Ed Bott's Media Central

I’ve pointed to this resource before, but some recent updates to the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Partner Directory are worth noting. Sometime in the past few months, Microsoft redesigned this page. It now consists of an alphabetical list of “companies worldwide [that] create products for Windows XP Media Center Edition … hardware component manufacturers, software developers, solution providers, community Web sites, and other companies that create Media Center-compatible applications and services.”

All well and good, but there are two key elements missing:

1. A searchable list of MCE-compatible components, organized by category. If I want to upgrade my TV tuner card or DVD decoder, I shouldn’t have to scroll through this long list and try to guess which product is which.
2. Direct links to Media Center-related pages at the Web sites of companies in the directory. In this edition, the links go to the company’s home page, where you have to dig to find Media Center-specific information.

And as much as I agree with the sentiment of listing community Web sites, there is no way that these sites should be included in an alphabetical list of hardware manufacturers, Nor should individual system builders from Italy, Taiwan, Switzerland, and so on be included in the list. System builders and community Web sites deserve their own headings, separate from the hardware compatibility list.

In fact, this whole list is pretty poorly done. ATI makes a bunch of Media Center components, but it’s not listed at all. And it’s nice to indicate (with a red checkmark) that a product is Designed for Media Center Edition (dfMCE), But if this list is accurate, there are only eight dfMCE products. That can’t be true.

Who’s in charge of this page? What are they possibly thinking?

Update: Microsoft maintains a comprehensive, well-organized list of products that are compatible with Windows XP at its Windows Marketplace site. It’s even organized by category. This page, for instance, lists TV tuner cards. Why isn’t there a category here for Media Center-compatible systems, software, and components?