I am looking to build/design extenders that support the fluid 3D experience that only the Xbox 360 seams to reproduce. I am not looking to 'reverse engineer' or 'hack' my way to making such a product.

Ive done a lot of digging into what the "Pika" implementation supports and I keep running into roadblock after roadblock and wish to find information as to other options in extender development.

I am well aware that the 360 supports what is near exactly a precursor to the Windows Media Foundation/DirectX Remote-Enabled RDP sessions which give it the extra edge of fidelity over any other extender and id like to do the very same type of connection in my own extender project.

Who are the contacts I need to talk to to obtain the licensing and documentation to work on such a project?

The Media Center Extender website for requesting "partnership" has long been shutdown. Even when it was live I could never get a response.

mikinho:

The Media Center Extender website for requesting "partnership" has long been shutdown. Even when it was live I could never get a response.

Thats exactly why I posted here.  The "partner" site is gone.

With HD supporting netops in the very near future and the history of MC extender, I hope you are doing this as a hobby rather than a way to earn a living.

al74:

With HD supporting netops in the very near future and the history of MC extender, I hope you are doing this as a hobby rather than a way to earn a living.

First as a hobby to see the possibilities but maybe develop a software approach fueled with the right documentation.

Bump, Can anyone point me into the right direction? Does partnership framework for extenders even exist anymore?

Microsoft has failed to answer my questions on this issue.

Even you Chris? wow. Does microsoft even 'want' their extender platform to exist beyond the Xbox 360? It makes me laugh that Microsoft considers media center's 10' interface to be the 'best way to enjoy tv on your pc'. They don't even have a proper 2' UI for this purpose.

Perhaps I should invest in SageTV like many other people are starting to do. They understand the extender market perfectly.

They aren't ready to announce the new extender platform. Plain and simple. If you ask them, the only thing they say is that extenders aren't dead. I wasn't around before the current generation of extenders was released so I don't know how they handled it last time, but I do know there was a period where the 360 was the only extender on the market. I don't like the way they are handling it either, but I'm not ready to call them lairs either.

bjdraw:

They aren't ready to announce the new extender platform. Plain and simple

I'm not sure you can claim that.  The only thing I've been told for Extender's not being dead is that Toshiba is planning them.  Of course, that was announce months ago and I doubt they will be based on a new spec.  The Pika spec didn't define a specific processor or anything.

Chris - Moderator:

bjdraw:

They aren't ready to announce the new extender platform. Plain and simple

I'm not sure you can claim that.  The only thing I've been told for Extender's not being dead is that Toshiba is planning them.  Of course, that was announce months ago and I doubt they will be based on a new spec.  The Pika spec didn't define a specific processor or anything.

Ive always pushed the media center platform and did my fair share of media center installs for my customers (I did freelance work), ive resorted to using Xbox360's & 802.11N Ethernet Bridges to extend media center due to how well they reproduce the interface but I always ran into the question "why do I have to get a gaming console to make it work properly"?  Of course I also demo the linksys extender I had on hand but they always opt for the xbox because 'the experience' is better.

I am sick and tired of not being able to give my customers any other viable options other then the xbox 360.  Heck even Niveus resorted to using Xbox 360-based hardware to produce their extender.

We know the pika platform is flexable, and can run on a variety of devices but if there are no provisions for client-based direct x rendering, its useless.

I was a big fan of MCX but with Media Foundation and especially the improvements to RDP I think the current platform is dead.

Even if new devices are released I doubt I will buy into it. Not with the current track record of releasing great devices to let them die.

My next "extender" will be an Atom\Ion based system.

Chris - Moderator:

Microsoft has failed to answer my questions on this issue.

Microsoft is their own worst enemy when it comes to media center....  pathetic.  For such a visionary company in the 80's...  they just seem like an old, crusty, empty shell of that once inspiring company.........

I guess the fact that ive been moving this last month let this slip under my radar
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http://blogs.msdn.com/rds/archive/2009/06/19/changes-to-remoting-model-in-rdp-7.aspx
--

So basically the fantastic Direct-X remoting is gone in the rtm release, just great. "Only Windows Media Player and Aero will be remoted with extensions. This very decision makes me want to jump ship.

And still no word, blip, on the extender platform beyond the 360. Coupled by the lack of the partner site lets me know that this idea is dead. So in order to provide my customers with 'silent 'fully-featured extenders' I must play a niveus card and sell re-boxed re-branded 360s.... This just sounds ridiculous.