Windows Experience Blog : Windows Media Center

Behold the Dell Inspiron Zino HD

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:38:42 GMT

Yesterday, Dell officially announced availability of the Dell Inspiron Zino HD.

The Inspiron Zino HD is a small PC that packs quite a punch in an 8” by 8” square. Hip to be square, right? Ok – enough Huey Lewis, let’s talk about what this PC comes (and can be configured) with:

It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit or Windows 7 Professional 64-bit*.
You can customize the PC with 7 solid colors.
You can customize the PC with 3 designs.
The Inspiron Zino HD uses AMD’s Athlon processor (single or dual core).
The base configuration is 3GB of RAM, but can be configured with 4, 6, and 8GB of RAM with 8GB being the max.
Storage shouldn’t be a problem with your choice of 500GB, 640GB, 750GB, or 1TB 7200rpm SATA hard drives.
You can choose either a DVD +/- RW drive or Blu-ray drive.
For graphics, you can choose either an integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 or discrete ATI Radeon HD 4330 with 512MB of dedicated memory.
It has HDMI and VGA ports.
A 4-in-1 media card reader and integrated gigabit Ethernet are both standard.
It has integrated 2.1 High Definition audio with the choice of going with a Sound Blaster X-Fi High Definition audio from Creative.
For your wireless needs, you can choose either a Dell 1397 802.11 b/g wireless card or Dell 1520 802.11 b/g/n wireless card.

This little PC starts at just $229 and can be customized to support a variety of configurations depending on your needs.

Matter a fact, Dell’s Lionel Menchaca talks about a perfect use for the Inspiron Zino HD – a Windows Media Center “hub” with Windows 7. You can connect this PC up to your HDTV via HDMI and play HD Blu-ray movies. You can buy a USB TV tuner to watch and record live TV in Windows Media Center and also stream video content via Internet TV and Netflix.

For a powerful Windows Media Center setup with Windows 7, it is recommended when ordering your Inspiron Zino HD you choose the discrete graphics option (the ATI Radeon HD 4330) for the best experience. With with the storage options you get with the Inspiron Zino HD, you can literally make this PC the centralized “hub” on your network for all your digital media. And of course HomeGroup in Windows 7 makes it easier than ever to share that content with the rest of your PCs on your network too.

In the coming months I’m hoping to pick one of these up and deploy it in my home as my own Windows Media Center hub.

* Base model comes with Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 32-bit.

Photos credit: Dell. See the full set of Inspiron Zino HD photos from Dell’s official Flickr page.

7 Great Things About Windows Media Center in Windows 7

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:01:29 GMT

Today, Windows 7 controls my home entertainment experience in my living room. It does so through Windows Media Center. I am using the same setup I blogged about here in 2007 with Windows 7 and it’s an amazing experience. Because of how well it works for me, I wanted to highlight 7 great things you can do with Windows Media Center in Windows 7. Windows 7 can easily be the center of your home entertainment experience just like it is with mine.

#1: Watch Live TV on your Windows 7 PC.

If your Windows 7 PC has a TV tuner, you can use Windows Media Center to watch, pause, and rewind live TV directly on your PC! If you’re Windows 7 PC doesn’t have a TV tuner, you can always add one – they are quite inexpensive.

Windows Media Center in Windows 7 supports High Definition TV (HDTV) capabilities as well. Earlier last month, we announced support for Switched Digital Video (SDV). We also announced that customers will now be able to add a digital cable tuner with CableCARD support to their PC. Previously, digital cable tuners with CableCARD support were only available on new PCs from OEMs that supported the configuration. Digital cable tuners with CableCARD support differ from standard TV tuner cards as they support digital cable through “CableCARDs” rented from your cable provider for digital cable channels. Assuming you have the right subscription, this enables you to access the full line-up of channels offered by your cable provider, including the premium channels.

There are also TV tuner cards that support “over-the-air” HDTV (ATSC) with an antenna as well as Clear QAM.

#2: Turn your Windows 7 PC into a DVR (Digital Video Recorder)!

