media center
Powerful personal computers(PCs) for homeentertainment have been developed to meet the increasing demands of homenetworks and centralized management of multimedia objects. These network components are media centers and are also called media center PCs or home theater personal computers( HTPC).
Media centers can capture, store, archive, manage and play television, video, DVDs, online games, photos and audio. They are connected to analog TV, digital TV and connected to the Internet and can download movies and games or offer TV as video-on-demand via the existing TV tuner. In addition to the electronic program guide, they offer additional services, for example, for weather or traffic information and the possibility of teleshopping. They are operated via a special remote control that can be used to access all functions.
As a software platform, Media Center Edition( MCE) of Windows XP or Windows Vista is available for displaying television, audio and multimedia data. There are also Linux-basedplatforms. The decisive factor is user-friendliness.
Media centers must ensure high-quality video and audio playback. In order not to impair audio enjoyment, they should therefore operate at low noise levels. The digital High Definition Multimedia Interface( HDMI) and the Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) are used as interfaces.
The further development towards a central server in home networks, to which every connected family member has direct access, has already been mapped out and is realized in Viiv, an Intel concept, and Live! from AMD. Both chip manufacturers rely on dual-core processors in the media centers.