For several years, Microsoft has promoted the PC as the central home entertainment device, but the company is beginning to embrace alternate models.

In Microsoft’s preferred vision of home entertainment, consumers use their Windows PC (center) as a home entertainment “hub” to acquire content from various sources (left), then distribute it to compatible “spoke” devices (right). Content sources, the PC, and the devices all use the Windows Media platform (bottom) to transmit and protect digital media.

For example, users can employ the Windows Media Player, which is built into every Windows PC, to download digital audio and video from Internet stores, such as RealNetworks’ Rhapsody or MTV’s Urge, or to rip audio from CDs. Media Center, an optional Windows component, adds features such as a remote-controlled interface, DVD playback, and digital video recording (DVR) of television shows. Once the content is on the PC, users can transfer it to a portable device or burn content to a CD for playback on compatible devices (such as car stereos). Users who have a home network can stream digital media content from the PC to TV-connected devices, such as the Xbox 360. Supporting the process is the Windows Media platform, which provides codecs for compressing content to reduce storage and bandwidth requirements; digital rights management (DRM) technology for protecting content from unauthorized copying and use; the Windows Media Format for packaging content; and tools that Microsoft and third parties can use to create compatible content, applications, and devices.

Microsoft’s home entertainment strategy is built around the idea of using the Windows PC as a digital media hub.

With the Windows Media Player, which is built into every Windows PC, users can download digital audio and video from the Internet, perhaps purchasing it from a store whose interface appears directly in the Player (such as MSN Music, Napster, or CinemaNow), or rip content from audio CDs. (Because DVDs include a copy-protection system, they cannot be legally ripped.) If the PC has a TV tuner card—as is the case with most PCs that run Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE)—users can also record TV programs on the hard drive.

Once the content is on the PC, users can use the Windows Media Player to transfer it to a compatible multifunction device, such as a Pocket PC or Smartphone, or portable player, such as the Portable Media Center (PMC). Users can also use the Windows Media Player to burn content to a CD, or use MCE (or a third-party application) to burn it to a CD or DVD, which they can then play in Windows-Media-compatible car stereos and consumer electronics devices, such as home theater systems. Users who have a home network, such as the wireless network shown in this illustration, can stream digital media content from the PC to TV-connected devices, such as MSN TV 2. Users with a home network and MCE can use Media Center Extenders, including the Extender for Xbox, to access all the digital media functions of the MCE from their TV or home theater system.