Search results matching tags 'Windows Media Center' and 'Digital Cable Tuners'

Changes Needed for Media Center in Windows 7 SP1

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:08:05 GMT

I *love* Windows Media Center. It’s my favorite part of Windows, and in Windows 7, it’s fantastic. There are a lot of improvements, and hopefully soon I’ll be able to post some of my favorite parts.

But I just spent the last 2 hours trying to fix my Windows Media Center installation at home (tried a number of different options before I ended up rolling back using Windows Home Server), so I figured now would be the best time to talk about the improvements that WMC needs by the time the next Service Pack rolls around.

Improving Reliability
The WMC database is by far the most brittle aspect of Windows Media Center. For whatever reason, Microsoft decided to use a lightweight database to power the whole system. Series recordings, configuration data… you name it. It’s all stored in a DB file in C:\Windows\ehome. If that DB file is corrupted in any way, you are completely SOL.

Such an event happened on October 2nd. I’m not the only one that experienced the issue, which means Microsoft distributed corrupted Guide data. Microsoft said the only option was to re-run the initial setup, and I’m sorry but that answer is unacceptable. It takes nearly 20 minutes to run the “Configure My TV Signal” process. I shouldn’t need to configure my tuners and blast away my Recording settings in order to clear out and re-download the Guide. But that is the only option that Microsoft puts on the table.

The Media Center needs to move the WMC database to a more robust engine that is capable of transactional rollbacks if an update fails. It also needs to store the Guide in a completely separate database file, so that Guide corruptions do not affect all of the other settings.

User Interface Changes
I run my Media Center in a headless configuration, because I don’t want those gigantic OCUR tuners on my entertainment center. The main problem with that setup is that I can’t run the aforementioned “Configure My TV Signal” wizard on an Extender. Whatever the technical reason for that decision is, accessibility trumps all. I shouldn’t have to lug a monitor into my office closet to configure my TV tuners.

And while the team is improving the UI, there needs to be an option to backup and restore your Series Subscriptions without downloading a 3rd party program. ESPECIALLY if the WMC database is so brittle. Yes, I know there are free/cheap options. We’re on like the 5th iteration of the platform at this point, it’s time to start building in better options for recovering from problems.

And finally, there needs to be a richer notification system for headless Media Centers. If the Guide won’t download, the only way to find out is to RDP into the system. While that’s not a terribly big deal, it’s not the best user experience. There should be UI for reading Media Center errors, and a queuing process for showing serious ones, for example like Windows Update restart notifications.

Conclusion
Windows Media Center is a fantastic platform, and Microsoft has pulled out all the stops to give it the potential to really hit the mainstream. The next update (which unlike the TV Pack 2008, needs to be available to everyone) needs to focus on improving the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).

Xbox 360 WMC Coupled to Xbox Live: Beta Woes

admin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:19:00 GMT

My house is unlike many houses in America. You see, I have a Dell XPS 420 with two Digital Cable Tuners. It is the only device that is currently receiving cable signals. The two TVs in our house use Xbox 360s as Media Center Extenders, and for the most part, the experience is light-years ahead of the standard DVR. All in all, I’m very happy with the setup.

So I was rather surprised to wake up this morning unable to use WMC on my Xbox 360s. The reason? Xbox Live is down for maintenance. I find this completely unacceptable, especially in the wake of the news that other 3rd party Extenders are being taken off the market. I shouldn’t need a connection to the Internet to watch content on my local network. Any technical reason you have for it is completely fabricated and unnecessary. There is no reason why you can’t create a web service to handle the Extender authorization through the Media Center, if such a thing is required.

And while you’re at it, Microsoft, please remove the requirement that I need to be connected to Xbox Live to watch MP4/DivX/XviD content. That is extremely annoying.

UPDATE: This issue is apparently only limited to Windows 7, which makes even less sense than before. What gives?

UPDATE2: A source at Microsoft tells me it's Windows 7 beta related, and that there are "good, consumer-benefiting reasons" for the tethering. There is no workaround for Microsoft employees, and my source's family had the same lockout as today as well. It's a good thing I still had my old HP Extender.

