VISTA vs Media Center

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lorin
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Lorin

I am building a Media Center PC from scratch.
I would like to know the pros and cons of using Vista Home or Ultimate vs.
Media Center.
Is one easier to use than the other?
I plan to use a MS Media Center Remote Control.
The PC will be hooked to a TV (as a monitor) and the TV tuner will be in the
PC.
This way I can record my favorite shows.

Also, is there a HDTV card or dongle that works well for this.
I have used the HDTV USB dongle and it has good picture but the software is
poor.
Does either Media Center or Vista compensate / replace that software?

Thanks for your time.
 
Its not a versus case here, Media Center either comes with the version of
Vista you purchase or it does not. The primary SKU's you are looking at in
this case is Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Editions. If you would
like to have Media Center functionality such as recording TV shows, managing
and previewing your multimedia on big screen TVs then MCE would be an
appropriate feature to think about in your Windows Vista purchase.

In case of the Vista SKU, this all depends on your work style and PC form
factor, are you using say a laptop at both work and home, where you need to
join a domain, record TV shows when you come home from work? The Ultimate
would be the appropriate choice for you.

Again, Media Center is only one aspect of Vista, it does not compensate for
all the features of the operating system. As for the TV Tuner and USB
dongle, don't know much about it, maybe somebody can chip in on that.
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry
"Lorin" <Lorin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E6A33841-33C4-4A12-AF29-56286A9F7E11@microsoft.com...
>I am building a Media Center PC from scratch.
> I would like to know the pros and cons of using Vista Home or Ultimate vs.
> Media Center.
> Is one easier to use than the other?
> I plan to use a MS Media Center Remote Control.
> The PC will be hooked to a TV (as a monitor) and the TV tuner will be in
> the
> PC.
> This way I can record my favorite shows.
>
> Also, is there a HDTV card or dongle that works well for this.
> I have used the HDTV USB dongle and it has good picture but the software
> is
> poor.
> Does either Media Center or Vista compensate / replace that software?
>
> Thanks for your time.
>
 
The Media Cener I was referring to is the one that came out several years ago
as just Media Center. Maybe called Media Center 2005 or something.
Maybe I have the wrong name.


"Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" wrote:

> Its not a versus case here, Media Center either comes with the version of
> Vista you purchase or it does not. The primary SKU's you are looking at in
> this case is Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Editions. If you would
> like to have Media Center functionality such as recording TV shows, managing
> and previewing your multimedia on big screen TVs then MCE would be an
> appropriate feature to think about in your Windows Vista purchase.
>
> In case of the Vista SKU, this all depends on your work style and PC form
> factor, are you using say a laptop at both work and home, where you need to
> join a domain, record TV shows when you come home from work? The Ultimate
> would be the appropriate choice for you.
>
> Again, Media Center is only one aspect of Vista, it does not compensate for
> all the features of the operating system. As for the TV Tuner and USB
> dongle, don't know much about it, maybe somebody can chip in on that.
> --
> Andre
> Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
> My Vista Quickstart Guide:
> http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry
> "Lorin" <Lorin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:E6A33841-33C4-4A12-AF29-56286A9F7E11@microsoft.com...
> >I am building a Media Center PC from scratch.
> > I would like to know the pros and cons of using Vista Home or Ultimate vs.
> > Media Center.
> > Is one easier to use than the other?
> > I plan to use a MS Media Center Remote Control.
> > The PC will be hooked to a TV (as a monitor) and the TV tuner will be in
> > the
> > PC.
> > This way I can record my favorite shows.
> >
> > Also, is there a HDTV card or dongle that works well for this.
> > I have used the HDTV USB dongle and it has good picture but the software
> > is
> > poor.
> > Does either Media Center or Vista compensate / replace that software?
> >
> > Thanks for your time.
> >
>
>
>
 
Well, that was an SKU in the Windows XP line up, Microsoft has since merged
it as a feature of specific editions of Vista such as Home Premium and
Ultimate. If you need XP Media Center 2005, you will have to do a search
online at places where hardware and software is sold.
--
Andre
Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry
"Lorin" <Lorin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1A4B4A00-22AA-4CAE-BFB2-43CD59760618@microsoft.com...
> The Media Cener I was referring to is the one that came out several years
> ago
> as just Media Center. Maybe called Media Center 2005 or something.
> Maybe I have the wrong name.
>
>
> "Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]" wrote:
>
>> Its not a versus case here, Media Center either comes with the version of
>> Vista you purchase or it does not. The primary SKU's you are looking at
>> in
>> this case is Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Editions. If you
>> would
>> like to have Media Center functionality such as recording TV shows,
>> managing
>> and previewing your multimedia on big screen TVs then MCE would be an
>> appropriate feature to think about in your Windows Vista purchase.
>>
>> In case of the Vista SKU, this all depends on your work style and PC form
>> factor, are you using say a laptop at both work and home, where you need
>> to
>> join a domain, record TV shows when you come home from work? The Ultimate
>> would be the appropriate choice for you.
>>
>> Again, Media Center is only one aspect of Vista, it does not compensate
>> for
>> all the features of the operating system. As for the TV Tuner and USB
>> dongle, don't know much about it, maybe somebody can chip in on that.
>> --
>> Andre
>> Blog: http://adacosta.spaces.live.com
>> My Vista Quickstart Guide:
>> http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry
>> "Lorin" <Lorin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:E6A33841-33C4-4A12-AF29-56286A9F7E11@microsoft.com...
>> >I am building a Media Center PC from scratch.
>> > I would like to know the pros and cons of using Vista Home or Ultimate
>> > vs.
>> > Media Center.
>> > Is one easier to use than the other?
>> > I plan to use a MS Media Center Remote Control.
>> > The PC will be hooked to a TV (as a monitor) and the TV tuner will be
>> > in
>> > the
>> > PC.
>> > This way I can record my favorite shows.
>> >
>> > Also, is there a HDTV card or dongle that works well for this.
>> > I have used the HDTV USB dongle and it has good picture but the
>> > software
>> > is
>> > poor.
>> > Does either Media Center or Vista compensate / replace that software?
>> >
>> > Thanks for your time.
>> >
>>
>>
>>
 
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