10.04.2006 — Are you sick of my complaining about the lack of interfaces for Media Center Edition? We'll see plenty of new hardware- and software-based interfaces under the Vista version of MCE, but for now you're pretty much beholden to the TV interface.

Niveus Media has a terrific solution in its Companion software, which can run on virtually any device that has a touchscreen -- even a cellphone as long as it has a touchscreen, says Niveus's Scott Varner.

The Companion software basically grabs music, photos, videos, and (some) recorded TVS shows off the Media Center, for perusing and selecting via a remote display such as a Vantage wireless Web tablet, which is how Niveus demonstrated the application at the CEDIA Expo.

The enabling software comes preloaded on Niveus media servers, and existing Niveus products can be upgraded free of charge.

I asked if the software could enable electronic programming guides (EPG) to be displayed via Companion, so you could browse the TV guide without disrupting the on-screen action. Not yet. EPG will come in the Vista timeframe when we do a fusion of both Companion and Sideshow technologies, says Niveus CEO Tim Cutting, citing legalities with EPG providers.

Microsoft has said in the past that it worked out the royalty arrangements with EPG provider TMS (Tribune Media Services) to extend the guide to Sideshow devices. Sideshow, available with the Vista OS, allows lightweight devices such as remote controls to render bits of information from applications (like Outlook, Weather, and EPG) hosted on PCs.