Chris Lanier posts an interesting reply to the ongoing dialog on HD on MCE which is summed up nicely in the last few paragraphs of here:
Thomas’ idea of the “closed box inside of an open box” is what PVP-OPM (Protected Media Path) is all about. You have an open box that is your PC, and with the framework in Vista and hardware that will take advantage of it, you have your closed box. The reason it looks like Microsoft might not care about HDTV, is because Media Center is of course built on-top of Windows XP. Windows XP doesn’t provide the framework to enable these solutions to work. In fact, the changes are so drastic in the framework that it’s doubtful Microsoft could apply them in XP at all. Windows Vista will change all of this!
Windows Vista, as I keep saying, will bring a world of new opportunities to the PC and hopefully will provide Thomas (and everyone else) with the platform he wants with the features he wants. If you look at some of the functionality that Vista will be able provide it easy to see that Microsoft does care about HD, and they are working towards solutions for Media Center and the PC in general.
PVP-OPM and related technologies should bring CableCARD support. HD-DVD will provide Managed Copies to your hard drive. You will be able to stream DVD’s (the ones you own now!) around your home network to other devices. You might even be able to rip them to your hard drive (legally) too. Media Center will provide the central location to manage and explore all of your content using a remote and a polished interface. Media Center Extenders and the Xbox 360 will bring the ability to move the content to other rooms in your home without needing a PC in each room. There will be even more that can happen once Vista is released too!
It stinks that we can’t have this functionality now, but wait until Windows Vista ships and I can bet some of the current issues will be addressed! [Chris Lanier’s Blog]
If we all just waited for Vista to buy a new system I don’t think HP, Dell, Gateway, Microsoft or Intel would be too psyched. Think about all the lost sales due to waiting on a product which has been coming soon for years. Sure, it’s on the books for end of 2006, but that’s 3 big purchase cycles away!
I don’t think things will change sooner, I guess my point is that you have to be careful stating stuff like this or you can really impact the goals of quite a few companies all playing on the collective team. Sure most users or potential buyers don’t spend their time surfing developer and enthusiast blogs, but more are and they can certainly be influenced.
HD is important, it’s not the only thing, but it’s important nonetheless. Personally I will probably be waiting to see what happens. MCE today is close, not not there for me on a variety of fronts. There is no way I would go back to SD for TV and I can’t live with the music library management issues either.
Technorati Tags: MediaCenter, Vista, HDTV
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