the evolution of the pc into a media center . . .
In the beginning, the purpose of the PC was to get work done. However, all work and no play doesn't sit well with most human beings, and the advent of computer games began the evolution of the PC into an entertainment device. Each generation of PC is more powerful than the last. Processors get faster and memory increases, and software gets more sophisticated. At the same time, prices continue to fall, placing high-end hardware within the reach of more and more consumers.
Today, the PC is more personal than ever. It's no longer confined to the office; it now holds a prominent spot in every room of the house, including the one in which you relax and watch TV or listen to music. Not only are our PCs now a part of our "total entertainment experience," but they can also integrate fully with our other entertainment devices, such as sound systems, home theater equipment, and wide-screen TVs.
Multimedia PCs Take Computers to a New Level
Early multimedia PCs were those that had sound cards and speakers installed. You could listen to music -- although high quality audio files were very large and hard disks were relatively small. Watching video files often required a magnifying glass because the hardware wasn't powerful enough to support full screen video. In addition, jerkiness and other quality issues in video playback were common.
The first attempt to integrate PC and TV was the Gateway Destination system, marketed in the 1990s. It included a state-of-the-art (at the time) computer with 32 MB of RAM (random access memory), a 333 MHz processor and a 3.2 GB hard disk. It came with a 27-inch TV, remote control, keyboard, and mouse.
Components of a Multimedia Computer
Most of the home computers sold today qualify as multimedia machines. They include high-end sound cards or audio functions built into the motherboard and fast AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) video cards with more memory available for video functions that were available for the entire computer system a few years ago. Video cards with TV input and output jacks allow you to watch television on your computer or to play your computer games on your TV screen. High-speed CD and DVD players and recorders make it easy to not only play music and watch movies, but also to burn (make copies of) your own music and movies. Compression technologies, such as MP3, have shrunk good quality media files to manageable sizes. Finally, low-cost, widely available high-speed Internet connections such as DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and cable modems make it possible to access large amounts of multimedia content quickly and easily.
The road to PC-entertainment system integration hasn't been a completely smooth one. Different hardware and software vendors have put out their own proprietary solutions that aren't compatible with one another. This lack of standardization has made it more difficult for consumers who want to integrate their computers into their entertainment systems.
What Can You Do with a Multimedia Computer?
With a modern multimedia PC, you can do the following:
- Listen to music through high-quality surround sound speakers attached to your PC or through your home audio system.
- Watch TV programming (broadcast, cable, or satellite) on the full screen or in a window on your computer monitor.
- Play computer games, surf the Web, read your e-mail, or play video files on your TV screen.
- Use your computer's hard disk to record and store television programs and play them back later (time shifting), making the computer a PVR (personal video recorder).
- Edit your digital photographs and display them in digital slideshows.
- Edit your digital home movies.
- Listen to local and Internet radio.
- Record music and video files to CD or DVD format so they can be played on other computers, sound systems, car audio systems, and so on.
What's the difference, then, between a multimedia PC and a Media Center PC? A multimedia computer can run on any a variety of different operating systems, including Windows 98, Me, 2000 or XP, or some variety of Linux or Macintosh. It can use any of a number of different multimedia programs available from many different vendors. Generally, it uses several different, unrelated programs to accomplish different multimedia tasks. For example, a digital photo program from one vendor, a PVR program from another, and a program to play digital music from yet another.
Special Software
A Media Center PC runs a special operating system, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (which we'll abbreviate as MCE). It's designed to support multimedia functions and has a built-in application called Windows Media Center that provides a single interface to perform most multimedia tasks.
In addition to its multimedia applications, a Media Center PC can do any computing tasks that you would do with a Windows XP Professional or Home Edition computer, such as Web surfing, e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet calculation, and so on.
Special Hardware
A Media Center PC also has specific hardware requirements to ensure that the hardware works properly with the Media Center software. For that reason, you can't buy the Windows XP MCE software itself and install it on your computer. It's available only to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and to system builders who sell custom computers. In other words, for most consumers, the only way to get the MCE operating system is to buy a system on which it's preinstalled.
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The Windows XP MCE software is available without purchasing a system to members of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN).
Setting Standards
Media Center PCs solve the problem of nonstandardization in the multimedia PC market. Instead of worrying about whether different software programs will work together and whether the software will be compatible with the hardware, consumers get an integrated package that's designed so everything works together.
Not just any old PC works as a Media Center PC. Media Center PCs require powerful hardware because graphics, video, and audio applications are processor- and memory-intensive.
Minimum Hardware Requirements
Microsoft has published minimum hardware specifications for Media Center PCs, as follows:
1 GHz or better processor
At least 256 MB of RAM
A high capacity hard disk (at least 80 GB)
A video card with TV tuner (this can be two separate cards)
A sound card or on-board audio
A CD and/or DVD drive
A remote control designed to the Media Center specifications
A network card or modem for downloading the Program Guide
Most vendors' Media Center PCs surpass these minimum requirements. Many come with 512 MB or more of memory and 200 GB or more of hard disk space. Hard disk space is especially important if you plan to record and store a lot of recorded TV programs, because a 30-minute program can use 1.5 GB of disk space.
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Virtually all Media Center PCs are equipped with USB (Universal Serial Bus) and/or IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 (also known as FireWire) ports, so you can easily attach external hard disks for extra storage space.
PC Form Factor
Some Media Center PCs are designed as all in one devices that have display, keyboard, and CPU integrated into one piece. Others are designed to resemble a home audio or home theater component. Most are in tower or minitower cases like a typical desktop computer. A few vendors, such as Toshiba, offer Media Center notebook PCs.
Media PC Display
You can connect your Media Center PC to any of the following types of displays:
CRT (cathode ray tube) computer monitor, via an analog video connector
LCD (liquid crystal display) computer monitor, via an analog or digital video connector
High resolution projection TV, via S-video or component video connectors
Plasma TV, via digital video connector.
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Although you can connect the Media Center PC to a regular picture tube TV for watching movies and recording TV, it generally does not work well for other computing tasks, such as reading e-mail and surfing the Web.
Input Devices
Media Center PCs generally come with wireless input devices (keyboard, mouse, and remote control). If you don't like the ones that come with your system, you can buy different input devices. For example, you might want a wireless ergonomic keyboard instead of the regular keyboard that's usually provided with the PC. Wireless ergonomic keyboards are made by Microsoft, Logitech, and other vendors.
The best wireless pointing devices for the Media Center PC will work either in the air or on a surface. One of the most popular is made by Gyration. You can buy it alone or in combination with a wireless keyboard.
Remote controls designed for Media Center PCs are available from several vendors, including Gyration and Snapstream.
Flash Card Readers
Some Media Center PCs come with built-in flash memory readers. This makes it easier for you to transfer files to and from other devices, such as MP3 players and digital cameras. Flash memory cards come in several different formats:
CF (CompactFlash)
SD (SecureDigital)
SM (SmartMedia)
MMC (MultiMedia card)
Memory stick
If your Media Center PC doesn't come with a flash reader, you can add one that plugs into the USB port.
Control Your Media Center PC with Your Handheld Computer
If you have a handheld computer that runs the Pocket PC operating system and includes wireless technology (Wi-Fi or Bluetooth), you can use the Rudeo software to turn your handheld computer into a sophisticated remote control for your Media Center PC.