Post-CEDIA, Deafening Silence on WMC TV Pack Speaks Volumes

admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:17:48 GMT

CEDIA has come and gone, and while Microsoft has put out a press release talking about all of the new Windows Media Center HTPCs coming out, I have not heard Word One about the WMC TV Pack. Not a feature list, nothing. But, since the last communication I had from Microsoft is that my NDA expired three days ago, I’m free to open my big fat mouth.

The lack of information “straight from the horse’s mouth” leaves one big question in my mind: Why? CEDIA was supposed to be the big coming out party. I think I speak for all beta testers when I say that we were expecting Microsoft to beat the drums pretty heavily on this one, even with all of the heavy backlash that they *rightfully* received over the decision.

Well, dear readers, I don’t have any “insider information” on what is going on in the WMC team at this particular second, because the radio silence extends to us beta testers as well. But, I do know that beta testers have been experiencing several moderate to serious issues with the RTM builds (myself included). I know that the WMC team is working on fixing these issues, but what I don’t know is what their release mechanism for those fixes will be.

Could these things have delayed the *actual* RTM beyond the announced RTM? I don’t know. Either way, since my NDA has expired by default, I’ll have my review of the WMC TV Pack online shortly.

WMC TV Pack: The Ultimate Windows Screwjob You Didn’t See Coming

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:36:00 GMT

Introduction
Before I go into this post, I have to explain my intentions. I respect NDAs very much, and I always have. I’ve built my career as a Microsoft commentator on acquiring as much access as possible, through playing by the “rules”. When someone asks me not to talk about something, or tells me something in confidence, most of the time I don’t blog about it.

The rule of thumb with Windows Featured Communities is, if it’s NDA, we can talk about it until Microsoft talks about it. I’m a Digital Cable Tuner (OCUR) beta tester, and as such I’ve been testing "Fiji" over the past few months. As MJ so accurately reported, Microsoft has gagged all of the (generally angry) beta testers from speaking about anything until the CEDIA conference on September 3rd. However, Microsoft released a statement on Friday about the contents of the TV Pack, as well as its distribution model, which means I can put forth my opinion on the matter without disclosing any new information. Microsoft may very well sanction me for this post (they tried to have my MVP taken away once because I *speculated* on the Diamond release, even though I had no direct knowledge about it and was not a beta tester at the time), but IMO they are about to make what could be the last mistake for the Media Center platform, and there is still time to stop it.

Please Note: This passionate rant is not directed at any of the awesome beta coordinators, PMs, or developers on WMC. They are awesome, and have done a great job with the resources they have been given. It is directed at the decision makers at the highest level who have let this mess come to pass. It's directed at the "Marketers" who think its customers are stupid. We are not.

Calling a Spade a Spade..., or "When Marketers Deceive"
The powers that be over at the eHome Product Management (that's "Marketing" for the uninitiated) are calling this the "Windows Media Center TV Pack". Calling it this would be fine if it added-on functionality to the RTM bits. But it doesn't, it completely replaces core WMC binaries. That means it's not an add-on, it is a version upgrade. But Microsoft doesn't want you to feel entitled to this upgrade, so they think by calling it something else, you'll fall for their cop-out.

But when Robbie Bach’s eHome team aligned the post-Diamond release with the next Windows release, they committed to providing regular updates to every single user, in a manner consistent with the rest of the Windows stack, ie: through upgrades via Windows Update. Whether they realized it or not, that’s the commitment they made to their customers.

When It Comes To Broadcast Media, You Are the Consumer, Not the Customer
That’s right, Microsoft… I’m talking about your *real* customers. Not OEMs who turn around and resell your product (just like end users are not DVR manufacturers' customers either). I’m talking about END USERS. You know, the people that Apple seems to have such an easy time pleasing, and the people form whom you have seen to forgotten about. Because Microsoft has decided that the “cone of silence” is the best thing for consumers, as MJ has spent so much time reporting on. The surprising part is, this cover-up isn’t coming from the Windows division, who wouldn’t even talk about Windows Vista SP1 until it was practically in the general population’s hands. Nope, this is coming from the same division that just spent a week wowing people at E3; the same people who are so eager to please with the Xbox 360 and the Zune.

