Here’s a quick way to find out which of your Recorded TV files are protected.

Instructions

Open Your Recorded TV library  in Windows Explorer. This library may include files from multiple locations if you’ve added folders to your TV library through Media Center. Display the files in Detail view. Right-click any column heading, and then click More on the shortcut menu.

In the pop-up window, scroll through the list of file details and select Protected. Click OK to apply the change.

You may need to scroll to the right to see the Protected flag, which appears as a column of Yes/No values. Click the column heading to sort by the Protected flag and see all your protected shows together.

With all the protected shows sorted together, it should be easy to select and copy the unprotected shows to your new HTPC. Now clear your calendar to watch all of those copy protected shows before completely retiring your old Media Center.

Acquiring either the Windows 8 Media Center Pack or the Windows 8 Pro Pack gives you Media Center, including DVD playback (in Media Center, not in Media Player), broadcast TV recording and playback (DBV-T/S, ISDB-S/T, DMBH, and ATSC), and VOB file playback.

Do you notice anything missing from that list? If you’re a cable television subscriber in the United States, and this list is exhaustive, you will no longer have any way of recording cable television content on your Windows Media Center. Both ClearQAM and CableCARD are missing from the list of supported TV tuners in this article. If you’re a European customer, DVB-C (the European cable standard), is also absent from this list.

Is it possible that we’re getting worked up for nothing here? Maybe this list wasn’t meant to be exhaustive. Maybe Microsoft meant to only list over-the-air style TV tuners. The biggest cause for concern is the obvious amount of pain-staking effort Microsoft has put into carefully choosing each and every single word in the articles posted on the Building Windows 8 blog. If there is one gem of hope against that thought, it is that they misspelled one of the standards. The European standard is DVB, not DBV.

For what it’s worth, we hope we’re wrong. Many of the writers at the DMZ have, and love, CableCARD tuners. We would be very disappointed to see support dry up for them. Although, we probably wouldn’t be as disappointed as Ceton, SiliconDust, and Hauppauge.

UPDATE

On Saturday morning Microsoft posted a follow-up to their earlier article to answer some questions around DVD playback in Windows 8. We’re just going to assume that one of the last questions they answered was a direct response to us.

Will CableCard and other devices continue to work with Media Center in Windows 8?
Yes, there is no change in hardware supported between Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Let’s not even bother with what was announced two weeks ago as it probably just makes the situation more confusing. Instead, let’s get to the point. For consumer PCs there are essentially two versions of Windows 8. The first is Windows 8, which is the basic version, and is most similar to Windows 7 Home Premium. The other version is Windows 8 Pro. In order to run Windows Media Center within Windows 8 you need to have Windows 8 Pro, but that isn’t enough, and the Pro version doesn’t need to be the version you start with at all. There are two paths to get to Windows 8 Media Center.

Path 1 : Start with Windows 8 Pro

If the computer that you want to use Windows Media Center on already has Windows 8 Pro then all you need is an add-on pack. This was discussed in the April 16th post, and pondered in greater detail by our own Jon Deutsch. The major detail released for this path is the name of the add-on pack. It will be called the Windows 8 Media Center Pack. Purchase and install this add-on and your Windows 8 Pro computer will now have Windows Media Center.

Path 2 : Start with Windows 8

This is the path that we didn’t know about before. One of the big concerns previously was that most consumer PCs would come with this version of Windows and those users wouldn’t have an easy path to getting Windows Media Center. Microsoft has created a path though, and it’s very similar to the one laid out for Pro users. If you have Windows 8 you’ll need to purchase and install a software add-on pack. This pack is called the Windows 8 Pro Pack. Once you’ve done this you will not only have Media Center on your computer, but you’ll also have all of the features of Windows 8 Pro. To put it plainly, you will purchase one add-on pack that upgrades your computer to Windows 8 Pro and includes the Windows 8 Media Center Pack.

How and How Much?

