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Re: Beyonwiz v Vista MCE; The Yellow Jersey Goes To ...
Having just removed my 2yo Windows Media Centre (WMC) and replaced it with a DP-S1 (Wiz) for trial, I thought I would share my thoughts about the differences:
1. Startup time - WMC 55 seconds, Wiz 25 seconds, and that probably includes some HDMI handshaking. The Wiz also goes straight to live TV, WMC doesn't. Big win to the Wiz.
2. Picture Quality - since my WMC only had an analogue connection, it would be unfair to compare it to the Wiz via HDMI, so instead I will compare the Wiz to my Panasonic 50" 600A onboard HD tuner. I am happy to say that at my viewing distance of 3.5m, I cannot distinguish between them.
3. Noise and heat - my unit resides in a cabinet with glass doors. I never had time to investigate, but my WMC was extremely loud and too hot to touch - so loud that I recently stopped using it full time and would only turn it on to record. And with the heat I'm surprised it is still running. The Wiz is quiet and warm, and will of course be used full-time. A MASSIVE win to the Wiz.
4. Using IceTV EPG - the WMC can show all 6 FTA channels x 4 timeslots, compared to the Wiz 4 x 3. After setting a timer in WMC, the program is marked with a red dot, but with the Wiz there is nothing. Also when selecting a current program, WMC will change channel and automatically close the EPG, with the Wiz you must press EXIT - seems an unnecassary button press. WMC can autopad all recordings, the Wiz can't. WMC wins here by a good margin - the Wiz needs a serious revamp of the EPG layout.
5. Skipping ads - WMC has customisable skip times, the Wiz is locked. WMC requires one button press to skip, the Wiz requires three - one to bring up the info bar, the same one again to skip, and a different button to close the info bar - seems unnecessary when one push of the RIGHT ARROW could do all this. The WMC skip is instantaneous, the Wiz takes 2 seconds. A BIG win to WMC here.
6. Media playing - (a) Home movies - WMC allows thumbnails, the Wiz doesn't. However the WMC would often lock up at the end of a file, requiring a reboot - a major pain. Slight edge to the Wiz. (b) Photos - WMC lists photos in the order they were taken, but the Wiz can only list them in alphabetical order. This is BAD news if you've already renamed your photos. Also WMC has a nice slow panning/zoom effect, which makes viewing photos more enjoyable, the Wiz is just static. A BIG win to WMC here. (c) Music - No contest currently because the Wiz won't play my chosen format FLAC. But even if it did, I can't imagine it matching WMC's album cover art features and extensive searching functions (artist/title/genre). Another BIG win to WMC.
So you can see the Wiz still has some work to do to match the functionality and ease-of-use of WMC. However most of that could be quite easily addressed by firmware improvements. My biggest concern is the photo viewing function, the Wiz really needs a way of sorting photos by the metadata for Time Taken.
I think the people at BeyonWiz should have a close look at how WMC implements the Guide and skipping functions, because IMHO these two things alone represent 95+% of the unit's daily use, and at the moment WMC is the clear leader in this area. I could live with the 2 sec. skip delay, but three button presses to skip 15 seconds is unacceptable.
I should point out that my WMC is quite outdated now, so I will now begin the task of upgrading it. This will mean new hardware and an upgrade from XP to Vista Media Centre. I expect functionality will be pretty much the same, but since hardware has come a long way in the last 2 years, I am hoping to address the picture quality and the noise & heat issues. They have HDMI motherboards now, and I'm sure much better cooling systems. Once this is done, I intend to post back here again with an update. And then the decision, does the Wiz stay.......... or get sold to my father??!!
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Adam Turner has completed his Beyonwiz :: Vista Media center comparo. The result will be of no surprise to many of us, but could leave a few less fortunate MCE casualties wondering what he was smoking . . .
