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Fall Xbox 360 Dashboard update brings WTV file support, but don't get too excited
If you've actually heard of the WTV recorded TV file format, then you're probably a Windows 7 Media Center fan, and thus you're excited at any indication that Microsoft hasn't completely forgotten about you. That small gesture came this week with the new Xbox Dashboard update, but sadly it isn't much to get excited about. It's bad enough that it took Microsoft over three years to add support for WTV at all, but now it's here and it's one step above useless. Sure, you can play the files -- after waiting almost 30 seconds for them to load -- but you can't fast forward, rewind, skip around or even resume. The list of shows only displays the episode title and rather than the actual show name, and that's the only metadata you get. Speaking of the show title, that is also the only way to sort -- no folders or by date. So yeah, the new Dashboard supports WTV, but not in a way which actually makes it useful. Better than nothing, we guess.
ShowAnalyzer developer is hard at work on v2.0
One of the most important pieces of our official Ben-o-vision toolkit should be getting an update soon, as ShowAnalyzer developer Jere Jones mentioned on his Android Buffet podcast that he's been busy for the last few months on v2.0. For those not already in the know, the software automatically detects commercials in your Windows Media Center recordings so they can be removed providing you with uninterrupted viewing pleasure -- we break down how to make it all work here. The Digital Media Zone speculates based on forum postings that there won't be a cross-platform version for OSX or Linux, but notes some are hoping to see the Schoolhouse app (or something similar) for adjusting commercial detection return in this version.
Zune 4.0 software won't play nice with HDTV Media Center recordings
With the launch of the Zune HD and the CEDIA show just around the corner, we've been hoping this could mean an all new integrated future for Windows Media Center and other Microsoft platforms -- until now. As a few commenters pointed out yesterday, the corrected spec sheet received from Microsoft indicated HDTV and protected Windows Media Center DVR-MS (the files used by Vista Media center) recordings were not supported. We reached out for clarification and received the following: "Zune HD, and the forthcoming Zune 4.0 PC software, will support and transcode Windows Media Center recorded TV file formats from Windows Vista or Windows 7 that contain MPEG-2 video, in either the DVR-MS or WTV formats. Support is limited to unencrypted SD and HD recordings. HD Files with AC3 audio are not supported by Zune." As you may or may not be aware, at least in the U.S. , and most other countries, any high definition broadcasts you snag from antenna, ClearQAM or otherwise use Dolby Digital AC-3 audio, meaning the Zune software won't be able to convert them. Current workarounds for bringing Media Center recordings on the go should still be a go, but all we can see is the missed opportunity to tie the two platforms together with easy one click transcoding support. Hopefully Microsoft still has something up its sleeve to pull together Zune and Windows 7 Media Center, but portable DVR recordings ain't it.
