Media Center Update Highlights Partner Roles

An update to Windows XP Media Center Edition, a specialized OS and hardware reference platform that enables home entertainment on the PC, is intended to spur consumer PC sales through the 2003 holiday season and beyond. With no major client OS release planned until 2005 or later, Microsoft wants software developers, content providers, and OEMs to see Media Center as an important avenue for PC innovation for the next two years. Software and content partners can extend Media Center’s functionality with applications and online services, and OEMs can broaden its appeal by experimenting with hardware designs and price points.

Although the first wave of Media Center PCs enjoyed solid sales and good customer satisfaction ratings, some pieces of the home entertainment puzzle—such as an easier way to control the Media Center’s digital video recording capabilities from a TV set—must be filled in before Microsoft can reach its long-term goal of making the PC the home entertainment hub.