This article is about media centers in general.
The term media center refers either to a dedicated computer appliance or to a specialized personal computer software, both of which are adapted for playing various kinds of media (music, movies, photos etc.). A media center may also allow watching DVD movies and watching and recording television broadcasts.
The media itself may be stored, received by terrestrial, satellite or cable broadcasting or streamed from the internet. Stored media is kept either on a local hard drive or on a (wireless) network attached storage. Some software is capable of doing other tasks, such as finding news (RSS) from the Internet. Media centers are often operated with a remote control, connected to a television set for video output, and can sometimes function as a normal personal computer.
A media center can be purpose-built, modified or created by individuals or Media center specialists by adding media center software to a PC or some other computer, for example an Xbox. Lately, some video game consoles (Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) with their network services can act as a media center devices by default.
Though media centers are often built using similar components to personal computers, they are often smaller; media centers sometimes have hardware that is not usually seen in personal computers, such as receivers for remote controls, or television tuner cards. Media centers have not seen widespread popularity but are starting to take hold in the UK and the US.
Functionality and Advantages
Typical, complete media centers offer the following functions to the user:
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Integration of all forms of media, entertainment and communication functions including TV-reception (analogue TV, DigitalTV via terrestrial-, cable-, satellite-, IPTV-, webTV-networks), broadband Internet access, IP-telephony, video-telephony, e-mail etc. into one common user friendly GUI (graphical user interface) controlled with a remote control or wireless keyboard by the family members typically in the living room
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Ability to receive digital media files (via direct video signal, computer network or USB)
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Ability to store digital media (usually on a standard computer hard disk drive)
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Ability to play back digital media through standard television or hi-fi equipment
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Simplicity (compared to a computer equipped to accomplish transfer, storage and TV/hi-fi playback)
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Cost savings (compared to a computer equipped to accomplish transfer, storage and TV/hi-fi playback)
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Portability (compared to a computer equipped to accomplish transfer, storage and TV/hi-fi playback)