Microsoft, never content with just monopolizing one segment of the market, has decided to dip its big, scary toes into the
Slingbox-ish world of anywhere-TV with a new piece of software for its
Media Center PCs. Using the newly acquired (but not new) WebGuide component -- created by a gentleman named Doug Berrett -- you can now tune into your Media Center content from any place you have web access. The software actually goes beyond what Slingbox is capable of, giving you full control over your system remotely, allowing you to set record times, change schedules, and generally go buck-wild, even from a mobile phone or WiFi equipped PDA. Ballmer and Co. also added an ITV function to MC PCs, though apparently all it does is offer C-rate "internet" content for MCE users. Clearly, what's exciting here is WebGuide -- the software is free, and presuming you already have your system up and running, you could be "slinging" video around before you know it.
[Via
Cedia]
posted Sep 17th 2007 2:13PM
And this is different from what orb has been offering to media center pc's for a while, how?
This is realllllllly old news.
It's not different from Orb at all, but considering that there is already a Windows Home Server add-in for Webguide and the work being done on the media-extender side, one can get a sense of the direction they are heading in. Orb does a lot of things well but it does have some drawbacks such as hardware compatibility and playing nice with network shares. It can't touch things like terminal services access, drive storage pooling, in other words it's more comparable to a font-end solution whereas Microsoft is starting to offer a fully integrated solution. Every update MS seems to be doing on the media end seems to be chipping away at the feature set offered by Orb little by little...
@DC
This is old to you, everyone doesnt read every single thing on the internet.
This is the hottest thing Ive seen in a long time. And its so easy to use. Engadget keep up the good work!!!
Yes DC, this news is from back on Sept. 5th and webguide has been around for years before that. But not everyone knows about it, and since it's such a great program I sure don't mind having an audience the size of Engadget's seeing it.
My reason for posting however, is for all the people who keep asking what the difference is between this and Orb. Missing Remote had a review/shootout between various streaming software including Webguide and Orb a few months ago: http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1367&Itemid=232
As well as an article specifically about Webguide: http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1289&Itemid=153
I'm happy for Doug, he adds some great talent to the Media Center team. Unfortunately that does mean that Webguide won't get any new features though, which kind of sucks. We'll see how things pan out.
vista support?
answered my own question - yes
Why didn't they just buy out ORB? They offer almost an identical service to this. I'd be interested to see how these two compare, and also, is this thing Vista only?
Isn't MCE just XP home with a media centre built in (add a bit more), so XP compat as well
They have to have competition in order not to upset the anti trust people.
No, it's XP Pro with domain disabled.
I've been using this for a few weeks now and I gotta say, its pretty cool. Its slow at times, but its awesome to be able to watch live TV from anywhere.
Is it possible to get a link to where we can download this software?
click the read link
this would be great if I had cable!
....anyone want to let me log in to their media center :)
"Microsoft, never content with just monopolizing one segment of the market, has decided to dip its big, scary toes into the Slingbox-ish world of anywhere-TV with a new piece of software for its Media Center PCs."
Wow, what a professional display of objective reporting, Engadget...
Here is the version if Apple released it:
Apple, never content with just providing trouble free benevolent goodness to one segment of the market, has decided to dip it's dainty ruby red toes into the world of anywhere-TV (which was originally conceived by Steve Jobs but was allowed to be dominated to-date by Slingbox) with a new piece of software, which boasts an innovative new user interface and brushed (insert random shiny metal here) skin.
Uh-oh! You said the Reporting word. Any minute now you will have the Engadget people jumping all over you saying that this is a blog and they can say whatever they want even if it is harmful to a company (remember the Apple stock slide?)
But yes, that is the usual around here. Somehow releasing some software for free to support a product, not making it mandatory to use, and adding functionality brings out the anti-MS fanboy in the authors around here. Isn't this the same thing as Apple adding streaming support to iTunes except, you know, you need to pay $299 for an extender (Apple TV), can't stream across your private network, can only stream to a PC/Mac, not a phone, etc. etc. etc. but those products are praised.
