Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate all include the media centre interface, letting you turn your PC into a fully-fledged personal video recorder and media player. All you need to get started is a TV tuner (USB or internal) and a $50 remote control and USB infrared receiver. If the computer is going to live next to your television, you'll probably want to go the whole hog and buy or build a lounge room friendly Home Theatre PC which has plenty of AV outputs, is whisper quiet and looks like an AV device rather than a PC.
What's new in Windows 7?
Windows 7 's media centre interface includes all of the features that were included with TV Pack 2008 update for Vista's media centre interface. Admittedly the TV Pack 2008 didn't offer much for Australian users, but it did introduce the MHEG-5 technology on which Freeview Australia plans to build its advanced Electronic Program Guide. Of course the fact media centre offers ad-skipping means it won't get Freeview's blessing.
Vista Media Centre vs TiVo
TV Pack 2008 added some polish to the media centre interface, and Windows 7 builds on this, but Australian Vista users would certainly be hoping that Windows 7 delivers stability.
At the moment it's very difficult to recommend Vista media centre to someone looking for an entertainment device that "just works". They'd be much better off spending their money on a TiVo, which lacks lots of features but is rock solid in terms of reliability.
Windows 7 and "PlayTo"
When it comes to new functionality, the most exciting thing about Windows 7 is PlayTo - designed to easily stream content to other devices around your house.
It's already possible to do such things with Vista using Windows Media Player 11 and DLNA - an industry standard for streaming content which can been built into all kinds of gear from DVD players, network storage devices and games consoles to digital photo frames and widescreen televisions. Streaming media on Vista can still be hit and miss and Microsoft hopes to simplify using DLNA using PlayTo.
Offloading networking voodoo
In theory, using PlayTo should be as easy as clicking on a file and choosing which device you want to watch it on. All the the networking voodoo should take care of itself in the background.
Of course whether PlayTo is any good depends not just on reliability but format compatibility and DRM restrictions. If Microsoft makes it too hard, people just won't bother - especially considering there are a number of other streaming video platforms emerging that are becoming more user-friendly.
Windows 7 might be Microsoft's last chance to bring streaming media to the masses before it's usurped by other devices and services.
Also in this series, Picking the Perfect Home Entertainment Box:
Part 8: forget scratched DVDs, build a video jukebox instead
Part 7: Is Foxtel Download worth getting excited about?
Part 6: Is interference destroying your digital lounge room?
Part 5: Do you need a Freeview sticker?
Part 4: What's the best way to record your favourite shows?
Part 3: Networking your TV, PVR, console, set top box
Part 2: Creating a P2P season pass
Part 1: Internet video on the PS3
Buying a TV? Also see our series How to Pick a Great Flat Screen TV, And Not Get Sucked In By Marketing Hype