A few days back, I showed you the new touch interface for Media Center PCs running Windows 7, and though I had to pull the video, I promised a walkthrough of proposed Windows 7 Media Center features. I say "proposed" because, like everything else about Windows 7, this is all alpha and subject to change. But these features are very cool, and really should be included. One more thing: These screens were projected on a wall in a well-lit room, so they look horrible, but anyone familiar with Media Center (and Microsoft has shipped like 100 million of them, so that should be plenty of ya) will have a good idea of the pleasantness to come. Or you can just drink in the following prose descriptions:

• Shows appear dissolved behind menus - When you're watching something and want to pull up a menu to add a new show or browse the channel guide, or even go into another area of the Media Center, the current show stays on, not as a picture-in-picture, but tastefully dissolved into the background.

• Chronological turbo scroll for channel guide - When you're looking at the channel guide, but want to go from Tuesday to Sunday in a hurry, you just hold down the arrow button on the remote, and the days start to whip by. Listings become a blur, but the days of the week, and the portions of the day, appear floating over the listings to give you an idea of when to stop.

• Live thumbnail forward and rewind - During HD video playback, you might want to jump around. Grab the time marker and drag it forward or back, and as you do, you see a miniature version of the show playing backwards or forwards at the same speed.

• Launch TV from Start menu - Media Center can occupy a pole position in the Start menu, and when you hover over the MC logo, a list of recently recorded shows pops up, along with other frequently used MC features.

• Floating Media Center gadget - Not only can you access shows from the Start menu, you can browse MC features from the desktop with the gadget. I am not clear whether or not you'll get to have actual video playing in it, but for people who need MC at their fingertips, this appears to be a nice, subtle execution.

• Alphabetical turbo scroll for music - The chronological turbo scroll on the channel guide is cool, but this one will come in more handy for me: As you scroll through the countless artists in your music collection, the names become a blur but your location in the alphabet is denoted by two letters, probably so that those longer letters like J, M, R and S can be broken up better.

• Drifting cover art grid - When you're playing a song, the album art for that track appears with some basic metadata, and all the cover art for every other track you own materializes and drifts in the background. The primary cover art jumps from side to side and top to bottom, so that everything is in constant, fluid motion.

• Scattered photos picture show - As you're playing music, you can opt for a photo show that essentially reaches into a folder, grabs a handful of shots, scatters them evenly around the page, and then zooms in on one at a time. A nice touch: In the wide angle, all the photos look like desaturated black-and-whites, but as each shot gets its own screen time, it magically becomes full color.

• Copy remote content - If you are browsing multiple libraries or Media Center PCs and come across a show you like, you can watch it or save it for later by hitting "make a copy." As long as there's no broadcast flag or some other DRM, the vid will flow over to your local HDD so you can watch it when you've left the network.

• Virtual channels without TV tuner - One of the new Media Center's central concerns is the new popularity of internet-based video, not just YouTube clips but whole TV episodes like those shown on Hulu. DVR functionality is key to making the most of an MC, but at launch there will be loads of virtual channels with shows you can watch just as easily. Microsoft demoed a special MSNBC channel that had clips and full shows; it's of course feasible for them to build similar channels for third-party web video services too. [Windows 7 on Giz]

Visiting Microsoft's Media Center posse in Redmond, I just caught a glimpse of the Windows 7 Media Center interface with integrated touch control (no third-party software) on an HP TouchSmart. All I can say is, I've always loved the MCE user experience—it really is a highlight of Microsoft design—but adding smooth touch interaction makes it even better. The only thing missing here is multitouch, but I'm told that's coming. Check out the vid. [Windows 7] Update: At Microsoft's request, we have removed the video, but will soon publish a walkthrough of Windows 7 Media Center features.

The Price: $299

The Performance: Fantastic. We were able to stream live 1080i over-the-air (OTA) HDTV with no glitches for the most part, and whatever glitches we did see were due to the fact that OTA reception in our area isn't great and we had a small antenna. But when we watched pre-recorded content in both 720p and 1080p, there were zero glitches or dropouts. We tested this both with the wired internet and the Wireless 802.11N network via Linksys's WRT600N Router, and it was super smooth even over Wi-Fi.

