XP Media Center ver. 3.0

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XP Media Center ver. 3.0

The New York Times goes into some detail, Microsoft’s Latest Plan for TV [nytimes.com], concerning the newest version, (3.0) of Microsoft's XP Media Center, which Redmond hopes will gain traction in the living room. Price points are dropping down to $1000 per unit, and new accessories from Cisco, Linksys and H-P include Media Center Extender, which uses wireless technology to send TV signals to additional TVs in your house.

The choice quote of the article is:

Still, it is an open question whether people want to watch television on their computers. "Convergence solves a problem consumers don't have," said Sean Baenen, a managing director of Odyssey, a consumer research firm. He said that simpler, single-purpose machines are easier to use.

Later in the article, the point is reinforced that it's clear that new consumer behavior takes time to change, especially in the mass market.

But research by both Microsoft and computer makers found that most of the initial users of the machines were using them on their computer monitors, presumably on their desks. Only a small minority use the highly promoted ability of the computers to link to TV sets and sound systems for use in family rooms. (The machines come with remote controls and software with very large type so that they can be used by people sitting on the couch across the room from a big TV set.)

One reason, perhaps, is that video-recording functions and picture quality have not been as good as on a device like TiVo. A survey by Forrester Research found that people who recorded video on their computers were less satisfied than users of specialized recorders.

The article touches upon Sony's VAIO line of computers and how many have TV tuners but haven't been XP Media Center. According to Sony, their customers would rather burn recorded media to DVD than play it directly from their machines. Does that seem accurate to you?

Hewlett-Packard is also investing heavily in this sector, building Media Center PCs that look like consumer audio devices to fit underneath your TV. It will be interesting to see what H-P will do to attack this sector. They don't have a strong consumer brand in consumer electronics per se, but their core technology is obviously their strength.

The "fight for the living room" is a really, really big deal in many sectors including consumer electronics, software, and entertainment, among others. Many prominent companies are spending large portions of their R&D and marketing budgets staking out claims, focusing on niches, and generally trying to divine what the consumer will need/want in the future for a home media server. The challenge is that, as with any new technology, there is significant complexity and adoption rates are thus slow.

My personal choice would lean towards Tivo-type devices which are more specialized and easier-to-use. I still believe there is a big difference in the interactive nature of computing vs. the more passive nature of traditional entertainment (music, movies, tv.) While the future certainly will be a hybridization of the two patters of behavior, old habits die hard and perhaps we have not yet seen the best interface or platform for that new hybrid entertainment (i.e. both passive and interactive.)

Microsoft’s Latest Plan for TV [nytimes.com; free registration required or use bugmenot.com]

by Gen Kanai October 11, 2004

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http://news.com.com/As+inkjets+shrink%2C+HP+sees+new+uses/2100-1041_3-5406066.html?tag=nefd.top

Check that News.com article for some interesting tidbits about HP moving into the TV set market and further into the consumer space.

Posted by: BillSaysThis at Oct 11, 2004 9:18:36 AM

The New York Times is right to reference the poorer television quality of Microsoft's machine. My HDTV TiVo has a significantly better picture. That being said it is kind of a raw deal that DirecTV/TiVo disabled the home media option on the HDTV TiVo. At present I have a split system, pictures and music via MCE and television via HDTV TiVo.

The potential for MCE is huge though with cable and satellite HDTV being their largest hurdles to overcome before getting mass living room adoption. HDTV may be a small market today but it is the future of the living room PC (TiVo or MCE).

Posted by: Thomas Hawk at Oct 11, 2004 9:29:58 AM

I'm keeping track of all of the links regarding the MCE launch tomorrow at:

http://thomashawk.com/2004/10/mce-2005-coverage.html

Posted by: Thomas Hawk at Oct 11, 2004 9:18:36 PM

midia centar

Posted by: kalim at Jun 27, 2006 11:44:51 AM

XP Media Center ver. 3.0

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