So the next question you might be wondering is how to obtain these add-on packs, and how much are they going to cost you. The first answer is actually pretty simple. From within Windows, in the Control Panel, there will be a section called Add Features to Windows 8. If you go to that section you’ll be able to purchase the add-on pack that you’re looking for. This will be a very similar process to the Windows Anytime Upgrade that was present in Windows 7. So how much will it cost? That we still don’t know, but who would we be not to speculate? When the add-on pack concept was first announced with regards to Windows 8 Pro it was described as “economical”. To us, that sounds like a price less than $50. We hope it will be somewhere in the range of $9.99 to $19.99 though. That’s of course if you’re simply looking to add Windows Media Center to Windows 8 Pro. We have to assume that the Windows 8 Pro Pack, the one required for standard Windows 8 users, will cost significantly more. Often times in the past there has been about a $100 premium to upgrade between versions, so it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility to see the Windows 8 Pro Pack come in around $99-$149. This is one area where Microsoft could radically change from their previous model. For all we know Windows 8 might only cost $29.99 and Windows 8 Pro might only be $49.99. As with everything else related to Windows 8 though, we won’t know for sure until it’s announced officially by Microsoft.

Conclusion

Hopefully the options are a little more clear to you if, like us, you’re considering the upgrade to Windows 8 and you still want to have Windows Media Center. It should be noted, but we’ll break these details down in a separate post, that some features, such as the ability to watch DVDs, will only be available if you have upgraded to Windows 8 with Media Center. So while some of us are still upset about having to pay extra for something that was included with Windows 7, at least we understand our options for getting there now.

Most believed that the apps would only work alongside Ceton’s Q DVR, but in today’s announcement they stated that they will work with any Windows 7 Media Center! They will also be releasing the companion apps into beta soon. The apps are being developed for Windows Phone 7, iOS, and Android. You can register for the beta today, and selection for the beta will happen on or before May 25th. When signing up for the app beta you’ll also have the ability to sign up to beta test the forthcoming Ceton Extender.

The beta process for the Ceton Extender will involve paying the MSRP for the box, which has yet to be announced. You’ll receive the box ahead of everyone else, and while it will be final hardware it will come pre-installed with beta software. At the end of the beta you’ll keep the extender and be updated to the final software. So while you’ll still be paying the same amount for the Ceton Extender that regular customers will, you’ll be getting your hands on it a lot earlier, and you’ll have a hand in improving it. The beta selection for the extender will be on or before July 15th. To clarify, when you sign up for the beta of the companion apps you’ll have the option of expressing interest in participating in the beta for the extender. You won’t be under any commitment to purchase one.

We’ll have the guys from Ceton on Entertainment 2.0 this week to discuss today’s announcement. You can listen in live at 8pm Eastern on our live show page. Feel free to leave your questions for Ceton in the comments on this post.

To signup for the beta head on over to http://beta.cetoncorp.com.

Ceton Companion App Features:

• Multiple platforms
• iPhone (iOS 4.1+)
• Android (2.2+)
• Windows Phone 7 (Mango)
• Works on any Windows 7 HTPC
• Browse all of your Media Center libraries
• Videos
• Music
• Photos
• Movies
• Start playback of content on multiple devices
• Manage and schedule recordings
• Rich meta data for movies and television
• Browse premieres of upcoming television shows
• Universally search movies, TV, guide, and more
• A whole lot more!

Instructions

Turn on SkyDrive photo uploading. First, you’ll want to enable SkyDrive photo uploads on your Windows Phone. In the Pictures app, tap More (…), then tap Settings. Scroll down and turn on Automatically upload to SkyDrive. Note that if you don’t want location information for your pictures uploaded to SkyDrive, you can turn off Keep location info on uploaded pictures.

This SkyDrive setting will only apply to pictures you take after turning it on. Pictures already in your camera roll will not get uploaded to SkyDrive.

Install SkyDrive on Media Center. On your Windows Media Center PC, download and install SkyDrive for Windows while you’re logged in to your PC with the account you use for Media Center.

Add the Camera Roll to your Library. If the SkyDrive folder doesn’t open automatically after you complete the installation, open Windows Explorer and select the SkyDrive folder (it should be in your Favorites). Right-click the SkyDrive camera roll folder, point to Include in Library in the shortcut menu, then click Pictures.

That’s all there is to it! Take a few photographs with your phone to test it out. Then open Media Center, go to the Picture Library, and enjoy your photographs. As you take pictures on your Windows Phone, they’ll sync automatically to your Media Center PC and appear in your Picture Library.

