Chris Lanier's Blog

Unless I'm missing something, it would have been sooo nice if DVD boxed sets would have been handled better in the DVD gallery.  Having a display like Twilight Zone Season 1 Disc 1 for all 38 discs to still show up on the main list is a bit of a disappointment.  

Missing features in my use scenarios are:

1. DVB-C

2. Subtitle file support

Overall I find Windows 7 to be more stable than Vista, that alone makes it a worth while upgrade.  Being able to rename my QAM channels in the guide is also priceless but I really miss my commercial cutting program which wont work in Windows 7.

I liked it but after using it a week + it became unfriendly to me. Extenders would refuse connect to the host so I was often reinstalling them. Resume in movie library was in reliable. Live TV would advise low bandwidth often. Built in codec support was a nice concept but the buffering was unbearably slow. All these issues do not exist in Vista.

Until those few issues are resolved I won't be buying into Windows.

P.S. I am thankful I got to try Windows 7 for free and I know that I love the operating system in general but when it comes to my media experience I expect an improvement on current experience without suffering a loss of functionality that I have come to expect with previous versions.

I have been using Windows 7 since the first public beta.  I love it.  With 4 ATI tuners and 4 cable cards on Versizon FIOS it is fantastic.  Much better than their STB.  Of course I wish I had the PPV and ONDemand functions.   I have posed my "wish list" before. 1.   I would love for it to have a full NETFLIX functionality. 2.   I would like to be able to manage my ZUNE Marketplace in the MC UI. 3.  I wish that it has a true "MarketPlace" to be able to install "Add-ons" and a robust MC development environment.  4.  I wish it had similar functionality to the Verizon HUB product.  Weather,  News,  RSS, etc.  5.  I wish I could access my VOIP information from ViaTalk from the MC and see incoming calls.  6.  I wish that Windows Live Messenger Voice and Video could be accessed from the UI.

Windows 7 is a slight step up from Vista with TV Pack. I had a problem with the drivers for my 3010ix DVB-T card and had to replace it, but the easier recorded TV sharing made up for that. I decided to give SageTV a shot a few weeks a go - definitely a more powerful solution - sharing Tuners and streaming most HD formats to their wonderful little extenders.  Though the interface is ugly and its a pain to set up (I couldn't even get the UK Channels to show in the right order - ie with the right channel numbers). Well, that ain't gonna fly with the wife, so I am again at Microsoft's mercy. Can't they afford to just buy SageTV and all their staff and get them cranking out the FUNCTIONALITY that we all want, while the MC team keep things simple and pretty?

Top feature request for me - let me use a little Atom PC  as a FULL extender - streaming MKVs and the like, and using any unused tuners.

I agree, Windows 7 Media Center is another incremental improvement. of course one new excellent feature is the separate movie library that supports a range of file formats. Although as those who remember the Vista beta will know, the Movie Library was on the cards back then, we just had to wait 3 years for the work started back then to be finished off.

For me that is the nub of the problem having Media Center tied to Windows release means static/slow development. We had all hoped when this model was introduced with Vista that it couldn't possibly be true and our beloved media center rollups would continue.

Of course we now know that Media Center is truly tied to Windows releases, and fiasco of the TV Pack beta and subsequent troublesome release will probably only deter MS from indulging in interim Media Center upgrades.

So maybe we just sit back and wait another 3 years to be underwhelmed..... or we start a rumor about the Samoa beta you know the MC 2010 rollup... ;)

    Neiltoe - Sounds like you haven't upgraded the firmware on the extenders.  Mine work better than with Vista.  

    I'm pretty happy with Windows 7 Media Center.  Obviously there are some issues.  Cablecard is still a mess, whether its Microsoft or Cablelabs.  Lack of support for current  extenders is disturbing. Overall it's a step in the right direction.  

Great until BBC HD fell apart  this week..... oh and developed some sleep issues!

@lithium630

I am fully updated my extenders are screaming fast on Vista. Who knows maybe I buggered up my Windows 7 and it was just a fluke. My hardware is definitely fast and reliable on Vista it should be amazing on Windows 7 but it was progressively getting unstable every day.

Most channels from DVB-S show no guide data so I'll roll back to Vista + TV pack soon.

The only significant "improvement" for me is S3 sleep finally works properly with my CableCARD setup.  I tried for many months to get it working with Vista and was never successful.  Other than that, there have been pretty much zero improvements for CableCARD users.

So far, Win7 has been nothing more than a different set of issues to work through for me.  I *love* a couple of the new things, especially the ability to add a shared folder with a username/password for Media Libraries (which lets me kill off iSCSI and a number of little problems that presented), but ... there are at least as many bugs/issues as TV Pack has and I find myself tweaking ad nauseum and hoping for MS to fix things ... again.  I won';t go as far as "FAIL", but so far it's damn close.

Forgot to mention how much the speed improvement in the Movies Library has helped me.  I went iSCSI primarily to make that library fast, now there is almost no difference between iSCSI and using a shared folder.  I also forgot to mention that my Server 2008-based server has abended twice since I put Win7 RTM on my LAN.  Coincidence?  Probably, but it's fishy nonetheless.  The complete lack of a crash dump is worrying me, it's like Win7 grew legs, walked over and powered down my server! LOL ... (it of course could be the power supply or UPS going dead on me, but still very coincidental)

I currently have Vista + TV Pack working well enough and via MSDN I have a W7 RTM image ready to go.  I keep looking for the compelling reason to upgrade, and I didn't find it here.   I fear I'm going to have the same experience as above, just a different set of problems....