Windows Media Center lets you schedule recordings of TV shows and movies. You can even schedule to record all instances (new episodes) of your favorite TV show! Windows Media Center also makes it very easy to view all your recorded content.

I talked about HDTV and the use of digital cable tuners with CableCARD support above. Microsoft and CableLabs are working together to allow people with digital cable tuners with CableCARD support more portability with their recorded digital cable TV. Recordings that are marked as “copy freely” (CF) will now be able to play on other PCs and portable devices.

#3: Easily find the TV shows and movies that you want to watch.

Windows Media Center has great search capabilities built-in so you can easily find all your favorite TV shows and movies. This makes it easier to schedule recordings.

#4: Access all your personal media in one place - no matter where it is.

Windows Media Center brings in all your digital media– photos, movies, music, and recorded TV shows – into one place. Windows Media Center also takes advantage of HomeGroup in Windows 7 and allows you to access digital media content from other PCs!

With recorded digital cable TV content marked as CF – you can share this content throughout your home network of Windows 7 PCs using HomeGroup (see #2 above). You can even access it when you are away from home with Remote Media Streaming in Windows 7.

#5: Track your favorite sports, players, and leagues.

If you’re a sports nut, you can use Windows Media Center to track your favorite teams and leagues. Windows Media Center lets you track scores, players, and leagues natively within Windows Media Center. You can also see quickly jump to sports on “now” and check sports coming on “later” in Windows Media Center too.

#6: Access your recorded TV and digital media where you want: on the PC or on the TV.

Windows 7 supports a variety of high end displays including HDTVs. You can connect your PC to your HDTV and use Windows Media Center to watch and view all your media. Of course this works with a standard PC monitor too. But because Windows 7 makes it easy to share your digital media, you can have 1 PC connected to your HDTV in your home for Windows Media Center and bring in content from all PCs on your home network to that single PC connected to your HDTV. You could also use the Extender for Windows Media Center technology built into your Xbox 360 to access the same Windows Media Center menu you are used to using on your PC.

#7: Watch movies and TV episodes instantly from Netflix in Windows Media Center in Windows 7.

Watch streaming “Instant Play” movies and TV shows from Netflix! Also add movies to your DVD queue if “Instant Play” is not available. Full control of your Netflix account right from Windows Media Center!

I hope these 7 great things about Windows Media Center give you some great ideas on how to bring your home entertainment together using Windows 7!

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 Announced, Adds Enhancements for Windows 7 PCs

Brandon LeBlanc — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:12:40 GMT

The Windows Home Server Team has announced today the beta of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 (PP3). And if you’re running Windows 7, Windows Home Server PP3 comes with several new features designed to take advantage key Windows 7 features:

Full Image-based Backups of Windows 7 PCs. After the Windows Home Server Connector is installed on your Windows 7 PCs, Action Center should no longer display that your files are not being backed up.
Windows 7 Libraries Support. Music, Photos and Videos shared folders from your Windows Home Server will be added to Windows 7 Libraries. Content saved to these shared folders will be able to be quickly accessed through your Windows 7 Libraries. And any application, like Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center, will be able to access content saved on your Windows Home Server through Libraries as well.
Windows Search 4 is now included. With Windows Search 4, PP3 offers improved query search times, indexing times and reliability. Easy search through a Library in Windows 7 with files stored in multiple locations.
Windows Media Center Enhancements. Archive old recorded TV shows onto your Windows Home Server in a variety of formats. Use Console Quick View to see statistics about your Windows Home Server through Windows Media Center.

More in-depth information on these features – see their blog post on PP3.

The Windows Home Server Team does not yet have a final release date for PP3 however they are shooting to have PP3 available shortly before GA of Windows 7. If you’re running Windows Home Server and have several Windows 7 PCs – I encourage you to give PP3 a try and help the Windows Home Server Team make PP3 rock.

To beta test PP3, please sign up as a beta participant of the Windows Home Server program on Microsoft Connect. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be able to download PP3.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 will be a free update to existing Windows Home Server users via Windows Update.