Its DVD playback was fine, and is convenient if you want to use this in a spare guest room or a bedroom to stream HDTV off off without hooking up HDTV connections or getting another DVR. The DVD is just a bonus. Also, this extender handles XviD files (but not DivX), meaning you can grab TV shows you missed off of BitTorrent and watch them as well, without having to transcode anything.

The Verdict: Did the extender do everything it promised to do and do it well? Definitely. Streaming perfect HD over 802.11n Wi-Fi isn't a small feat, and doing so when supporting XviD and DVD playback is impressive as well. But is it worth $299 when you can get an Xbox 360 that does pretty much the same thing for the same price? Yes, if you want 802.11n Wi-Fi streaming and XviD playback inside the Media Center interface. If not, then you're better off getting an Xbox 360 and getting gaming out of the deal as well.

Microsoft will also introduce a new Internet TV service for all Vista Home Premium and Ultimate users: starting this Friday, those customers will find the option in their Media Center interface, and can use it to get a range of video programming without the need for a TV tuner. Check out more details on that and the MCEs in the press release below:

Microsoft Unveils Extenders for Windows Media Center and Internet TV Beta - Connected Entertainment Comes Home for the Holidays New devices from Cisco's Linksys division, D-Link and Niveus Media deliver new video formats, form factors and HD TV over wireless home networks; Internet TV Beta debuts with more than one hundred hours of free full-screen video

NEW YORK — Sept. 27, 2007, 12:01 AM EST — Today at DigitalLife, Microsoft joined initial launch partners in revealing highly anticipated details on new Extenders for Windows® Media Center. These devices, which are expected to be available for purchase this holiday season, will allow easy access to premium cable, high-definition TV, popular video formats including DiVX, music, paid movies, photos and more from any TV in the house, with a wired or wireless network connection. People can even pause a recorded show in one room, and then resume it from the same moment in another room. Adding to the wealth of content available on Windows Vista Media Center PCs, Microsoft launched a beta test of Windows Media Center Internet TV, which will offer more than one hundred hours of ad-supported entertainment from MSN Video, including full-length shows, music concerts and movie trailers.

"These new extenders bring the Media Center experience on a Windows Vista PC to any TV around the house in full HD over a standard wired or wireless home network connection," said Joe Belfiore, Corporate Vice President, eHome division at Microsoft. "We are excited to show consumers how easily they can enjoy their digital lifestyle around their house with any of the new sleek looking and quiet Extenders from our launch partners."

New devices build a wireless entertainment bridge throughout the home

The Cisco/Linksys DMA2200 Digital Media Center Extender with DVD Player is an elegant solution integrating an upscaling DVD/ CD player with wireless Extender for Windows Media Center in a single box, letting people reduce clutter while still having easy access to their HD television content with 5.1 audio, using just one remote control. Linksys will also offer the DMA2100 Digital Media Center Extender, which delivers all the appealing features of Extender for Windows Media Center in a compact wireless device. Both products support dual-band draft Wireless-N networking for high quality video and the utmost in convenience. Both devices will support WMV, DivX and XVid formats and are expected to be available for consumers in the US before the end of the year. Pricing has not yet been announced.

The D-Link DSM-750® MediaLounge® Media Player is housed in a sleek 17-inch black aluminum chassis, and connects to the home network using Ethernet or dual-band draft Wireless-N networking to make it easy to enjoy the Windows Media Center experience with friends and family on a home entertainment center. The player will support WMV, DivX, and XVid formats and the DSM-750 includes a USB 2.0 port for instant access to music, photos and videos stored on removable USB flash drives or hard drives.

Designed for the high-end home theater enthusiast, the Niveus Media Extender offers a high fidelity experience, uncompromised 1080p video, digital audio, and the same amazing 3D user interface found on the award-winning Niveus Media Center. Additionally, the Niveus Media Extender features the proprietary Niveus Glacier™ Passive Cooling system for cool and quiet performance and a sleek and stylish A/V form-factor.

