Windows Media Connect vs. Windows Media Center

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2月25日

Windows Media Connect vs. Windows Media Center

Note: this article has been superseded by a newer Media sharing vs. Windows Media Center article. Head over there for the latest version.

While I was preparing to write about PC media, I decided to talk about each separately, in two different articles. This was mainly because there was so much to say about each side, and the best way to do that would be to cover each in a separate article.

However, I knew that by doing that I would lose some of the big picture, where I could give an overview of both. Even though I tried to address it in each article, I knew that it still wouldn't be clear to many people that these are indeed two different things, accessed in two different ways. So, I thought I'd just jot down a few thoughts here.

The main thing to remember is that Windows Media Connect is different software from Windows Media Center. Windows Media Connect is more of a background connection, while Windows Media Center is a standalone application with its own user interface. Anyone with an XP machine (including a Media Center PC) can run Windows Media Connect, but only people with a Media Center PC can run Windows Media Center.

Here's a quick chart to compare the two technologies, and help you recognize which is which. I'm not explaining exactly how to set up, troubleshoot, and access your media here; there's info on Xbox.com that should help you with those details.

	Windows Media Connect	Windows Media Center
Computer Operating System	Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional Edition Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Program Setup	On PC, install XP SP2 and .NET Framework 1.1 On console, select Music or Pictures on Media blade, select Computer, follow directions On PC, run setup program from www.xbox.com/pcsetup	On console, select Media Center button on Media blade, follow directions On PC, run setup program from www.xbox.com/pcsetup
Media Setup	Share media first on computer then access it on the console	Launch Media Center on console then use it to add and navigate PC media
Media Access on Console	Through Music button on Media blade Through Pictures button on Media blade In the Xbox Guide	Through Media Center button on Media blade
Console Behavior	Pictures are viewed in Xbox Dashboard (area with thumbnails, slideshows) Music can play in music player in Xbox Dashboard (area with player, song list, and visualizations) Music plays in background Music can play during games	Launches Media Center Extender software on console Media Center is a standalone application that runs on the console Access pictures, video, and music using Media Center interface only (not in background, not during games)
Available Media	Music Pictures	Music Pictures Video

For more detailed information and links to more help, see my Windows Media Connect and Windows Media Center articles.

Update 11/21/06: Windows Media Player 11 now takes over media sharing for Windows Media Connect, and Zune can also be used to stream media. You can also now stream video from your console to your PC using Zune, Windows Media Player 11, or Windows Media Connect. For information about these changes, see my Media Sharing blog post.

15:15:14 | 写入日志 | Tidbits

Elle 在此页禁用了评论功能。

	PRITCHETTJUSTEN M发表: I have XP hooked up and the pictures from my digital camera look amazing in HD. It is nice to have all my music for my games also. 3 月 1 日
	Wayne发表: I also wanted to say thanks for the breakdown. I am looking forward to Vista as it is my understanding that Windows Media Center will be a part of that OS. Plus I would hope that since new PC's will ship with this OS, it will prevent any hardware "issues" with WMCenter. Glad I found your blog. I'll be hitting this one often as I am an info/tech junkie...just without the skills. 2 月 28 日
	JD 发表: Is there any chance that the 360 will every support having a connection to more than one computer be "active" at a time? Currently, we have one computer that has all our music but another has all our photos. Both have Windows Media Connect on them, but the 360 will only browse one at a time. So if we're on the music computer but want to look at pictures, we have to drill deep down into the system settings, disconnect from the music computer, and then connecto the one with photos. This is something Tivo really got right with their Home Media Option -- it "sees" machines on the network that are running the desktop software and whenever you choose to do something that would connect to them (listen to music, view photos, etc), the first thing you do is choose which to connect to: * Music on [Machine Name] * Photos on [Other Machine Name] You don't have to disconnect from anything first or go into various system menus to make it work. 2 月 27 日
	HaksawUK 发表: Okay, thanks for the quick reply Elle! Sorry for sending your comments off topic, thanks for the information about media connect too :) 2 月 26 日
	Elle发表: I honestly don't know what games are in development for Xbox Live Arcade, but they are continuing to build the library. That may include Dreamcast games, it may not. I just don't know. 2 月 25 日
	HaksawUK 发表: Okay I posted this on the Xbox team's blog too, I regularly read yours , the xbox team, the gamerscore and major nelsons blog a lot, so I figured I may get this answered here! I've got a question which doesn't relate to this topic, but I would love an answer none-the-less! Being a BIG fan of Dreamcast games, I was told that some Dreamcast games will be released over xbox live arcade in the future, can you shed any light on this? An answer of some-sort will be amazing. Thanks, HaksawUK England 2 月 25 日

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