Dell Media Experience - What is it?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www1.us.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~id=dmx&~line=notebooks&~lt=popup&~series=inspn&ref=CFG' target='_blank'>http://www1.us.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~id=dmx&~line=notebooks&~lt=popup&~series=inspn&ref=CFG</a><br /><br /></div>I was putting together a Dell quote for a friend of mine, and I came across an option called the "Dell Media Experience". Curious, I clicked on the more info link and found this:<br /><br /><i>"As more and more entertainment content - movies, music, photos and video - finds its way to your PC, you need a better way to organize, share, and enjoy it. Whether sitting at the keyboard or kicking back on the sofa with the (optional) remote control, Dell Media Experience puts all your media at your fingertips in one simple application designed for the entire family."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://img.dell.com/images/global/learnmore/media_exp_01.jpg" /><br /><br />You can use a remote control to get access to your photos, audio, video, and play DVDs. In fact, the only thing this software doesn't seem to do is work with a TV tuner and do the PVR mambo - <a href="http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?c=us&cs=CADHS1&DN=1088500&l=en&opt=true&s=dhs&~mode=popup">hence this awesomely detailed FAQ answer</a>. Any Dell owners out there tried this option yet? I'm interested in learning more about it.

[piperpilot]

I have it on my one-month old Dell XPS, but I haven't had much of an opportunity to play around with it yet because I have been trying to write an scholarly journal article--which is what I should be doing right now instead of cruising the message boards but that's another story altogether. :wink: Anyway, my one comment about it for the 10 minutes or so that I spent with it is that it is not terribly intuitive. That always seems to be a software killer for me. If a piece of software is usable right out of the box (or fresh off the download) without out a lot of time spent reading manuals, it's a winner for me. Otherwise, software languishes on my hardware never to be used again.

[Jason Dunn]

Interesting - thanks for the comments. :-)

[piperpilot]

I should have added that I wouldn't have spent the money on this application. The "man of the house" insisted on it because he is of the view that because it is a Dell product, it will be optimized for use on our particular system. I disagree with that view, but he's the computer scientist and I am but a mere lawyer, so he got his way on this one. My experience is that these software bundles that you pay extra for when you order a computer are usually inferior to commercially available third party applications. Plus, for the most part they can't be used on other computers. I do a lot of media transfers among my work computer, my home computer and my H5455 iPAQ, so I find that it's best to find an application that works on as many of my devices as possible.

[michael]

It's made by Cyberlink not Dell. Personally I'll stick with The Real Thing (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/). :D

[James Fee]

It's made by Cyberlink not Dell. Personally I'll stick with The Real Thing (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/). :D
I don't believe you can get the real thing on a Dell.... I think Dell only offers their "version"....

[michael]

It's made by Cyberlink not Dell. Personally I'll stick with The Real Thing (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/). :D
I don't believe you can get the real thing on a Dell.... I think Dell only offers their "version"....

Sure you can (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/media_center?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs), but if I was going to buy a Media Center right now, I'd buy one of these (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=YJCGYbleA2WGOPhU3WCMavZT_1I6uJG3ESA=?CategoryName=cpu_raseriesdesktops&Dept=cpu_VAIODesktopComputers)

[dean_shan]

My friend's laptop came with one. When she had me set up I ran the program once, then un-installed. Why does Dell install so much junk on their machines? It once again convinces me why I build my own machines.

[James Fee]

Ah, I thought I had remember Dell saying that they wouldn't be offering MCE, but I guess they changed their minds.

[klinux]

Think of MCE without the PVR function. Good to use as a HTPC.