Anyone without a cable card get it working? Not sure what additional features it would add for me without cable card, but I like being on the edge.

And besides, I like my VMC how it is. *ducks and runs*

JeffTucker – MSFT:

Interesting observations, curbnoise.    We'll talk about this more after the official public announcement.

Translation :

Thank you curbnoise for your input ! Now our marketing and PR team won't need to have an intensive brainstorming session to try to explain why we won't be supplying any official update to our existing customers (even though such an update is possible as the forum members have shown after testing it) and why we will be requiring customers to buy a new Vista license.

Nice try, dannyh.  Incorrect translation, I'm afraid.

wbbigtymer:

None of these scenarios or explinations begin to address why it would be only (NEW) OEMs, though. Why wouldn't it be supported by ALL digital cable ready computers (which are all OEM-only by definition)?

Ulitmately, my belief that this is the "initial" stage.  It allows them to get some traction in a very controlled and tested environment where the OEM's are as culpable for it working as MS is.  Again, I'll note the big boys (HP, Dell and to a lesser extent Velocity) staying on the sidelines for now.

I could foresee a time where the OEM's will be allowed to offer it to existing customers, but not from MS directly.  Again, this keeps the OEM's skin (and reputation) in the game.

As far as the homebuilders (of which I am also a member), I don't really see it as an option until Windows 7.  With Windows 7, you won't see any of these "Capable" systems in the run up, that was an unmitigated disaster.  They will also probably publish a strict compatibility list for people who want to use the advanced Media Center features.  This will cut down on the scenarios they will officially have to support. 

Again, not necessarily my favorite option, but MS just can't support every possible permutation.  The argument I am already hearing is "well, open source does".  As someone who also has a few Linux laptops lying around, driver support can be had, but it takes a bit of work.  As for the "Apple's stuff works" argument, you are actually advocating for the OEM only model, because that is what Apple is.  They are the only OEM supported and they have a limited set of test scenarios to work out backwards compatibility on.  It works great in their model, that's just not MS model.  I don't believe that in and of itself negates the MS model though.

ChiWax:

Sorry if I am being blunt....I just want MY Vista Media Center to support my clear-QAM tuner!!!  That's all I want.  And the only reason I want it is so I don't have to record clear-QAM with the hauppauge software.  For MS to act like this is a big deal is what's ridiculous.  I can record clear-QAM with my Vista computer right now!!   Just send the clear-QAM part of the TV pack down the Windows Upgrade pipe and be done with it...that's all I am mad about....Q

ChiWax - you might also want to check this thread, and wait 'til MS's announcement in September before being so irate in your posts.

I just think it would be nice if one of the Microsoft posters on this board would give us a little insight into the overall plan.  Especially when it comes to things like the DirecTV support and whether we will have to wait until the next OS or not.

JeffTucker – MSFT:

Nice try, dannyh.  Incorrect translation, I'm afraid.

 

My hats off to you, I work in a similar env. (Hollywood) and man... this crowd is rough!

vmc_junkie:

I just think it would be nice if one of the Microsoft posters on this board would give us a little insight into the overall plan.  Especially when it comes to things like the DirecTV support and whether we will have to wait until the next OS or not.

 

Honestly I don't think they can, I'm sure most if not all the eHome team members have and use this stuff in their own homes, I'm sure they think about and desire many if not all the same features we all want.  They are simply not in a position to decide what features are developed when.  Corporate project management (software or otherwise) simply doesn't work that way.  Add to that, they are likely under NDAs of a form themselves, they simply can't speak without auth.  I feel my pain, but I also feel their pain, I'm sure many of them would love to tell their friends, lovers, kids, dogs, and the world all about the amazing stuff their writing that won't be out for 8 months, or the cool thing they wrote last year that is only now about to be released.  They simply can't, and it's really not their fault.

I'd love to see MS culture change in a way that would allow them a bit more informational freedom but unless we the community make it a positive experience (to their managers viewpoint) then its not going to happen.

