Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center 2005 is now available on Windows Update!

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As of 8am Pacific Standard Time this morning, Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is now available for download. It is being announced at the Digital Life conference in New York City this morning. This new update rollup will be offered as a recommended update on all computers running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

There is a lot of cool stuff included in Update Rollup 2 (in fact, naming it an "update rollup" doesn't come close to doing this product justice). Here are some of the highlights:

  • Improves the Media Center Extender experience - Media Center will automatically recognize when a Microsoft Xbox 360 is connected to the network. Additionally, Media Center now prompts you to install the software components that Media Center must have to support the Media Center Extender functionality of the Xbox 360
  • Additional tuner support - this update adds support for a 2nd Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) tuner card on U.S. versions of Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; overall, Media Center now supports up to two ATSC tuner cards and two National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) tuner cards
  • DVD changer support - Media Center will now offer gallery and details views for DVDs loaded into several upcoming changer devices (up to 200 disks)
  • Support for DVB-T radio in regions where DVB-T radio is broadcast
  • A configurable optimization option to make sure that your Media Center computer continues to run smoothly
  • A new nonlinear zoom mode for widescreen TVs
  • Improvements to the process of burning DVDs in Media Center
  • Improved reliability - add-ins are now hosted in separate processes so they will not cause the entire Media Center process to crash if something goes wrong
  • Many bug fixes to address issues from previous releases

Update Rollup 2 requires that the .NET Framework 1.1 and 1.1 SP1 be installed. Windows Update will automatically include these packages on computers that need them when you choose to install Update Rollup 2 via WU. One note here - the issue I described here regarding .NET Framework hotfix 886904 will affect Update Rollup 2 if you try to install on a machine that has .NET Framework 1.1 and KB886904 installed but don't yet have 1.1 SP1 installed. If your computer is in this state and you see Update Rollup 2 fail to install via Windows Update, make sure to uninstall KB886904 using Add/Remove Programs and then try to install Update Rollup 2 again.

In addition, there is a small set of additional fixes that we were not able to get ready in time to include in Update Rollup 2 before our final sign-off, but that are now ready for download. After installing Update Rollup 2, you will see an additional update (KB908250) available for download as a recommended update on Windows Update.

I strongly encourage you to install both Update Rollup 2 and KB908250. Let me know if you run into any issues or have any questions as you try to install it and start using it.