Media Center 2005 and Extender
After a couple of years of talking about it (as my friends will attest) I finally ordered a new PC with the recently released Windows Media Center Edition 2005 for the den, and a Linksys Media Center Extender for the living room. I've only had it set up for a couple of days, but so far I think it's great. The extender is a TV set-top box that allows you to access most of the Media Center features from the TV via a remote. For some time now, I've been interested in getting a Tivo/DVR for my wife who is always missing her favorite shows because she forgets to stick a tape into the VHS recorder and program it to tape. Additionally since we home-school our kids, we figured it would be handy to record educational shows for them. I was hesitant to get a Tivo because of the monthly subscription charge and limited recording capacity. Now I have the DVR functionality, plus the ability to view my digital pictures, listen to my music collection, and more, with no monthly subscription. I needed to replace my old PC anyway, so this was ideal for me. I don't think many people know about the Extenders, I just wanted to spread the word that they are shipping, and they are a great solution for those who want to access their Media Center features from different rooms in your house. I'm looking into buying a couple more extenders for other TVs in the house. Maybe the $79 kit that converts an Xbox into a Media Center Extender will finally get me to buy an Xbox for the "educational" value :-).