Windows Media Center Internet TV Beta Launches

On Friday morning, September 28, 2007, United States users of Windows Vista Home Premium Edition and Windows Vista Ultimate Edition will find a new feature inside Media Center - the beta release of Internet TV. This new feature will allow people to enjoy a range of television and video content on their PCs and TV sets, without the need of a TV tuner in their PC. This streaming video content will be supported by advertising technology provided by YuMe Networks, and will be available to viewers for free.*

The content available in Internet TV comes from MSN Video, with more than 100 hours available during the beta period, including:

· Full episodes of TV shows such as the critically acclaimed "Arrested Development."

· Full-length music concerts including Chris Cornell, Snoop Dogg, Elton John, Pink, John Mayer, The Pussycat Dolls and many more.

· High quality movie trailers from major movie studios

· The latest news segments from MSNBC

· Sports clips from FOX Sports Television

Internet TV has been designed for both the TV and PC screen, and features high quality video optimized for broadband streaming. Viewers can enjoy these high quality videos on Media Center Extender devices, including Xbox 360, as well as Windows Vista Media Center PCs.

Extend Your Digital Entertainment to the Whole Home

Watching a recorded TV show in the living room, pausing it, and then quickly resuming it from the bedroom or kitchen will soon become even easier with these new low-heat, quiet, home-theater designed devices. Extenders for Windows Media Center support streaming live high-definition TV, including premium cable channels in the US, along with formats such as Windows Media HD. The D-Link and Linksys devices add built-in support for dual band Wireless-N networking and expanded support for popular video formats such as DivX, XVid and H.264. These devices allow people to almost instantly start enjoying their entertainment - there's no need for a built-in hard-drive to cache the video before viewing.

New Extender devices are expected to be available this holiday season, and will unleash photos, music, videos, live and recorded TV from PCs with Windows Vista Media Center for viewing and listening on big-screen TV displays or standard definition TVs - delivering the ultimate entertainment solution with a wide range of flexibility - ready for today and the future.

These Extenders will lead the industry in supporting the ability to send protected HD content to additional rooms, including recorded TV from over-the-air Advanced Television Systems Committee or Digital Cable Tuners. Extenders also support on-demand broadband content from Media Center Online Media partners such as up-to-date sports reports from FOXSports.com, kids programming from Nickelodeon, downloadable TV episodes from Showtime Networks, and subscription movies on demand from Starz VONGO, along with support for a wealth of 3rd-party plug-in applications.

More information on new Extenders for Windows Media Center is available at http://www.windowsvista.com/extender

Both MCE devices require Vista-based Media Center PCs, which means nearly every PC running Vista. One of the best things about the new interface, which looks almost exactly like the Vista MC interface, is that you can actually browse through the DVR schedule and order up shows to watch. It means you can really leave your big ugly PC in the den, but use all of its Media Center functions when you're on your couch. This wasn't really possible before, and especially not in high-def.

Besides the Wireless-N ability to stream HD throughout the house, the beauty of Linksys' dual-band system is that both the high-def video and your ordinary average applications can share the air, without one elbowing the other out of the way (or without one forcing the whole system to a crappier bandwidth).

Both MCEs will be available by the end of the year—you can easily guess which one I'm lining up for. But that wasn't all that the Linksys team had on hand when I paid them a visit. There's a new camera and a pretty insane router, and a previously released NAS product, all which fit nicely in a home-network ecosystem with the MCEs. I don't think Linksys wanted me to spill the beans on the router and camera just yet, but they did let me take some pictures. Have a look—it's good stuff.

There's compatibility with WM6 and Windows, but it seems like many browsers should be able to hit your photos and music easily, with Windows Media Video streaming support. And you need to either hit your IP manually or use a Dynamic DNS service, but hey, free is free, and look, you just got streaming home video without a Slingbox (plus Music and Photos). [WebGuide]

Microsoft Shatters the PC-to-Television Barrier, Releases First Details on Extenders for Windows Media Center New devices from Cisco Systems' Linksys division, D-Link and Niveus Media to bring the ultimate audio/video experience to any room in the home.

