Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2 Review

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_mce2005_ur2.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/windowsxp_mce2005_ur2.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Fans of Windows XP Media Center now have two disappointments to face. First, for the first time since the original XP Media Center Edition shipped in 2002, Microsoft doesn't have a major update to the popular operating system, but is instead shipping a free but minor update. Second, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is the final version of Windows that will be specifically devoted to Media Center; in the Windows Vista family of operating systems, Media Center software will instead be bundled with a number of Windows Vista product editions (See my guide to Windows Vista product editions for the full details). This review deals largely with the former disappointment, though it's not fair to refer to Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2 (UR2), as that update is named, as a disappointment. Instead, think of it as a final victory lap for a product that invented a new market category that even Apple is now copying."</i><br /><br />Paul Thurrott gives a good overview of UR2, though for most people it's a fairly underwhelming release. No big features, but the smattering of small features will provide a better experience overall. But for those of us wanting do do MCE HDTV for real, it's going to be another long wait - the next MCE release will actually be when it's a part of Vista, so we're talking roughly a year away at best. At any rate, I'm downloading UR2 right now...let's hope it doesn't break anything. ;-)

[Mike Temporale]

I'm downloading UR2 right now...let's hope it doesn't break anything. ;-)

So how's it going? Any problems? I'm trying to hold back a little, just to make sure there aren't any major issues. :)

[Jason Dunn]

No problems at all - the install was smooth, I did a reboot, and went back to using it without issue. Windows Media Connect is acting wonky, but that's not unusual for it. :roll:

[Jeremy Charette]

DVD changer support is huge, as is the ability to (finally) add a second HDTV card. I think at this point MCE is a relatively mature product, and changes will be more evolutionary than revolutionary going forward.

The biggest addition for me personally is the ability to automatically transcode HDTV recordings to DVD format and burn them to a disc inside of MCE. Talk about easy! This makes what was previously an extremely difficult (and possibly illegal) process a one-touch procedure.

Microsoft has realized that people expect MCE to be as easy to use as a TV, or a VCR. It's just about there.

[Mike Temporale]

Thanks! I've installed it and everything appears to hav gone pretty smooth. The automatic reboot seemed to have some trouble, but I did a manual one, and everything is fine. 8)

[Mike Temporale]

Hey guys, I found this update to the update. :?

Update Rollup 908250 is available for computers that are running Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908250)

I've installed this too, and no problems. All updates done when the family is sleeping so nobody missed anything. Well, except me and some sleep. :lol: :)

[Mike Temporale]

I've installed it and everything appears to hav gone pretty smooth.

Argh. I take that all back. My USB IR extender no longer seems to be working. :evil: It makes things a lot harder to control the MCE. :cry:

[Jason Dunn]

Argh. I take that all back. My USB IR extender no longer seems to be working. :evil: It makes things a lot harder to control the MCE. :cry:

Wow, really? Mine kept working just the same. Have you tried unplugging it and re-connecting it? That's VERY odd.

[Mike Temporale]

Yup, first thing I tried. No luck.

I had to uninstall the driver from Device Manager, reboot, and then plug it in. Everything seems fine now. Just something for people to watch out for. :)

[ale_ers]

I'm such a coward that I have not yet upgraded to 2005 even though I have the update disk. I remember horror stories from people updating from 2004 and I never did it.

I really want to, but I think I need to do a full back up first then do some more reading up. On the other hand, If it aint broke...why fix it.

Anyone have any suggestions? I think the only problems people had were that they needed to get more updated drivers than HP supplied on the disk.