I’ll be installing PP3 on my HP MediaSmart Server EX470 either tonight or sometime over the weekend. I’m stoked about the Windows 7 integration!

Netflix comes to Windows Media Center

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:53:45 GMT

Starting tomorrow, Windows Media Center users who are also Netflix members will gain access to more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly within Windows Media Center on their PCs.

Using the two together is easy and convenient. In Windows Media Center, a new Netflix tile will appear under “TV + Movies”. To stream movies and TV shows from Netflix, just click on the new Netflix tile and login with your Netflix account.

You will be able to search the entire Netflix library right from Windows Media Center, and manage both your Instant and DVD Queues. Windows Media Center will also take advantage of Netflix’s “recommended” categories.

Here is a short video of Netflix in action in Windows Media Center:

Netflix in Windows Media Center

And here is another really neat video walk-through of Netflix in Windows Media Center:

Getting Netflix in Windows Media Center

You can also use your Windows Media Center remote to navigate the player controls and queues for Netflix in Windows Media Center too!

Netflix in Windows Media Center is powered by Silverlight.

If you also have an Xbox LIVE Gold membership and have been streaming Netflix movies and TV episodes to your Xbox 360, this offering will work for you as well.

Netflix in Windows Media Center currently will work only for Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate users today.

This is very cool stuff. You may remember back in March, we launched the Windows Media Center Sports Channel, which offers a variety of interactive sports content including from CBSSports.com, FOX Sports and MSNBC.com. Now more than ever, Windows Media Center offers a great entertainment experience.

UPDATE 5/20: Netflix in Windows Media Center works for Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate users in the U.S. only and does not support Extenders for Windows Media Center.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 2 Announced

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:06:04 GMT

The Windows Home Server Team announced today Power Pack 2. The English version of Power Pack 2 will be made available via Windows Update starting March 24th to Windows Home Servers with Power Pack 1 installed. You must have Power Pack 1 installed in order to install Power Pack 2. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish versions of Power Pack 2 will be made toward the end of April.

Power Pack 2 offers Windows Home Server users the following awesomeness:

Improvements to Remote Access
Enhanced Functionality for PCs running Windows Media Center (via Windows Media Center Connector)
Content Streaming Support for Windows Media Center Extenders

For me, I am particularly interested in the Windows Media Center Connector. With the Windows Media Center Connector installed, Windows Media Center will have access to content stored in shared folders on a Windows Home Server. Just this last weekend, I went through about 1,500 CDs and DVDs I’ve accumulated over the years of sporadic backups of photos and documents. I had CDs going back to 2000. I went through each CD and DVD and pulled off all the important data (mostly photos) and transferred the data onto my Windows Home Server. I now have no data remaining on any physical media anywhere. Everything is now on my Windows Home Server (which I affectionately call JARVIS). And now with Power Pack 2, I’ll be able to browse through those old photos I rediscovered from years ago directly within Windows Media Center downstairs in my living room.

For more information on Power Pack 2, read this post from the Windows Home Server Team.

Psst, here is a little tip for Windows 7 Beta users who have Windows Home Servers. You can add Windows Home Server shared folders to Windows 7 Libraries. Just right-click on a Library and choose “Properties”. There you can pick which folders you want in that Library. Choose “Include a folder…” and type \\ServerName\ShareName\FolderName etc. See below screenshot for a example:

You can see that in my Documents Library, I was able to add my “Brandon LeBlanc” user folder (located at \\JARVIS\Users\Brandon LeBlanc). I have actually created a standalone Library on my Windows 7 Beta PCs called JARVIS consisting of all the important shared folders on my Windows Home Server.

Introducing Sports Channel for Windows Media Center

Brandon LeBlanc — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:09:13 GMT

Yesterday we announced a brand new offering for Windows Media Center users: Sports Channel. Sports Channel will be offered to Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate users as a new tile under “Sports” in Windows Media Center.