I know eh, since when is free evil?
it's bad for slingbox I guess sure,.. but how is free bad for ME?
evil = all that ms does.. even if it benefits the end user because now I get something for free I;d otherwise pay for... right... damn you microsoft!!! *waves hands int he air cursing the sky, then remembers steve is the one in the sky, bill is the one in the ground. apparently.
So, does anyone know of a site like Engadget, only more professional when it comes to objectivity? I'm tired of blogging fanboys, but Engadget is pretty snappy on the updates, which is pretty much the only reason I still come here.
Please point me to other sites. I'm really getting tired of this apple thing too. It's not funny or amusing anymore.
Seriously, this is why I stopped reading gizmodo during the iphone fiasco. I've got nothing against apple, but this bias is ridiculous.
So, Microsoft puts tremendous effort into exploring all facets of a "digital lifestyle", and you make fun of them, while Apple sells crippled, old-tech products and they get accolades?
Granted, MS doesn't always hit the mark (Zune), but at least they try (Xbox, MCE, WinCE, etc)
I guess it's cool to bash MS, y'know. So easy.
Mattstl, click on the image on top of this page.
Yeah this looks way more like orb then sling... what?
This is engadget...we should expect and tolerate MS bashing articles now.
We should thank the tech gods that they saw this story as being worthy of being put on this blog - even if they put a bias on it.
duh, dont you know if microsoft moves into any area theyre trying to monopolize it and stifle all creations.oh and they drown puppies!
This software is just a natural progression. Many have been wanting Placeshifting on MCE for quite some time. This software isn't a Placeshifting "client", though. It adds webserver interface to MCE and does streaming. What's the difference? An actual Placeshift client can be optimized for the OS and hardware its running on, better/custom GUI and screen formatting.
I still don't understand why MS can't develop an actual client for Windows Mobile, XP and Vista. This stop-gap wasn't even developed by MS.
I use Vista MC and have been using webguide for a couple months. Funny that everyone with vista mc is complaining about it NOT HAVING certain features, then when they add those features people complain about them HAVING those features (monopoly).
Jon Stewart George W. Bush Voice : Eheheheheh !
thank you
Screw you engadget! What a loser comment, "never content with just monopolizing one segment of the market"!!
Microsoft drops an AWESOME feature, FOR FREE and you still give them s**t for it??
I love this site, but that's a pretty low blow right there.
sarcasm, 1
jon, 0
I have been using orb for a long time and love it, but I am going to try this for sure. One thing Orb cannot do is schedule recording in MCE. If you schedule it in Orb there is bound to be a problem if both apps try to access the same tuner.
I'm not sure I'm willing to open any holes in my firewall for a Microsoft product. I run Vista, but I don't run it as any sort of server to the web.
Quote: "The software actually goes beyond what Slingbox is capable of, giving you full control over your system remotely, allowing you to set record times, change schedules, and generally go buck-wild"
I am not sure what Microsoft's system can do that Slingbox cannot. I can do anything on my Slingbox that I could do if I was sitting in front of my TV including scheduling recordings and going "buck-wild"
How much did you pay for your slingbox? How much is this new MCE feature?
Man, MS gives something away for free and still gets shit on for it.
I say thank you MS!
its free
Thank YOu Kyle, I was just about to post that exact sentiment... Ever used a Slingbox Josh? If so, can you try to clarify what you think the Slingbox is not capable of that this solution is?
Jon and Engadet#1,
Kyle and I paid $179 for our sling boxes...
How much did you pay for the MCE PC you run this "Free" Software on... was it less than $179? Doubt it. And all the extra costs a SlingBox creates , like a phone or PC to watch it on, the need for High Speed internetand so on, are the same for the MCE solution, so don't try and argue that...
Also Kyle's post was obviously about the fact that Josh claims it can do things like set record times, something I've been doing on my SlingBox for years, but he claims this is an example of some of the FUNCTIONALITY that the SlingBox doesn't have. Klye debated that and asked what functions it had that Sling didn't you replied it was free. Thats not a function.
