Print - XP Reloaded, Phase 2: XP MCE 2005, Media Center Extenders, and More

Microsoft will unleash the second wave of its XP Reloaded campaign tomorrow with the launch of new multimedia products such as Media Center PCs based on Windows XP Media Center Edition (XP MCE) 2005 and Media Center Extender devices from a variety of hardware partners. The company will kick off the second phase of XP Reloaded with a gala event, the Digital Entertainment Anywhere Launch Event, which will be held tomorrow in Hollywood, California.

Although details of these and other releases are being kept under wraps until the launch, various reports have suggested that XP MCE 2005 will include High-Definition Television (HDTV) recording capabilities, support for multiple TV tuners, support for FM radio recording, integrated CD and DVD recording, and other new features. Media Center Extenders, which Microsoft announced in January at the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) trade show, will let Media Center PC customers broadcast Media Center content--including live and recorded TV shows and digital photos, music, and videos--to as many as five other PCs in the house. The Media Center Extenders provide virtually the full XP Media Center experience in a fanless, silent set-top box that resembles a DVD player or cable box.

As you might expect, I've been busy preparing comprehensive reviews of these and other XP Reloaded products for the SuperSite for Windows. Check the site tomorrow for my reviews of XP MCE 2005, Media Center Extenders, and another surprise product that I haven't seen discussed elsewhere.

Key question: will media center extenders be able to remotely control the back-end Media Center PC? Scheduling recording PVR events, for example... A 'yes' would put the extenders in a class all their own; a 'no' makes them 'merely' comparable to existing products. Looking forward to some meaninful data after 10 months' wait...

Are we sure "XP Reloaded" is the correct name for the campaign? I had heard "XP Overloaded" myself. The solution, of course, will be to buy even more Microsoft software to fix the overloading. Just thinking out loud here...

At the WinHEC 2004 (April?), Bill Gates introduced a voice recognition remote for the Media Center PC...what ever happened to that? Will it appear as a product/accessory?

Why are you asking Paul? The only thing he reports on is regurgitated news articles previously posted, sometimes by days, at /. (www.slashdot.org). Any IT professional worth his weight in salt knows better than to read this mush here.

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is based on a fully fledged XP Professional. However; In a normal install you will not be able to join it to a domain. This due to the fact that some features of the Media Center relies on the utilization of "Fast User Switching" known from XP Home. The "Fast User Switching" is not available to a XP computer which is joined in a domain, therefore the option to join a domain is revoked. There are ways to successfully join a XP Media Center Edition 2005 to a domain, but it neither supported nor documented by Microsoft.