Can Media Center ever be mainstream?

Since 2002, Microsoft has offered PC users the ability to have their own digital video recorder without paying extra for a set-top box or subscribing to a expensive monthly service. At the time it was called Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Today, nearly every copy of Windows Vista sold has Media Center Edition (MCE) installed (only Home Basic and Business don't). That means millions of people around the world have the ability to record TV to their PC if they wanted to, simply by adding a TV tuner.

But it seems most people aren't doing it, and for the most part, probably haven't even opened Media Center. On a recent episode of the Engadget HD Podcast, custom installer Derek Flickinger (who also hosts the Custom Integrator show) wondered aloud if there were even 200,000 "serious Windows Media Center users out there."

In 2002 when Media Center first appeared, adding a TV tuner was not for the faint of heart. It involved opening your PC case, adding a new card, installing drivers and hoping it worked. Today, you can add HD recording capability simply by plugging in a USB dongle.

In 2002, there were a lot of people who still weren't sure if this whole "digital music" thing would take off. As such, the need to have as central place to access your music files was unheard of. Heck the iPod wasn't invented until the end of 2001. Today, everyone has hundreds of MP3s on their PCs. In 2002, digital cameras were just taking off, and most people were still showing off their pictures in albums. Today, even my mom is loading up her hard drive with pictures of the grandkids.

As you can see, in 2002 a software program that brought TV, music and pictures into one interface was like having H.A.L. from 2001: A Space Odyssey sitting under your desk. Media Center was ahead of its time, and while that's usually a good thing, in this case I think it might have stunted its growth. When it came out, too many people didn't need it and, as such, likely ignored it in future editions.

That's not the case anymore. Nearly everyone with a PC has music, pictures and even TV on their hard drive somewhere. Media Center scratches an itch that everyone has, but it still struggles with mainstream acceptance. Why is this? Confusion? Intimidation? Lack of information? Probably all of the above. Here are a couple issues still facing MCE, and how I think Microsoft could fix .

Recording Cinemax HD on Media Center? Good luck with that.

The problem - This isn't to say you can't get HD content on Media Center. With an ATSC tuner and an antenna you can tune and record over-the-air (OTA) HD content from all the major networks. Nine years ago when HD was still in its infancy, this would have been great. Today, there are hundreds of channels broadcasting HD content. Being limited to six local channels doesn't cut it anymore. As more content moves away from the major networks (ESPN was in line to broadcast all BCS bowl games next year) this is a deal-breaker for many people.

On top of that, it's nearly impossible to pair Media Center with satellite or digital cable service. Even if you manage to figure out how to hack your way into QAM content (via third-party drivers or by installing TV Pack or Windows 7), you're still stuck watching local channels.

The solution - Microsoft needs to sit down with hardware providers, cable networks and satellite providers and not come out of the room until there's an easy way for the average Joe to access all the HD content they can get with their set-top box. The addition of cable-card tuners was a good first step, but they are so expensive and under-publicized that you can't even call it a niche market. Hauppauge was able to figure it out with its HD-PVR, as was SiliconDust with its HDHomeRun.

If it comes into my house from the cable company, I need to be able to access it in MCE.

The problem - Nearly everyone I know has a Windows PC at home, and a majority have Xbox 360s. But as I write this only one of them regularly uses Media Center either on their desktop or via an extender. When I show someone my pictures and recorded TV on my living room PC coming from the Xbox, they're amazed. When I tell them they have the ability to do the same thing, they're usually stunned. Microsoft simply hasn't marketed Media Center.

The solution - Develop a campaign that gets Media Center in front of everyday PC users. I'm not talking a complete marketing campaign solely around Media Center, but make it part of the larger "I'm a PC" campaign. Why can't the cute four-year-old girl from the above ad show how easy it is to record and watch TV using Media Center? "I'm a PC and I record TV for free."

The problem - Microsoft picked the wrong horse in the high-def disc race. It's ok, so did I, and so did a lot of movie studios. We've all moved on, Microsoft needs to as well by adding Blu-ray playback to Media Center. You can watch DVDs in Media Center with a Media Center remote, why not Blu-ray? Sure, there are new technologies involved; new layers of DRM, but it can be solved. Luckily some Third Party apps are picking up the slack, such as Cyberlink's PowerDVD 9.

The solution - Add native Blu-ray playback to Media Center. If Microsoft wants Media Center to truly be an entertainment hub, it can't ignore the new king of the HD hill. It's enthusiasts like Blu-ray supporters that Microsoft needs to get on its side in order to help the transition for everyday people. While they're at it, let's add support for the next-generation audio codecs as well.

