Microsoft Media Centre extends to televisions throughout Europe

Microsoft has announced that Windows Media Centre Extender Technology will be available in Europe in the first half of 2005.
The software will power a new generation of products that will extend the Media Centre Edition PC experience, allowing consumers to access their favourite digital entertainment, such as live and recorded television, photos, movies, and music that reside on their Windows XP Media Centre Edition PC, from any room in the home — regardless of where the PC is located.
Media Centre Extender Technology will not only provide access to rich content and services, but will enable devices throughout the home to utilise the full processing and storage capabilities of the PC creating new opportunities for services and providing unprecedented choice and access to content for consumers.
Consumers can enjoy the benefits of Media Centre Extender Technology through a set-top box connected to their television or can purchase a new television with this technology fully integrated.
“Customers are telling us they don’t want to be tied to the room where their PC lives to look at their digital pictures or view a programme recorded on their Media Center PC,” said Paul Randle, Windows Product Manager in the UK. “Windows Media Extender Technologies will address this head on by giving consumers the freedom to enjoy their digital entertainment experiences on any TV display in the home.”
With a Media Centre Extender product, consumers who are using a Media Centre PC to listen to music, record television programs, watch photo slide shows and home videos, or download movies on demand can enjoy these experiences on a television in one room even if their Media Centre PC is being used at the same time by a family member in another room.
By combining the simplicity of a unified digital media library on the Media Centre PC with the power of multiple Media Centre Extender products that access the Media Centre PC simultaneously, Microsoft and industry partners are delivering the most comprehensive, integrated and easy-to-use digital home entertainment solution to consumers.
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