10 September 2008

We see this as a critical step to building awareness and setting a standard for great TV experiences on the PC

John Curran, director of the Windows Client Group, Microsoft UK Microsoft, working with UK tuner manufacturer Hauppauge Computer Works, has launched the first Freeview-certified, PC-based TV solution.

With Windows Media Center, available on all PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium, Vista Ultimate and Windows Media Center TV Pack, UK consumers can now access interactive, enhanced TV paired with advanced personal video recorder features.

Freeview support is one of the major Digital Video Broadcasting enhancements of the Windows Media Center TV Pack, an update released to OEMs worldwide on 16 July 2008, with targeted optimisations for TV standards in Europe.

“We are dedicated to improving Windows Media Center for customers worldwide, and this addition of Freeview as a platform and brand will offer a real benefit to our partners and consumers,” said John Curran, director of the Windows Client Group, Microsoft UK. “We see this as a critical step to building awareness and setting a standard for great TV experiences on the PC.”

Windows Media Center with Windows Media Center TV Pack was certified as Freeview-compliant by the Digital TV Group, the industry association for digital TV in the UK. The certification was made in coordination with Hauppauge, which certified its HVR 2200 tuner as part of the same programme. Together, the components offer a complete Freeview TV solution for the PC.

“The expansion in service of Freeview digital terrestrial TV has created consumer demand for more advanced PC-TV solutions,” said Ken Plotkin, CEO of Hauppauge. “Our Freeview-certified dual tuner, WinTV-HVR-2200, provides Windows Media Center with the ability to record one Freeview digital TV programme while it displays another TV programme on the PC screen.”