Windows media center

[mapes]

Anyone using it....how do they like it and whats the monthly charge?

[TheSilentAssassin]

I have it, but what monthly charge?
For the operating system or for the media center?
If the media center, I was not aware of a monthly charge...

[mapes]

Hmmm do you use it as a DVR? I thought there was a monthly subscription charge for the channel listings.

[BenKenobi]

no sir, at least thers not on the media center xp one. I haven't tried the vista one tho.

[BlackArrow]

Mapes, the OS is Windows XP Media Center Edition. The channel guides are free using the internet.

as long as you have a TV tuner card you can connect your cable to the PC and use the HD as a DVR. Works pretty well. I have been using it for a few years.

BTW - Vista comes with these functions built in.

[RobotBanana]

BTW - Vista comes with these functions built in.

I think only Vista Ultimate and Vista Home Premium do. I'm pretty sure Business and Home Basic don't have the media software.

EDIT: Forgot to add, I have a laptop with a TV tuner and Windows Media Center (XP Edition though), and I get the guide free. When you're running through the initial setup, it tries to detect what your possible provider may be. It got mine right away, Rogers Analog Cable. Just click it, it downloads the guide info, and you're set to go.

If you absolutely need a cable box to watch TV, you'll have to get a compatible IR transmitter/receiver. Windows Media Center supports a whole bunch of them out of the box, and it has a little walkthrough to get it to work with your cable box. Otherwise you won't be able to change the channel using the computer, so if you wanted to do something like schedule a recording, you'd have to make sure you leave the cable box on the right station before you walk away. This would make things like recording 2 different shows on 2 different stations while you're not there impossible.

[BlackArrow]

RB that is right. I have Home Premium and it has that functionality.

[Ghost_Rain]

I check for you mate I have tv tuner card around the room someware and I'll install it and give it a try for you because I'm running Vista Home Prim

[WalkinTarget]

I'm using MCE2005 with a Microsoft wireless Media Center keyboard hooked up via HDMI to our 32" plasma TV. I had terrible issues initially with my graphics card as the aged eVGA 6800 AGP card I was using did not support the 16:9 aspect ratio of the TV, nor the necessary native screen resolution of 1440x900 for my TV, and on top of that its huge current draw would voltload my PSU and cause the video to black out. Situation solved by pulling the Nvidia card and going to an ATI Radeon 1300 card.
MCE 2005 does not charge you for a programming guide, so once it is set up you are good to go. I'm using it with an ATI HDTV Wonder card which is a hybrid SD/HD card. Media Center does not support any hybrid cards that split the tuner between Standard Def and Hi Def, but with a simple workaround (KRAMS driver) you can force MCE 2005 to treat both tuners as 'active' and record either Hi-Def or Standard Def TV. I'm using the indoor antenna that came with my ATI HDTV Wonder kit, but plan on routing that to an external antenna on my roof so that my HD:OTA (Over The Air) reception improves.
Currently, I can get some sort of signal from over 27 HD stations in my area, but due to the lay of the land and trees I can only pull in 2 of the 27 stations. Keep in mind that these are FREE HD broadcasts, as Comcast (in my area) charges $17 a month to view ANY HD content, but broadcasters are obligated to provide HD content sooner or later, and local stations are now broadcasting their shows in HD which will be free to view OTA if you have a simple rabbit ear antenna setup.