With a brand-new interface and

a wide range of functionality, can the Media Center PC dominate

the living room? We show you how the new Media Center OS

works, review fi ve of the latest Media Center PCs, and compare

the experience to everyone’s

favorite—Tivo

Tivo

DECEMBER 2004 MA XIMUMPC 55

s far as concepts go, the Media Center PC

sounds pretty appealing. Theoretically,

it merges your bulky receiver, DVD

player, and Tivo into a single network-

able unit that can manage your entire library of

music, photos, TV programs, and movies. Who

wouldn’t want that?

But—and if you’re an early adopter, you

already know this—the gap between concept

and reality can be wide, deep, and frustrating.

For this reason, Tivo serves as the zero point—

the control, if you will—for Maximum PC’s

fi rst in-depth look at this newest evolutionary

offshoot of the PC.

Over the years, Tivo has achieved high marks

for its personal video recording (known as PVR)

and networked media-management abilities.

With a simple-to-use, highly evolved interface,

it has certainly won over its share of converts.

But Microsoft has made an aggressive and quite

promising effort to stake out some turf of its own

in the living room with its Media Center OS. In

the following pages, we examine how the 2005

version of the Microsoft’s operating system fares

in comparison with Tivo.

Before we start, two quick notes: First, this

new OS can only be purchased with a new PC

or a “non-peripheral” hardware component,

meaning a hard drive, CPU, or mobo. Second, if

you have an old version of the OS, the only way

to upgrade is to contact the manufacturer, but

you may be out of luck.

So is the Media Center right for you? Read

on to fi nd out.

BY GEORGE JONES