Microsoft Media Center WebGuide (Webserver + Placeshifter)

[mayamaniac]

The WebGuide is really well integrated into MCE, including schedulling, RSS feeds, Music and TV streaming, PocketPC support, Sidebar gadget, etc. And the design and layout is quite nice. Looks like they are catching up to SageTV. We need the HD Extender released to feel ahead in the Media Center race.


[Source]
[Slideshow]

[tipstir]

Even if they play catch up as you put it they don't use MPEG2 to record it's that DVR-M or whatever they call it.

[gblinckmann]

I'll stack up Neilm's webserver & PlaceShifter against Webguide anytime. I've used all of these. PlaceShifter is just drop-dead simple. You don't have to play with the ports or transcoding. Neilm's webserver is much simpler for adding scheduled programs. It's a much more powerful combination. It's certainly competitive.

That all being said, I'd still like to have some HD Extenders!

[sainswor99]

Originally Posted by gblinckmann

I'll stack up Neilm's webserver & PlaceShifter against Webguide anytime. I've used all of these. PlaceShifter is just drop-dead simple. You don't have to play with the ports or transcoding. Neilm's webserver is much simpler for adding scheduled programs. It's a much more powerful combination. It's certainly competitive.

I saw this article on Engadget earlier today, and started to post about it but got busy. I think that the interesting thing about this move by Microsoft is that it a) reinforces the idea that placeshifting (or "slinging") has now become an essential component of the PVR experience, and b) there seems to be a move toward a thin client (like a web interface) powering a seperate media stream.

I don't want to knock Placeshifter; I use it everyday. However, it is different than the current direction, and I wonder at times if that's a good thing or not. I think you're right about the strength of the product (it's the Sage GUI, so it operates just like the PVR system), but it's a little klunky at times.

For example, the dynamic Streaming System kinda works over the Internet, but sometimes doesn't work so well. If I choose the manually specify the parameters, it takes a bit of experimentation to get just the right one. To experiment, I have to log in, watch a video, close the connection, adjust the speed, and do it all over again. It would be really nice if I could save my username and password (I know there's technical reasons that make that difficult, but just pointing it out).

As for nielm's webserver, I love it. But I still wonder why it's an unsupported community-developed add-on; why hasn't SageTV picked up the webserver as an official tool for the product? Even Tivo has partnered with Yahoo TV and TVGuide to allow you a way to remotely suggest recordings for you system.

Just a couple of thoughts on it.

Stu