Three Reasons I Chose Microsoft over Apple for Home Media 24 comments
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I ordered a new Dell (DELL) PC online today over at Dell. I'm still using my MacBook Pro as my primary every day computer, but I needed to upgrade my Media Center PC in my home which handles all of my digital photos and mp3 files.
I considered using this upgrade as an excuse to go 100% Apple (AAPL), but there are several reasons that I didn't do this.
First and foremost, I think that Microsoft (MSFT) has a better strategy for home media than Apple both now and going forward. By using XBox 360s as extender units (I've got two installed now -- one in the bedroom and one in the living room and a third for the kitchen on the way), I can effectively leverage my digital media collection throughout my entire home.
My mom actually gave me an AppleTV for Christmas, which I returned to Apple, as I've been more impressed by what I've seen from Microsoft in home media than Apple.
Why do I like the Vista Media Center/XBox 360 strategy better than AppleTV?
First, every XBox 360 has a DVD player in it. I know that may sound lame, but Netflix (NFLX) has become a fixture in my home media strategy going forward and I just didn't want to buy an AppleTV for every room AND a separate ugly DVD player for every room. It's totally lame to me that Apple does not include a DVD player with AppleTV. Personally I think they do this because they don't want outside providers like Netflix competing with stuff they want you to buy from iTunes. A DVD player takes almost no space (I have one on my MacBook Pro) and they are super cheap.
I'm especially surprised that Apple, who ought to understand design aesthetics, would not realize that for a home media strategy, people would not want 2 boxes in every room, with one of the boxes being a big ugly black DVD player. Simplifying my home media strategy to one plasma and one box in every room makes better aesthetic design sense.
Another reason why I opted to go with Microsoft for the home has to do with my large media library. At present I have over 100,000 mp3s and close to that many digital photos. I've been testing out a loaner Dell PC over the past few weeks and found that Windows Media Player 11 combined with Vista Media Center on the Dell performed very well with my large digital media library. I was even able to seamlessly stream all of my media from my Drobos to my XBox 360 extender units with little trouble at all. iTunes on the other hand has been very difficult for me to use with my library.
I blogged about my problems with iTunes recently. My two big problems with iTunes are the incessant need to continuously analyze "gapless playback" and "album art." These two "features" (sic) made iTunes pretty much unusable for me when accessing my media over my home network. Since I have over a TB of digital media, actually storing the digital media on my MacBook wasn't really an option. Since AppleTV runs off iTunes, I had no confidence in AppleTV's ability to effectively stream my digital media to AppleTV devices in my home. iTunes also does a crappy job at handling duplicate files in a large library.
The
third reason why I went with Microsoft is that every XBox 360 extender
unit is also a kick-ass gaming machine. This is more for the kids than
for me (although I do enjoy playing Lego Star Wars
As AppleTVs and a new Mac Mini go for about the same price as XBox 360s and a new Dell, I felt that the Microsoft strategy represented both better value as well as better performance for my home media goals.
The
new Dell I bought is the XPS 420 with the Intel Core2 Q6600
Quad-Core processor. This unit represented good value with a base price
of $999. With the added memory and other enhancements (with tax,
shipping was free). my bottom line price was $1,358.31.
Special thanks go to bloggers Charlie Owen at Microsoft as well as Ed Bott for offering me guidance, advice and recommendations as I worked through my home media strategy. Both these guys are two of the top Windows Pros out there today and if you are using a Microsoft Media Center PC, I'd recommend following their blogs. The Dell XPS 420 recommendation came from Ed who has been using this PC as his primary one and represents especially good value right now.
I'm going to write up a more substantive review (and maybe do a video tour) on Vista Media Center and my XBox 360 Extenders in the next few weeks once I get all the pieces set up and in place.
Also as part of my strategy
going forward I will probably be abandoning TiVo (TIVO) and DirecTV (DTV). DirecTV
has pretty much abandoned high def TiVo and Microsoft's Media Center
DVR (something else missing with AppleTV) can zap commercials as good
as TiVo. Between Netflix, media that I can buy from Microsoft on Media
Center, and free OTA network HDTV (I've also got a dual tuner Silicon Dust HDHomeRun Networked Digital HDTV Tuner
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This article has 24 comments:
We don't want to change DVD disks all the time for every movies, it is very inconvenience. Beside Window Media Player does not very much support HD format.
Sad really, but then his time can't be too valuable.
"...every XBox 360 has a DVD player in it....By using XBox 360s as extender units (I've got two installed now -- one in the bedroom and one in the living room and a third for the kitchen on the way)."
Then you say about Apple: "...for a home media strategy, people would not want 2 boxes in every room, with one of the boxes being a big ugly black DVD player."
Yet 3 X-Boxes? Give us a break you flipping idiot.
Now, you aside, I would venture to guess that most people don't have, nor want, a DVD player in every room, TV perhaps, but not DVD.
