On July 16^th, 2008, Microsoft released an update to the version of Windows Media Center included with Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate to our OEM partners - this update is referred to as the “Windows^® Media Center TV Pack”. In order to ensure that users get the best experience possible, this update will only be available from OEMs, as they are best positioned to provide the testing and hardware configurations for a great customer experience. This is due to the fact that in some geographies there are specific technical and hardware requirements for the Windows Media Center TV Pack that are best handled by the OEMs. We are working closely with our OEM partners as they finalize their decisions on Windows Media Center TV Pack products. 

 

The Windows Media Center TV Pack is primarily targeted at adding support for additional international broadcast standards including:

o   Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting – Terrestrial (ISDB-T) Digital television standard for Japan

o   Digital Video Broadcasting – Satellite (DVB-S) free-to-air satellite standards  in  Europe

o   Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T) digital television with  improved user experience in Europe

o   ClearQAM (Unencrypted Digital Cable)in the United States

o   Interactive television with integrated Broadcast Markup Language (BML) in Japan and Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group (MHEG) (MHEG5) in Europe

 

This version does not include native support for subscription-based satellite tuners or the H.264 video standard. We test many features in beta releases, and optimize our feature set in the final code for the best user experience.

 

We do want the Windows Media Center community to know that Microsoft will continue to improve upon the Windows Media Center experience for our customers worldwide, by adding content partnerships and enhanced features.  We will share these developments as they become available.

If only he had covered the .WTV part of it!!  This makes it sound like I will be able to get the TV Pack from HP if I want it in the future.  The one that leaked out did not effect the hardware on my basic HP/Vista machine.  It's the .WTV problem that is well, a problem.  It's not that big of a problem and it's my own fault for installing the Pack but hopefully non-TV Pack programs and systems will recognize .WTV soon and I will be great!!!  Thank you MS...Q

Will the new file format and the objects used to interface with it be publicly documented?

Will we receive any news about DirecTV support in September?

If that wasn't one of the most "canned" response's

He left out the new tuner support for mutliple QAM, CABLECARD, and NTSC tuners and the new tv format.

Did microsoft really think that would suffice users and stop them from downloading and installing on their own?

How about something we didn't know or at least what we do know.

You will learn more later, but do you not think it was a good idea for Microsoft to officially say something?  I find it odd that for the past month people have been asking for an official word to clear stuff up, then when you get that word your response is "take it back".

From what I can tell at this point MS doesn't want the general public messing around with this as a straight update.  It doesn't seem that they care a bit if tech-heads who screw around with our PCs all the time give it a shot.  Just don't go crying to them if it screws things up!!!  :) Q.

No I am glad they said "something" but they didn't even really say anything and are undermining the update to me to make it seem like it doesn't benefit many people

I'm glad they said SOMETHING official, but I just wish the OEM only part wasn't true. But hey, at least we got it one way or another right?

Plucky, since we have nearly the same setup, I'm waiting for you to try to upgrade your XPS without a fresh install.  Pending the results of that I will try the upgrade too.  Thanks, I appreciate it.

Oh, and I'll probably just wait for after CEDIA to see what other options might exist.

Monty,

I am waiting to see if we get the relaxed drm from cable cards with the new firmware or if it will require tv pack. If it will require tv pack (which i don't think it will) then I will update. If not then I will stay so I can still use use commercial skip.

I'm glad there was an official announcement.  It let's me know I need to start looking for another solution since I am waiting for DirecTV support. 

I am very upset there wasn't an offical announcement earlier.  I've been waiting since the original announcment.  Knowing this, I would not have purchased a 2nd xbox 360 for an extender, I would not have bought the Vista upgrade, and I would have had DirecTV HD for the past year.  Even though MS never officially announced DirecTV support in Fiji, they knew (from these boards) that it was expected.  MS really needs to learn how to manage expectations with a product of this nature. 

At this point even if MS said D* support will be in the next Windows, I don't want to pay for the upgrade, and I'm not sure I would even believe them.  It will probably end up as OEM only anyway or slip from the next version until DirecTV has their multi-room viewing perfected.  Or better yet, since no one is currently using a DirecTV integrated tuner it was determined not to be a feature worth developing for.  I think that was the logic for not implementing DVD streaming.

We get posts from various MS employees stating it's not our fault, the market research doesn't say it will be used, it's too hard to implement.  I don't care.  The minute DirecTV support wasn't going to make it into Vista there should have been an announcement! 

I'm going to look into Sage, but in the end I think I'll just suffer through the DirecTV DVR interface.  Disapointed isn't even the correct word.  After taking a bath on 2 V1 extenders, and a Vista upgrade for apparently no reason...  Ugh...

 

I don't understand the reasoning behind the following statement..."This is due to the fact that in some geographies there are specific technical and hardware requirements for the Windows Media Center TV Pack that are best handled by the OEMs."  I mean, what is so difficult setting up these other tuners?  Is QAM that difficult?  I don't see it...something else is going on here.

That's from our perspective as tech users who mess around with tech all the time.  The Green Button crowd often forgets that the average user is clueless.  Literally, they have no idea how easy PCs really are at the end of the day.  They don't add a bunch of stuff to their PCs and still can't be trusted to install something like this without problems.  If you read around some people are finding that certain things don't work anymore after the TV Pack is installed.  MS probably hopes OEMs can keep that from happening to the "average" user.....just my thoughts....Q

Platup:

I'm glad there was an official announcement.  It let's me know I need to start looking for another solution since I am waiting for DirecTV support. 

I am very upset there wasn't an offical announcement earlier.  I've been waiting since the original announcment.  Knowing this, I would not have purchased a 2nd xbox 360 for an extender, I would not have bought the Vista upgrade, and I would have had DirecTV HD for the past year. 

I know this doesn't help, but the official announcement was only about what was and what wasn't in the July 16th OEM release, it didn't say that DirecTV wasn't coming later this year like the DSR's are telling us. Join me in my denial! :)