Upon initial startup of MCE, an installation wizard guides users through the configuration process step-by-step. You can even use the MCE remote control to drive the setup and configuration process. In an early step in the process, the Internet connection...

• -Windows In The Living Room: Part 1
• -Digging Into The Details Of Media Center Edition 2005
• -TV Playback And Recording
• -Ready For Prime-Time: Media Center Edition 2005 PCs

Media Center Remote IR receiver unit. Alas, this is not bundled with the retail versions of the keyboard itself, but is included with the Microsoft MCE Remote, which is bundled with many MCE pre-fab systems, or available online for around $35. That extra remote...

get a bit more difficult and for MCE remotes, things get even more interesting. All MCE remotes listed here are directly supported with GB-PVR except for the Hauppauge MCE. Additional customization or just getting a remote to work that's not on this list can...

if you use headphones or route the sound into a home theater setup, as we did. The Sony MCE remote features a button layout that's virtually identical to the Microsoft MCE remote, but which also eschews that unit's curves and ergonomics for a "yet another boxy...

• -Using The DV8299X

this system. For that reason we also dropped the PC Alchemy MCE bundle and opted to buy MCE 2005 by itself (OEM version) and bought the MCE wireless keyboard/MCE remote bundle instead. The full complement of gear is described in the following table; it came...