If Microsoft listened to it's true customers about WMC development, this release would have:

DivX/XviD Support
A better DVD library
DVD-streaming support (for watching DVDs through Extenders)
Software-based Extenders (aka "Softsled")
The ability to stream OCUR recordings and other DRMed content to other PCs or Windows Mobile through WebGuide

To be fair, consumers HAVE been asking to be able to use Analog and Digital tuners together (called "heterogeneous tuning"), which is a feature that is purported to be in Fiji... (though I can't confirm or deny it), so it's not completely without input from consumers. But if you happen to own an existing HTPC with Digital Cable Tuners, and want to add an analog tuner to your rig, you're SOL

And so Microsoft has decided to go back on their word yet again, and is returning to the strategy they used with Windows XP Media Center by releasing this WMC 3.5 upgrade only for purchase on new computers. As they conveyed in their release, they think that the only people that buy new computers will be in a position to take advantage of the new features in Fiji. They’ll try to tell you that it’s all about supporting TV standards, but that is a load of garbage. It has new features and bug fixes in it, just like any other release. It has better tuner support, more options for HD users (can't talk specifics, sorry), and plenty more that the entire Windows user base should have the opportunity to take advantage of.

IMHO, The Real Reason You're Not Getting "Fiji"
AFAIK, the Windows Media Center team is the only team in the history of Microsoft NOT to have a clear upgrade path between versions, and I personally think that is ludicrous. It's not because OEMs "are best positioned to provide the testing and hardware configurations for a great customer experience", much as they would like you to believe it. The real reason you're not getting this upgrade is because WMC is the red-headed stepchild of the eHome division, and the Xbox team is the only one over there allowed to blow through piles of cash to fix every mistake or solve any problem.

Microsoft, in it's infinite wisdom and seemingly endless piles of cash, is not willing to commit the money necessary to hire enough developers, internal testers, and beta coordinating resources to write the code necessary to be able to do an in-place upgrade supportable on the millions of Vista systems out there. That's why Vista was on the market for 18 months before compatible Media Center Extenders were widely available (WTF was up with THAT??!?!), and that's why 60M+ Home Premium and Ultimate users are about to be given the proverbial shaft.

The Overlooked Incompatibility
In all the discussions that have taken place so far, no one has yet mentioned the inevitable 'customer experience": A family with an existing Vista Media Center RTM system decides to buy a new computer with a Vista Media Center "TV Pack". Because it's Windows Vista, the average consumer would expect that they would be able to watch non-DRMed content on any Media Center PC in the house. Not so with this "TV Pack", because the format for WMC-recorded content has changed from DVR-MS to WTV, meaning that older Media Centers will not be able to view the content *at all*. Not in Windows Media Player, not at all. If you don't have an Extender, you're screwed. Which leaves me to wonder, Is this the "great customer experience" Microsoft was referring to, cause it sounds pretty stupid if you ask me.

And by the way, how are add-on developers supposed to get their hands on bits to fix compatibility issues that the file format change has caused? Does Microsoft just expect them to buy new PCs? Give me a break.

My Bottom Line
Microsoft, I kept relatively quiet about the Ultimate Extras nonsense, even though I thought it was bullsh!t that Sinofsky could just go in there and cancel a feature that was supposed to deliver value to Microsoft's best customers. But now you have gone too far. If you are not going to *at the very least* provide this so-called "TV Pack" to your Ultimate customers as a function of Ultimate Extras, then maybe it's time that we, as Microsoft's true customers, should start looking at our other options for Microsoft's failure to deliver what Ultimate customers paid for. Because I have yet to see an Ultimate Extra that is worth the extra $100 I paid. Personally, I would think that committing the resources to be able to let everyone upgrade to WMC 3.5 would be a lot cheaper than the write-down involved in refunding every Ultimate user $100 (plus the legal fees of obtaining such a refund). But then again, I was never very good at math.

Oh yeah, Microsoft should also move the Media Center team out of eHome and into the Windows division. The risk of even more radio silence FAR outweighs the access to resources and test-system coverage that the Windows team has access to. And anyone who had a hand in green-lighting this completely asinine decision should be fired for gross incompetence.

So, I've ranted long enough. What, dear reader, do YOU think? I'm sure Microsoft will be paying attention to this post, so feel free to leave your comments... no registration required.

Would You Put Your Digital Life in the Hands of a Cable Box?