Sports Channel offers a variety of sports content from great sources CBSSports.com, Fox Sports, MSNBC.com and more. Content flowing through Sports Channel ranges from breaking sports news to interviews of your favorite players to the ability to track your fantasy sports teams.

Sports Channel is a great example of our continued investment in providing new and easier ways for people to find and access compelling content through Windows Media Center.

Instead of going through my own experience with Sports Channel, I’d like to call out Ian Dixon’s overview of Sports Channel here and Stuart’s screenshots of the Sports Channel experience here from The Digital Lifestyle.com (one of the best Windows Media Center sites on the web today).

For the best experience with Sports Channel in Windows Media Center, a broadband connection is highly recommended. Today, Sports Channel is currently available in the U.S. only.

I also recommend checking out MSNBC News in Windows Media Center (which I blogged about last October) – which is no longer in beta.

Windows Media Center’s New Pictures + Videos Features in Windows 7

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:54:16 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Windows Media Center Team here at Microsoft and shoot some videos of the new features that are currently in the Windows 7 Beta. I’m a fairly heavy user of Windows Media Center and know many of our readers are too. This post highlights many of the the changes and new features that people can enjoy for themselves as they try out the Windows 7 Beta.

In the first of several videos I shot, Windows Media Center Program Manager Noah Spitzer-Williams takes us through the new Pictures + Videos features in Windows Media Center.

Windows Media Center Picture and Videos Features in the Windows 7 Beta

In the above video, Noah demos the following new Windows Media Center features and changes in Windows 7 (in the order of appearance in the video) to the Pictures + Videos experience:

Changes to the way videos are displayed in Video Library to include Thumbnails AND Names for each video.
Support for H.264 Video - no 3rd party codecs are required to play H.264 content.
Video Play-All Option (think of it as a “Video Slide Show”) with ability to navigate between each video.
Developers can take advantage of the new Import API for Windows Portable Devices. The new API enables photos AND videos from portable devices to be imported directly within Windows Media Center.
Ability to create Slide Shows (new Slide Show pivot) with your pictures and can contain pictures or music or both.
New On-screen Keyboard (Touch-enabled).
Improved Rating Controls within Windows Media Center UI.
New Ratings Pivot for quick access to your favorite content.
Play Favorites feature with new Slide Show style.
Auto Slide Show feature acts as a screensaver for Windows Media Center.

You may have caught PowerPlaylist in the Windows Media Center menu in the video. PowerPlaylist is an application originally released by the Windows Media Center Team for Windows Vista and can be downloaded here via CodePlex. The Windows Media Center Team is revising PowerPlaylist for Windows 7 and an early copy was installed on the PC running the Windows 7 Beta in the video. They plan to release an updated version to CodePlex soon. I’ll be covering that soon as well.

Expect more videos to follow shortly!

A In-Depth Look at Windows Media Center in the Windows 7 Pre-Beta

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:50:13 GMT

Charlie Owen, who works on Windows Media Center and is one of my favorite Microsoft bloggers, has posted a very in-depth blog post on Windows Media Center in the Windows 7 Pre-Beta build PDC attendees will be getting their hands on today. If you’re heavy into Windows Media Center – you NEED to check this post out.

Windows Media Center Gadgets for Windows SideShow Released

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:32:10 GMT

The Windows SideShow Team has announced that the final version of the Windows Media Center Gadgets for Windows SideShow is now available for download on Windows Live Gallery in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors!

Download: Windows Media Center Gadgets for Windows SideShow (32-bit)
Download: Windows Media Center Gadgets for Windows SideShow (64-bit)

The Windows Media Center Gadgets for Windows SideShow package is made up of the following 4 Gadgets for your Windows SideShow device:

Now Playing: View what is currently playing in Windows Media Center (includes playback controls)
Pictures + Video: Browse your Photos and Videos folders
Music: Browse your Music folder and play any song
TV: Look at what is on TV via the Windows Media Center Guide, Schedule Recordings, and View Recordings (in a Thumbnail view)

If you are a heavy Windows Media Center user and have a Windows SideShow device – these gadgets are a must-have. My main desktop PC is a Dell XPS 420 which comes with a built-in Windows SideShow display on the top of the system. It is great being able to walk up to the system to check and schedule TV recordings especially if I’m in a hurry and don’t want to sit down at my desk and fire up Windows Media Center. Quick access is awesome.

