Vista media center as extender

Summary: Discusses the considerations for Windows Media Center developers who want to support Extender devices in applications for Windows Media Center. An Extender for Windows Media Center is a hardware device that enables the user to access Windows Media Center content and applications from a TV located elsewhere in the user's home with a remote control.

The Extender session is an independent session that can run at the same time as the user session on the PC. A single PC can support up to five Extender sessions at a time. Typically, users connect the Extender device to their TV and home network as specified by the Extender manufacturer.

Enabling an Extender requires only a few additional steps. The user accesses Windows Media Center by either pressing the green button on the remote or by selecting a link in the user interface of the Extender device, such as the Media tab in the Xbox dashboard.

For setting up a third-party Extender, see the information provided by its manufacturer. With the advent of third-party Extender devices and the continued success of the Xbox , we have seen a vast increase in the number of users who access Windows Media Center through an Extender rather than directly from the Windows Media Center PC.

It is now especially important that your extensibility applications support the Extender for Windows Media Center as fully as possible. As you design your application, it is important to remember that the Extender experience is subject to certain limitations that prevent the user from installing programs, using a keyboard or mouse, and playing certain types of media files.

This article discusses how various considerations for Extender devices affect the development of Windows Media Center extensibility applications. An extensibility application is a third-party software application that provides a Web-based service within the Windows Media Center user interface. The way your extensibility application is displayed and behaves in Windows Media Center and on Extenders depends partly on the type of technology you employ.

Three types of extensibility applications are available in Windows Media Center for Windows Vista, each using a different technology. NET Framework platform for developing applications. Windows Media Center Presentation Layer, a new feature in Windows Vista, provides access to the same rendering technologies that are used to create Windows Media Center itself. The Windows Media Center Presentation Layer provides dynamic layout capabilities, integrated animation support, rich text and graphics support, and automatic keyboard and remote navigation.

Windows Presentation Foundation is Microsoft's unified presentation subsystem for Windows and is exposed through the. NET Framework 3. Windows Presentation Foundation consists of a display engine that takes full advantage of modern graphics hardware, and an extensible set of managed classes that developers can use to create rich, visually stunning applications.

In November , Microsoft introduced the Xbox , which is a hub for digital media, online communications, and gaming. This powerful hardware delivers an Extender session that is smooth and responsive, with enhanced video quality and fast reactions to user input.

This means that rich animations created for Windows Media Center Presentation Layer will be displayed at a frame rate comparable to the experience on the host PC.

Microsoft is currently working with leading consumer electronics manufacturers to enable them to add Extender technology to their devices, expanding the number and type of Extenders available to Windows Media Center users in Windows Vista.

Different manufacturers are building devices in different form factors; over time these may include simple digital media appliances set-top boxes , network-enabled DVD players, and network-enabled television sets. In addition, new Extender devices will support DivX.

The first of these third-party Extenders are being introduced in the holiday season of The Extender user interface looks and behaves much like the Windows Media Center user interface on the PC, but there are a few important differences for extensibility applications, as follows:. To create a comparable experience on the Extender, you may need to program your application to detect the Extender session, and to determine which type of Extender—the Xbox or a third-party device—the user is operating.

This information will enable you to make any necessary adjustments to your application to ensure that the user experience is appropriate for Extender users. These adjustments might include the following:.

Capabilities object. On the host PC, IsConsole will always return true. To detect an Extender session in managed code, check the MediaCenterEnvironment. Capabilities property. Deviceinfo object. This property will return the string "Xbox " if the device is an Xbox , and some other string if the device is a third-party Extender.

For media content, all Extenders for Windows Media Center support the following media types through the PlayMedia method. Some third-party Extender devices may support additional media types, but to ensure support on all devices, Windows Media Center extensibility applications should use only the media types listed below.

Note The PlayMedia method is the only way to access Windows Media Center's built-in media player, which delivers media content smoothly to the Extender through a dedicated side channel. Playing video or audio content outside of this method, such as with an embedded ActiveX player, is not supported and probably will not play correctly.

The only additional limitation on the Extender is that non-silent license acquisition, in which the user must navigate to a separate page to acquire the license, is not supported. If you have DRM-protected content, you should work with your license issuer to set up a process to issue your licenses silently.

If you create your playlists to include ignored elements, the files specified in your REF elements should still play in order, but you might lose some functionality.

On the Keyboards and Languages tab, click Change keyboards. Click OK. On the Administrative tab, click Copy to reserved accounts. Click the Default user account new users check box, and then click OK two times.

Click Start , and then click Windows Media Center. Click Tasks , and then click Settings. Click Extender , and then select the Xbox console. Click Uninstall , and then close Windows Media Center. Select Windows Media Center , and then press the A button. Select Disconnect. Press the B button repeatedly until you return to the System section. Advance through the instructions on the screen to obtain the eight-digit setup key.

Note the setup key. Click Tasks , and then click add extender. General Windows Desktop Development Issues. Sign in to vote. Monday, February 27, AM. I have an Xbox and I get the exact same thing that happens to you. It will automatically detect there is an Xbox Extender device on my network but during "Device Configuration" it stalls out. It is not a hang but the wizard just stops. Monday, February 27, PM. I have the same issuse, both via wifi link and wired link Tuesday, February 28, AM.

Tuesday, February 28, PM. I to suffer from this and will be keeping a watchful eye on this subject. Wednesday, March 1, AM. Wednesday, March 1, PM. I filed a bug report and had it responded to and said this functionality isn't working in the current build and to check the FAQ. So I guess no extender at the moment. You actually don't need the Media Center Extender to get it working. Vista has all the functionality you need built right into it by default.

In Windows Media Player 11, you go to Library and then Library Sharing and you have the option of sharing your library with other devices. Once this has been enabled, search from your XBOX for computers under Music or Pictures and it will detect it automatically.

Once you add files to your shared library, you can access and play them from XBOX I hope this is what you were looking for.

Works flawlessly for me :. Friday, March 24, PM. Thanks anyone with remarks. Monday, March 27, AM. I was looking to get the original xbox extender working. Have not go round to purchasing a - I will need permission sanctioned from she who must be obeyed. Monday, March 27, PM. Where did you get from? Here ya go. Both have been updated and one was even born one Wednesday, April 12, PM. Is this site monitored anyone out there? Am I the only one, anyone?