SlashDot is Wrong: MCE05 Rocks

Here.

I'm a very happy user of Windows Media Center Edition 2005 and have been for some months. Not only does it allow me unfettered access to audio, video and recorded TV from any PC in the house, but with the XBOX Media Center Extender, I can access all of this from any TV in the house as well (so long as its equipped with an MCE Extender). Further, I was able to use MCE to record several episodes of a yoga TV show for my sister-in-law and burn them onto DVDs with an evaluation copy of WinDVD Creator, making her very happy. I don't know what the "content restrictions" who-ha is about, but MCE05 works great for me.

I agree, MCE05 has been wonderful to me. I'm just about ready to set it up at my house to use an XBox with the Media Center Extender disc and can't wait to be able to use it in a room separate from the computer. I read one review saying that the XBox fan makes an annoying amount of noise, though. Do you find this to be the case?

Also, using WinDVD were you able to burn the recorded shows in a format suitable for playback on a DVD player, or only on another PC with Windows Media Player?

I found the XBOX to be pretty loud, so I put my MCE box in my bedroom and the XBOX in the living room. The XBOX is only loud when I'm trying to sleep, not when I'm using it. : )

Also, I used WinDVD Creator to build a DVD that can be played on a normal DVD player.

MCE05 might be good now, but what happens when the studios start to turn off all the cool features. You might not be able to record that Yoga show to DVD after all. Check out this bit that was posted on BoingBoing today:

--- 8< ---
Do you even know which flags exist? Now that HBO has switched on the no-DVD flag on The Sopranos, people who are paying attention know that they have no reason to believe that they will be able to burn anything to DVD -- if the DVD burner works today, don't count on it tomorrow!

But what if you've bought the box in order to fast-forward past commercials? Is there a "no-fast-forward" flag lurking in XrML, the "rights expression language" used by the media center? (There is). Under what circumstances can it be activated? Can it be used to stop you fast-forwarding through an objectionable scene in a movie while your kids are in the room? The Directors Guild of America is suing a company that makes it easy to do this with DVDs; will they ever convince the studios to turn it on in your Media Center PC?
--- 8< ---

As someone who was bitten by the "content restrictions" hoo-ha recently (I waited longer than a week to watch something from HBO), I know their frustration.

However, MS didn't come up with the whole broadcast flag nonsense, and they can't be blamed for the obviously necessary CYA move of enforcing it.

Since Chris' whole "MCE rocks" argument is strongly based on "I can record shows to DVD" and that the content restrictions are unimportant, I think the fact that shows are deleted after a week weakens his argument:

"I don't know what the "content restrictions" who-ha is about, but MCE05 works great for me."

Imagine if the last sentence read (from the perspective of most ordinary people with deleted shows):

Further, I was not able to use MCE to record several episodes of the Sopranos show for my sister-in-law and was not able to burn them onto DVDs with WinDVD Creator. It was also deleted after a week, making her very unhappy. These "content restrictions" suck and I don't think MCE '05 is working well for me.

I guess you can go back to the old VCR

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