The Linksys WMCE54AG Media Center Extender
By Peter Rojas 
posted October 6th 2004 10:41AM
posted October 6th 2004 10:41AM
They first showed these off way back at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas back in January (which seems like
a million years ago now), but the very first Windows Media Center Extender, which is a digital media adapter for
streaming audio and video from a Media Center PC has just turned up online. The WMCE54AG is available
for pre-order at Buy.com, and while at $250 it's a little pricier than we'd hoped it'd be, a Media Center Extender
is pretty much the only game in town if you want to watch TV shows you've recorded on your Media Center PC in other
rooms of your house (Microsoft puts a little shell around the files so that they aren't just regular WMVs).
[Thanks, Matt]
The article indicates that MCE stores recorded TV as a wrapped form of WMV.
Close, but it's actually MPEG2 wrapped in ASF. We call this format DVR-MS. The ASF wrapper allows us to better support content protection in accordance with the Broadcast Flag rules.
Yeah, or you could just buy a couple of tivo's - how many tv's do people have these days? I'd rather have a tivo in every room than one of these media extenders... (you can share programs between tivo's in a home network, or even amongst friends via broadband - check it out)
figures microshaft would do something like that
As mentioned already by a commenter, TV shows recorded in media center use a format called DVR-MS. Both the Gateway connected DVD player (costs around $110) and the Govideo networked DVD player can play them. They cost less than half the price of this linsys and they work with any Windows OS, not just the Media Center edition. On top of all that you also get a progressive scan DVD player, with component video.
Bottom line, do not let Microsoft create its own closed universe, buy products that are as open as possible, especially if they are cheaper and have more features.
Or, you could just install one of the free Linux distrobutions and MythTV -- all open source, all free and openly networkable without any restrictions.
Closed source means they control it and can change the rules whenever they like.
Your choice!
The other option is the Xbox MCX. The net cost (Xbox + title) should be less than that AND you get an XBox/DVD player.
No other device than the MCX (either XBox or CE version), however, gives you the *entire* Media Center experience. Those networked DVD players cannot also play the stored music library, live TV (yes, at the same time as someone watching something else), stored movies, pictures, etc., all through the same interface as the Media Center itself. If you need WAF (wife acceptance factor), the MCX is definitely the way to go.
Going through a networked DVD player (and even more so with MythTV) is *way* more complicated and clunky. If your wife can work the MCE remote, she can work the MCX.
Having a little component that is much smaller and I expect much quieter then a clunky Xbox or PC is much more functional throughout the house. The majority of the world is not made up of geeks. So having something that can be closer to functioning like a VCR only makes sense.
I hope the Linksys has a wired connector because wireless sucks with all the 2.4Ghz phones around.
Finally, I've looked at MythTV and Linux. I thought Microsoft installs were bad. I don't think open source will ever reach critical mass if the community doesn't clean up those installs and instructions. You have to be a hard-core geek to figure that stuff out IMO.
pc's are taking over and the tv shall die soon... i know pc's are dated as soon as you buy. but the extender just seems like its shelf life may be a bit too short. i have almost phased all tv's out myself, but have added a network of pc's throught the house and i dont seem to mind the crt over the tv. (resolution is a huge factor.)
I want one (an extender) just so i can have stuff available for people i dont want on my ps's though ;p
the new patch so all xp pc's can watch mce encoded files makes it so easy to take advantage of the networks potential.
PuSHiSLAND,
What patch? Can I use a MCE (or regular XP PC) to act as a PC-based extender? (connecting to my MCE2005 PC)?
-Jon
Jon,
>>> What patch? Can I use a MCE (or regular XP PC) to act as a PC-based extender? (connecting to my MCE2005 PC)? <<<
He's talking about a patch for WinXP that allows you to view DVR-MS files on your Windows Media Player. But that came bundled with SP1 so if you have SP2 by now you should have it. With a PC on a network in this way you wont get the WMC interface, so no live TV only recorded shows. I own the Xbox media extender with an AG network and I love it. No interferance with 2.4Ghz phones and great quality. I'm also thinking about getting the extender for another room; I may post back my fealing on it. The key though is the AG network, G alone just doesn't cut it. I recomend the D-Link DI-784 108Mb Tri-Mode Dualband Wireless Router that uses 802.11 A + B + G.