I didn’t mean to turn this into a MediaCenter is great or terrible thread…  I was only trying to point out that it is so much more than a DVR.  

I have never been able to swallow the you must use a extender pill.  While I understand the concept, I have a hard time accepting the delivery because it doesn’t fully extend the experience.  They are a second rate experience when you compare them to a PC Mediacenter.  That being said, I have yet to see a more robust all in one solution that is as easy to setup and has a descent set of third party support for the money. 

superswiss:

I agree with you on all counts, except the update part.

From my experience in a Media Center only setup(i.e. Primary box is connected to a TV and is not used as a computer), I have never had a issue by not applying regular updates.  When I initially setup a machine, it has all updates up to the date it was completed however after that I view the machine as if it is a appliance.  If it isn’t broken, don’t touch it.   While there is a risk, it is pretty minimal if you are only using the machine as a MediaCenter.  Actually I have never seen a security issue that wasn’t caused by someone doing something they shouldn’t have on the Mediacenter.  I have seen multiple issues pop up after an auto update was applied or a friend,family or customer said yes install to a update request.   I’m all about receiving as few calls as possible since the majority of the installs I have done were done basically for free.

It has a long ways to go.  I’m personally hoping for a better more robust SDK that would allow me to more easily create a solution that ties into my vision. 

 

Here's my summary of the 1,000 posts read as I consider buying a CableCard PC, written

in 8-bit BASIC code.

  1)  OEM CableCard PC = NEW PURCHASE

  2)  If WORKING CHANCE > 50% THEN Celebrate, END PROGRAM.

  3) If WORKING CHANGE < 50% THEN DO NOT Troubleshoot!  (REM You will not succeed)

  4) RETURN OEM PC to vendor

  5) IF Patience=ZERO Then END PROGRAM, IF ELSE GOTO 1)

  

jbworks:

From my experience in a Media Center only setup(i.e. Primary box is connected to a TV and is not used as a computer), I have never had a issue by not applying regular updates.  When I initially setup a machine, it has all updates up to the date it was completed however after that I view the machine as if it is a appliance.  If it isn’t broken, don’t touch it.   While there is a risk, it is pretty minimal if you are only using the machine as a MediaCenter.  Actually I have never seen a security issue that wasn’t caused by someone doing something they shouldn’t have on the Mediacenter.  I have seen multiple issues pop up after an auto update was applied or a friend,family or customer said yes install to a update request.   I’m all about receiving as few calls as possible since the majority of the installs I have done were done basically for free.

Even a dedicated media center is still connected to the home network and as such has a certain attack surface. All it takes is a house guest connecting their laptop to your network infected with something that exploits a vulnerability in one of the network services. If you run WebGuide on the media center your attack surface is that much bigger. Just some food for thought, but generally these things hit when you least expect it.

superswiss:

Even a dedicated media center is still connected to the home network and as such has a certain attack surface. All it takes is a house guest connecting their laptop to your network infected with something that exploits a vulnerability in one of the network services. If you run WebGuide on the media center your attack surface is that much bigger. Just some food for thought, but generally these things hit when you least expect it.

I too have been in IT for many years now.  We are on the same page; thank you for pointing out that my suggestion of not applying updates as they come out after a base working install is and should be a valid concern. 

I just wanted to chime in to say that Microsoft is listening.  A large number the folk who work on Windows Media Center read the discussions on The Green Button regularly.  We do make changes based on your input and you have helped identify many issues.  We appreciate the feedback.

I am sorry to hear that some users are giving up on Windows Media Center.  Most people are very particular when it come to their TV and they have high expectations of quality.  Microsoft is working hard to improve the TV experience on Windows Media Center.  It is never good enough.

 

It is too bad that people give up on it, but I can't say I don't understand. I've had occasional issues, but for the most part its works very good. I've been using it now for about 3 1/2 years with no big problems.
My biggest complaint is the lack of integration with other MS products (ie. Zune marketplace, xbox maket, live, etc) but I think that like Eric said, it is never good enough. There is always something more that I want, something else that I want it to do, and hopefully they will be implemented someday. They have at least been adding things to it, even if it might be slower than we'd like, and overall I'm a very happy user.

Nicely written post. I hear you and have also considered dropping Media Center a few times, but I aways come back to it. The alternatives have their fair share of issues. I plan on waiting for Windows 7. Good luck with your Tivo.

I can totally understand your decision to bail.  I love media center and the unequalled flexibility in home entertainment/automation that it both delivers now and promises in the future, but it's not for everyone.  In fact it's not for most people in it's current state.  I've been using MC for 5+ years and it continues to improve in all aspects but still requires more attention that the average non-IT person will want to deal with (Disclaimer: I am an IT 'Professional').  For me, it's close to perfect when working which is 95% of the time.  Using XBox 360's and Linksys DMA2100's I use a single VMC PC with 6 tuners (including 2 DCTs) to provide entertainment to pretty much every room in the house.  The ability to add a 1.5TB sata drive for $120 and gain another 150 hours of HD recording capacity is a compelling case.  The ability to aggregate content from disparate tuners into a single customizable guide is even more compelling (despite the occasional MC guide db corruption issues that currently irritate me).  Likewise the ability to bring multiple sources of entertainment (especially from the Internet) to all the TVs in your house is compelling.  No doubt you do trade some stability for all this flexibility and capability.  For me that is an excellent trade.  For those that refer stability Tivo or cable/satellite DVRs are better options.  Personally I want to thank Microsoft wholeheartedly for providing cutting edge capability/entertainment at bargain basement prices.  After 25+ years in IT I fully appreciate what this company is doing for us, and the unbelievable challenges they face in delivering new technology while offering us unprecedented flexibility and choice.  MS guys...you kick A-S-S!  Keep your chins up ;-)

I believe it was back in October when Microsoft delivered an update for MCE 2005.  I installed it.  A few minutes later, I received a second update which stated that the first update was sent in error or was the wrong update; I can't remember which.  So I installed it, trusting in Microsoft to do the right thing.  I then tried to run MCE on the computer and received the "tv tuner not found" message.  From that time on, it has been a virtual nightmare trying to work with Microsoft techs and then with HP techs.  Unfortunately, the end of this tale is no different from the beginning.  Still no MCE on my laptop.  So, in essence, Microsoft has caused the problem, in my opinion, and lacks the ability to admit the error.  A heck of a way to run a business!