Well obviously eric, a TV tuner PCI card(or even a USB one) cost a whole $30 (i assume since you are infact reading engadget you own a pc already) and most of the time at best buy i see tv tuners built into the PC's...
so i say free since hey maybe it doesnt have any new features, but if it is free then
free>$180
yeah you dumbshits,
hundreds of thousands of people already have media center PC's in their living rooms or bedrooms or what ever. so for those people this is FREE
and sure maybe a media center PC cost like $800 or so, but it does more than your f*c*ing slingbox does.
im tired of all these fanboys comming around here none stop. I hope i can find a different unbiased NEWS source.
Actually Engadget#1 your logic is less than sound... If you are actually going to say this is cheaper than a sling box. Come on, I know you realize it isn't actually free, it is just a new feature of something I am willing to bet cost someone over $180 (be it you, your parents, your employer, SOMEONE paid for a Computer to run MCE on... That or you are a smooth Criminal and though we disagree on this I invite you to send me any extra free computers you have from you criminal exploits)...
For THIS solution you need a PC with Windows MCE, THEN this is a free download, or free feature. Then you also need a device for watching remotely...
For a Slingbox you need a Slingbox and the device for watching remotely...
Even if all it takes to turn a PC into a MCE is a copy of Windows Media Center which goes for at least $119 (and thats for the XP OEM from TigerDirect, not what I could just walking to a Best Buy and get it for), and a $30 TV Tuner Card, that leaves you $30 to spend on the PC to install MCE on and put the TV Card in. Not a lot of $30 computers meet the requirements for Windows XP, let alone MCE. You mentioned that since I read Engadget you assume I have a PC, great, you are right, but it is a laptop, meaning I'd need a second PC that stays at home hooked up when I want to use this. And since more than half of all computer sold are laptops I am willing to bet I'm not unique in not having a spare XP ready PC that I can leave at home. Even if you have a Windows MCE Laptop, you could only use this feature if you leave your laptop at home and hooked up, then you don't have the laptop to WATCH your content with... And all this leaves out the fact that you need all the things you need for a computer to configure this, like a monitor or TV, and input devices. With a Sling box you use the device or devices that you plan to watch remotely with to configure your set-up... You don't even need a TV or anything hooked up to it (I for example have a DirectTV box just for my Sling hooked up to nothing other than the SlingBox...)
And again I have left out the things both solutions need, like a subscription to a cable or satellite tv company, high-speed internet, cables to hook the devices up and so on.
Sure, Windows MCE does OTHER things too, so if you actually take advantage of all that and already have one and have a second device to take advantage of this with, then YES, for YOU implementing this would be cheaper than buying a sling box and getting another video source for it and so on. But for the record IT DID cost you more than $180 to set-up.
well, I'd say tl;dr, but I managed to skim your intro, and I can safely say you're an idiot. If you do not own a computer, I would have to guess that a slingbox wouldn't do much for you. They added a free feature. You should not be giving the shit for it unless it also happens to be a virus. End of story. You were never promised this, no one had hopes of this coming out and blowing away Slingbox, it's just a little "hey guys, have a freebie on us". So, find some other thing to make a snarky comment about, mkay?
This is cool and all, but where is the DirecTV tuner cards that were announced in Jan 06 and shown off in LAST years Cedia conference.
Right now I only use my media center to look at picture albums and listen to music.
Maybe I should just switch to digital cable.
Take a look at his forum post about it:
http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/forums/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=1754
And then his post in this thread:
http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/forums/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=1765
It would appear that this is not an ongoing feature that Microsoft is going to keep up to date. Instead they hired the guy writing it and put him in a completely different area of the software (high-end custom installation).
Even though they've opened up the software as free to download, it looks like it will now be abandoned. It's sad cause I use it and it could still use some development to make it faster and more reliable.
I'm with Lenny. I'd love to do use this, but I really don't want to open an attack surface, especially in Vista...
Just imagine if Apple had done this:
"Apple saves the day with new amazing technology. All hail the glorious Jobs!"
It isn't explicitly mentioned, but the "buck-wild" functionality is a Vista-only feature.
