For many people, the fun side of computing – the music, photography, digital video, games, DVD playback and Web-based entertainment – is at least as important as the serious business of document creation and number crunching.
So instead of getting a boring old computer for your next purchase, get a Media Center PC.
With a Media Center PC, you get a machine that's specially designed for personal enjoyment, without sacrificing any of the practical computer applications.
What's more, a Media Center is equally at home in an office or in your living room, serving as a family-friendly multimedia hub. And unlike ordinary computers, most Media Center PCs include powerful TV features, letting you view and record your favorite shows right on the computer.
So what makes a Media Center PC different from a standard PC? The basic change is a program called Windows Media Center, which is available for Windows XP users as Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE).
If your computer runs the new Windows Vista operating system, even better! In Windows Vista, Windows Media Center is no longer a separate edition but simply integrated within the Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate editions.
Here are some advantages of having a Media Center PC.
• Big-screen menu system. The Media Center menus list all the music, photos, videos and TV shows on your computer in large type, visible from across the room. Pointing and clicking leads you easily to the file you're after, and there are even on-screen thumbnail images of CD covers and digital images to help you along.
• Wireless remote control. While you can still use a mouse and keyboard, Windows Media Center also lets you use a TV-style remote control to navigate through your digital goodies from the comfort of your couch.
• TV support. Most Media Center PCs come with a built-in TV tuner card – some models even let you view over-the-air HDTV broadcasts. You can watch live TV, pause, rewind and fast-forward. Microsoft even offers a free downloadable program guide and the ability to schedule recordings on the Media Center PC.
• Whole-home media. Want to share your music, photos and video files throughout the house? The Media Center PC can communicate over a home network (wired or wireless) via Media Center Extender boxes that pipe your files onto TVs in other rooms.
Though Windows Media Center operates slightly differently in Windows Vista than in Windows XP, most of the core features are very similar. If you'd like to learn more about the new Media Center features available in Vista, including its snazzy new interface, click here