NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the North American availability of Windows®
XP Media Center Edition via HP Media Center PCs, bringing consumers a fully integrated digital entertainment experience on a PC with the freedom and convenience of remote-control access. HP Media Center PCs, optimized to take full advantage of the digital media capabilities of Windows XP Media Center Edition, are now available at more than 1,400 retail outlets including Best Buy, Circuit City Stores Inc. and CompUSA in the United States, Future Shop Ltd. and Best Buy in Canada, and direct from HP at http://www.hpshopping.com/ .
Actor Tom Arnold at the launch of Microsoft Windows XP Media Center in New York, Oct. 29. Click image for a high-res version.
“Windows XP Media Center Edition greatly enhances consumers’ ability to use their PC for both work and play,”
said Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft.
“This newest member of the Windows XP family enables consumers to enjoy the best of what digital entertainment has to offer and takes us into an exciting new era of personal computing.”
At the Windows XP Media Center Edition launch in New York’s Bryant Park, Mike Toutonghi, vice president of the Windows eHome Division, was joined by actor and comedian Tom Arnold of Fox Sports Net’s hit
“Best Damn Sports Show Period”
in highlighting the value Windows XP Media Center Edition adds to any entertainment scenario. During his address, Toutonghi discussed the evolution of the home PC and the critical role industry partners such as HP have played in delivering a new genre of media center PCs to consumers. As part of the launch event, consumers in the New York area were given the opportunity to see HP Media Center PCs in three
“lifestyle vignettes”
depicting live consumer use in family room, media room and dorm room scenarios.
“The introduction of Windows XP Media Center Edition and the new HP Media Center PC is the upshot of our shared goal of making technology an integral part of people’s lives,”
said Carly Fiorina, chairman and chief executive officer at HP.
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Together, we’ve created a whole new way for people to experience their favorite pastimes, whether it’s watching DVDs, listening to music, watching television, sharing and managing digital photos, or all of the other things PCs are normally used for, in one easy-to-use, integrated system.
“The Media Center PC is one of the first PCs to give consumers freedom to enjoy digital entertainment in new ways and new places around the home,”
said Paul Otellini, president and chief operating officer at Intel Corp.
“The high performance of the Pentium® 4 processor combined with Windows XP Media Center Edition provides consumers with an incredible digital entertainment experience.”
“Personal computers are transforming from being not only a productivity tool, but also an entertainment source,”
said P.J. McNealy, research director at Gartner G2.
“Twenty-three percent of U.S. households now have PCs in the living or family rooms, and usage of digital home videos, digital photos and digital music continues to rise. Consumers are becoming more comfortable with the words ‘digital content,’ and the PC is helping enable that learning curve.”
Offering More in Home Entertainment and Computing
Powered by Intel Pentium 4 processors, HP Media Center PCs are optimized to take full advantage of the capabilities of Windows XP Media Center Edition. Intel’s Pentium 4 processor offers the higher-performance processing needed to deliver significant performance gains for a best-in-class home entertainment experience. Building on the rich media platform launched one year ago with Microsoft®
Windows XP, Windows XP Media Center Edition turns a PC into a media center that integrates digital entertainment experiences with the freedom of remote-control access. Consumers can enjoy live television, personal video recording, music, photos, videos and DVDs from a new remote-controlled PC experience called Media Center. The sleek Media Center interface serves as a unified destination for entertainment on the Media Center PC and is designed to be viewed from anywhere in the room. Windows XP Media Center Edition is ideal for digital media enthusiasts and consumers, such as teenagers, college students, young adults and families, who must operate in small, space-constrained environments and who want to use their PC for entertainment and digital media.
Seeing Is Believing
Across the United States and Canada, select retail outlets will be encouraging consumers to test-drive the HP Media Center PCs and experience their digital entertainment capabilities and benefits. These efforts were kicked into high gear at launch by CompUSA’s New York flagship store on Fifth Avenue and will continue around the country through the holidays during Demo Days, to be held at approximately 100 Best Buy stores nationwide Nov. 1–3 and Nov. 8–10, and at approximately 100 CompUSA stores Nov. 29–Dec. 1, Dec. 6–8 and Dec. 13–15.* In addition, people can go to the Windows XP Media Center Edition Web site to see the Media Center PC experience at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* Contact your local Best Buy and CompUSA outlets for specific details and more information on demo opportunities.
Microsoft, Windows, MSN and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .
Industry Support
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AMD Athlon XP processors and Windows XP Media Center Edition give customers a digital hub for the living room with a powerful solution for managing their ever-increasing volume of digital audio, video and photographs. Systems based on AMD Athlon XP processors provide exceptional performance today and can scale with customers’ future needs as they capitalize on the innovations offered in Windows XP Media Center.
