6 juillet
Windows Media Centre HD Channels in the UK
I have been a big fan of Windows Media Centre ever since my friend Mike introduced me to it a couple of years ago. The Vista version currently powers my main TV and I use it in the bedroom using an XBOX 360 as a Media Centre Extender.
In the UK we are blessed with Free Digital Over The Air (Freeview DVB-T), which is great, but unfortunately it doesn't support HD like it does in the US. This lack of HD is one of the main reasons I haven't updated my 8 year old SD (tube) widescreen television as I fear that an upscaled Freeview signal is not going to look too fantastic.
Recently some vendors have started to make some noise about Freesat, a free digital satellite service backed by the BBC and ITV. What makes this particularly compelling is that in addition to SD, HD channels are supported as well. Unfortunately the current Vista version doesn't support the technology behind it (DVB-S), however a leaked version of the next Media Centre Fiji update appears to have support for it.
For details on what is new in Fiji (and download it) as well as read some experiences with Freesat, check out this thread on the Digital Spy forum. Paul Thurrott has some screenshots as well.
It looks like we are getting there and the required tuner hardware is cheap as well.
So..... Mike, can you please have a look at this, go through all the pain, sort it out and let me know if it is worth upgrading. You are the MCE sensei after all.