We Got Served

Hi All,

My name is James Quintin and I’ll be a new writer for We Got Served. My day job is as an editor for film and TV, mostly working on commercials (I know all of you will have seen at least one of my ads) so video, music and photos are my ‘thing’. I’ve been using Vista Media Center for the past year or so as my main source of TV viewing, first with Freeview and now with Satellite. I absolutely love it!!

I’m very enthusiastic about both Media Center and Windows Home server, with both what they can do now and in the future. I’m always trying to get people into using both products and I’m always doing research on new plug-ins and software that will make my digital life easy. If I can get the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) then anything is possible. Being based in the UK, I’ll hopefully be bringing a British perspective to Media Center, ranging from how we connect our Freeview/Satellite feeds, help with guide issues and anything in between. There is quite a big difference between how the US use Media Center and the watered down version we get here…

I’m hoping that by writing for We Got Served, I can help people get switched onto both products and give any advice I can. I’ve been a ‘lurker’ on WGS for a while now, so it’s time to give something back. I’ve got a few articles up in my brain which I’ll be putting on virtual paper in the coming weeks. I’ve been planning a new Media Center build for a while now so I’ll be doing a photo build and fresh setup guide for that, and I’ll be doing a review of all the online players for the big TV channels over here in the UK (iPlayer, 4OD etc) and how to integrate them within Media Center. I also plan on having an extender in the kitchen so I can watch TV while I cook and find recipes etc, and another in the bedroom. I also have a young daughter so the parental controls in these products will also start to have an impact on how things work.

Before I finish I’ll give a quick rundown of my setup. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I’ve finished decorating my lounge…

Media Center PC – P4 3.2 GHz with Hauppauge Nova-S HD Satellite card & Windows Ultimate

This is my main PC for everyday use

Xbox 360 Elite – connected to Sharp 42” 1080p LCD

What can I say fantastic piece of kit! Used as Media Center Extender for my TV viewing.

HP MediaSmart Server - I think everyone here knows about this… Again fantastic.

So that’s me. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions/advice/tips about Media Center.