The computer industry has been trying to sneak its way into the home theater since 2002. That’s when Microsoft first introduced Windows Media Center, a version of the company’s media player with a “10-foot” user interface—large type and simplified menus that could be read and operated easily from couch distance.
Apple followed in 2005 with Front Row, a Jobsian take on the 10-foot UI that was also used in the Apple TV. The computer-as-entertainment-device idea was compelling to technophiles (after all, people were already migrating massive amounts of music to their PCs), but it was a hard idea for most people to swallow back then. Dedicating a powerful, $1000-plus computer solely to TV duty was fine for the super-enthusiast, but computers at the time had few options for video (don’t I already have a DVD player?), plus cable boxes and DVRs were becoming more computer-like anyway, so the computer as video recorder was an awkward fit.
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