Windows XP Media Center Edition Totally Explained

Everything about Windows Xp Media Center Edition totally explained

Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) is a version of the Windows XP operating system designed to serve as a home-entertainment hub. The last version, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, was released on October 12, 2004.

Versions

There are three versions of Windows XP Media Center Edition, all based on Windows XP Professional with all features enabled except Active Directory in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (see "Features removed in the last release" below) and Terminal Services in the original release.

Windows XP Media Center Edition (codename "Freestyle", Jan 2002) was the first showing and based directly on Windows XP Professional. This was only available from Tier 1 computer manufacturers (HP, Dell, Sony, Zitech, et al).
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003 ("Freestyle", Oct 2002) added a number of features, including FM radio tuning.
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 ("Harmony", Nov 2003). Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrades earlier versions of MCE to this one.
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 ("Symphony", Nov 2004) is the first edition of MCE available to non-Tier 1 system builders. Among other things it includes support for Media Center Extenders, and CD/DVD-Video burning support.
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2006 ("Emerald", Aug 2005) is a service pack- like update of MCE 2005 (Symphony) and was a recommended download designed to be installed on top of existing Symphony.

To determine the underlying edition of XP on which a particular revision of MCE is based, the System Properties Control Panel can be used. To determine the revision of MCE that's being used, select the About Media Center option from the General-->Settings area inside MCE. The successor version of and to Windows XP Media Center Edition, is Windows Vista Home Premium.

Exclusive features

Windows XP Media Center Edition is distinguished from other editions of Windows XP by an exclusive preinstalled application, Media Center, which provides a large-font ("10-foot"), remotely accessible interface for TV viewing on the computer as well as recording and playback, DVD playback, video playback, photo viewing, and music playback.
Unlike competing commercial DVR products, Microsoft doesn't charge a monthly subscription fee for its Media Center TV guide service.
Due to strict hardware requirements, Microsoft has opted not to supply Media Center as an independent retail version. Microsoft only distributes it to MSDN subscribers and OEM System Builders in certain countries. Consumers generally purchase Media Center preinstalled on a new computer, or from a reseller that sells OEM versions of Microsoft software.

Features added in the last release

Windows Movie Maker, upgraded to version 2.5 with new effects and transitions and support for DVD burning.

Windows Media Player, upgraded to version 10.

Royale theme: not included in other editions of Windows XP except Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, it's included and enabled by default.

Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition: a number of applications not included in previous versions of MCE are now included.

SoundSpectrum's G-Force: a special edition is included as one of the music visualizations.

Media Center Extenders, dedicated hardware devices that allow users to view the same content that's available on the MCE computer over wired or wireless Ethernet, are introduced in this version for the first time. Linksys and other companies currently sell Media Center Extenders, and Microsoft sells an add-on kit for the Xbox game console that allows it to function as an extender. The Xbox 360 also has Media Center Extender functionality out of the box, including HDTV support (which is notably absent from current extenders). Media Center 2005 currently can support up to 5 Media Center Extenders per household.

First party hardware: Microsoft has released its own first party remote, receiver and infrared blaster with MCE 2005. A new specially designed wireless computer keyboard for MCE 2005 was released September 2005.

Features removed in the last release

Windows Media Player 6.4 is no longer included, but it can be unofficially replaced back if needed (see Hacks).

Joining a domain: in MCE 2005, Microsoft has disabled its ability to join an Active Directory domain post install, however it's still possible to join a domain during the OS install process if your network card has been recognized. Also you can hack this after the installation, if the installation of MCE 2005 is an in-place upgrade from a previous version already joined to a domain, this ability is retained, unless a user uses a Windows Media Center Extender: in this case, such ability is lost and can't be reverted back again. Presumably, Microsoft introduced this limit because Media Center Extender devices, introduced in this version, rely on the Fast User Switching component, but this component must be disabled in order to join a domain, so using an extender and joining a domain on the same computer isn't apparently possible (although, according to an unconfirmed source, it seems that the Linksys MCE Extender works fine when installed on a computer joined to a domain (External Link

)). Therefore, since MCE is targeted to home entertainment, Microsoft chose to completely disable MCE ability to join a domain for this type of users, while (reasonably) leaving this feature enabled for those who already used it in previous versions. Apart from this, MCE 2005 still retains most of the other Windows XP Professional-specific features, such as Remote Desktop and the Encrypting File System, but that limitation effectively precludes its use in a corporate environment. An unofficial method has been found to reenable the ability to join a domain in MCE 2005(External Link

) but doing so will likely disable the Extenders installed on that computer, as said before.

Hardware requirements

Media Center has higher hardware requirements than other editions of Windows XP. MCE 2005 requires at least a 1.6 GHz processor, DirectX 9.0 hardware-accelerated GPU (ATI Radeon 9 series or nVidia GeForce 5 series or higher), and 256 MB of System RAM. Some functionality, such as Media Center Extender support, use of multiple tuners, or HDTV playback/recording carries higher system requirements.
Media Center is much more restricted in the range of hardware that it supports than most other software DVR solutions. Media Center tuners must have a standardized driver interface, and they must have hardware MPEG-2 encoders, closed caption support, and a number of other features. Media Center remote controls are standardized in terms of button labels and functionality, and, to a degree, general layout.
In June 2007, the Media Center Components Database

was set up as a resource for Media Center self builders to pool knowledge of which components play well with each other.

Hacks

There are a number of hacks that change the intended features of Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Windows Media Player 6.4. Despite WMP 6.4 being removed from MCE 2005, it can be replaced by copying the executable from a Windows XP Home Edition or Professional installation. It may be useful to note for non-English Windows users that this workaround has the drawback that the WMP 6.4 application won't be localised, as it'll still retain the English GUI even if the executable is taken from, and placed on, non-English versions of MCE.

The viewing of Pay-Per-View using Media Center without an IR transmitter allows the recording of videos, which can later be burned onto a DVD.Further Information

Get more info on 'Windows Xp Media Center Edition'.

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