News & Releases

New Sage HD300 extender...HD audio and all while silent!!!

PLUCKYHD — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:49:54 GMT

Great news for htpc sage users. HD audio passthrough/ remote ir/ silent and tiny tiny box. Come on media center this is what you need as an extender. So now with native blu ray support I can get full hd audio from each one of this little silent machines and full 1080p24fps playback wow!!

Windows 8 Media Center

bigpunk — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:49:00 GMT

I saw some blog post about the Leaked Windows 8 Documents and saw not one mention of Media Center. So i decided to look at the documents myself and found some interesting info that no one else posted.First is DLNA Tuner support

Internet sourced TV

Updated Codec Support

Media Foundation

DLNA and PlayTo and HTML5?

And for all the people over the years that say "Media Center is for Enthusiasts only so Microsoft doesn't care about it" how about this from the Horse's mouth "Why Enthusiasts Matter".

CableOne analog/QAM channel realignment

Zeke_D — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:07:18 GMT

CableOne.net for the 863xx zipcodes have realigned their QAM and analog channels. They claim it is for internet upgrades, but we all know cableone couldn't do an upgrade in a field of upgrades during upgrade mating season wearing upgrade pheremones. Anyway, UPN is now 98.485, KPHO-DT2 is now 98.461. For analog, TVLAND is now 55, Travel Channel is now 35, Lifetime is now 23, TV Guide is now 20, and TBN is now 19. Who knows how long the 7MC guide will be updated, so you will need to remap. For those interested, here is a link to a spreadsheet of OTA from 86314: http://hizzouse.doesntexist.com/OTA-863xx.xls

How do I jump to the first unread post in a topic?

tai4de2 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:44:25 GMT

I can't see a way to jump to the first post I have not read within a topic. How do I accomplish that?

Cox New Orleans goes to SDV

pcostanza — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:06:04 GMT

I'm in a suburb of the Big Easy and just got a letter today that soon (don't say when) Cox is going the SDV route. At least they'll give you one free or you can rent a receiver for the same price as a cable card....$1.99.

So, if I plan to have the Ceton Infinitv4 and 1 external cablecard tuner, I need 2 I assume???? I can survive with one as my external is getting old and who knows how long it will last. My put my internal on eBay as it's overkill.

Apple TV relaunch

buellpilot — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:13:59 GMT

With rummors that Apple are to relaunch their Apple TV product and perhaps even launch an actual Apple TV screen with integrated iTV sometime in 2011 in an attempt to get a foot hold in living rooms, do you think Microsoft will all respond by remembering about their eHome Media Center strategy?

Recent history tends to support the hypothesis that Microsoft while often coming up with good ideas in their R&D they, also always manage to somehow fail to put the effort into them required to really drive home the advantage (Obviously excluding the core Windows, Office and Server products) I am thinking more of consumer product lines, TV, music, phone all the consumer gadget market.

Slates/Tablets a half baked idea that wasn't sure of its purpose, then the iPad comes out and Ballmer reckons that it now critically important that Microsft up their game in that area.

In 2007 Ballmer laughs off iPhone, while Windows Mobile was fairly stagnant, and only now is Windows Phone 7 starting to look like a 'cool' product.

I do find myself questioning whether Ballmer really has a vision to push Microsoft in all of the directions it should be going simultaneously or wherher it is always just knee jerk reaction. But you know what I don't really care, I am a simply a Media Center user, and just hope that if Apple make a push to be a user interface on TVs that it might awaken interest in Mediacenter within Microsoft, and perhaps the 3 to 4 years dormant period in the product development cycle will be broken.

tubeCore 1.4, tubeCore 2.0, and onCore Beta Releases

CLaRGe — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:03:43 GMT

tubeCore 1.4, 2.0, and onCore Beta
I am pleased to release the much anticipated tubeCore 1.4!

Here is the download link to the latest version of tubeCore. Here is a link to our website.

Features of This Release

Lots of bug fixes
Performance enhancements.

