dell Media Experience software, which offers a visual interface for watching DVDs and digital slide shows and listening to MP3 files and supports an optional $30 remote control.
Sony's latest Vaio RZ series desktops combine the Windows Media Center interface with the company's own Giga Pocket personal video recording and DVD-burning system and Vaio Media networking software for sharing content on one PC with other Windows XP systems on a home network -- offerings familiar from previous Sony desktops and its more affordable, Win XP Home Edition-based Vaio RS series. The RZ models will ship next month starting at about $1,600.
Meanwhile, first-generation Media Center PC vendors have introduced new models with the 2004 software. Toshiba has freshened its desktop-replacement Satellite P15 and P25 models (equipped with 15.4- and 17.0-inch screens, respectively) with 2.8GHz Hyper-Threading Pentium 4 power. HP has introduced a 17.0-inch, wide-screen luggable of its own, the Media Center zd7000, as well as new Media Center m300 desktops, priced from $999 to $1,999, with an optional built-in dock for transferring images from HP Photosmart digital cameras.
Perhaps the most ambitious platform will ship in late October: The all-in-one Gateway 610 Media Center combines a PC and 17-inch wide-screen (1,280 by 768) LCD monitor in one piece, like the company's Profile desktops. The $1,499 model 610S has a 2.4GHz Hyper-Threading Pentium 4 and DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive; the $1,999 model 610XL has a 3.0GHz processor, DVD-RW drive, and integrated 802.11g wireless networking. Gateway also promises another Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 system in a form factor meant for the living room.
Against this backdrop, WinBook is playing a contrary card by announcing the WinBook Fusion PC, which it says "is not a Media Center PC, but an entirely new product category of transportable, affordable entertainment convergence device." That translates into a 15-inch LCD monitor with a PC with personal video recorder and FM radio in its base, accompanied by a wireless keyboard, mouse, and remote control; a Celeron/2.2 system with DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive is $1,099 while a Pentium 4/2.66 version with DVD-RW is $1,499.
The Fusion PC has one feature you definitely won't find on any Windows XP Media Center: In addition to serving as a Win XP Home Edition desktop, the 24-pound system has a Linux-based utility that permits instant-on access to the TV tuner, radio, or CD/DVD player.
