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What
are Media
Centers and
Media Center PCs?
Click
here for the definitions of Media Extenders, Digital Media Adapters,
(DMAs), Digital Media Receivers (DMRs), Network Media Receivers and
other Portable Digital Devices.
Media
Centers – (May be known as, or associated with Media Center PCs, Home Media
Centers,
Entertainment PCs, Multimedia Home Entertainment Center, Home Telecom
Center, Digital Media Center, Entertainment Gateway, Multimedia
Gateway, PC-centric
Entertainment Center, Digital Home Media Center, Home Media Option,
Home
Media DVR, Broadband Media Center, Broadband Game Consoles,
Entertainment Consoles, Home Cinema, Home Theater, Hybrid PVR, Personal Media Center.) -
Media Centers are
advanced set-top
boxes. Media Centers can incorporate PC components and
functionality such as memory and a
hard drive.
Media centers generally also are DVRs. Advanced Media Centers should be able
to operate any standard application requiring the playback of
entertainment-based digital media based files. (This may require
connecting to other devices besides the TV.)
Media centers can offer wireless
connections, HDTV reception,
remote keypad and/or IVR
capacity, videoconferencing, a VCR, a Web browser, multi-screen
displays, split
screen viewing for TV and the
Web, smart card capacity, a modem for
Internet connections, Interactive Program
Guide, CD Player, DVD Player, a
high quality sound system, home
networking and security
capacity, gaming and content
filtering services. A fully
integrated Media Center is one that has all the hardware and
software installed. The device comes with a GUI (graphical user
interface) which is controlled by an air mouse, and/or remote control
and if available,
an optional wireless keyboard. Moxi
from Digeo is an award winning example of such an advanced media center.
A
Media Center can be created by adding Media Center software to a PC or
certain other computerized devices. If
a particular service doesn't originally come with the customers
media center, it may be added to their system by downloading software
and/or the addition of other components such as
a Digital
Media Adapter (DMA).
(A "sidecar"
was an earlier name for something of this nature.) A Digital
Media Receiver (DMR), Media
Extender (Windows Media Extender), Portable
Media Players or DMA
might be used to communicate with your TV system.
Sellers of media centers, media servers and integrated digital TVs
might include a free membership to their own entertainment portal. The
buyer of the product could stream content from that portal over the
Internet to their iDTV, media center, etc. This content would be
formatted and otherwise set up (in theory) so the customer can better
enjoy their device.
Media Center PC (Windows Media
Center, Windows
Media Edition, WMC, WME, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows
Media Center Edition, Media
Center PC, MCE PCs, Living
Room PC.)
Home Server - (Home Media Server, Media Server, Entertainment Gateway, Multimedia Gateway,
Digital Hub, Home Gateway, Gateway
Decoder
Platform, Home Gateway Media Centers, Home Media Server, Home
Networking Gateway, Home Media Adapter,
Media Adapter, Home Server Software.) - Compared
to a media center, a home media server (home server) is more oriented
to activities related to home networking. HP's MediaSmart Server was
the first device to use Microsoft’s Windows Home Server software.
Integrated Digital TV
(Integrated TV, iDTV, Advanced High Definition Television) (Associated
with Smart TVs, PCTVs, PC-TVs, PC to TV Signal Converter,
Computer
Televisions, Next Generation TVs, Integrated Smart Televisions, TVPCs, Multimedia Television, Intelligent TV Sets, Full-service
Integrated Interactive TVs.) - The term Integrated Television was more
popular
several years ago. It was an impressive smart TV with some media center
type functionality
built-into it. Fortunately it has been re-born with vigor as the Integrated Digital Television (iDTV).
iDTV are digital TVs with media center features such as built-in
electronic program
guides, personal
planner, on-screen prompts for all sorts of good stuff and more. The
iDTV may contain a media
extender so you can enjoy digital entertainment directly from your
PC, a media server or from the Internet.Example.
PC-centric Entertainment
Center - With a PC-centric Entertainment Center, the Media
Center is replaced and/or controlled by your PC. Microsoft Windows XP
Media Center Edition is a major example of this. (Formerly code-named "Freestyle").
(An example is Microsoft’s Windows
XP Media Center.)
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