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Microsoft unveils official Vista lineup, bye-bye Media Center
Remember when people thought that Windows XP Home, Professional and later Media Center would be to confusing for customers? Cuz Microsoft definitely doesn't. They officially announced the various versions of Vista this morning, and good luck keeping all six (yes 6) of them straight. Since we know that what you really want to do is record TV shows and stream high definition content to your Xbox 360, only two of them will really satisfy.Vista Business and Vista Enterprise are targeted towards workplaces small and large, respectively. Vista Home Basic continues your usual Windows XP/98/95 family tree with some enhancements, while Vista Starter is meant for low cost computers in emerging markets. Vista Home Premium adds the Aero desktop feature, Tablet PC and Media Center capabilities and Vista Ultimate is the do-everything of the bunch, including all of the available features.We're disappointed Microsoft didn't include Media Center capabilities across the product line. Besides the confusion factor, how are you supposed to tell your boss you need IT to install Vista Ultimate because you want to stream the HD Beat podcast while playing Project Gotham on one of the conference room projectors?
WMCE graphics and tuner hardware in Vista beta
Nothing earth-shattering here as Vista is still in beta, but there's some basic information on WMCE functionality and the beta build hardware requirements so we thought we'd let you know where things are heading. Any computer that meets the Vista hardware requirements will run the Media Center functions. According to Microsoft's MCE Hardware Requirements doc that beta testers can view for this February CTP build [disclosure: I am a beta tester], the only officially supported graphics cards are ATI's Radeon X-series or 9800 and NVIDIA's GeForce FX or 6-series. Again, these are the cards that are supported for beta testing, so don't panic or purchase new cards. There's a plethora of TV tuner cards that are supported in this beta build; a full listing is below, but a good portion are not DTV tuner cards and of course, it's way to early for any CableCARD 2.0 support. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't add Windows Media Extender support yet in the Vista beta code available, so we won't be testing connectivity and HD streaming with our Xbox 360 just yet either.
Intel Viiv support: who needs it?
Oh, there's quite a buzz going on about Viiv and the buzz continues to get louder as more info surfaces. There's apparently a "Supports Intel Viiv" logo that we're just starting to see and that begs the question: what will wear this badge o' honor and more importantly, will this be a sticker that you as an HD-project tinkerer actually get? We doubt it; it seems pretty certain that like CableCARD 2.0 certified Vista systems, a Viiv cert will be OEM-based as well. Is that really a bad thing though? Not that we have a solid understanding of the Viiv platform (does anyone?), but it appears to simply be a way to put consumers at ease when mixing components and hoping that they work. If all of the components are Viiv-able, then your overall system should have no DRM challenges. If you cobble your own boxes together, you're on your own; which you realized when you started your little homebrewed high-def science experiment, right? If our interpretation of Viiv is right, then mainstream consumers should be happy. For the more technically astute, is Viiv really adding anything?
TiVoToGo for Mac named in Wired's 2005 Vaporware Awards
Remember those TiVoToGo OS X screenshots we came across in early January? Wired's readers do, and they nominated it as the #10 vaporware (a much-hyped product that never appears) of 2005 in Wired's annual Vaporware Awards. TiVo has apparently been promising the software for months, amidst Apple TiVo partnership rumors and rampant speculation about a Mac mini TiVo (or TiVo-like) media center.Another mentionable 2005 vaporware item, though not necessarily Apple-related, is the perpetually forthcoming Windows Vista, clocking in at number 4. I just have to tip my hat to one reader's comment that Wired printed: "It's been put off so many times, it's been called 'Hasta la Vista.'"My favorite Apple-related piece of vaporware? The Apple Pippin.
Best Buy cruises to higher sales; a sign of the HD times
Not a big shocker here, but Best Buy just raised their earnings estimates to $1.30 a share from the previous guidance of $1.16.There's no question that HDTV and related item sales are all up and helping the bottom line at Best Buy, even if their HDTV ads are confusing. Don't take this as sound financial advice, but we saw 2006 as the year of HDTV and this can only help companies like Best Buy, Circuit City or the electronics retailer nearest you. Everything is finally coming together for a banner HDTV year, even if we still have some hurdles to jump.Aside from the format war, we've got two next-generation DVD formats hitting the streets this year. High-definition gaming started before the year began, but we'll have a second HD gaming system out this year. Microsoft Vista and CableCARD support are slowly making progress, although we still have gripes about that. Streaming HD content is still a challenge, but at least it's possible. Topping it all off, we finally have a law to impose a DTV transition. Issues aside, if you add all of that up, what do you get? We figure HDTV adoption will rise at an increasing rate this year; there's just no stopping it.
Microsoft WILL support Blu-ray? In Vista at least (maybe?)
Much has been made of Microsoft's supposed plan to include native support for only HD-DVD in their next OS, either in order to force customers to install extra software on their own and/or to force OEM's to face licensing costs on their own. Despite that, Windows IT Pro says internal Microsoft documentation indicates a plan to add Blu-ray DVD support to beta versions of Windows Vista.Microsoft still officially says it has no plans for Blu-ray support, leaving that to third party companies like Cyberlink. All of this comes just after Microsoft denied Blu-ray plans for the Xbox 360, so the question remains: Does Microsoft really hate Blu-ray, or do they really like it and are just playing hard to get? Be true to your feelings Bill.
Vista will run on the Intel Macs
Now that we know Windows will be able to run on the new Intel Macs the question becomes which version of Windows will work with them. Due to the BIOS on the new Macs Windows XP will not run on them yet (we'll have to wait for a hacker to do something about that), however, Windows Vista supports this new Intel BIOS out of the box. This means we only have to wait 2 to 4 years for Vista to ship and then we can install it on our Intel Macs.I know Vista jokes are easy, but I just can't help myself.
CES: ATI demos CableCard, HDTV support for Windows Vista
If you want to get HD channels from your cable provider onto your PC, this is the news you've been waiting for. At CES ATI has been showing off OCUR (Open Cable Uni-directional Receiver), the first and only CableCard 1.0 (no bidirectional) certified HDTV tuner. By all accounts, it's ready to go, and will ship when Microsoft launches Windows Vista later this year.
CES: MS Flight Simulator X optimized for Vista
During Bill Gates CES keynote last night he used the newest version of Microsoft's seminal Flight Simulator series, simply dubbed Microsoft Flight Simulator X, to show off the graphical capabilities of the next-generation of DirectX and Windows Vista. He said, "You can see the realism of the reflection. And I'm actually going to drive or going to try to drive with my Xbox 360 controller plugged directly into my Windows Vista PC. You can really start to see the smoke from the boat, the independent and kind of live life that you see with the waves, with some of the birds and the trees that you'll start to see." The title promises more realism, more planes, more online connectivity, and more of everything else that flight-sim fans clamor for. It's expected to be on shelves for Holidays 2006.
Microsoft to muscle HD-DVD fate
We've seen this before when the apparent better technology doesn't win. Look back to the 70's and 80's at Betamax and VHS or even Microsoft and Apple. In the end, it's advertising, public perception and clout that move markets or turn the direction of an industry. It looks like it's about to happen again if Microsoft has any say; they usually do.EE Times has some insights that might just make the whole format war moot as Microsoft considers full HD-DVD support in Microsoft Vista, the next operating system due out in late 2006. Blu-Ray would likely be unsupported in the new OS in order to further persuade the market (and OEMs) towards HD-DVD. Add to the fact that Media Center functionality will be included into Vista and you've got a recipe for a struggling Blu-Ray format.Does Microsoft have this much influence over the high-def DVD market? Would HD-DVD-only support have any impact on the format war?Read [via HD for Indies]