DENVER — Sept. 5, 2007 — Watching a live TV broadcast in the living room, pausing it, and then effortlessly resuming it at the same moment from the bedroom or kitchen will soon become even easier, as Microsoft Corp. provides a first look at the new Extenders for Windows® Media Center platform, which will power a variety of devices to be released this holiday season. A wave of new cool, quiet, home-theater-quality devices from companies such as Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems Inc.; D-Link Corporation; and Niveus Media Inc. may incorporate new features, including live high-definition (HD) video, wireless networking and expanded support for audio and video formats such as DivX and Xvid.

The new Extender devices, which will be unveiled later this month in a variety of innovative form factors and price points, unleash the pictures, music, video content and live TV from a PC running Windows Vista® Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate for viewing and listening on a big-screen TV display for the ultimate entertainment solution.

"With more than 60 million Windows Vista Media Center PCs in use worldwide, there are many customers eager to bring the simple and elegant Media Center experience to the televisions in their homes," said Dave Alles, general manager for eHome at Microsoft. "The new Extenders for Windows Media Center make it easy to get a wide range of personal and Internet content not only on someone's main TV but on all the TVs in the house. Whether it's a high-def show recorded from digital cable, new Internet video, or your personal library of pictures, music and videos, it's all on your television — just a remote-click away."

New extenders will be available in a wide range of form factors, including both stand-alone set-top boxes and integration with other devices such as DVD players and televisions, so now connecting to a PC running Windows Media Center is even more convenient and seamless than ever. New support for Wireless N high-speed technology means there is no need to run Ethernet cables throughout the home to watch HD video in up to six rooms at once.

Extenders for Windows Media Center are also, for the first time, enhanced to allow support for popular video codecs such as DivX and Xvid, along with continued support for Windows Media® Video HD files. These extenders will also lead the industry in supporting the ability to send protected HD content to additional rooms, including recorded TV from over-the-air Advanced Television Systems Committee or Cable Card tuners and movies and music available from providers such as CinemaNow, MovieLink LLC and Napster LLC. Extenders also support Media Center features such as Reuters news feeds, National Public Radio broadcasts, up-to-date sports reports from the FOX Sports Lounge, and subscription music from XM Radio. At the same time, these devices support Parental Controls built into Windows Media Center, allowing parents to choose the content their children are allowed to view.

Consumers have already logged millions of hours of use on Xbox 360s as Extenders for Windows Media Center. Microsoft is working first with Cisco/Linksys, D-Link and Niveus Media to deliver quiet, high-quality products, and the company will be expanding the Extenders' platform to other companies in the future. The new Extenders for Windows Media Center are being demonstrated at the Microsoft booth at the CEDIA EXPO 2007 in Denver Thursday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 9.

Do you go with a cheap $9 a month rental from Comcast and put up with all its flaws to save money? Do you plunk down a couple hundred bucks and a monthly fee for a TiVo Series 3 because it just works the way you want it? Do you go all out and spend a couple grand for a Vista Media Center that has every single extra feature you could possibly want in a PC? Or do you go to the other extreme and build your own MythTV/SageTV/XP Media Center machine out of spare parts?

Here are the ten things you should know before you decide.

0) Do you have HDTV cable and an HDTV set? The pre-requisite to even getting an HD DVR is actually having high def cable and an HDTV. Make sure you're signed up for high definition cable from your cable provider (it's usually $5-$15 more a month) and have an HDTV to watch it on. The super-cheap EDTV sets you find at Costco won't support up to the 1080i resolution that HD cable brings, which means all those extra pixels are going to waste. Make sure you have the necessary equipment before you go and spend the money on an HD recorder.

1) Are you cheap? This is the biggest and most important question. Admit it, you're cheap. Hell, I'm pretty cheap too. Do you really need to spend $500 or $2000 for a system only to have to keep on paying rental or subscription fees of nearly $100 a month? Do you really want to watch that much TV? If not, then renting a HD DVR from your cable company or building your own Myth TV or XP Media Center Edition box with an over the air (OTA) HD recorder could be for you.

2) Are you familiar with Linux/PCs? If you are cheap (see #1), then you're probably contemplating salvaging an old PC and building a media center out of that. The only problem is that MythTV requires anywhere from slight Linux knowledge (installing some packages) to uber haxor Linux knowledge (recompiling kernels, fiddling with code and compiling), depending on what PC components you already have and which ones you can get your hands on. Even if you're going for a Windows XP MCE-based box, you might still have to go out and look for drivers and download updates to your current software. It's not nearly as easy as buying a TiVo or a pre-built Vista Media Center box.