]]> http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2012/04/28/media-center-quick-tip-%e2%80%93-syncing-your-windows-phone-camera-roll-to-media-center/feed/ 1 http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2012/04/27/using-a-tivo-slide-remote-with-windows-media-center/ http://thedigitalmediazone.com/2012/04/27/using-a-tivo-slide-remote-with-windows-media-center/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:00:46 +0000 Mark Terborg http://thedigitalmediazone.com/?p=11901 Wouldn’t the TiVo sliding keyboard remote be great if you could use it with Windows Media Center? Well now you can have all of that keyboard goodness and still use the best DVR on the planet: Windows Media Center. Let us show you, step-by-step, how to configure this keyboard + remote with Media Center.

One benefit is obvious: it has a built in keyboard. There are many other benefits and even some drawbacks to using a TiVo Slide remote with Media Center, so we’ll cover those first.

One benefit of using a TiVo Slide Remote with Media Center is obvious...it has a built in keyboard!

Advantages

• Bluetooth. No need to point the remote towards the TV when pressing buttons (except power and volume, unless you blast the volume codes with an IR Blaster)
• Speed. Compared to my old Logitech Harmony 650,  the TiVo Slide is extremely fast. There is pretty much no lag between button presses unlike the Harmony’s pause between IR blasts.
• Keyboard. This one is obvious. Any time you need to type something in to either search for something or jump down the list of recordings, movies, etc., you can just start typing it in instead of pretending you are using a cell phone from the 90s.
• Reprogramming buttons is very flexible using the step-by-step guide below.
• Good Range. The range is approximately 30 feet.
• Buttons are pretty well laid out and you should be able to distinguish them without looking.
• Buttons are back-lit when it is dark and you press a button.
• Price. At the time of writing this article, the TiVo Slide remote is around $40 on Amazon.

Disadvantages

Betting on a Better User Experience

The digerati, tech media and pundits will all gleefully admit that ‘nobody has figured out the home entertainment interface yet’ when discussing, for instance, the latest update to AppleTV, or GoogleTV.  Of course, they’re wrong.  Hovering under the radar for years is Windows Media Center, which absolutely nails the home entertainment graphical user interface (GUI).  And, no, not just for tech-geeks; women, men and children alike can grasp — and even enjoy — Media Center’s GUI.  It’s so good, in fact, that Microsoft is betting the farm on the new “Metro” UI design, which is derivative of Windows Media Center’s groundbreaking design introduced nearly a decade ago.

So why are we talking about GUIs?  Because if you’re a company that’s not Apple and you beat Apple in the GUI game for a potentially huge consumer market, you know you have something special.  And that something special needs to be packaged for various audiences to fulfill various needs and desires in the market.  To date, I’d argue that this marketing and packaging element has been severely lacking.

Perhaps a brief look at the history of Media Center marketing and packaging might teach us lessons around prior failures, and provide us with clues that could lead to a brighter future:

Marketing Media Center – Take 1

The first three versions of Media Center were marketed as distinct editions of Windows — Windows XP Media Center Edition.  This approach had the advantage of creating a unique edition (a.k.a. “SKU”) that Microsoft could market, sell and track uptake on.  The name of the OS in these cases indicated that this was specifically for Media Center PCs, and some OEMs even went and designed special encasements for this edition of Windows.  Unfortunately, the OEM-only license model severely limited power users from easily purchasing and getting support for this version of Windows.  The strategy was clearly that of Microsoft-to-OEM to ensure a solid user experience… not so different than Apple’s tight integration model it’s famous for today.

Marketing Media Center – Take 2

Starting with Windows Vista and extending through Windows 7, Microsoft’s marketing and segmentation strategy for Media Center has been largely laughable.  Included in the Windows Vista and 7 Home Premium and Ultimate editions, hopes were high that simply including Media Center “for free” in mainstream versions of the Operating System would somehow substantially increase the install base of this magnificent software. Of course, this couldn’t be further from reality. People don’t buy PC OS’s for Media Center functionality, so by combining the two, Microsoft actually diminished Media Center’s value by devaluing it as “free,” and hiding it in a huge PC Operating System that is primarily designed to, well, operate a PC.  Yes, this approach did get Media Center into people’s homes at a far more rapid rate in theory, but the fallout has been almost catastrophic: Steven Sinofsky himself essentially scolded the Media Center community by telling us that merely 6% of Windows installations who have Media Center have ever used it.  Talk about being set up for failure.

