09.18.2008 — Windows Media Center definitely has mass-market potential, but it's going to take some time before the general population embraces the platform for home entertainment.

That's the conclusion of PC-centric Microsoft, Intel, AMD and HP, who recently joined CE channel players Crestron, Lifeware and Niveus to form the Media Center Integrator Alliance (MCIA).

Announced during CEDIA Expo 2008 in September, MCIA believes the home installation channel can be an important launching pad for Media Center – a potentially rich, but mostly under-utilized and often frustrating platform.

"We've always been strong advocates of Media Center," says Macgill Lynde, director of the AMD Microsoft strategic alliance. "We see the [custom] channel as being on the forefront. We want to be a part of that, to flesh out the technology that someday will be everywhere."

Like the MCIA representatives from Microsoft and Intel, Lynde concedes, "Yes, I think we did" believe that Media Center would take off more quickly than it has.

He likes the channel-first approach to new-technology rollouts, which AMD often adopts for its server products.

AMD competitor Intel, which aggressively targeted the channel early in the Media Center cycle, also is going back to those roots.

MCIA representative Greg Schlechter, Intel platform marketing manager, says Media Center has followed the "basic adoption technology curve," where tech-savvy people take the plunge long before the masses.

It can be unfruitful, he suggests, "if you try to hit that [mass market] first."

AMD and Intel stand to win big if Media Centers are used to their fullest potential, for example, with multiple streams of hi-def video.

At CEDIA, both Niveus and Lifeware showcased systems with eight CableCards streaming HD to 10 displays via Media Center Extenders.

"They [AMD and Intel] are looking for ways to sell faster processors," says Brian Paper, VP of marketing for Niveus. "This is the perfect application for that."

Niveus's forthcoming Pro Series n9 uses an Intel Core i7 quadcore processor that supports eight threads.

"Streaming high definition to eight zones, you can imagine why eight threads could make a difference," says Niveus president Tim Cutting.

That's music to Intel's ears.

Niveus, Lifeware Rejoice

The formation of MCIA probably makes no one happier than Niveus and Lifeware, two players that have bet everything on Media Center.

Both companies, which make high-end hardware and software for Media Center, built their entire businesses on the platform, betting early on its widespread adoption. For most of their existence, therefore, both companies have spent inordinate energy promoting the Media Center platform itself, as much as their own products.

"We both have been pioneers," says Lifeware founder and CEO Seale Moorer.

He says that both Lifeware and Niveus have enjoyed "lots of individual relationships" in the Media Center world, but now there "finally is a group representing every one in the ecosystem. There is no longer a bunch of one-way relationships. … It really takes the burden off our backs."

MCIA Objectives: Sharing, Training, Improving the Platform

Indeed, a key MCIA goal is to take a more systematic approach to communications, rather than relying on each member's redundant one-way communications with each other.

Sharing best practices is paramount.

"Platform awareness is important," says Niveus's Paper, "but training and best practices is critical."

Many of Niveus's dealers are well seasoned, but others rely on the manufacturer for general information related to a Media Center ecosystem. "They'll look to use to explain how best to set up a network," he says.

And then there's CableCard installation, which consumes perhaps the majority of Niveus's tech-support resources.

Virtually all of the players in the Media Center ecosystem – technology providers, manufacturers and integrators – have built up a wealth of knowledge in this department, but for the most part it's locked up in their own databases.