Got some eyes-on time with the upcoming refreshed Media Centre Extender v.2 boxes. Here are the features that weren’t in the press release that will hopefully keep it from being DOA like the older MCE 2005 extenders and differentiate it from current-gen Xbox 360. • It is lame, but the Xbox 360 is not slated to get the added codec support. •The press release said the new boxes will by default reference design get XVid and DivX, but they’re also getting H.264! •The 2005 was a set-top box that didn’t do HD out. These likely all have HDMI and 1080p. •No one wants another set-top box if they can avoid it, so MCE Extender v2 will be built into upcoming and soon to be announced DVD players and TVs. Very cool. •Oh yeah, wireless N support, for HD of course. •The UI is identical to the UI on the Xbox 360 Extender software, and has all the visual stylings of the latest MCE. One difference. UI animations aren’t as smooth, because of the lack of visual Horsepower that the 360 has. This was denied by some in the booth, but a Microsoft employee and my own eyes confirmed it. But really, it isn’t a big deal. More »
Probably the only Media Extender hardware most people are aware of is the Xbox 360, and with everyone and their mum getting into the set-top box game, it’s time Microsoft re-juiced the stagnating platform. Renamed “Extenders for Window Media Center” (okay?) the new platform will debut on hardware from Linksys, D-Link and Niveus Media later this month and appears to newly support wireless N, DivX, Xvid, Windows Media Video HD, and encrypted HD streaming at a minimum. We’ll get a closer look at some of the hardware at CEDIA later today, but hit the jump for the full release. Update: Only these new devices have the capability, and the Xbox 360 does not. More »