Ed Ellett
Vice President, Client Business Segment
Computation Products Group
AMD
“As the world’s leading 3-D graphics company, ATI Technologies delivers the industry’s fastest graphics ASICs, including the latest family of RADEON 9700 PRO and RADEON 9000 PRO products, which are the perfect solutions for Windows XP Media Center Edition’s graphics and video display technologies. As a critically acclaimed and long-standing leader of PC multimedia solutions, including the ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO, ATI is proud to be a part of Media Center Edition’s success.”
Godfrey Cheng
Director of Marketing, Multimedia Products ATI Technologies Inc.
“CompUSA customers understand technology. We know they’ll find the idea of controlling their PC entertainment experiences from across the room to be very compelling. The remote control could well become the next standard PC peripheral; we see the HP Media Center PC with Windows XP Media Center Edition as an important first step toward the connected home.”
Tony Weiss
Executive Vice President
CompUSA
“With Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, PCs will become a central hub for all digital media entertainment. As the leader in digital video software development, CyberLink is proud to share our expertise in DVD playback and digital video recording technologies. We are also excited to take part with Microsoft in delivering rich media experiences and defining new values for the PC.”
Alice Chang
CEO
CyberLink Corp.
“This development is both fun and innovative. Integrating the power of the PC, DVD player, TV and home audio system, all controlled by a Media Center remote, opens up a compelling new world of home digital entertainment possibilities.”
Richard Hockenbrock
Vice President, Licensing Operations
Dolby Laboratories Inc.
“Emuzed’s TV Capture and Tuner card with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition will provide consumers with an unparalleled digital media experience by combining the entertainment of the television with the power of the PC.”
Dhaval Ajmera
Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Emuzed Inc.
“The HP Media Center PC with Windows XP Media Center Edition is what the future has in store this holiday season. We’re very excited about showcasing this product and demonstrating how much more our customers can get from their PC. The Media Center interface is simple, elegant and highly functional. What a great idea to be able to kick back after the e-mails and spreadsheets and simply enjoy a wide variety of entertainment choices.”
Rick Lotman
Senior Vice President
Merchandising and Marketing
Future Shop
“Combining the rich media experience of the PC with television makes Windows XP Media Center Edition a blockbuster! With more than 10 years of experience making PC-based TV receivers, Hauppauge is proud to share our expertise with Microsoft’s development teams — Windows XP Media Center will redefine what it means to watch TV!”
Dean Cirielli
President
Hauppauge Computer Works Inc.
“Microsoft is creating a new industry by combining the best of PC and entertainment technology to create a singular operating system for consumers to manage everything from Word files to music to recording television. We are pleased that Microsoft chose InterVideo to power the DVR and DVD playback because it validates the hard work and technology of our entire company. We look forward to working with Microsoft to help create the ultimate media management operating system.”
Steve Ro
Founder and CEO
InterVideo Inc.
“NVIDIA’s full family of graphics and multimedia processors provides the ultimate platform for Windows XP Media Center edition. Together, NVIDIA and Microsoft are evolving the PC platform into a multifunction home entertainment system, perfect for consumers who desire a versatile platform for all their digital music and DVD playback, TV recording and 3-D gaming needs.”
Dan Vivoli
Vice President of Marketing
NVIDIA
“Windows XP Media Center Edition is an important new platform for delivering digital media to the home. Pressplay, with its extensive catalog of digital music, is already working with MSN® and Windows Media® to deliver the most compelling array of features to digital music consumers including on-demand streaming, downloading, CD burning and compatibility with many of today’s leading portable devices. Media Center’s remote-controlled viewing/listening experience will bring consumers a whole new way to enjoy their favorite digital entertainment.”
Michael Bebel
CEO
Pressplay
“For years, consumers have been using a remote control device to control their audio/video experience. Creating a similar experience for the Windows XP Media Center is a logical step in making the convergence of the computer and entertainment sectors really happen from an end-user perspective. As a leading innovator and provider of remote control devices for the traditional audio/video consumer electronics market, we are pleased to work with Microsoft leveraging our patented Infra Red protocol technology and products.”
Xavier Delmeiren
Vice President, Remote Control Systems Group
Philips Components
Royal Philips Electronics
“TMS’ database and ability to interface with many applications and systems makes our data highly compatible with leading-edge applications such as Windows XP, and we are pleased to be part of this innovative new product. Consumers will find that our TV listings and entertainment information provide a highly accurate tool that they can rely on to help make programming decisions.”
Barbara Needelman
Vice President, Entertainment Products
Tribune Media Services
“We are excited to work with Microsoft on Windows XP Media Center Edition because home connectivity truly is the next frontier. For more than 15 years, UEI has been focused on simplifying the user interface for the growing complexity of devices in the home. This expertise positions us perfectly to complement Microsoft’s product offerings and deliver a truly connected experience for consumers in our mutual quest to bring innovative computing technology into the home.”
Rob Lilleness
President and COO
Universal Electronics Inc.
