Building a Linux PVR, Part 2: Microsoft's MCE 2004

Polishing to Perfection

We had briefly mentioned earlier some of the loose ends. Even though Myth provides dozens of extra features over MCE, the fact remains that Myth does not have that clean-cut feel. The little features bundled with MCE give it the competitive edge. For example, MCE continues to record even if the program is not open - Media Center is integrated into the OS. If we attempt to power down, we are notified before doing so.

Windows MCE
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Furthermore, if the cable goes out or an error occurs while recording in MythTV, we are given very little notification of a problem. MCE makes sure to let us know if something occurs incorrectly.

Windows MCE

Also, if we try to change a channel while recording, we are notified.

Windows MCE
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Of course, Myth does have some extra features that MCE cannot compete with as well. We do not necessarily worry about watching one program while recording on another in MythTV because we simply use two WinTV Go capture cards. If we attempt to record a third program, Myth pops up a warning.

Arguably, our favorite feature found on MCE and not on MythTV was the continuous thumbnail video feed. Those who use UltimateTV are fully aware of this feature, and don't even consider it a feature, but just a fact of life. No matter which particular menu in which we browse, we continuously play the DVD or TV in the lower left. MythTV falls very short in this aspect of playback quality, but it is something we are sure that they are working on. Below, you can see an example of what we mean (along with a very ominous Microsoft privacy setting).

Windows MCE
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Scaling the signal, while recording another and transcoding video files in the background, might be expecting too much from our MythTV hardware.