3) Does someone nontechnical need to use it? If you or your wife/husband/roommates don't know the first thing about computers, you're going to want to go with TiVo. Although Vista's CableCARD HTPC is pretty easy to use (as we saw in our TiVo head-to-head), it's still a PC and still suffers from the same old PC problems like freezing or crashing. If you want the absolute simplest interface while still keeping features intact, you'll want a TiVo Series 3. Also, if you've already owned a TiVo before, you're going to want to stick with TiVo. Learning another system, even if it is easy like Vista's Media Center, is unnecessary if you're already an expert at one.

4) Do you need DivX/XviD playback? If you're often downloading TV shows and movies off of BitTorrent, you're going to want a way to watch them on your TV. And if you don't have an upscaling DVD player that supports DivX, a Vista CableCARD HTPC or a do-it-yourself Myth/XP machine can do the trick. However, most of the time HDTV encodes you find on BitTorrent are of poorer quality than the feeds you get from your cable provider—because they've been re-encoded, naturally. You'll want to watch most of your TV programming from your DVR instead of from BitTorrent if you can help it.

5) Do you have Satellite TV? If you have Dish or DirecTV, your own provider has a box made just to cram down your throat, so you're usually stuck with those. The DIY solutions like MythTV or XP MCE won't work with satellite, but Microsoft and DirecTV said they're going to integrate an app/plug-in into Vista Media Centers that allow reception of DirecTV. In this case, the receiver is your Vista HTPC, which brings with it all the benefits that HTPC systems have.

6) Do you need photos and music? Gaming? Internet browsing? Vista Media Centers trounce TiVo when it comes to viewing photos and playing back your music. To a slightly lesser extent, so do MythTV and XP MCE boxes. If you're going to want to play games or browse the Internet from your couch like some kind of non-shitty WebTV, a PC is the way to go.

7) Do you need On Demand? HD cable in general? This one's a little tricky. For On Demand, the only HD DVR that supports this is the one from your cable company. Both TiVos and Vista machines don't. Also, if you want HD cable, that totally rules out home-made machines like MythTV, which don't have CableCARD support and can only get cable over the air using an ATSC card. Depending on where you live, how big an antenna you use (yeah, you'll have to use an antenna), and what channels your local stations broadcast in HD, you may or may not have the same experience as HD cable.

8) Do you watch a lot of TV? If you record a lot of TV, you're going to need a lot of space. The DVRs from your cable company only have 120GB of space (the Comcast Motorola box), TiVo only has 250GB unless you upgrade it with an external hard drive, but Vista Media Centers and do-it-yourself solutions are almost infinitely expandable thanks to the fact that they're PCs. In fact, you could even store the recordings on another server over the network, or burn them to DVDs if you want to archive them.

9) Can you stand a PC in the living room? We're fine with it, but many people hate the sight of a PC in their home entertainment setups. This is a huge win for TiVo, since it looks like it belongs in your media center. However, you can technically get an extender like an Xbox 360 and get the exact same experience as if you had the Vista Media Center in your living room. This way, you can house your machine in another room and have a (relatively) quiet front-end. The same is true for MythTV systems, which can also be extended with smaller front ends and have larger servers in the back room.

10) Do you love Macs? Although we prefer to go with a TiVo 3 or Vista Media Center, we know of a couple people that are so tied into the Apple ecosystem of iTunes music and movies that they really want that experience in the living room as well. Using something like a Miglia TVMini HD+, you can turn your Mac Mini into a DVR that even records in DivX. Add to that the fact that you have a Mac with Front Row attached to your TV—so you can easily watch iTunes movies or listen to iTunes music—and you have the perfect setup for a Mac head who wants DVR features. The only caveat, like the issues MythTV systems run into on #7, is that you can only record over the air HD and not stuff from cable. (Of course, TiVo's desktop app is well supported on the Mac, so you can stream music and photos from your Apple, and a MCE PC can still run iTunes.)

