Transcript: Chat about Windows Media Center Edition
Published: February 24, 2003
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
MS_Tony_H : Hello everyone! We will begin shortly.
MS_Tony_H : Thanks for joining us today for the Windows XP Media Center Edition Expert Chat. We'll begin in 3 minutes...
MS_Tony_H : Hello everyone! Thank you for joining us. Today's chat will be hosted by Molly Scoville Rhoten. Molly, would you like to say a few words about yourself?
Molly_MS : Hello everyone! Here's some quick info about me before we get started. I began my Microsoft career in 1993 as a Program Manager working on multimedia CD-ROM products. I'm currently the Group Program Manager of the eHome Media Center team.
Molly_MS : I run a team of about 10 program manager who define the Media Center features, and we work with developers and testers to make sure the features get built in a high quality way and delivered to all of you.
Molly_MS : I'm happy to start taking your questions now.
MS_Tony_H : (Please be sure to put "Q:" in front of any questions that you would like to have answered.)
Molly_MS : Q: When do you expect HDTV support in MCE?
Molly_MS : A: I'm not allowed to talk about what features are coming in future products, but we know that HDTV is important to a lot of our customers.
Molly_MS : Q: Will XP Media Center Edition ever be available to those who build their own systems? (Non-OEM)
Molly_MS : A: We get this question all the time - I know I'd love to be able to do this on all my PCs at home too! Right now we want to make sure that we focus first on the quality of the experience.
Molly_MS : By restricting our PCs to just OEM PCs we can make sure that everyone has the best possible media experience.
Molly_MS : As PCs get better and better at displaying TV, we'll be able to open up these experiences to a broader set of hardware.
Molly[MS] : Marcus - you said OEMs aren't great a designing reliable and fast machines. We've been working really hard on building great OEM relationships to make sure that this isn't true for our Media Center PCs.
Molly[MS] : Q: Can media center work well with Digital Cable? If so, what features are available?
Molly[MS] : A: Yes, Media Center works with Digital Cable. You'll need to tell it what kind of set top box you have, but once you do that it will work just like it will with standard cable.
Molly[MS] : It works exactly the same with satellite boxes, as long as you have a set top box for the satellite receiver.
Molly[MS] : Q: what should we expect in harmony compared to the first MCE?
Molly[MS] : A: This is probably the question everyone most wants me to answer! You can expect lots of incredibly cool featuers, as well as some performance updates. We've been listening to our customers in newsgroups, our product support calls, and our OEM
Molly[MS] : customers to make sure we address the things our customers want the most.
Molly[MS] : Q: Can Media Recorded on MCE be watched on other computers and if so What is required?
Molly[MS] : A: There is an update on the Windows Update site that downloads what you need (and gives you some instructions) on how to play TV shows on another PC.
Molly[MS] : The PC needs to be running Windows XPSP1, and it needs a DShow compatible player, such as Windows Media Player 9 Series.
Molly[MS] : Q: I would like to customize the forward and reverse skip time is that possible?
Molly[MS] : A: You can't do this in Media Center today, but I'd be interested in hearing what kind of customization you'd like to be able to do.
Molly[MS] : q: how does "digital rights" affect mce?
Molly[MS] : A: Content providers can set a flag to indicate whether or not content should be protected. We listen to this flag and for any content that is protected, you won't be able to copy it to another PC.
Molly[MS] : Q: How can the current price point make MCE competitive with Tivo and ReplayTV?
Molly[MS] : A: Media Center offers way more than Tivo and Replay because it's a complete PC. Although it costs more, you get all of the great capabilities of the PC as well. MCE also doesn't charge a monthly fee for the Program Guide information.
Molly[MS] : Q: A nice area of customization would be to add a button to control the power and volume of my 5.1 receiver and TV would be great. Right now you need two remotes. An IR "learning" function would be great. And you already include the IR blaster/receiver.
Molly[MS] : A: I want this feature too - I hate having all those different remotes! You're right that because we can already control the set top box it's not a huge leap to see how we could provide the same control for your Recevier and your TV.
Molly[MS] : Q: Any plans on making MCE "skinable"?
Molly[MS] : A: Now why would you want to skin our beautiful UI? Ok, seriously, what kind of skins are you hoping to have?
Molly[MS] : Q:
Molly[MS] : Is it possible to stream live video as it is aired from a Media Center computer to another computer on the network? (like a wireless laptop )
Molly[MS] : (Grant_MS really is from Microsoft )
Molly[MS] : A: This is natural next step for Media Center - now that you have these great entertainment experiences on your Media Center PC you want to be able to get it elsewhere in your home. I definitely want this in my home, and we're investigating
Molly[MS] : this area along with lots of other great ideas.