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:29:15 GMT

I came across not one, but two articles on MSNBC today about niche markets that Microsoft currently dominates that are becoming more mainstream. One is a well researched, if not slightly misguided piece on Home Theatre PCs (who needs a Core 2 Quad in a media server, and HomePlug… seriously??), and the other has some misleading information about Home Servers that I just couldn’t let slide. From the article:

Microsoft, and its Windows Home Server software that it launched in January, is expected to rule the home server market for the next five years, during which PC-based servers will be the dominant solution. But [Diffusion Group senior analyst Ted] Theocheung says the real spike in consumer adoption won't come until after consumer electronics companies begin building server-like functions into their entertainment system products, which will overtake the PC as the primary source of such store-and-synch capability. In particular, he expects cable operators to be leaders in this transition, doing for servers what they did for DVRs by including the functionality in set-top boxes.

"That changes the whole model," Theocheung says. "If you have to buy these yourself, the trend is going to be slower. But when service providers latch onto this and let you just add $5 to your $100 monthly cable bill, it's not a noticeable impact. Then you're going to see some action."

I have a couple major issues with this argument that I believe will not allow this to come to pass:

You are not the DVR manufacturer’s customer. I was at CES a few years ago, right when Cisco bought major DVR maker Scientific Atlanta. I went up to their booth and asked one of the people there about Networked DVRs, and their rep said “We will never have that functionality.” I pressed him further by saying I had the functionality in Windows Media Center, and I wanted it in their DVR, so that I could watch stuff from their DVR on other DVRs and on my Media Center PC. He again said “We will never allow that to happen because our customers don’t want it.” When I said, “But I have one of your DVRs, so I’m your customer, and I want it,” he thanked me for my time, and turned to talk to someone else.

In my youthful naiveté, I did not realize that I was not, in fact, their customer after all. Their customer was Cox, who was kind enough to loan me their DVR to use in my home in exchange for part of my hard-earned money every month. Cisco’s customer, Cox, did not want people to watch their recordings on more than one room in the house, so they weren’t going to do it. While it appears that never came too soon, there is no doubt that the cable companies want to exhibit as much control over the content that comes over their equipment as possible.

High failure rates of cable-provided DVRs are unacceptable for “life media” storage. Have you ever had your DVR fail? I have, on more than one occasion... and the heartbreak of losing every episode of this season’s 24 to a bad firmware update can sometimes be extremely painful. When you lose a DVR, you know how much time is spent trying to recover those recordings you spent so much time trying to attain? ZERO. The cable company doesn’t care, they come out and replace your box. That’s it. Anything more would cost them thousands in support hours that they would be very unwilling to eat.

Would cable box-based home servers feature the redundancy of Windows Home Server? Not a chance. You can’t even replace the hard drive in your DVR now, think they’ll let you have hot-swappable drives? Again, not a chance.

Cable companies have near limitless power over your digital life already. They’re already locking down the content you record, throttling your bandwidth, and limiting what you can and cannot access. What happens when you put your collection of ripped CDs on your cable-owned Home Server/DVR. What’s to stop the cable company from providing that information to the RIAA? Right now, nothing.

My Two Cents: Home Servers don’t need the cable companies to bring the technology mainstream. PCs are already mainstream. The hardware is cheap, easily replaceable, and user serviceable. IMHO, WHS is going to dominate this area for the next decade, especially when they move the technology onto the Vista codebase, and start integrating it with Windows Media Center. THAT is the day when I think HTPCs may replace cable boxes as the dominant force in consumer living rooms.

But that’s just my opinion. So let me pose it to you, dear readers. Would you trust the irrecoverable elements of your digital life in the hands of your local cable company?

CableCard Expected to Boost Vista Media Centers

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:56:20 GMT

CRN has an article about the new Digital Cable-ready Vista Media Centers that are beginning to "trickle into the market". Part of the article talks about some of the issues with CableCard support in Windows, most of them around the issues with OEMs and certification.

It's important to note that most of the problems with CableCard are the fault of CableLabs, not Microsoft. The Media Center team had to jump through a million hoops just to get the support in Vista, and they're controlling the certification process. At this point, Microsoft is hoping that the Digital Cable Tuners really take off in the market, so that they have leverage against the cable conglomerates to deliver the features that customers (but not necessarily cable companies) want, which would include more OEMs.

I've been a DCT (formerly OCUR) beta tester for over a year now, and I can say that the benefits outweigh the current limitations. I'm hoping that in the future (hopefully in "Fiji"), our options for "fair use" of the recorded content will be expanded.