Windows Vista and Xbox 360 - A Match Made In Heaven


My experiences with my Xbox 360 over the last couple of days have really opened my eyes to how important the Xbox360 is to Microsoft’s desire to be the main provider of entertainment to the home.

Until, this week I’d been eying up several potential PVR solutions for several months unable to make a decision as to what the best solution was for me - standalone PVR or to build a Windows Media Center PC.

Getting the Xbox360 with its built-in extender has made me place my lot in the Windows Media Center camp. I’ve decided that it would be crazy to not make use of the ‘free’ extender, so I’m literally installing Windows XP Media Center Edition on my main PC as I’m typing this post, and I’ve just ordered a Hauppauge TV card so that I can plug my set-top box into my PC. Hopefully, when I have set everything up I will have achieved my nirvana of having my music, films and pictures available anywhere within my flat.

I really feel that more and more users are going to go through the same decision-making process as me, even more so when Microsoft release Windows Vista with its built-in Media Center capabilities. Microsoft will then have access to nearly every device that consumers use to purchase and consume content. This will give Microsoft endless opportunities to flog anything and everything to users who are locked into using their software.

I don’t think any other company’s goals are as far reaching and developed as Microsoft’s e.g. Sony obviously are hoping for similar success with the Playstation 3 but without the PC/Media Center backup the Playstation 3 will never be able to extend its reach beyond the TV it is connected, or to dominate the home like Windows Vista.

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About the Author

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Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and currently runs the Portal and online operations for one of the largest ISPs in the UK. He also writes for Windows 7 News.

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  1. #1

    [...] So in preparation of getting my Zune, I thought I’d share the steps I went through to tidy up my mp3 files so I could switch to WMP11, and how I tidied up the raw mp3 files so that my Xbox could see all the details. The steps should be applicable to any other music player you may want to switch to, or if you’ve purchased a new shiny version of Vista and have discovered the joys of the Media Center. [...]

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