Philoking.com

I have had quite a mish mash of different home wide media solutions over the course of time and each one seems to get a little better. This time I think it’s about as seamless as it can get and I have to say I am very impressed. Two of my co-workers had been singing Media Center’s praises for quite some time, but I was still remembering how it was in XP and had never given it a honest try connected to our Xbox 360.

It wasn’t until I decided to try out this media center PC I had bought as an actual Media Center for the purpose of watching TV, that I started getting interested in what it can do. Now that it’s all set up, it’s quite impressive. I’ll give you the lay of the land, and then describe some of the features that have already got me loving it.

The Computer
The Computer it runs on is a non-stock HP Media Center PC m8227n. It has been upgraded to Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition as well as an additional 2GB of Ram for a total of 4GB. I have also added a nVidia GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of Video Ram and connected a tiny 15" LCD to the right of the hulking 24" LCD. Why would I do that you ask? I actually use this computer too. So it’s nice to have media center running on the smaller display as an office TV and not remove the ability to actually use the PC. It works like a charm.

The Features
So there is an Xbox 360 upstairs, connected to our home network via WiFi G. It’s a recognized Media Center Extender for this PC and I had already used it in this capacity recently to play music during a poker party we had. Now I am able to also watch video stored on the Media Center PC as well as shows I have recorded.

Speaking of recorded shows….I have remote record enabled, so if I am at work, I can log into MSN TV, sign in, and remotely set up recordings and the PC will dutifully carry them out in the background. I can come home and watch them in my office or upstairs in the living room through the Xbox 360. Now that is convergence.

The guide that ships in media center shreds the Comcast guide you get with the cable box. Sure I am missing on-demand and some of the premium channels from upstairs, but as a convenient system that doesn’t occupy more space like another TV would, it’s fantastic.

I am still digging to learn what all it can do, so far I am impressed. I will get the guys at work to show me how to really make it shine and follow up with more details.

I decided that it was time to make a concerted effort to get my TV-Tuner card working in Windows Vista 64-bit edition so I could watch TV in my downstairs office without having to have a dedicated TV for the purpose. This meant breaking down and trying to figure out how to get the unrecognized TV-Tuner to work.

As it would turn out, the Tuner card has no discernable markings that could tell you what brand and model it may be. I took a simplistic approach, and went to HP’s web site to try and find the drivers. I had done this before, but a month or so had gone by so why not. I was, of course, out of luck so I moved on. I decided to try the online chat support next and received an incredibly helpful response:

HP Rep: Hello Jason, how can I help you?

Jason: I have an HP Media Center PC m8227, and I upgraded it to Windows Vista 64-bit edition. I need the driver for the TV-Tuner card for 64-bit Vista.

HP Rep: How did you upgrade your operating system?

Jason: I went to the store, bought a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate and did a clean install.

HP Rep: We recommend you do not upgrade the operating system that comes with the computer as we can not guarantee drivers will be available for your system.

Jason: Fair enough, but I have upgraded and intend to keep it that way with or without the TV- Tuner card, so you are saying you do not have the driver?

HP Rep: Please wait while I look.

Jason: Sure…

HP Rep: It appears as that driver is not available for 64-bit Windows.

Jason: Could you at least tell me the model and brand of the card so I can try to locate it from the manufacturer?

HP Rep: Yes, it is an ASUS NTSC & ATSC PCI Express x1 TV-tuner card.

Jason: Thank you.

So I got a little help, but not much. Further discovery led to zero help at the Asus website either. The model wasn’t even listed and as far as I could tell checking other cards there were no Vista drivers at all, much less 64-bit.

Finally I decided to try something funny. I went to the device manager, right clicked on the offending card, and clicked "upgrade driver."

I got the standard no driver located, but saw "Would you like Windows Vista to try and find the correct driver for you?" I chose yes and within a minute I got a dialog telling me the driver had successfully been installed and I set up media center and was on my way. It works like a charm.

I thought it was a great time to share a positive Windows Vista driver story, and a 64-bit one no less. Go Vista.

Photo: This is the new setup with the 64-bit machine, 24" main display, with a 15" LCD dedicated to the Media Center. It’s working well.

Everyone that knows me well, knows that my machines are in a constant state of flux. I love to play, I am a true geek and I test and test till I can’t take it anymore, then I test a little more.

My most recent testing scenario has been living with Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition on my new personal desktop computer. The computer in question is a 2.66Ghz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of Ram, 400 GB Hard Disk, DVD +/- RW, nVidia GeForce 8800 GT, etc, etc, etc.

Besides a little trouble finding some drivers, setting it up was pretty painless. Also with only a few minor exceptions that were also rectified, installing software is pretty painless.

After having my own positive experience, I did a little more research to see what doesn’t work and I was a little unnerved to see that many 3rd party devices that I do own, like iPods, won’t work with this machine.

Currently they are not being connected to it, but who knows what will happen in the future?

So the burning question is do I leave x64 and continue in ignorant bliss until I buy some gadget and have to stick it on an old machine or do I flatten this box, put 32-bit ultimate on it, and be part of the masses? It’s a tough call, and I am not quite prepared to make it, but it’s definitely food for thought.