In order to receive and process television signals and other A/V signals, Media Center utilizes a TV tuner card such as a Hauppauge tuner card. As of Update Rollup 2, Media Center 2005 supports up to 4 tuners on a single computer (up to two analog tuners, and up to two HDTV tuners). It cannot, however, record more than two programs at any one time. Other connectivity features of Media Center include various inputs and outputs, for example for RCA type cables (e.g., from cassette players or analog videocassette recorders), microphones, digital video signals and other inputs). Analog to digital conversion within the tuner card enables users to convert older type media to digital media.
Microsoft has released its own first party remote, receiver and IR blaster with MCE 2005. A new specially designed wireless computer keyboard for MCE 2005 was released September 2005.
With version 2005, Microsoft has added support for Media Center Extenders—dedicated hardware devices that allow users to view the same content that is available on the MCE computer over wired or wireless Ethernet. Linksys and other companies currently sell Media Center Extenders, and Microsoft sells an add-on kit for the Xbox game console that allows it to function as an extender. The Xbox 360 also has Media Center Extender functionality out of the box, including HDTV support (which is notably absent from current extenders). Media Center 2005 currently can support up to 5 Media Center Extenders per household.
Unlike competing commercial DVR products, Microsoft does not charge a monthly subscription fee for its Media Center TV guide service. Reference: http://www.wikipedia.com
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