HP Announces New HP TouchSmart PCs

Brandon LeBlanc — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:01:33 GMT

Several weeks ago I had blogged about HP’s all-in-one PC with amazing touch capabilities – the HP TouchSmart PC. Specifically, I discussed the IQ500 series HP TouchSmart PC models (the IQ504 and IQ506). The IQ500 series HP TouchSmart PCs were considered the 2nd generation HP TouchSmart PCs. The original HP TouchSmart PC made its debut in January of 2007. Just recently, HP has announced the IQ800 series HP TouchSmart PCs – the IQ804 and IQ816.

So what’s new with the IQ800 series HP TouchSmart PCs? The IQ800 series HP TouchSmart PC is 25 ½” versus the IQ500 series models which were 22”. Just like the IQ500 series HP TouchSmart PCs, the IQ800 series sports ambient lighting that shines on your keyboard. This can be very useful in low lighting. However the IQ800 series allows you to change the color of the ambient lighting. The IQ800 series also comes with a pocket media drive bay for user’s portable media (the HP MediaSmart Connect has a pocket media drive bay so you can take media between the two devices). The IQ800 series (both the IQ804 and IQ816) come with built-in TV Tuners for Windows Media Center awesomeness.

The IQ800 series HP TouchSmart PC is also wall-mountable as well!

There are some differences between the IQ804 and IQ816 HP TouchSmart PC models. The IQ816 comes with a Blu-ray drive for HD movies. The IQ804 comes with a 500GB harddrive while the IQ816 comes with a 750GB harddrive. The chipset and graphics for the IQ816 is a bit higher than the IQ804. If you’re looking to maximize your investment in the HP TouchSmart PC – the IQ816 is top-of-the-line.

The IQ800 series makes a worthy addition to the HP TouchSmart PC Family. I hope to blog more about the HP TouchSmart PC this fall!

Stay on top of the Election with MSNBC News Beta in Windows Media Center

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:13:00 GMT

Under the TV + Movies menu in Windows Media Center, you may have noticed a new tile: MSNBC News Beta. The MSNBC News Beta tile will begin appearing in Windows Media Center for users in the United States and Canada running Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. Users don’t need to download anything to enable MSNBC News Beta in Windows Media Center. MSNBC News Beta gives users quick access to the latest election news, top stories and weather all from one screen.

Directly within Windows Media Center, users can browse Editor Picks and Most Popular videos (which are selected by viewers). I discovered that when I click on a specific video, a “+” icon appears. When this “+” icon is clicked, it gets added to a custom news video playlist. There are quite a few videos to choose from which is nice.

I was able to quickly browser through a bunch of MSNBC’s Decision ’08 videos and add them to a custom news video playlist to watch all at once.

I was also able to browse other categories such as Business, Sports, and Entertainment which all have videos I can either watch as I go or add to a custom news video playlist. MSNBC News Beta also sports some pretty neat search functionality that lets me search for stories with specific keywords.

And the 5-day weather forecast (available for any ZIP code in the United States) is impressive too!

As a heavy Windows Media Center user myself, I for one will be using MSNBC News Beta to stay on top of not only the upcoming U.S. Election but all the latest news.

For more on MSNBC News Beta and Windows Media Center – click here!

Live Fights from the Queensberry Fight Network in Windows Media Center!

