Microsoft gives Extenders another go

September 27th 2007 | Tell us what you think [ 0 comments ]

The new DMA 2200 Media Center Extender from Linksys has wireless N built-in

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Welcome to tech.co.uk's new Media Center Blog - Media Centered. I'm Ian Dixon, podcaster, blogger and Media Center Enthusiast. I've beentalking and writing about Windows Media Center since 2004 and have produced over 100podcasts on the subject. You might say I'm a bit of a Media Center geek!

All about Media Center

This new blog will focus on bringing you the latestnews from the world of Media Center and the Media Center community.

My weekly Podcast, called " TheMedia Center Show", features guests ranging from the Media Center developers at Microsoft to hardwaremanufactures and digital media enthusiasts. You can find my podcast at TheDigitalLifestyle.com.

The Extender strikes back

The big news this week is all about Windows Media Center Extenders. Today (Thursday) sees the launch of the 2ndgeneration of Windows Media Center Extenders.

These include: the DMA2200 (with built-in DVD player - pictured) and the DMA2100 from Linksys; the D-Link DSM-750 MediaLounge HD Media Center Extender; and the HP MediaSmart LCD HDTV. You can read Microsoft's full press release about the new Extenders here.

Extenders are hardware devices that enable you to extend the Media Centerinterface to your TV without having to have a PC connected to it. This meansno more noisy PC in your living room. Instead you get a wife-friendly slimlinebox connected to your TV that has the slick Media Center user interface. It can stream all the content from your PC - recorded/live TV, pictures and music.

You can have up to five Extender devicesconnected to a PC simultaneously, which means five people can stream their preferred content over a wired or wireless network. Some of the new devices (the two from Linksys, for example) come with wireless N built-in, so they are capable of streaming HD.

Can Extenders find an audience?

I should mention that there is onetype of Extender already available. The Xbox 360 is already capable of media streaming, it's the device I useand it makes a great Media Center Extender. One downside of the 360, however, is the fannoise and this does put some people off.

You can watch Joe Belfiore, CorporateVice President of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft giving akeynote at Digitalife 2007. Here, he showsoff the V2 Extenders via an on demand stream provided by Microsoft.