I have been looking for a way to prioritize my tuners in Vista Media Center. Why do I want dictate which tuner is used as the default? Mainly to avoid digital rights management. I currently use the HDHomerun as a QAM tuner to receive unencrypted HD channels on my computer. This tuner allows me to record HD channels with digital rights management.

I ultimately want to get a digital cable tuner (I mean buy a new machine that supports DCTs). Ideally, I want to incorporate the HDHomerun into that system. Digital cable tuners incorporate copy protection into anything they record. The HDHomerun does not. I want the HDHomerun to be the default tuner.

Luckily, there is a small application that sets priorities for you: Media Center Tuner Priority. This app basically shows you a list of your tuners and you set which one should be used first.

Earlier I mentioned LastFMCE, an outdated plugin for Windows Media Center 2005 that allowed for Last.fm streaming via your WMC box. I pleaded for someone to please port this to Vista Media Center, and now, like an answer to my prayers, Damian Meher has done just that!

He created a new plugin for Vista Media Center, MceFM, which lets you stream music from the Last.fm online radio service through your Windows Media Center PC. To use MceFM, you type in the name of a song or artist, and like on Last.fm itself, similar songs to your entry will begin to play.

The plugin can also play similar tracks to songs already on your PC in your music library – just locate a track in your library, click on “More” and you’ll be able to search Last.fm for similar music.

While listening to the Last.fm stream, artist and track information will display, but you can also let the service run in the background so you can do other things in Media Center while still listening to your tunes.

You will need a Last.fm user account to use this plugin, so sign up for one first from the Last.fm site.

Microsoft has announced details on the new Xbox 360 Arcade, the replacement to the initial Xbox 360 Core. The Arcade will retail for $279.99, which will be cheaper than the announced price of several stand alone media center extenders. It makes you wonder how media center extenders are going to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Microsoft has positioned the Xbox 360 as a media center extender for Vista. This means you can control your Vista PC through your Xbox 360, accessing your content wherever there is a 360. The Arcade has no hard drive, but that does not impact its functions as an extender. Most importantly, it still has a a HDMI port.

If you are looking to pair a 360 with your Vista Media Center, look no further than the Arcade.

One advantage that Media Center PCs have over their Tivo and DVR brethren is the ability to remove commercials from television recordings. Lifextender is the latest plugin for Vista Media Center that does just that, automatically remove commercials. From Lifextender’s website:

Lifextender is pretty simple. It scans the directory that Media Center records TV to every X minutes for new TV shows. All new TV shows are queued up to be analyzed and scanned for annoying commercials. After a show has been analyzed, a new file is created from the original with commercials cut out, around 3/4 the original size. The original show is then replaced by the new, commercial-free show. Rinse and repeat.

Lifeextender is a great example of the power of plugins for Vista Media Center. Almost any feature you want can be added to media center through free plugins developed by the Vista Media Center Community. Tivo will never have the ability to remove commercials. Too much legal pressure. The plugin architecture for Vista allows any would-be programmer to add that feature for teh community of media center users.

Via Chris Lanier