 

Note: This is NOT directed at you vmc_junkie, only your comment sparked my reply.

vmc_junkie:

I just think it would be nice if one of the Microsoft posters on this board would give us a little insight into the overall plan.  Especially when it comes to things like the DirecTV support and whether we will have to wait until the next OS or not.

You mean other than the announcement they are going to make at CEDIA?  You want a pre-announcement announcement?  I want info too, but its less than a month now.

I would like to say thanks Jeff and other MSFT employees that now frequent and respond to our questions, cajoles, insults and rants.

Maybe they are saying "Welcome guinea pigs, to the super secret we will let you break your machine Testing Phase!" Personally I hope the announcement at Cedia will be something along the lines of media center being restricted to an exact hardware set and made more like a STB. This would allow more feature development and hopefully one day replace the SA and Motorola crap we all have sitting around.

I know this has been asked but has anyone got the Tv pack to work for clear qam?  When doing the set up it is only listing an analog tuner and a digital atsc tuner, I'm using the Hauppauge hvr-1600 and the atsc tuner is also for clear qam.

 

I have it working via the hdhomerun although it doesnt find all my channels (the 2 that are sorta out of market and dont have real guide data here).  Its odd that they do show with the digital cable listings but for some reason do not get added in the fake ota places media center wants to put them.

Just finished the install and everything is working great...

BUT...

How many times to we have to ask for the network logos in the program guide.  God this sucks!

;-)

Well I just installed it onto my system here in the UK (using a dual DVB tuner). This machine is relatively clean having been reinstalled just a couple of weeks ago.

It works and first impressions are positive. Red-button MHEG text is as fast as I've seen anywhere. Subtitles work. Changing channels seems faster (instant on the same mux). Finally recorded TV thumbnails are cached so I'm not waiting 3 seconds to see a list of 200 or so recordings - recorded TV comes up instantly.

It even seems like it is possible to record the non-guide-listed red button channels, so recording BBC olympic stuff that is "hidden" here might be recordable. Ah: just noticed, channels 301 and 302 have finally reappeared (last seen in XP) and these are some of the hidden channels: in fact I'm watching ladies' Olympic football as I type...

Actually setting up and searching for channels is a bit slower but it didn't ask my location so maybe it's doing a full frequency range scan rather than a localised one.

Programmes are recording as .wtv.

The guide layout is uses space a bit better and scrolling through it seems faster.

I see there's a favourite lineups option but it's too late to play :)

Sadly it seems as if you can't record more than two things on the same multiplex.

Only issue seems to be a minor codec problem. It's moaning about a "video error" and tells me that some files aren't working correctly, on a recording on BBC1 I am making right now. This seems to be a temporary issue: if I stop it recording I can get back to it, and it only affects the currently-recording channel.

I can no longer press the "clear" button on the remote to delete a CURRENTLY recording programme in the recorded tv list. (It does delete completed recordings.)

Radio channels don't bring up the on-screen info that you get on normal STBs. DTV radio recordings are still "broken" in the sense that they take up as much space as video recordings. (For those outside the UK we have lots of radio on digital TV that are audio only streams.) Until some update a couple of years back in XP, digital radio recordings were tiny (tens of megs per half hour) - now they're up to half a GIG per half hour. (That really would be high-definition audio!)

I'm hoping that one of the coloured buttons on the remote will toggle subtitles (I don't have a specific button on my MS remote.)

I wish the BBC News channel plugin that we had on XP was still around, but that's probably some issue with the BBC Trust and it requiring another bleedin' public value test, and not an issue for MS directly.

Just about to hit post and something has gone awry: I'm stuck with the rotating "working" icon but I could still work with it there.

In summary: nice update but if this is the final code I expect we'll see some patches soon as lots of users experience small issues. I'm probably soon going to roll back to my drive image of a couple of hours ago, and I'll wait for the final release just so I get it all on "properly". This is one PC I don't really mess with!

Further to my post right above, I'm finding that, rather comically, full-screen video is fading out to black, rather than the text box in the corner of the screen. It's a very nice fade but I'd rather see the channel name fade out rather than the channel itself!