Requirements

Windows 7 with Media Center, Windows Vista Home Premium, or Vista Ultimate
The latest operating system updates from Microsoft
A DLNA Server such as PlayOn, Tversity, or Twonky Media

Known Issues

Sometimes the video will stop playing but you will still hear sound. We are aware of this problem but have not discovered a fix. A workaround is to rewind the video for a few seconds and it will begin to play smoothly again.

tubeCore 2.0 is scheduled for release this summer. It will have several exciting new features:

Bookmarks -- bookmark your favorite shows, movies, or TV episodes and instantly go right back to them. This wonderful feature saves you having to navigate through page after page of content to find something you already found once before. It is super easy to use and really empowers your TV viewing experience!
Watch Later -- This is the true Internet DVR feature! With this feature you can queue up several videos, shows, movies, etc and record them to watch whenever you like (as long as the content is available from the provider) withno buffering or streaming! With Watch Later you can even watch the contentwhile it is being recorded!
Trending Shows -- See what shows are most popular right now with other tubeCore and onCore users!
Current Time and Weather -- tubeCore will display the current time, temperature, and a weather forecast. You might be surprised just how useful this is.

The upgrade to tubeCore 2.0 will be FREE to everyone who purchased tubeCore between March 31st, 2010 and the release date of tubeCore 2.0. The upgrade fee will be $3.99 (50% off).

onCore Beta will be released very soon to our 100 beta testers. We have been hard at work making onCore the very best software possible. We think you will be pleasantly surprised at what we've cooked up. It is unlike anything you ever seen for watching content online!

Here's a link to the latest version of tubeCore.

Questions and comments are always welcome.

vidabox has sweet ipad controls for media center. . .check it out

brantmacga — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:11:11 GMT

check out this video of vidabox's ipad controls for media center. says its from cedia 2010, but looks like they're using VMC.

http://www.vidabox.com/ipad_controls_preview.php

is there anything like this for those of us that don't own a vidabox?

Microsoft Increasing Price of Xbox Live Gold Membership - effective November 1

mcewinter — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:47:59 GMT

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368510,00.asp

Google TV - Media Center Killer?

HTPCDad — Thu, 27 May 2010 05:37:22 GMT

What do you guys think?

Announcing Google TV

What is GoogleTV?

richard1980 — Mon, 31 May 2010 22:59:02 GMT

If you want to know about GoogleTV, this is the place to find out what it is. There seems to be great confusion about what GoogleTV actually is, so I thought I'd write about it so others could benefit.

So what is GoogleTV? In order to better explain what GoogleTV is, it is important to understand what it is not. GoogleTV is not:

A replacement for any current hardware in the home;
A device;
A way to watch Blu-Ray movies;
A way to tune cable and satellite channels;
A way to record content, commonly known as a DVR;
A way to distribute sound;
Designed to replace the personal computer.

Instead, GoogleTV is:

A software platform which connects the television to local and wide-area networks, including the internet;
A method for the home user to access remote content seamlessly while simultaneously accessing the content they are accustomed to viewing on the television screen;
A method for content creators to deliver their content to the home user.

Google has partnered with various companies to ensure products are available for the consumer that will make finding and discovering remote content as simple as possible. The following are examples of hardware we can expect to see on the market:

Television sets with GoogleTV embedded in the firmware;
Cable and satellite set-top boxes with GoogleTV embedded in the firmware;
Blu-Ray players with GoogleTV embedded in the firmware;
Smartphones/PDA's with GoogleTV support;
Personal/handheld digital media players with GoogleTV support;
Stand-alone GoogleTV boxes;
Peripherals, such as wireless mice and keyboards designed specifically to work with GoogleTV.

As you can see, the GoogleTV software is designed to work with, not replace, the types of hardware in your home. All of the hardware in the home has a core function. Whatever the core function of the device, the device must be used for the purpose it is designed for. GoogleTV will not be able to change that. GoogleTV will not enable you to add a Blu-Ray drive to your television. You will need to purchase an independent Blu-Ray player. A GoogleTV enabled television will not let you avoid purchasing a multichannel audio receiver for the presentation of multichannel audio (with the exception of any speakers or sound processing capabilities already built into the television). Simply put, GoogleTV is only the software platform used by the hardware. Any hardware specific functions must be enabled in the device by the hardware manufacturer. Software, including GoogleTV, cannot add a hardware function to a device if the hardware function is not built into the device. However, software may be used to enhance a hardware feature that is already present.