Marketing Media Center – Take 3

The conventional wisdom is that due to Sinofsky’s remarks like the above in conjunction with Microsoft’s huge push to get Media Center-like functionality in the newly Metro-fied Xbox 360 experience, Windows Media Center may not have such a bright future. Perhaps. However, the “ProfessionalWMC” SKU rumor can paint a more optimistic future.

With Media Center Edition possibly returning to the mix, this could lead to a targeted, two-tiered home entertainment marketing strategy for late 2012 and beyond:

Tier 1: Consumer media consumption.

Packaged within the Xbox ecosystem for the masses.  Fully set-top box driven, linked to Xbox Live services and its recurring revenue model, complete with a centrally controlled, curated content experience that Microsoft is increasingly investing in.  In two-to-three years, the next generation Xbox may finally live up to its “XBox” moniker where it’s a box that truly does “x” — where “x” is whatever you want it to do, ranging from music, video, movies and games.

Tier 2: Professional media consumption.

Packaged for A/V installers and professionals, as well as OEMs as “Windows 8 Professional – Media Center Edition”.  PC-driven, creating flexibility and customizations required to serve the needs of high-end home A/V systems, professional multimedia installations, and other applications that require specific experiences tailored for more discerning clientele.

While “Take 3” looks a lot like “Take 1” from the Media Center perspective, the big difference between then and now is the recent evolution of Xbox.  With Xbox media delivery services picking up steam in the mass market, it does become clear that Media Center is for more advanced configurers and installers, and for more discerning and demanding users.

Importantly, if Media Center is once again limited to a single edition of Windows 8, Microsoft will have the ability to consider bundling higher-end A/V services into the package and pass those costs along to the licensee. This kind of packaging and segmentation makes a lot of sense because the people who desire Media Center services such as Blu-ray playback and high-end audio decoding will be more than happy to pay extra for a no-compromise media-focused operating system.

This segmented, two-tiered future may very well not be on the horizon, but it should be.   As a Media Center enthusiast and optimist, I for one hope that this recent rumor is a hint of a future where Media Center becomes the high-end offering in Microsoft’s expansive, multi-pronged suite  of digital media management offerings.

Without a doubt, our favorite Windows Media Center plugin of 2011 was Recorded TV HD. It offers a new interface for managing your recorded TV. It provides many options and a plethora of ways to customize the interface. For example, you can categorize each individual TV series for separate members of the household. Maybe you love dramas and your spouse loves reality TV. With Recorded TV HD you can filter your massive recorded TV collection down to only see the series that you are interested in, and your spouse won’t have to wade through your collection either. Recorded TV HD is a great value at its normal price of $19.99, but to celebrate its one year anniversary you can now grab it at only $9.99! That single license will cover one home theater PC and any Media Center Extenders that are connected to it. If you use multiple HTPCs in your house you can get one license for all of them for only $19.99!

Head on over to RecordedTVHD.com to get your copy today!

That has all changed now. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen any updates to ShowAnalyzer, but now the developer behind Comskip has a new version in beta that supports WTV files. Being able to read the new file format isn’t the only new update though. It’s now fully multi-threaded and uses this, along with other optimizations, to greatly decrease the amount of time required to analyze a show. Some users in the Comskip support forums are claiming faster and more accurate scans using Comskip with a default profile compared to ShowAnalyzer with custom profiles. Of course, as always, your mileage may vary. The only major downside right now is that it won’t perform “live commercial detection”. That means that using the new version you’ll have to configure DVRMSToolbox to wait until a show has finished recording before it starts the commercial detection process. Don’t worry, there are instructions for configuring DVRMSToolbox in the support forums, and the developer says that live detection will be coming soon.

Comskip has always been a free tool, but currently to get the new version you will need to donate at least $10 to the project. That will give you access to a password protected site where you can download the latest “donation version”. The most current version is 81.32, and was released just a few days ago, on March 4th.

We’re going to continue to test it here, and we’ll report back later on our results. If it sounds interesting to you head on over to the Comskip website and check it out.