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:38:00 GMT

Boxing fans listen up! The Queensberry Fight Network (QFN) will be streaming a series of fights from the UK LIVE on Saturday September 6th, 2008 exclusively to Windows Media Center users in the United States. These fights will be streamed to Windows Media Center users in real-time and is free to anyone in interested. You'll be able to watch the following fights:

THE WBO SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- Alex ArthurVS Nicky Cook
COMMONWEALTH LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE- Amir KhanVS Breidis Prescott
THE ENGLISH SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- Femi FehintolaVS Stephen Foster Jr

The Queensberry Fight Network is a UK-based free Windows Media Center channel available with quite a bit of content for boxing fans to enjoy - not only with fights but press conferences and interviews as well.

To add QFN to Windows Media Center, browse to Online Media and Explore. Under Showcase, you will find The Queensberry Fight Network listed as a tile.

When you click on the tile - you will be taken to QFN in Windows Media Center where you will be required to download the free application to enable the QFN channel and its content. When you click the "Download" button you will be asked by Windows Media Center to open the website.

Download the application and enjoy all the QFN content and Saturday's live fights!

NOTE to Windows Vista 64-bit users: The QFN application required to enable QFN in Windows Media Center should run on 64-bit systems.

This is just the first of possibly many exclusive video content available through Windows Media Center!

(UK users please check your local listings for broadcasts of these fights.)

My Experience at the Innoventions Dream Home at Disneyland

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:39:00 GMT

Last Monday, HP invited me to visit the Innoventions Dream Home in Disneyland down in Anaheim, California - which opened this summer.

The Innoventions Dream Home sits inside Disneyland's Tomorrowland and uses Windows Media Center in Windows Vista - along with hardware from HP and others - to combine technology available today with technology we might see in our future. Other partners such as Life|ware (more about Life|ware below), Honda, Siemens, St. Joseph Hospital, and Taylor Morrison also showcase technology at the Innoventions Dream Home providing a very rich experience to Disneyland visitors.

When I arrived to the Innoventions Dream Home, I discovered that the building was actually rotating. Yes - rotating. Ok so not the entire building. The building actually has an outer "ring" that rotates while the inner area of the building remains stationary - like a carousel. The walkway near the entrance is actually called "360 Tomorrowland Way" referencing the building's unique feature. I thought it was a very interesting "introduction" to the Innoventions Dream Home in preparation for what's inside...

Once inside the Innoventions Dream Home, I discovered that the Innoventions Dream Home consisted of different rooms of a "fictional family" (called "The Elias Family") such as the living room, kitchen, a brother's room, a sister's room, and a home office (or den). Disney has "fictional" family members wearing yellow soccer jerseys in which visitors can follow through the Innoventions Dream Home and will remain in character as a specific member of the family talking about their home. The idea here is that visitors are exposed to how families can use this technology within their homes to improve their lives - or become more efficient with specific tasks.

I shot some video of those "fictional" family members doing some of the demos (to get the full experience - you'll have to visit the Innoventions Dream Home yourself J ) in each of the rooms and the technology within them. See how Windows Vista and Microsoft Surface along with hardware from HP and others can be combined to create some awesome experiences:

Video: Innoventions Dream Home

Sorry about the lighting. It was kind of dark inside the home and I didn't want to blind folks with my Canon HV20's light. Did you catch the Sidebar Gadgets running on the "Magic Mirror"? The Magic Mirror has a camera that points at you creating the affect of being a mirror. And in the den, did you see the 100" glass projection screen? This is perfect for watching HD content in Windows Media Center.

As I mentioned above - the technology I saw was a mix of technology available today such as Windows Vista and HP's TouchSmart PC along with technology not yet on the market. Part of the excitement is that visitors can actually see some of this cool stuff on the market today and in stores.

Much of what I saw (and what you saw in the video) was connected together using Windows Media Center. Each room had a special panel that was running Life|ware software on Windows Media Center. These panels were used to adjust settings within the room per user. Each "pretend" family member had a profile of settings that can be set from these panels. When a family member enters the room, they use these panels to adjust the settings such as lighting and images in digital picture frames.

Home automation using Windows Media Center? Absolutely! As you can see in the above shot - the ability of home automation is given to Windows Media Center by Life|ware. This level of home automation is actually quite doable today! Read Life|ware's whitepaper of home automation and Windows Media Center for more information here.