The core concept of GoogleTV is centered around they way many of us get our content. More people throughout the world are turning to the internet as a source of their content. People are discovering more and more content is available on the internet, and most of that content is available when it is convenient for the consumer. The problem is, this content is usually viewed on devices that are designed to access web based content...specifically computers and web-enabled phones. The screens are small, and it's hard to make web-content the center-stage on such small screens. The primary viewing screen in the home still remains the television. However, there is no device on the market today which brings all of the web's content to that screen (except of course, connecting a personal computer to the television, something that is not yet mainstream). Even with today's web-enabled TV's and Blu-Ray players, users are restricted to a handful of sources for content. We have devices that allow access to Netflix, Amazon Video-on-Demand, Picasa, YouTube, and other similar sources of content. We even have devices with access to local news and weather information. However, all of these devices still restrict the amount of content that is available for the consumer to access, and this restriction is set by the device manufacturer. This is where GoogleTV comes in. GoogleTV allows the consumer (that would be you) to have unlimited access to content, provided you purchase a device that contains the GoogleTV platform. Previously, the granting of access rights to content has been done by the manufacturers. With GoogleTV, the access rights are now controlled by the content creators themselves. No longer will you have to say "I can't access Netflix streaming services because I don't have a Netflix capable device in my home. My device manufacturer partnered with Amazon Video-on-Demand instead." Instead, both Amazon and Netflix will be able to create a GoogleTV application that will work with ALL GoogleTV enabled devices.

So far, GoogleTV sounds like a great thing, right? Well here are the possible side affects and negative points of GoogleTV:

As it stands now, GoogleTV devices can only be purchased at BestBuy, which will likely cause BestBuy to benefit from sales where other retailers cannot;
GoogleTV is only available if a consumer purchases a device that includes GoogleTV in the firmware. This means if you want to buy a TV with GoogleTV capabilities, you will need to purchase from one or more specific manufacturers, thereby limiting your selection;

This will likely result in GoogleTV being used as a major selling point and could possibly raise prices of these devices compared to devices with similar core functionality that do not include GoogleTV;
Plans are to have a stand-alone device for sale so consumers are not bound to purchasing specific televisions or Blu-Ray players;

GoogleTV is a method for delivering content, including advertisements. Since Google's primary source of income is from advertising revenue, GoogleTV users should expect to see advertisements included in most, if not all, content;
Because GoogleTV is meant to marry the traditional method of viewing content on the TV (over-the-air, cable, satellite, and digital disk) with the web, GoogleTV will be able to interact with the end user while the end users is viewing such content. This will allow the presentation of content in addition to what was already being viewed, such as additional advertising, which could take away from the user's desired experience;
As with all other Google products, user's habits can be tracked. Google will be able to closely monitor what content is being viewed and who is viewing it, and be able to customize the user experience based on this information;

When GoogleTV is used on devices that can interact with the traditional over-the-air, cable, and satellite devices, this will effectively replace our current standard of tracking, the Nielsen ratings, and if GoogleTV takes off and has a large enough audience, will probably put Nielsen Media Research out of business (or at least severely impact their operations);
Users should expect targeted advertising, so if you watch questionable content that your spouse/significant other is not aware of, expect them to see the advertisements related to such questionable content;

Because GoogleTV is open source, and because Google is allowing third-party application development, there will be the risk that someone will attempt to use GoogleTV as a way to harm users; We could possibly see malware-ridden applications or advertisements, and while this is not likely, it is always a possibility.

While the above things may seem very negative, there are many good points to GoogleTV. Some of these good points are:

Users will be able to access additional content on their television screen which would normally require the use of a separate viewing device;
Advertisers will be able to extend their reach into the home;
Content creators will have a single platform for content distribution;
Google will (hopefully, in their eyes) be able to profit from the project, thereby growing their business and allowing them to expand into other markets;
As GoogleTV application development increases, and as GoogleTV enabled products appear in more and more homes, competition will be created in the content-delivery market;

We can expect cable, satellite, and television networks to increase the amount of content available on the web;
It is important to note that GoogleTV itself does not compete with any hardware device. GoogleTV is simply a gateway that opens up competition between other entities. GoogleTV does not compete with devices such as personal computers, and personal computers are devices with a different core function altogether. However, GoogleTV enabled devices compete with traditional devices in their same category. A GoogleTV enabled television will compete with other televisions. A cable/satellite operator that incorporates GoogleTV into their hardware will compete with other service providers that do not. GoogleTV stand-alone boxes will compete against other similar devices, such as the Roku Netflix player (should Netflix choose to make a GoogleTV application), but will not compete with devices such as the AppleTV. The AppleTV is a hardware device that Apple requires a user to have in order to receive services that compete with Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, and other companies that offer web-based content for a fee;

Users will experience seamless integration of content from various sources, which makes the end-user experience more enjoyable;
Just like other Google services, the ability to marry web content with traditional content should remain free to the end user, with advertisers supporting the cost of the services.

