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View Full Version : WebGuide4 Now Free for Windows Media Center Users


Jason Dunn
09-14-2007, 11:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theunwired.net/?item=place-shift-webguide4-now-available-free-for-all-windows-media-center-users' target='_blank'>http://www.theunwired.net/?item=place-shift-webguide4-now-available-free-for-all-windows-media-center-users</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;Ok, if you are a frequent reader of the::unwired you know that I'm a big fan and heavy user of Ascii Express' WebGuide4 and it looks like someone in Redmond is or was a big fan as well since WebGuide4 is that missing piece of software Microsoft should put into Windows Vista when it was released. Well, there are two good news: Doug Berrett, the man behind WebGuide4 just announced that he recently finalized a business deal with Microsoft to make WebGuide4 available to users for free. This means, if you own a Windows XP Media Center or Windows Vista Media Center, you can get it free of charge now to stream and place shift your live TV, your videos and DVDs as well as view your photos and listen your music, from virtually any Internet connected PC as well as Internet connected Windows Mobile device.&quot;</em> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/webguide4_mobile11.jpg" alt="" /> <br /><br />I've meant to look into this solution, but never quite got around to it, mostly because no Western Canadian mobile phone operator provides flat-rate data plans - thus making any and all media streaming applications a no-go for most of us since the bandwidth is so ridiculously expensive. If you're fortunate enough to have a fast, flat-rate data plan, this looks like a great way to access your media.

Arne Hess
09-15-2007, 11:45 AM
Well, it's not about streaming to a Windows Mobile device only but also starting or scheduling TV recordings from the Windows Mobile device. Let's say you are later at home then you expected, you can schedule a TV recording straight from your smartphone. Saved me many times already when I wanted to watch something but wasn't able due to meetings which went longer than I expected.
Furthermore you can stream to Notebooks as well and I did this recently in my summer holidays when I was in Spain and streamed/watched some TV recordings (and even DVDs) in the hotel which had free Internet for the guests. Now this was cool since I'm not speaking a word Spanish and the hotel had only one German TV channel. However, thanks to WebGuide I was watching live German TV as well as some recordings I hadn't had time to watch before at home.

For me the charm of WebGuide is, that it unwires your Media Center and you can put it in your pocket.

I might recommend my two reviews I wrote about the earlier version of WebGuide4:

REVIEW: ASCII Express WebGuide4 for Windows Media Center (http://www.theplaceshift.net/?itemid=132)
REVIEW: Using ASCII Express WebGuide4 with Windows Mobile (http://www.theunwired.net/?item=review-using-ascii-express-webguide4-with-windows-mobile)

Mike Temporale
09-15-2007, 02:37 PM
Hey Arne, I've been following your posts on this. It's pretty interesting and unlike Jason, I do have unlimited data so I should give it a try. I'm in a holding pattern with my device - once the new WinMo6 ROM comes out for the BlackJack then I'll start testing all these things out. No sense it putting it on now and then having to redo it in a couple weeks. (or days ;) )

Arne Hess
09-17-2007, 09:30 AM
Hey Arne, I've been following your posts on this. It's pretty interesting and unlike Jason, I do have unlimited data so I should give it a try. I'm in a holding pattern with my device - once the new WinMo6 ROM comes out for the BlackJack then I'll start testing all these things out. No sense it putting it on now and then having to redo it in a couple weeks. (or days ;) )
Yo, I think I told you several times already that I like WebGuide! ;-)
But hey,no reason to wait. Since it is fully browser-based,it doesn't matter if you upgrade your BlackJack to WM6 later. All you need is the URL to your Media Center which Windows Mobile Device Center happily sync (or not).

And as I said, it's also a great addition to Notebooks, for instance for watching TV, DVDs or recorded TV in the bed! :-)

Mike Temporale
09-17-2007, 02:19 PM
I didn't realize it's browser based. That's awesome news.

So, your comment about WMDC, I don't need AS/WMDC on the Media Center do I? My Meida Center is a TV - it's not used as a desktop or for surfing. There's never anyone sittting down typing an email or doing their financials on it. Do I need to setup sync on the machine in order for this to work?

I'll download it today and give it a try. Oh, and if it breaks the Media Center and the TV shows my wife has scheduled fail to record, I'm giving her your name and address. ;)

Arne Hess
09-17-2007, 03:46 PM
I didn't realize it's browser based. That's awesome news.

So, your comment about WMDC, I don't need AS/WMDC on the Media Center do I? My Meida Center is a TV - it's not used as a desktop or for surfing. There's never anyone sittting down typing an email or doing their financials on it. Do I need to setup sync on the machine in order for this to work?
No AS, no WMDC, no CABs, no installation but fully browser based... All you have to do is installing WebGuide4 on your Vista Media Center and configuring it. Same as you, my MCE is my "TV set-top box", I use it rarely for anything else so you can easily configure it through Remote Desktop from your main PC (that's how I configure WebGuide all the time).

Best is to give your MCE a fixed IP address which you have to use in Internet Explorer Mobile after, together with the port you use for Webguide (I'm using htpp://192.168.1.250:1234/mobile/).

That's it - you are ready to go. If you want to access it from outside your LAN, set-up the port forwarder in your router and use a DynDNS service if needed. Done! :)
I'll download it today and give it a try. Oh, and if it breaks the Media Center and the TV shows my wife has scheduled fail to record, I'm giving her your name and address. ;)
Have I told you that I've recently got a new identity and changed my location? ;)