Sky Player available for Ireland Media Center users

I just received this press release from Microsoft.  More content is always a good thing.  Nice to see our European Media Center friends getting something this time around.

Full press release after the break.

Internet TV showcased during Windows 7 launch

Man what a bad day to be busy at the 9-5.  This was waiting in my inbox from Microsoft.

Today during the keynote at the Windows 7 launch event in New York, Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice President, Windows Consumer Marketing and Product Management, joined CEO Steve Ballmer on stage to demo key Windows 7 features. As part of that demo Brad shared the news that Windows Media Center in Windows 7 will now include Internet TV featuring content from a variety of providers. Now in addition to live and recorded TV, you can also watch TV from the Internet through Windows Media Center in Windows 7 so you can get the shows you want to watch in one place using one easy-to-use guide.

Below are details about the Internet TV content available today in Windows 7, as well as highlights of the Windows Media Center experience in Windows 7 which is available for free in most versions of the operating system (Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate, Professional and Enterprise).

Internet TV Content Available TODAY in Windows Media Center in Windows 7:

· CBS Audience Network: Featuring a variety of shows from CBS Primetime, Daytime, Extras, and TV Classics, including full-length episodes of current TV shows, CBS Classics TV shows, short clips, and Web originals.

· Full Zune Video Podcast Library: Thousands of hours of entertainment with full TV episodes, webisodes, clips, and videos from providers including ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, CNET TV, Comedy Central, Current TV, The Discovery Channel, Fox, G4 TV, HBO, MSNBC, NBC, Showtime, and Revision 3, along with some of the best user-generated videos on the Web. Some video podcasts are also available in HD.

· MSN and msnbc.com: Clips as well as full length episodes from TV shows such as Arrested Development, news and weather from MSNBC, editor picks and most popular videos, five day weather forecasts, news, video playlists, music videos, movie trailers and more.

· Netflix: The updated Netflix experience available in Windows 7 lets you instantly watch a growing catalogue of thousands of Movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly in Windows Media Center.

Other Windows Media Center Features in Windows 7:

· Watch Live TV on Your Windows 7 PC: By adding an inexpensive TV tuner to a Windows 7 PC, you can use Windows Media Center to watch, pause, and rewind live TV directly on your PC. There is no additional service charge to watch over-the-air channels in standard or high definition. You can also use your PC as a DVR to schedule recordings of TV shows and movies.

· Stream Digital Media from your Home PC: Never miss your favorite shows. With Windows 7 you can now access your Windows Media Center digital media even when you’re not at home by using Remote Streaming.  Simply log in using your Windows Live ID to get your TV shows, movies, music, and pictures streamed to you over the internet – no matter where you are.

· Watch Recorded TV Shows on your Zune or Windows Phone: Watch your Windows Media Center recorded TV on-the-go. Just sync your recorded TV shows with your Zune digital media player or Windows Phone, and watch what you want no matter where you are.

· Access all your Personal Media in One Place: Windows Media Center brings in all digital media stored on the PC – photos, movies, music, and recorded TV shows – into one place. And new with Windows 7 you can use Home Group to access digital media in Windows Media Center from other PCs in your network.

· Digital Cable Enhancements Now Available (announced at CEDIA this September):

· New Digital Cable Advisor tool will soon be available in the “Extras” tab in Windows Media Center, making it possible for you to add a digital cable tuner with CableCARD to your PC by running a test to check whether your PC meets the basic performance requirements.

· Windows Media Center now provides support for switched digital video (SDV).

· Enjoy more portability for your digital cable TV that is marked as “copy freely” using your existing digital cable tuners.