How Media Center Extenders Work

What is a Media Center Extender? Put simply, it's a set top box that connects to any television or audio system anywhere in your house. An Extender also connects to your home network and thus to your main Media Center PC, on which all your audio files are stored. You control the Media Center Extender through its own remote control unit; the interface on the secondary TV is practically identical to the regular Media Center interface, which means you can choose what music you want to listen to via the display on your secondary TV. It's important to note that Media Center Extenders are not PCs. A Media Center Extender does not include a hard disk drive or a CD or DVD drive. An Extender is a network device that connects to your main PC; it doesn't store any data itself. And, for the Media Center Extender to work, it must be connected (over your home network) to a PC running Windows Media Center Edition; it won't work if connected to a PC not running Windows Media Center.

Most Media Center Extenders are small boxes that can sit on top of any TV, or alongside other audio/video components. For example, the Linksys WMCE64AG Dual-Band Wireless A/G Media Center Extender looks like a small DVD player, but without a DVD slot. Its faceplate is rather plain; all the functions are controlled via remote control. Pricing is typically in the $250 range. In addition, if you have a Microsoft Xbox videogame console, you can use it as a Media Center Extender. The original Xbox requires a special Media Center Extender add-on to function as an Extender; the newer Xbox 360 has Media Center Extender functionality built-in. Just use your desktop PC to store your music files; the Xbox connects to the PC via your home network, and plays back your music via the Media Center interface.

By the way, both types of Extenders -- the standard type and the type built-into the Xbox console -- feature some sort of network connection on the back. This might be a wired Ethernet connection, or a wireless WiFi connection. Either type of connection is fine for listening to music stored on your main Media Center PC.

After it's installed, using a Media Center Extender system is a breeze. You use the Media Center interface to select and play back any and all music files stored on you main PC. You can play back individual songs, complete albums, or any of the playlists you've previously recorded. And you don't have to listen to the same music that you're playing on your main PC; the selections you make on the Media Center Extension are independent of whatever you've selected on the Media Center PC.

Michael Miller is a writer and commentator on technology and digital lifestyle topics.