> Yet 3 X-Boxes? Give us a break you flipping idiot.
ROTFLMAO. Yes, Mr. Hawk, enjoy your Dell Home Entertainment System. For the year or so before it craters. I'll cut you a break and wait until I see your digital video tour documentary. Will you be producing that on the X-Box?
I'm sure you've paid for all of these.
Seems to me that's a lot of firepower to keep you in the XBox 360 gulag... Good luck w/ the noise, ugliness, and burnouts.
Why would anyone need a DVD player in every room when the Apple TV does such a great job of wirelessly sending the media? Don't you know how to convert a DVD?
iTunes does check for gapless playback and album art, but so what? It's multi-threaded, it's not tying up your machine. Would you rather that they just didn't tell you what was going on? That happens very rarely, usually when you are in an account that has not been used since the machine was updated. It's not an issue, though I guess you had to find something to complain about.
Ed Bott an expert? That's a joke, right?
Further, I love the fact that as you speak of not having multiple boxes, you end with statements about buying and installing even more equipment.... You are not a typical consumer! And your whole position is grossly misleading.
And as a testament to the incredibly easy world of MSF (sic), you tell us it will take you a "few weeks" to get it all installed and up and running before you can give us more info... to quote...
"I'm going to write up a more substantive review (and maybe do a video tour) on Vista Media Center and my XBox 360 Extenders in the next few weeks once I get all the pieces set up and in place."
Thanks for all your great advice on exactly what NOT to do... including buying a game counsel as a dvd player which is now obsolete as it is based on the failed MSF supported format of HD DVD. DUH!
I am a big Mac-fanboy. Go at it and enjoy your system. I hope it works for you.
But I do hope you will do this - give an up date from time to time and include and problems you may have. My experience with Windows machines is that if you can get them tuned for exactly what you want them to so, then they can work ok. So just keep us up on how it is going.
Xbox only has the most highly rated games of any console out there by far and the best online setup but you still deserve to be called names like 'idiot' for even thinking about it.
Please do yourself a favor, throw logic out the window, buy all the Apple products they make and do exactly what these people want. Steve Jobs needs someone to pay those fat margins and that might as well be you.
Let see I can buy a Wii that can't play next gen games because it's really a Gamecube 1.5 with old technology despite having an innovative control system. Or I can get a PS3 with very few decent games at all. Or I could get an Xbox360 that needs an extra heatsink replaced for free and I can play tons of games rated 80% of better(go look it up if you don't believe me)
Tough choice
The author was talking about using the 360 as a media extender. Not a gaming machine. The 360 rocks as a gaming machine other than two glaring problems. The thing is loud and the hardware fails all too often. The facts are the facts. In my family 7 of 8 have had to return their system to Microsoft. I'm the only one that has not. That sucks for the 3 weeks your without a machine.
As far as your WII comment it is not a high end gaming machine but has out sold the 360. In my house the 360 gets used more than the WII, but when we travel we take the WII for the social aspect. It's a hoot to have a boxing match against all the relatives and friends.
If your buying a 360 for gaming and then using as a media extender to save a few bills, more power to you, but to go off and buy three when you don't really play games is crazy.
I think the idea of cutting the cable bill is interesting. Comcast sucks 7$ of my money every month so I can have the honor of watching HD on my big screen. At least apple doesn't have all the hidden subscription costs. Its pay as you go, which for me is alot better.
As far as the XPS 420, it looks like a great machine, but I'm confused on how you are using the system. Looks like a classic desktop system. Where are you hiding the box. It looks like a great system to serve up content. Good luck running the ethernet around the house.
I can say this-
Media Player, Media Center, XBox & the XBox extenders, and (dare I say) Zune all work simply great together. I've got my place, 3 floors, ~4500 sq feet, wirelessly wired up and it's great. No complaints, no hassles.
(I have not tried Vista, as I have used it on Windows machines and it is even more horrible than most Windows products - to the extent that my local PC shop owner, along with many others, is abandoning Windows for his own use, and adopting Mac. The consensus seems to be; "I waited 6 years for THIS???)
As to XBox, I cannot speak to them, since I have no interest in or use for them in their main role as game boxes, but I have my home wired via Airport, and it all works seamlessly through my MacBook Pro.
I am unsure why Mr. Hawk is having trouble with iTunes, unless he is perhaps using the Windows version (which although on an inferior OS, has still converted many Windows users to Apple). I have had minus zero problems with iTunes even though I have over 3000 (legal!) songs.
However, that said, there is no excuse for calling Mr. Hawks or anyone else an "idiot" for exercising his choice of hardware and software. After all, it is his money and his decision. I myself would rather suffer a slow and horrible death by any means rather than use Windows voluntarily again, but "de gustabus non disputandum est."
I'm much happier managing my content to follow Apple's vision.