The problem - Spend some time on the Green Button and you'll find out that not all TV tuners work with Media Center. That's ok. No one is saying if you make a tuner you have to make it Media Center compatible. But for those that claim compatibility, Microsoft needs to ensure that they truly are compatible.

The solution - I'm not trying to bring up the whole "Certified for Vista" fiasco here, but the folks at Redmond need to make sure that if a tuner claims Media Center support on the box, that it's full Media Center support. By that I mean plug it in, install drivers, turn on Media Center and it works. The everyday user won't take the time to seek out a special Media Center plug-in, it needs to work out of the box.

I'm not a Zune owner or user, so for this section I turned to Adam Thursby from Entertainment 2.0. He wrote a post about Zune integration that is worth reading, but I'll pull some of his points here.

The problem - One example Thursby gives is playlists. You can download a playlist on a Zune, upload it to your Zune software but guess what? The playlist doesn't work in MCE or Windows Media Player. Zune playlists are .zpl, MCE and Windows Media Player are in .wpl. That means having to create the playlist a second time.

The solution - Thursby offers what seems like a logical solution, make a universal playlist, or, even better, make the various systems able to read more than one playlist. iTunes is integral to the AppleTV experience, yet the Zune acts like Media Center doesn't exist. Playlist files are generally just forms of XML so it's not like it would be too hard to allow reading of multiple formats.

Windows 7 adds IPTV channels to the main MCE guide.

The problem - I believe it was a couple CES's ago that Microsoft made a big deal about IPTV; that it was coming and it was going to be amazing. Several years later IPTV is indeed hitting the mainstream with more people streaming content from sites like Hulu and Netflix to their TVs, and Tivo has picked up content from Amazon's online service. Sadly, Microsoft is nearly absent from this space. A couple seasons of Arrested Development and some low-res concerts and movie previews does not an IPTV platform make.

The solution - I'm going to say Microsoft is already on the right track with this one. The partnership with TonicTV during the Olympics was awesome and well done - including HD video - and the new Sports Channel in Vista promises to make March Madness even better than usual. Now they need to keep going. Microsoft already has a Netflix deal in place for the 360, if they can leverage that and add something like Hulu, it would be a boon for MCE.

Finally, Microsoft needs to hear the community. The TV Pack release was a major bummer to many MCE enthusiasts. I understand the technology behind making it an OEM-only release, but that doesn't excuse it. If it wasn't ready for prime time, it shouldn't have been released. It's another indication that Microsoft isn't tailoring its releases to the general public. The fact that Microsoft took over the Green Button is encouraging, and there are conversations happening on there with Microsoft, but I don't think MCE can survive another TV-pack-like situation. They need the enthusiasts on their side.

Certainly there are other little things that can be cleaned up. A better Movie Library, fixing some occasional odd navigation issues, but those are nitpicks for the most part. When compared to the cable company's DVR, Media Center is amazing. And when you look at the potential for a DVRing, Blu-ray playing, IPTVing, music playing, picture viewing, movie watching media hub that MCE can become, Tivo pales in comparison.

Unfortunately right now MCE is simply not a complete product. It's an HD world and MCE can't fully support that yet. It's been passed by Hulu and Boxee in IPTV, and Apple has it beat on the portable player side of things. No other software platform can do all the things MCE does. It simply needs to fully do them all to become a game-changer.

I ran my list past Pete Stagman, a Microsoft Media Center MVP who just returned from The MVP Summit. Most of what was covered at the summit is covered by NDA agreements, but he did offer up a few notes for me. In regards to HD content, he said Microsoft is basically caught between trying to give the consumer what they want while working in the boundaries the industry has set. "(Microsoft) is as aggravated about it as we are." He also said that there's work being done on a MCE certification process for hardware, but that it was very early.

There are other signs that Microsoft gets it. Windows 7 adds native QAM support and has integrated what little IPTV content is available right into the main program guide (though the Sports Channel is Vista-only). That could indicate bigger things to come. They enhanced picture viewing and worked to improve the Movie Library. There's still work to do, but these moves show they are headed in the right direction.

I would love for the day to come where I can confidently set my parents up on MCE and know they will be able to use it without a hitch. I would hate to have to move away from using MCE as my DVR, but the more HD shows I'm not able to record, the harder that becomes.

With Windows 7 coming out soon, Microsoft has the chance to put MCE in front of millions of people, and do it right. I for one hope they do. Its close, it just needs to take the extra step.

Originally published on www.livinghighdef.com