Google started its acquisition of Motorola Mobility only months after purchasing Sage TV, a PC-based DVR software company that many viewed as Windows Media Center’s primary competitor in the home theater PC space. We immediately wondered if perhaps Google was working to combine its Google TV services, with the DVR technology from the Sage TV acquisition, into Motorola built set-top-boxes that could be marketed directly at cable companies. This could have been a big play for Google in the living room, especially considering its lackluster performance thus far with Google TV.

If that was Google’s plan it doesn’t sound like it will work. Apparently cable companies “have shunned buying boxes from Motorola ahead of Google’s purchase”. One would assume that the cable companies aren’t interested in working with Google at the same time the company is trying to push it’s Google TV technology as a replacement for cable TV service.

So where does this leave Sage TV? Is there still a chance that Google may be looking to bring some of its features into Google TV? The best feature Sage TV had going for it was its DVR functionality, and without the likelihood of CableCARD support through cable companies, we’re not sure how Google could use the technology. If you were a Sage TV user it is possible that you lost your favorite HTPC software on a failed bet by Google.

Source: New York Post via The Verge

This week HandBrake released a new version, 0.9.6, and to our surprise, it includes support for WTV files! We tested it out, and sure enough, you can simply drag your WTV files right into the application for your conversion tasks. There are, of course, other updates and fixes, so check out the release notes for all of the details. Once you’re done reading, go and download this awesome (and free) tool right away!

Release Notes – Download Page

One thing we weren’t sure about with the release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview was the time at which it would be available to download. Fortunately, we don’t have to wonder any longer, and we don’t have to wait any longer either! You can download now. It’s available in 32-bit and 64-bit options, in a variety of language offerings. If you choose the 64-bit version you’re download is going to be 3.3GB, while the 32-bit version is only 2.5GB.

Get the Windows 8 Consumer Preview here.

The release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is almost upon us. It is set to release on Wednesday February 29th. We don’t know what time the bits will actually be made available, but we’re hoping they’ll be released early in the day. We know that all of our readers are just as excited as we are to play with Windows 8, but not everyone will be able to on Wednesday. Have no fear! We’re here to help you get your questions answered about Microsoft’s next operating system. Whether you’re going to be building your own Windows 8 box or not, come back to the DMZ Wednesday night around 8pm ET. We’re going to host a live screencast and question & answer session. Our newest member, Chris Barnes, will be building a Windows 8 virtual machine and sharing it with the world. He, and other DMZ writers, will be available to take questions and discuss all of the great new features of the OS. You’ll be able to watch us interact with Windows 8, and hear us talk about it, just like listening to Josh and Richard record Entertainment 2.0 every week. As if getting to see Windows 8 weren’t enough, we’ll also have a prize to give away! Check back here later for more details.

Update: The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is now available for download! Check it out here.

Are you looking for the live show? Go to thEndUsr Live.

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Yet, in 2012, digital media management in the home is still in its infancy.  True, DVRs have now become commonplace thanks to leased boxes by cable companies, but they are by and large still not much more than fancy VCRs in terms of flexibility and functionality.  Beyond these cable-company leased DVR boxes, cable-ready DVRs are still slim pickings — there’s really just TiVo and Windows Media Center.  Both offer enhanced media management and streaming options, but go about solving the problem in vastly different ways.  Due in part to up-front costs and setup complexity, neither are close to mainstream when compared to cable-company DVR units.

Then there are the emerging and increasingly popular non-DVR set-top boxes, including AppleTV, Boxee, Roku, Google TV, and even Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation.   These types of digital media add-ons are compelling for manufactuerer because they exist exclusively in the “internet media” space and therefore can avoid the complex, cumbersome and regulated CableCard certification and implementation process required to support digital cable content. (How cumbersome, you ask?  Consider that the federal government needed to get involved to help make things easier for the consumer.)  The relative simplicity of purpose of these add-on devices drives costs down to the point where they can become compelling mainstream products.  And their sealed box approach ensures security for high-value content (i.e., Netflix, Hulu, etc.), while eschewing the complexities of integrating with regional, regulated technologies like digital cable and satellite services.