Other companies have tried to marry the TV experience with the web experience, and all have failed. However, these companies tried to do it before there was such a high demand for web content. More recently, we have seen devices on the market that bring additional content to the home in the form of a separate source. Google has decided that having a separate source is not the way to go, as it does not allow for true integration of web content with traditional television content. Instead, Google has decided that the web content needs to be just as accessible as the traditional content, and users should not be restricted to what content they can see, provided that such content is available.

It's hard to say if GoogleTV will be successful. GoogleTV may or may not be right for you. There's one thing we can all be sure of: Google is an ever expanding company that has set its sights on a new place to have a presence, and that's exactly where the company wants to be.

Mediaroom 2.0 - The same on-demand experience on the PC with Windows Media Center in Windows 7

MSBob — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:06:40 GMT

Mediaroom 2.0 As part of Microsoft’s digital entertainment strategy, Microsoft announced Microsoft Mediaroom 2.0, the next version of its Internet Protocol Television solution for service providers such as AT&T U-verse. Mediaroom 2.0 gives service providers the ability to offer their subscribers features such as these:

The ability to stream live and on-demand content to the TV but also devices such as PCs and phones
The same on-demand experience on the PC with Windows Media Center in Windows 7

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2010/jan10/01-06CESKeynote.mspx

CES is fun :)

Ceton InfiniTV 4 in the wild...

mikinho — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 22:51:44 GMT

For those no longer following the massive thread...

Ceton InfiniTV 4 in the wild...

Sagetv Getting better all the time.

PLUCKYHD — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:01:32 GMT

This is a new view/theme that is coming out soon for the mymovies port on SageTV that me and another guy teamed up to do. Yes sage doesn't have the holy cable card tuner but it's pluses are starting to looking better and better everyday. Native dvd and blu ray support on a silent low power extender are a perfect match.

Missing Remote Writeup of SMM BasicView

AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188 tuner, Dual ATSC or Clear QAM

Felixk — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:14:23 GMT

Dear TheGreenbutton.com,

Recently AVerMedia Technologies, Inc. released a new PCIe TV Tuner: AVerTVHD Duet A188.

Today I uploaded new QAM tool that support AVerTVHD Duet Dual Clear QAM tunning under Media Center (both XP and Vista) and this QAM tool support both x32 and x64 bit OS.

Please follow instruction in PDF files

Please use official drivers with this QAM tool.

Note: If you are using Windows Vista TV Pack 2008 or Windows 7, you don't need QAM tool at all, QAM tool will not run if your have TV Pack 2008 or Windows 7.

You can download QAM tool from the following FTP:

ftp.aver.com/Duet

User Name: beta, password: betatest

ZALMAN Aluminum HD160XT-S ATX HTPC Case $199.99 @ Newegg

okbrown — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:40:54 GMT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235008&nm_mc=EMC-GD082310&cm_mmc=EMC-GD082310-_-EMC-082310-Index-_-HTPCMediaCenterCases-_-11235008-L0A has the ZALMAN Silver Aluminum HD160XT-S ATX Media Center / HTPC Case marked down from $599 to $299. The promo code EMCYTZT108 knocks it down to $219.99 and after a $20 mail in rebate it ends up at $199.99.

Just thought I'd post this price in case anyone wanted a new HTPC case.

Video of embedded media center device; haven't see this on TGB before. . .

brantmacga — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:43:36 GMT

I found this interesting video on youtube of what looks like a STB running win7 embedded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX7NoFUnpng

I also found this article about it . . .

http://usingwindowshomeserver.com/2010/05/03/is-the-reycom-entertainment-center-the-first-embedded-windows-media-center-7-device/

I've never seen this mentioned on TGB, and didn't find anything about it in a search.