Molly[MS] : Q: does microsoft plan to release software or a ptach to movie maker to allow us to edit ms-dvr? unencrypted media of course)
Molly[MS] : A: Well that would be cool! I'll talk to the Movie Maker team - they're right upstairs . You can post this suggestion to the Movie Maker newsgroup as well.
Molly[MS] : : Q: Will the next MCE OS make Windows as a whole look better on a standard def TV? What display devices are MCE targets (SDTV?).
Molly[MS] : A: Right now only the MCE experience is targeted for the TV. There are definitely some cool ideas around other features that you might want to use on your TV. What features do you most want to be able to use on an SDTV?
Molly[MS] : Q: will i have to buy a new mce pc to get te new features?
Molly[MS] : A: The plan is to make updates available to customers who already own a Media Center PC. There will always be some new features, though, that will work better with newer hardware.
Molly[MS] : Q: Can I capture video from my webcam and record it with MCE??
Molly[MS] : A: You can use Movie Maker to capture video from a large number of devices and then use MCE to play it play it back.
Molly[MS] : Q: How long with the Program Guide information stay free?
Molly[MS] : A: There are no plans to charge for the Program Guide information.
Molly[MS] : Q: What would be the advantage of using MCE for captured video playback?
Molly[MS] : A: The remote control!
Molly[MS] : Q: When is MCE going to come to the UK?
Molly[MS] : A: We want to bring Media Center every place we can! We'll be rolling out in new countries over time (and I'll let our team here know how much vocal the UK users are )
Molly[MS] : Q: Are local OEM System Builders allowed to build MCE systems?
Molly[MS] : A: We don't have a program for System Builders right now, but it's something we're exploring.
Molly[MS] : Q: What is the preferred down-time state for a MCE box? I've tried standby, but when it comes back online, audio doesn't work. I've tried leaving Live TV running all the time, but MC crashes roughly every other day in this mode.
Molly[MS] : A: Standby is the right down-time state to use. If you're having problems, contact your OEM - we definitely want to hear about the problems you're running into.
Molly[MS] : Q: Are there any plans to enhance MCE to support multiple tuners? eg so you can record from live tv and watch live tv on a differant channel?
Molly[MS] : A: Is there anyone here who DOESN'T want this feature? We know how important this is to our customers and we're investigating what it will take to deliver this in the future.
Molly[MS] : Q: Can I watch TV on full screen and be on IE on a computer monitor at the same time?
Molly[MS] : A: You can do this, but it's not as easy it should be. You need to make your TV the primary monitor, and then rather than put it in full-screen mode, stretch the window to *almost* full screen, and the scenario you want will work.
Molly[MS] : Q: Q: Is there a place where we can go to let you know which new features have highest priority with users?
Molly[MS] : A: You should use the Media Center newsgroups. We spend a bunch of time in these newsgroups making sure we're hearing what our customers want.
Molly[MS] : Q - Are there any plans to allow XP MCE to load recorded content onto a - Pocket PC (al'a SnapStream) ?
Molly[MS] : A: Microsoft introduced a product called Media2Go at CES. We're working with the Media2Go team to understand how our products can work together. Dave from MS is going to post a URL about Media2Go.
Dave_MS : The Media2Go press release is at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/Jan03/01-09M2GLaunchPR.asp
Molly[MS] : Q: If you go into standby mode and the machine wakes itself to record a timed recording, should it go back to standby after the record?
Molly[MS] : A: Yes, the basic behavior will work this way. We follow the PCs power settings (so after the specified idle time MCE will go back into standby).
Molly[MS] : Q: Molly, do you have any questions for us?
Molly[MS] : A: If we were to do one thing in the next version of MCE, what would you want it to be?
Molly[MS] : The room here is silent as all of the Microsoft team avidly reads your requests.
Molly[MS] : Q: can u explain why ms decided on mce? - and what benfits u see in this over XP Home?
MS_Tony_H : 5 minutes left.
Molly[MS] : A: We wanted to deliver a version of Windows that delivers a unified media experience that pulls everything together in one place. The natural way for people to use media is with a remote control, so it was the obvious next peripheral for your PC.
Molly[MS] : I have time for one more question.
Molly[MS] : Q: If it's a media play with remote, why do I have to maximize the MC window after wakeup from standby??
Molly[MS] : A: Excellent question - we should make this more seamless, shouldn't we?!
Molly[MS] : Thanks everyone - it's great to hear all this direct feedback. Keep posting your ideas to the newsgroup, and watch for future updates!
MS_Tony_H : Thanks for your time Molly!
MS_Tony_H : The transcripts from this chat will be available on the Expert Zone soon. Thanks everyone. Bye!