Even with all of these options, there are serious gaps in addressing mainstream consumer needs:  DVR devices only tip-toe into the internet media/digital streaming space, and internet media add-on boxes generally ignore traditional, cable-based and satellite TV content.  For those who desire the best of both worlds—traditional cable and internet media in one, simple, unified experience—there are very few elegant, all-in-one solutions. (Note: I do recognize that Windows Media Center’s flexibility can get you quite close to having the best of both worlds, but getting there requires serious commitment and technical mojo that is simply out of the mainstream consumers’ grasp and/or interest.)

Which brings us to 2012. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show seemed to be ushering in the first generation of viable “Smart TVs” — based on technologies ranging from proprietary platforms like Samsung’s to more standards-based environments powered by Android.  If digital streaming technology successfully lodges itself inside the television set itself, it will significantly reduce a barrier to entry for the mainstream consumer.  Consumers notoriously don’t like set-top boxes, but they are already used to having them in their homes to enable digital cable or satellite TV feeds.  In other words, if all existing boxes stay as-is, yet the TV gets smarter in the process, then the average consumer will likely stick with their cable-based DVR box for traditional content, and look to their TVs alone to gain access to the growing volume of quality content available online.

Even Microsoft is sensing the trend.  All of the rumors and prognostications lead to Microsoft looking at their own set-top box, the Xbox 360, to be the new digital media master of the consumer’s family room.  While I am skeptical that the consumer’s existing mental model will actually enable them look at their Xbox’s as anything more than their game console, it’s quite feasible that the next generation Xbox will finally live up to its namesake and be the “box that does X,” where “X” is anything you want it to do — from gaming, to media, to communications, to education & training.  No matter how it plays out, the point is that the Xbox (as well as other gaming consoles, like Sony’s PS3) is an existing device that people have accepted in their homes, similar to the cable company’s set-top box.  Meaning, there is an opportunity for Microsoft and other console makers to leverage this “accepted box” and alter it’s purpose in the emerging smart family room.

A new wildcard entering the race for your TV is Google.  Google has proven that when it really wants to, it can dominate an industry (examples: internet search and smartphone OS’s).  Google’s own GoogleTV has so far been quite a flop, proving that a “launch in beta” culture might not be well-suited for the digital family room market.  But it looks like Google is not giving up so quickly — nor should they; after all, Google is in essence an advertising placement company, and to miss out on the TV consumer experience would be a strategic fail for such a company.

One of the most anticipated movers in this space is Apple, who seem to be planning to move beyond the “hobby” stage of AppleTV.  Apple will most likely raise the bar for the whole industry (as they are wont to do), bringing entirely new interaction models and content consumption features that have thus far evaded creative minds in the industry.

For power users (like me), all this “mainstreaming” gives me some worry warts, as I prefer to be on the bleeding edge, with technology power and flexibility (and, frankly, some hack-ability) to do virtually anything I want to meet my discerning digital desires.  Can the more esoteric and high-end solutions like Windows Media Center (and Ceton’s future “Q” product) exist in this increasingly mainstream future?  I’d argue, yes.  Any market that has a broadening appeal is good for all segments within that market.  In other words, a rising tide lifts all boats.

It’s been over a decade since the first DVR was launched, and almost a decade since the first Media Center software was introduced.  Digital media in the family room has experienced a relatively slow evolution, but I think 2012 may be remembered as a turning point — just like 2007 is now thought of as a turning point in smartphones.

Developing for WMC is an Atrocity

You should congratulate Netflix, MyMovies and MediaBrowser for having successfully developed WMC UIs that work and look beautiful. Anyone who has seen MCML or looked at how many different files it takes just a get a basic WMC plugin knows that developing for this platform is a disaster at best. Eight different files using unique, unfriendly XML and .NET variant code are all it takes to make a WMC app with a button our two. Documentation for developers is relatively non-existent. This is why you don’t see lots of apps for Media Center, why it take forever to update the apps that are out there and why Media Center has not flourished like we all hoped it would.

Clearly no one on the Media Center team was listening when Balmer said “Developers! Developers! Developers!” You can have an Android app up on the entire Android platform with a single XML file and a Java file. WinRT is what all Media Center apps should be based on. HTML, JavaScipt, C#, C++, Silverlight. Done. Programmers, n00b and veteran, can understand and learn these languages easily. File structure is greatly simplified. As seen in the developer preview, Visual Studio 11 will have great WinRT UI WYSIWYG tools for Metro UI development. WinRT removes or lessens the barrier to developing great home theater applications, thus we could finally get the home theater support and app market we Microsoft fanatics all want and deserve.

