Recently, Microsoft introduced an update to Windows Media Center in Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, designed to help accommodate additional extenders with the two editions of the operating system. Subsequently, the company also announced a range of new devices set up to integrate with Windows Media Center in Vista from Cisco, D-Link, HP and Niveus Media. DigitalLife in New York was the stage where Microsoft and its partners unveiled the new extenders for Windows Media Center, in a move set up to capitalize on one of the main features in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate.

"We are excited to reveal the first series of totally quiet, cool, and sleek-looking Media Center Extender devices, designed to deliver the ultimate entertainment experience to every TV set in your home," said Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president, Entertainment and Devices eHome Division, Microsoft. "These products are the initial third-party devices that can wirelessly connect a TV with a PC, with features including live high-definition TV, PVR, movies, pictures, music and online services."

Hewlett-Packard is offering HP MediaSmart LCD HDTV with embedded extender capabilities. The Niveus Media Extender is a product addressed at high-end home theater enthusiasts bringing to the table Niveus Media Center's 3-D user interface. The DSM-750 MediaLounge HD Media Center Extender from D-Link can connect to a home network via either Ethernet or dual-band draft Wireless-N networking. The Media Center Extender with DVD Player from Linksys/Cisco is a bundle between a -band Wireless-N Extender and a DVD player.

"These new Extenders, available to users of Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate, allow quick access to premium cable and HDTV and support popular video codecs such as DIVX, XVID and WMV. Users will be able to pause a recorded TV show and then resume watching that very same show in a different room", revealed Nick White, Microsoft product manager.