Vista Media Center Extender hands-on

This CES was undoubtedly Vista's coming out, but we hadn't really yet seen what the Media Center Extender interface was going to look like for, say, your Xbox 360. We're happy to report it looks great and works well, and we're still way too stoked to get a Vista Ultimate box with CableCARD poppin' in our home theater. Check out the gallery, we did a decently thorough walkthrough of what you can expect from your new Vista Media Center Extender.

[Leiterfluid @ Jan 11th 2007 5:10PM]

I've been using the Media Center Extender since Vista was in Beta, and it's pretty slick, but I'd much rather have a stand-alone extender (or at least a version of the old Xbox Media Center Extender) for my bedroom.

[Meltz; @ Jan 11th 2007 3:32PM]

Props for PAM!!!
(karen sucks)

[Nate @ Jan 11th 2007 3:34PM]

God Jenna Fischer (Pam) is hot!

[Jeff @ Jan 11th 2007 7:25PM]

Hah! I was going to post that thinking that no one else would have :)

[resource @ Jan 11th 2007 3:43PM]

She's cute, not hot.

Jim should get the threesome going.

Oh and um Vista is cool too...

[Ecchimo @ Jan 12th 2007 4:08AM]

Im supprised its taken so long for them to look at this. I have been running vista media centre extender on my xbox 360 since the release of RC1.

Is the interface any different?

[JG @ Jan 11th 2007 4:41PM]

Let me act like all the annoying Apple Fanboys and bring up a product that is not even mentioned in this article...This is a gift from God. It makes me hard. It totally owns Apple iTV. Seriously though this looks great I can't wait to get a CableCard infused MCE, though I still wish I could add to my custom made one.

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Jan 11th 2007 5:49PM]

Karen is hotter, Pam is more premaddona.

LOL @ Resource

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Jan 11th 2007 4:42PM]

"and we're still way too stoked to get a Vista Ultimate box with CableCARD poppin' in our home theater."

I sure they show a DIY blog on this. I'm want this, but need a check list of everything I'll need, and why I'll need it. Please Ryan Block?

[Frank @ Jan 11th 2007 4:34PM]

Why does everybody's tech demo include some clip or picture of The Office??

Please leave that show alone. Apple and Microsoft are lame, The Office is cool.

[TheCount @ Jan 11th 2007 4:46PM]

It's good to see that even though the spinsters have spent the last couple of years telling us how horrible Vista is going to be, that Microsoft is getting its act together. Vista and the 360 are going to do wonderful things together.

[ibrahim.alan @ Jan 11th 2007 5:11PM]

Pretty much Media Center is the only thing that Apple hasn't been able to replicate/ameliorate (the Apple TV is considered a step in the wrong direction in my books) and offer to its customers, which is probably why my next computer purchase will be a Windows Vista PC instead of a Mac running Leopard. I neeeeeeed a computer DVR, and media center does the job well, so until Apple can make it better I'm sticking to it.
Everyone knows that if it weren't for the iPod Apple wouldn't have sold half the Macs they've sold since it was released. Don't get me wrong I love my iPod but its true, I wouldn't have considered a Mac if it weren't for the design and simplicity of my iPod. Good marketing technique I guess.

[matt @ Jan 13th 2007 11:44AM]

I got vista extender a month ago. The beta of vista has always worked.

[Dolomite @ Jan 11th 2007 5:30PM]

At least Microsoft got half of the BSOD to go away. If they could just fix it and get the other half to go away we could get a clear picture.

[Bryce @ Jan 11th 2007 5:28PM]

Sorry MSOFT all of that interface is practically worthless to me without DivX support on the Xbox 360 extender. Same though, I really like it.

[nabil shahid @ Jan 11th 2007 6:25PM]

dude, its Prima donna not premadonna. she's not BEFORE madonna.

[Justin Rogers @ Jan 11th 2007 6:48PM]

360 can do divx with transcoding, although I hate the thought of having to do that, it's better than converting all your media to a format other than what it already is. I don't like the idea of putting my main computer on my TV, as now it's not usable as a computer, but solely a DVR. The 360 is great, and dedicated extenders will be awesome too. I was gonna get a Mac Pro, but with no updates to that product, and Vista with cablecard, I may just get a multi-tuner cablecard vista machine and use my mini for ilife. I won't make the switch though, until I can find a machine with at least 3 cable card tuners, then I will even dump my lifetime series 3 tivo.

[Will Weinsoff @ Jan 11th 2007 7:08PM]

Thank god Vongo is finally coming to Media Center, that's a feature I have been waiting for since I started subscribing in august.

[Marc @ Jan 11th 2007 7:48PM]

Forget cablecard...I want iptv!

[CaptCaveman @ Jan 11th 2007 11:13PM]

"Forget cablecard...I want iptv!"

IPTV, Cablecard, Directv PC card, I don't care. I just want something other then OTA HD.

I don't want to spend cash on a pre-built box just for cablecard. But if one comes along at a decent price before anything else comes out, then I'm all over it.

Perhaps I'll buy it as a birthday present for myself or something.

[Shmoe @ Jan 12th 2007 3:07AM]

I'm sorry, I know MS reconfigured the scrolling to horizontal because of widescreens, but the whole interface looks more confusing than the nice, simple MCE 2005 interface. I don't like it. Why didn't MS just give people the option of horizontal or verticle scrolling?? That way those of us who are set in our ways could have the best of both worlds.

[brian @ Jan 17th 2007 11:29PM]

So Vista has media center built in? will any xbox 360 work with vista? how about an extender? is there a vista extender or does a standard media center extender work?

[szadoky5 @ Jan 24th 2007 7:07PM]

Hi, is there any "VISTA STAND-ALONE EXTENDERS [V2 EXTENDERS]" out there or are there any comming soon?

tnx 4 any help
SliG

[szadoky5 @ Jan 24th 2007 7:22PM]

matt: How did you get an VISTA EXTENDER? which one is it? I was[Still am] looking for one! Can you please tell me which one you got?

thanks
SliG

[Heather Flanagan @ Jan 26th 2007 5:17PM]

We've been dorking around with Vista for a while. It is fun to use but unfortunately repeatedly crashed us when using Vegas 7.0. Had to use a "previous version of windows". Anyway, I am going to a lunch and learn on Vista next week and will be posting a podcast on it. Anyone who wants me to send them an email when I have it posted I invite to drop me a comment. Or you could just subscribe to my RSS feed. ;)