Some might consider me a bit slow off the mark, but I’ve only recently been introduced to the world of Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, or MCE 2005 as we’ll call it from now on. Now for those that know me that might seem surprising since I’ve been an advocate of the 'PC under the TV' for some years. Having to watch downloaded contnet in the study on a relatively small screen never really appealed. Ok, once upon a time my 22in CRT monitor seemd big but it could never compare to my 36in widescreen TV. Therefore, a media PC was an essential. My first system was based on full size AOpen desktop cases as this was back before Shuttle introduced its small form factor (SFF) PCs to the world. I used wireless keyboards, an ATI Remote Wonder, and 802.11b wireless PCI card and just to show my commitment, owned fully paid for versions of Showshifter and DigiGuide - truly remarkable for a journalist.

However, while I would characterise the experience as fun overall, it was also fraught with difficulties and an expensive process. For a start, getting a decent quality signal into a PC from a Sky box wasn’t easy. At the time my Sky box has two Scart outputs – one RGB and one composite. The RGB went directly to the TV and the other only outputted a poor quality composite signal. The solution was an RGB splitter from J.S. Technology, giving me the ability to input a half-decent S-Video signal into my PC. However, this was a pretty pricey gadget for what I wanted to achieve and to be honest it was more out of sense of wanting to complete a project than financial sense that I made the purchase. Using Showshifter, the box could capture in real time to DivX with reasonable results but I could never get the reliability level and ease of use I craved. Eventually, I gave in to the dark side. I bought a Sky +.