With all these options, it's probably tough to decide which one is right for you. There's no perfect solution right now (neither TiVo nor Vista HTPCs are great for everyone), so you should pick the features you really, really need to have and choose the DVR that meets most of them. – Jason Chen

In short, the Niveus PC can do whatever you normally do on Vista, such as watch downloaded movies, and it can also do what the TiVo Series 3 does.

The test setup, which you can see in the video on top, is running Niveus's higher-end Denali system along with the company's dual CableCARD receiver. Check that out, then join us after the jump for impressions.

If you've never used Vista's Media Center, you can see how shiny and usable the interface is. The bonus of going with a Niveus system is the company-specific add-ons and plugins: Stuff like HD music downloads via the Music Giants Network and Niveus's own backup software are all integrated into the 10-foot experience.

If you are familiar with Media Center—perhaps using it with an analog NTSC tuner to record standard definition cable now—you'll know it works quite well. Adding a CableCARD makes it work even better. In this test system, we were able to record three HD shows and play back a fourth without any hiccups. We were also able to flip channels in HD with even less delay than my piece-of-crap Comcast Motorola DVR.

You'll be needing both a standard Rainier or Denali set that has Vista installed, plus a Niveus Digital Cable Receiver with CableCARD in order to handle HD. This, in turn, makes it so you have two components to place into your media center cabinet, not just one. Plus, it jacks up the price a bit.

Other miscellaneous items: It's super quiet (only 20-something db) thanks to its all-but-fanless system. There's one fan in the power supply but everything else is passively cooled, with the heat out to the gigantic fins on the outside. It works with Niveus's other products like a Disc Changer, Storage Server, and a Media Center Companion that runs on a laptop or a tablet PC.

The only downside is that the setup is pricey. These are high-end systems here. If you thought a TiVo Series 3 was expensive, don't look at the $3199 price point for the Rainier, plus another $1499 for a CableCARD digital cable receiver. However, other than having DVR features, the Niveus system doesn't have that much in common with a TiVo. Can you play games on your TiVo? Record 4 HD channels simultaneously? Download and play back HD media? Link up to your 100-disc DVD changer? Play back HD DVD discs? Not exactly.

If you do want one with CableCARD recording capability, you'll have to wait until late April or early May to get it. Watch for our review before then. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Niveus]

Nevertheless, your $4,595 will get you an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor, 2GB of RAM, nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX video card, 1TB of hard drive space, an NTSC tuner, an ATSC (OTA) tuner, and a 7-inch LCD on the front. Also, since Vista natively handles Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Windows controllers, you can use this for your Games for Windows games as well. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Okoromedia via Crunchgear]

You're not spending the better part of a grand just for a drive—on no! You also get Roxio Toast 8 Titanium, which enables you to write Blu-ray discs from both Finder and Toast itself.

As a separate added bonus, Toast 8 comes with a TiVo Transfer program that lets you grab shows off your TiVo. Whether these shows are in HD, we're not sure, that beats not having TiVo capabilities on your Mac. – Jason Chen

Product Page [MCETech via MacWorld]

TiVo-Tastic [Crunchgear]

The second hard drive comes in capacities of 80 to 160GB, so you can have a maximum of 360GB (320GB if you went for the faster, smaller drive) sitting in your Apple laptop. And yes, your old optical DVD drive can still be lugged around and used as an external drive whenever you need it. Prices start at $249 for the smallest PowerBook drive and end at $479 for 160GB MacBook and MacBook Pro drives. – Jason Chen

Product Page [MCETech via Crunchgear]

Verizon Near Content Deal with YouTube [via SlashGear]

I've always thought all monitors deserved a beautiful border like that. Just so I could muddle it up with post it notes, photo-booth stickers, and finger prints.

The as of right now Europe-only PC has a 1680 x 1050 resolution, a Core 2 Duo processor and Motion-Eye webcam and Remote Control.–Brian Lam

UPDATE: Well would you look at that. You can find the same design over at Sony Style under the LS-series designation. Just goes to show you&mdashNever believe what you read on blogs. Thanks John Nye.
Sony Vaio LA-Series [Sci Fi Tech]