Metro UI is WMC 2.0

The hubs and tiles of the Metro UI Windows 8 start screen respond to remote commands much like in Windows Media Center. Hubs and tiles are easily customizeable through a couple clicks of the mouse in the sub-menus of the Metro UI. There is no need to start a separate application when Windows starts, it is Windows already.

Today, Windows Media Center is pretty much uncustomiseable. If you install any new plugins, usually a new strip is created and eventually the whole system gets cluttered up. Yes, you can use Media Center Studio, an unsupported, crashy WYSIWIG editor for WMC. But that is for us hardcore Media Center fanatics, not the average Joe.

The Windows 8 Browser

You can have nearly the entire Internet at the buttons of your TV remote. Just hit the IE tile and up pops the Metro Internet Explorer. Now you can manage your streaming services, check your email or Twitter account, or pop up a YouTube video. The Win8 browser has its limits though. No support for plugins (not even Silverlight) will prohibit you from watching Netflix, VUDU or Amazon. Not to feer, that is what WinRT is for!

The Windows Store

Windows Media Center lacks a centralized location for managing, discovering and updating plugins. Yes, there is the Extras Gallery, but no one puts their apps there. Yes, the Digital Lifestyle had the right idea with their Made for Media Center app store, but it does not come pre-installed, it has no payment system for developers, and it is rarely updated. The Windows Store in Windows 8 comes pre-installed and provides a full-featured app store supported by Microsoft. This is where you will get your Netflix app and Your VUDU app and your Amazon Instant Video app and your MyMovies app. This is where you will get your à la carte movies and TV from Microsoft once they kill Zune.

Browsing Local and Network Media

Music, Videos, and Pictures are all represented as hubs in the Win8 Metro UI. However, we all know that MediaBrowser and MyMovies have much prettier UIs. There is no reason why they can’t build WinRT hubs that look beautiful and function in similar ways. If they could hack together MCML to build their rich interfaces, then doing an even better job with HTML, JavaScript and C# should be no problem.

Skype Integration

In 2011, Microsoft bought Skype in an attempt to either block others from gobbling it up or to gain some serious brand recognition in the teleconferencing market. Either way, it is inevitable that a robust Skype app will appear in the Windows Store on Windows 8. While there is a WMC plugin for Skype, a free native Windows application has to give the user a better experience.

Streaming Services

Streaming services are a primary function of home theater PCs. Netflix is already built into Windows Media Center. But what about VUDU, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, YouTube, iTunes and the soon-to-be Redbox/Verizon service? For that stuff, you either have to go through a browser or hack WMC to display an icon for a separate app that works with a streaming service. Ridiculous. Why not just replicate their HTML/JavaScript code from their websites into WinRT apps? Done. But why didn’t these companies make apps for Media Center? See my first point.

Angry Birds

You know Windows 8 is going to have Angry Birds. Playing Angry Birds on your TV with a remote is reason enough to go to Win8, right?  Can’t wait for an Angry Birds app? Play Angry Birds in the Win8 browser. But in all seriousness, gaming on a Win8 HTPC becomes easier because there is no blasting in and out of Media Center to get to games. There is no hack-job customizing needed. The tile just appears when you install the game.  Performance is not degraded because Media Center is still running in the background.

Calling All Developers

There are a few things that need to happen in order for the Metro UI to be properly used as a home theater interface. Whether Microsoft makes these improvements or a third party developer does, these need to happen:

• The Live TV, Guide and Recorded TV functionality needs to be replicated into a WinRT Hub. This would not take the Media Center crew at Microsoft much time to make this transition. The code is there; it just needs to be retweaked for WinRT.
• Adjust the on-screen keyboard to support a remote control.
• Native support for DVD and Blu-ray. While this is a pipe dream, this is critical to a sustainable, low maintenance HTPC configuration.
• A “Home Theater” mode for the Win8 Start screen. This reworks the hubs and tiles for media and TV viewing. Really, you would only need three hubs: TV, Streaming and Gaming.

In the end this is how we are going to get the HTPC interface we have always dreamed of. Think WinRT, not WMC.