That said, I'll have some free time on my hands soon, so I suspect I'll convince myself to take the jump.

Overall so far I'm liking Windows 7 and the new version of Media Center. I love the new library concept and that you can finally seperate pictures from videos from movies and that all videos now have the resume function. The realtime transcoding is also neat, although I haven't used it yet, but I'm looking forward to watching videos in formats that I wasn't able to play on my extenders before. In some ways it's step back, though. The fact that WebGuide doesn't work anymore is pretty sad. For MS buying it and not including the functionality in Windows 7 is just sad. I think over time this will improve and I realize that I'm a very early adopter at this point, but I do really like the usability improvements in Windows 7 and the facelift and new features in Media Center. Once I figure out the issue with my HDHomeRun, I think I'm gonna be a happy camper again.

well windows 7 works great for me btu one problem and not sure if it is a windows 7 issue or a hardware issue. have the avermedia pci-e combo card. and having trouble with my Qam tunning i sometimes am fine tunning strait to it. btu sometimes it stays black i have to go hit channel up then channel down and then ussualy the digital signal will come in. this is not good when it comes to scheduled recordings.....

From my perspective, Media Center 7 has become a really great media player, but has failed to become a content ecosystem like iTunes, Hulu or NetFlix. Media Center was innovative with regard to TV content particularly in the DCT effort and EPG service, but DCT failed to catch on.

The media industry---owners of the media properties---have not bought into the Media Center platform and instead are rolling their own PC media applications based on Adobe Flash or some other programming environment, or are producing versions of their applications for sealed boxes like STB's, BD Players, HDTV's, XBOX, etc.

If one takes a snapshot of the PC digital media space today, Microsoft and Media Center are not prominant. The top players all have their own custom vertical solutions, and some of them are making huge amounts of money.

Music ---------------Apple iTunes/iPod

Movies -------------NetFlix, Amazon

Internet TV --------Hulu (NBC, Fox, ABC, other Networks)

Mobile media ----Apple iPhone

Internet Radio ---Live365, Pandora

Cable TV ----------Cable operators

Satelite TV --------Sat operators

Broadcast TV ----Media Center, Sage

- OTA, Clear QAM

I think this will be the case for the forseeable future---that Media Center will be one of a number of great PC media applications that people will be using.

I'd propose that the PC of choice for this scenario is the emerging low-cost, Wii-sized ION/Atom PC's that are HD capable and easily connected to any HDTV.

I think the game changer in 2009/2010 is the ION/Atom.

Something to think about :)

t-c

Al I want is Microsoft to stop disabling OTA and QAM for Canada, what good is Media Center if you can only add analog tuners :(  or edit the registry just so it can operate like it's suppose to.

Issue: it was a challenge to get the Windows 7 to work wit hthe AT&T U-verse Cisco / Scientific Atlanta Box... after a few days of tweaking and loooots of post readings finally figured it out, but the one item that is frustrating is that the box has a sleep mode, that when you turn it on it says " press OK to watch U-Verse TV"

Well Windows 7 has an option for you to press OK AFTER the channel, but neither did it figure out the Scientific Atlanta box nor does it understand how to get it off sleep mode.

Scientific Atlanta / Cisco IPN330HD

So when I ask about compelling features of 7MC, how come no one mentions this?

www.hack7mc.com/.../stream-recorded-tv-via-the-internet-and-windows-live.html

Once again, is there a list of new features somewhere?

I had never used WMC prior to Win7 and I love it. However, my ambitions were only to have a good DVR that could record 4 programs at once and save them onto a DVD or external hard drive, and to get rid of the VCR, ReplayTV (analog) and separate DVD player. However, after a big effort choosing components (DIY) and getting things running absolutely perfectly, Comcast announced encryption was coming -- soon.  Media Center was this PC's sole purpose, so, I'm returning all the components while time window is still open (courtesy of Amex).  I'll be waiting for an OEM PC with a MOCUR card to appear, hopefully in a few months and not outrageously priced. In the meantime, I'll be renting a Comcast DVR, which I expect to be horrible but it will get me by. To my knowledge, neither Dell or HP are selling OCUR machines presently, and I'm not willing to spend the money charged by the boutique manufacturers just for a better TiVo. I'm hoping that encryption won't kill WMC7 because I really liked what I had created.

I all been using Media Center since 2004 and have watched it grow up. I have been through many ups and downs over the years and nearly opted for MeidaPortal.

However,  with W7 MC I am impressed. It is by no means perfect but it is a great improvement. I have always wanted a pltform that works OOTB. Never until W7 has this been possible.

With my ASUS P5-EM baord and my Nova S2 HD TV card I loaded the drivers and loaded W7 and all worked, S3 works, TV works, DVD, Burning, all video formats without additional codecs. DVD Library perfect;ly.

But it there are things I think I have been crucially missed. When Vista was launched they promised a Windows shell that could be tailored for the users need. It never did materialise and it hasn't in W7, This was a feature that I thought would allow me to have the almost standalone box solution that would stop the family from getting to Windows and screwing things up.

Webguide!!!!!!! Need I say more on the matter. There are many out there who like me are waiting and waiting. Especially as ther developer works for the Media Center team!!!!!!

Finally Blu Ray native interaction. It must have to do with the complex security protocols and accreditation that it is not there. But it does suck that I have to have a separate player to play Blu Ray discs.

Overall job well done, it is more evolution than revolution but it is an improvement.

WMC is still pretty much useless to many European users as long as it doesn't support DVB-C.

I can't beleive Win7 still doesn't support DVB-C.