


Plus MCE 2005 also now supports dual TV tuners, which means you can watch one channel while recording another. With support for new set-top Media Center Extender network devices, you can now use MCE 2005 to access files on your PC from displays in the other rooms in your home-the TV in your bedroom, for example each MCE 2005 PC can support up to five Extenders, over wired or wireless networks. Now in its third iteration, Microsoft's remote-controllable, multimedia OS, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, continues to provide more freedom with your PC's digital-media content. Last year's MCE 2004 OS improved on both fronts: video, while not perfect, looked watchable, and the OS gave you a sensible method for burning DVDs in a format that played on consumer DVD players. When Microsoft first introduced the Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) two years ago, the biggest complaint we had about the operating system was that it held recorded TV captive and produced poor-quality video playback.

Other improvements long sought after by users, such as CableCard support, will likely not appear before the release of Windows Vista. They include: support for the Media Center functionality built into the Xbox 360 game console support for up to four TV tuners, two standard-def, two over-the-air high-def support for new (but rare) 200-disc DVD changers a new power-management mode, called Away Mode, which provides instant on/off functionality tweaks to the DVD-burning engine included in MCE new zoom modes for stretching images to fit the aspect ratio of your display and support for various languages and localities around the world.

While not a major revision of the operating system, Rollup 2 includes some significant changes. Called Rollup 2, the free update is available for MCE 2005 users via Windows Update. Editor's note: On Friday, October 14, Microsoft released an update for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.