To make all the cool stuff work in the Innoventions Dream Home - you need some pretty cool hardware. That's where HP steps in.

To extend the Windows Media Center experience throughout the Innoventions Dream Home - Xbox 360's were used of course but HP also deployed its Extender for Windows Media Center device the HP MediaSmart Connect. You can read my comprehensive look at the HP MediaSmart Connect from a few weeks ago here. I also found HP MediaSmart TVs around the Innoventions Dream Home with Extender for Windows Media Center capabilities built in!

Visitors were also treated to HP TouchSmart PCs placed all over the Innoventions Dream Home. The HP TouchSmart PC boasts some impressive touch capabilities.

There is actually quite a bit to talk about in regards to my experience with the HP TouchSmart PCs from the Innoventions Dream Home. Because of that - I've decided to publish a separate follow-up post later this week discussing my experience with the HP TouchSmart PCs. But to summarize - HP has done a fantastic job bringing touch features to the consumer via the HP TouchSmart PC and they just released the 2nd generation HP TouchSmart PC which is available at retail today. HP plans to completely exchange the remaining 1st generation HP TouchSmart PCs at the Innoventions Dream Home today with the new 2nd generation HP TouchSmart PCs.

For a more comprehensive look at the HP technology at the Innoventions Dream Home - click here.

I was joined by fellow bloggers and community members Mike Garcen from Missing Remote and Michael Reyes from HardwareGeeks.com. You can read Mike's 9 page post on his experience at the Innoventions Dream Home here at Missing Remote (with lots of pictures!). And you can read Michael's post on his experience here at HardwareGeeks.com. Both are definitely worth the read so check them out.

If you're heading down to Disneyland, definitely check out the Innoventions Dream Home. It is a perfect place to see what technology today can do and what technology of tomorrow might do. Oh and ask for the "fictional" family member named Neil - he was awesome (not sure if that's his real name though).

Stay up to date with Olympic Medal wins with the Olympic Medal Count Gadget

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:47:00 GMT

Donavon West, Sidebar Gadget-maestro, is at it again! He just released a brand new Windows Sidebar gadget designed to let users keep track of Olympic Medal wins from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Download: 2008 Beijing Olympics Medal Count Gadget

This is a great gadget for people who aren't following the Olympics very closely but want to keep tabs on Olympic Medal wins. I'm not following the Olympics as closely as I'd like due to several things I'm working on so this Gadget is very helpful in at least keeping me "in the loop".

You can also watch encore videos of the Olympics at NBCOlympics.com thanks to a partnership with MSN Video and are presented in Silverlight. Also: don't forget you can also watch Olympic content directly within Windows Media Center on PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate. I posted about NBC Olympics On The Go a few weeks ago here. I hear TVTonic has released a 64-bit version of NBC Olympics On The Go as well.

Watch NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics in Windows Media Center

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:08:00 GMT

NBC is further expanding its coverage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with an Internet-delivered catch-up TV service powered by TVTonic on Windows Media Center on PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate! With NBC Olympics On The Go and Windows Media Center, you will be able to create a customized channel lineup of your favorite events for automatic download to your PC. Download NBC coverage of the Games overnight, and take them with you to watch online or offline in up to HD quality.

In Windows Media Center on PCs running either Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, you'll find a new graphic under "Online Media" called NBC Olympics. Click on "Install Now" to install the NBC Olympics service for Windows Media Center.

When I went to install, I was given two options: Easy Install and Full Install. The Easy Install requires no keyboard or mouse and sets everything up for you to begin watching content. However, more advanced users (and users with plenty of bandwidth) can choose to do a more comprehensive Full Install. As you could have predicted, I ended up choosing the Full Install.

The Olympics begin August 8^th, and video will become available in NBC Olympics On The Go on that day. Click here to find more about this service.

NOTE: If you don't see NBC Olympics under Online Media in Windows Media Center on your PC - not to worry! It should appear very soon.