TVedia Media Center Software Aims to Make Your PC Your One-Stop Media Powerhouse
By David Walker |
July 20th, 2006
Comments (2)
It is oh so good to have options – no matter what it is. The same can be said for the home PVR market. If you want Hi-Def and easy, you can opt for the new Hi-Def TiVo Series 3 that’s set to hit anyday now. If you want a full-blown media center, you may opt for buying a new PC with Microsoft’s own MCE 2005. However, if you’ve already got a PC and you want a refined Media Center interface to run on the cheap, you may want to consider taking a look at TVedia, an alternative to the offerings from Yahoo and Microsoft in the Media Center software market.
The interface looks pretty slick and has features like translucent views that let you see videos playing in the background while you navigate the UI. The interface is also customizable, so for those with a desire to customize, you can design the interface that’s right for you. From the word go, you can also use several standard remotes without any setup. The StreamZap remote and the Windows Media Center remote are both supported by default.
Out of the box you can get content from sites like YouTube and Google Video without having to install an unsupported third party plugin, so if you’re all about amateur content, you’ll hit the road running here. Do you love Flickr? Well, you’ll love TVedia then, because it supports the service with search capabilities, managing your online photos and even allowing you to play a slideshow along with music. Speaking of music, your Fairplay protected iTunes music files and Windows DRM wrapped tracks can all be played by TVedia (along with non-DRM infected files too). Oh yeah, TVedia also supports UPnP, so if you’ve got your media stored on a UPnP network device, TVedia is all over it. Devices like the Maxtor Shared Storage Plus to the Roku SoundBridge M500 are already verified to be working with TVedia.
So, the million dollar question – how much? Well, if you’re expecting free, you’re probably not thinking clearly. There’s just too much functionality here. However, at $34.95, TVedia appears to be a pretty good deal, especially since you get 1 year’s worth of free updates to the software. If you’re interested, take advantage of the 15-day trial.
this software is useless compaired to most other media center software – no tv module
so whats the point
I agree. This Tvedia program has no PVR capability, and now they have officially said (at their website forum) that they have completely given up on ever having PVR for the program too. I’m betting they will lose a lot of customers now, too bad for them!