Microsoft adds Freeview to Windows Media Center

Microsoft showcasing new Freeview TV pack at IBC
Microsoft showcasing new Freeview TV pack at IBC

With more and more PC manufacturers re-branding their computers as 'media hubs' it was inevitable that your humble PC and Freeview would link up at some point.

It looks like Microsoft and tuner manufacturer Haupage are the first to come up with a solution, in an update to its Windows Media Center TV Pack, which was shipped out with all Windows Vista-based PCs last July.

The new pack, which is being debuted at this year's International Broadcasting Conference (IBC) in Amsterdam, from 12 September, allows users to access Freeview's subscription-free TV channels on their computer, without the need of a Freeview set-top box.

Ability to record

Speaking about the new pack, Ken Plotkin, CEO, of Hauppauge, said: "The expansion in service of Freeview digital terrestrial TV has created consumer demand for more advanced PC-TV solutions.

"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."

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.