NControl iPhone app is finally released!!!

reggieq — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:47:28 GMT

Hey guys,

Apple finally approved my iPhone app. It's basically an app that allows you to use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a remote control for (Vista/Windows7)Media Center. You can get all the bits here: http://kumatek.com/NControl.html

The plugin works on Vista and Windows7, 32 and 64 bit, directly and through extenders.

I hope you enjoy it!!!

-Reggie

CableLabs approves CableCARD tuner sharing

richard1980 — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:51:51 GMT

CableLabs has finally lifted the restriction to keep CableCARD tuners such as the Ceton InfiniTV and the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime bound to a single computer. In the past, you were required to assign all tuners to a specific computer. However, now that CableLabs has lifted the restriction, you can now split the tuners between multiple PC's.

http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2010/08/15/cablelabs-approves-tuner-sharing-and-copy-freely-drm-free-content/

Update for Windows 7 Media Center (KB981130) is now available (low bit rate)

TimSchreck-MS — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:17:36 GMT

On Windows 7 Media Center systems with analog tuner(s), customers may encounter low bit rate overlays.

The mechanism Windows 7 Media Center uses to monitor bit rate (signal) strength is overly sensitive in some scenarios, resulting in false detection of a low bit rate which triggers an overlay. This update addresses how Windows 7 Media Center monitors the bit rate on systems with analog tuners.

x86: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=0a6cd5b3-9b81-47e2-8cb0-8029451be965

x64: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=b47f2289-ab1e-41a9-b020-8ab29ca9ac7f

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981130 (note it may take some time for KB article to propagate).

Microsoft Prepping a Mediaroom App for Windows Phone 7

CLaRGe — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:54:50 GMT

IntoMobile.com has uncovered an internal Microsoft document that reveals the Microsoft is building a Microsoft MediaRoom app for WP7. MediaRoom is the enterprise version of Windows Media Center used by various cable and broadband carriers to deliver the WMC experience to their customers.

Could there also be a Windows Media Center app for WP7 in the works?

Hat tip to Kelly at Intomobile: http://www.intomobile.com/2010/08/10/microsoft-prepping-a-mediaroom-application-for-windows-phone-7/

Is Microsoft abandoning the integrator channel and what does this mean for Media Center?

alton987 — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:52:46 GMT

According to a Tweet by Ben Drawbaugh today he got word that M$ has given up on the integrator channel for Media Center and will now focus only on the enthusiast market.

Whats everyone's reaction to this and I wonder what this means for the future of Media Center?

From @bjdraw

If you are waiting for my Media Center CEDIA predictions you can stop. In fact Microsoft isn't even listed on the CEDIA 2010 Exhibitor List.

@babgvant Disappointing yes, but after the MCIA was dissolved, the lack of presence at CEDIA is hardly a surprise.

@babgvant My sources say Microsoft has given up on the integrator channel and is going to focus on enthusiasts.

NYC area switching to SDV, just in time for the Ceton Card :-(

glugglug — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:50:13 GMT

http://www.timewarnercable.com/MediaLibrary/4/50/Content%20Management/Documents/Learn/SDVLetter_May2010.pdf Mostly channels I don't watch anyways. More curious is that at least 5 of these are channels I am currently getting in ClearQAM.

28th July Update from Ceton

stonethecrows — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:20:32 GMT

I suppose I will do this one just in case you miss it, as it's being buried right now on the main Ceton thread.

Jeremy has given us some more news:

jeremyh:

Hi everyone, I had a very busy day today sorry. Instead of sending a newsletter I'm just going to tell you what I know here. The first batch of boards have been made and are currently going though testing. So far everything is going well. At the current schedule they will be shipped out of India at the end of this week and should be in the US mid-next week. At that point they will be shipped to the distributors (zones, cannon and fluid) who will send them to their individual customers. I'll keep you up to date when they ship from India. Thanks, -Jeremy

This is positive information. If you feel inclined to add a whining, negative, pointless reply, can I ask you do it in the main Ceton thread as that's where all the crap goes, thanks

Time Warner Cable TV Eveywhere

Amador — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:27:46 GMT

New article on engadget. Looks like TWC is devoloping an app for the ipad and API for other tablets. I hope ms integrates MC into the windows 7 tablet.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/12/time-warner-cable-developing-ios-app-laptime-viewing-may-never/