Vista Ultimate, actually. If you have Home Premium, Basic, or Business, all you get is "buck disorderly"
I have used both webguide and orb and since webguide doesn't like my treo 750 (at&t) it tries to play it in kimona when i run wm5, i use orb and works like a champ.
I love WebGuide. I had it before it was free!
@Eric Carrol
Good point. I was referring to people that most likely already own a PC and have internet access.
Of course everything costs money, but most people already have a PC at home. Not all running Vista/MCE of course, but still a large number of people already have the software/hardware in place for this.
So where can you download this?
@Eric Carrol
Eric, how did you setup your $179 slingbox? Is it OTA, cable, or sattelite perhaps? How much does that cost? Even OTA, how much did you pay for the antenna? How much is the TV you watch when at home? Did you pay for the TV Stand that it sits on? Does your sling box sit on that stand?
How about the floor that your stand is supported by..Did you pay for that? If you want to break it down like that...
Your point is basically irrelevant as most people on the planet at this point have PC's.
Although I appreciated your first post in reply to mine, this one is obviously lacking in logic... These are all costs the MCE solution incurs as well. Do I have Satelite TV? yup. Does that come free with MCE? Not that I know of.
So all I am trying to say is that Josh T. claims that this has functionality that SlingBox doesn't have. If so what are they? Then a whole bunch of you instantly labeled me a fan-boy and started yelling that it was free. Okay... but thats not a function, is it? and to defend my position I simply reminded you that it was free to everyone who was willing to pay the $800 entry fee to the MCE club (which is what one poster claims is the cheapest you can get an MCE for), so the "ITS free - is a function" argument isn't really valid. And although I agree that most people have computers, I would bet the number of people who have both a MCE PC and a second computer they can take advantage of this feature with is far below the "pretty much everyone" argument people keep claiming.
So can anyone actually tell me if there is extra functionality? Or does this pretty much let you guys do what SlingBoxes do?
Eric:
With WebGuide you can not only watch recorded TV, live TV, schedule future recordings, etc like a SlingBox, but also stream or download all your videos, music, and pictures stored on the MCE box you are running it on. Comparing it to a SlingBox is pretty stupid. Obviously, the people who use/will use WebGuide already have a PC they use as their DVR/HTPC. Why would they pay $179 for a SlingBox when they can get the same functionality (and more) from free software?
Ironically Patrick, if you took the time to read my whole post you'd realize that the entire point of any of my posts was to ask what this did that a SlingBox didn't since the Author of this article said: "The software actually goes beyond what Slingbox is capable of, giving you full control over your system remotely, allowing you to set record times, change schedules, and generally go buck-wild, even from a mobile phone or WiFi equipped PDA." All things I can do on a SlingBox, so my honest, sincere and downright earnest question was what does this do that a SlingBox does not since all of the authors examples of "going beyond" were things I can do with my SlingBox. A question you answered (finally, thank you).
But Next time how about you leave the "you're an idiot" comments out of it. I don't own an MCE PC, I have never used WebGuide. Kinda hard to "know" all of this from a one paragraph article, especially one that makes a pretty bad comparison, so all of you who called those of us with SlingBox idiots for asking for clarification (none of us said anything about Sling being better at any time btw) and telling us to shut up it was free... well, just chill and realize that not every question is an attack.
Sorry Patrick, I meant to thank you for answering and ask the others to stop calling people idiots for posting questions (I think your Stupid comment was in regards to the was the article was written), but I realize my post looks like I was asking you specifically to stop, I apologize. And honestly Thanks for being the first person to take the time to answer our Question. (Trying to write quickly from work, honestly sorry if it sounded like I was upset with YOU)
I have to condemn and commend in this post...(classic white, engadget#1, Jon) and (Kyle, Eric Carroll), respectively. The jury is still out on Patrick ;-)
I felt compelled to come to the suppport of Kyle and Eric for simply asking what anyone with a Slingbox would have thought...and for their efforts they get blasted for being 'slingbox-huggers'. C'mon people, let's actually read the content before we curse at and insult those posting.
