| Our homes - and our lives - are increasingly filled | | | | you can record up to three live television shows |
| with electronics, yet more often than not, our | | | | at once and watch them at your convenience. |
| home electronics are so independent of one | | | | Best of all, the PC Desktop Media Center isn't |
| another that they're cumbersome at best and | | | | simply a box dedicated to home entertainment; |
| useless at worse. A Media Center PC solves that | | | | even while it's playing or slideshow, you can still |
| problem by integrating any number of home | | | | surf the Web, check your email, and have all of |
| electronics and, as a result, giving you the ability | | | | the functionality of any desktop PC. |
| to unlock the full potential of everything from | | | | When it comes to a Media Center PC, home |
| your home entertainment system to your home | | | | entertainment features are just the tip of the |
| security system. | | | | iceberg, though. You can also integrate video |
| The secret to full integration is a Windows Media | | | | gaming systems and automatically synch your |
| Center, also known as a PC Desktop Media | | | | Windows Media Center with any number of |
| Center. When connected to your TV or HDTV, | | | | portable devices. |
| the Window Media Center becomes the hub of | | | | Most compelling of all, a Media Center PC gives |
| your home electronics. Offering everything from | | | | you the ability to automate any number of other |
| personal logins for each family member to an | | | | devices around the home. You can, for example, |
| incredible variety of software, hardware, and | | | | turn your lights on or off, control the thermostat, |
| services, a Media Center PC gives every person | | | | and make sure your doors are locked - all with a |
| their own document and media libraries. | | | | click of the mouse or the remote control. You |
| When it comes to home entertainment, the Media | | | | can also create your own video security system |
| Center PC keeps everything in one place. When | | | | and run any number of other security devices |
| connected to a home network, you can watch | | | | right from your Windows Media Center. And, you |
| TV and movies, listen to music, and view photos | | | | can even set the entire system up to use voice |
| anywhere in your home. You can connect your | | | | control. |
| digital camera and manipulate photos, create | | | | Although such functionality and integration may still |
| slideshows with music, and even burn them onto | | | | seem like the wave of the future, with a Media |
| DVDs. With the Personal Video Recorder (PVR), | | | | Center PC, the future is now. |
| also known as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), | | | | |