To that end, the best thing you can do in reply to my post is...sit back and think about it...I hope you'll do the same before any of your future posts.
First of all Engadget this news is about a week old. Are you guys that hard up for news? Also, the Title is very misleading. Microsoft did not add this to their media center software. Is it available on the MS site...No? Windows Update....NO? There is nothing official from Microsoft. All they did was hire the guy who created this software. Now the software is going to fizzle away since it won't be supported anymore.
*cough* youtube on Apple TV, from articles on Engadget
"The wait is over, and you can finally train that Apple Remote of yours on videos of passable karaoke, mind numbing video blog confessions and the genius that is Daxflame. That's right, YouTube is hitting the Apple TV today, an.."
"Video quality looks pretty decent, all things considered. YouTube regulars will be more than satiated."
C-Rate video eh..
lol... :)
Good luck using this with a CableCard. DRM won't allow it. You can schedule recordings...and stuff like that...but you can't watch any channels and/or programs recorded.
"The software actually goes beyond what Slingbox is capable of, giving you full control over your system remotely, allowing you to set record times, change schedules..."
Uhh...I do all those things with my Slingbox already, even from my EV-DO smartphone. Granted, the control is over a TV and not a computer, but isn't the functionality the same? Or am I missing something here?
...And how is this different from actualy just remote desktop
Cool... is this available now?
I need to get a TV card, can anyone recommend one for Vista? (I have open PCI-E x1 and x16 slots)
Go to http://www.mce-components.com/
I can't speak to slingbox functionality. However, in addition to accessing and controlling the DVR features of media center with WebGuide, you can also access your music, photos and videos.
**update: Steve Jobs is wearing a turtleneck. Announced the ability to watch your iTunes movies from anywhere with a net connection. Microsoft stumbles and can't do anything right**
Wow, Who told the Microsoft viral workers that Engadget was raggin' in Windows? Go back to harassing the PS3 and Wii fans with your Microsoft can do no wrong and excels at everything attitude.
Be afraid of Doug Barrett - he's everywhere. Did you ever see the name on every advertisement for the BP credit card? That's right...
Unlike your agenda to inflate Microsoft at any turn? What do they pay?
Yeah, because Joshua is such a horrible person for posting about the new 360 controllers and how to get them:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/12/pink-and-blue-xbox-360-wireless-controllers-get-street-dates-co/
And skimming his posts and going back quite far to find a Microsoft related story, I find this highly fl amatory post on Microsoft's R&D Lucid Touch:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/microsoft-randd-strikes-again-the-lucidtouch/
Wow, he really laid it into Microsoft there!!
And let's not forget that jaunt into the unthinkable by posting about another Microsoft story on a huggable toy creature:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/bill-gates-backs-probo-the-huggable-childrens-robot/
How dare he rag on Bill Gates like that!!
"The software actually goes beyond what Slingbox is capable of, giving you full control over your system remotely, allowing you to set record times, change schedules, and generally go buck-wild, even from a mobile phone or WiFi equipped PDA"
For those that dont know, Slingbox gives you full control over your DVR/cable box. You dont need a TV for Slingbox. The DVR by itself is all you need. You can use it on many things too, like DVD players, TIVO....not sure why they dont support PCs(especially the newer ones with HDMI) or do they? Ive never tried.
I installed this, and then uninstalled it. I thought it was (at least at this point) much worse than ORB. This thing seems to install a web server in your computer, I was also worried with the implications of this. I hope they make it much better once we have a fully integrated solution. BTW, the URL to access your computer is a joke...
Sorry Patrick, I meant to thank you for answering and ask the others to stop calling people idiots for posting (I think your Stupid comment was in regards to the was the article was written), but I realize my post looks like I was asking you specifically to stop, I apologize. And honestly Thanks for being the first person to take the time to answer our Question.
I can't believe engadget would post this kind of MS PR hackery. Try installing webguide. It is a complete joke. And a huge security hole to boot. MS is running scared, no doubt, but why not just buy a real product like orb instead of a laughable imitation.
Interestingly, the website for Asciiexpress is gone.
Do you really think that this software is THAT big of a security hole?