Vista Enterprise v. Ultimate

[roguerower]

I picked up an old tv tuner card and I'm wondering if the upgrade from Enterprise to Ultimate worth it. From my understanding, they're the same OS but Ultimate has media center and some other user friendly things. Worth it?

 

[ultimahwhat]

1. How good is the software that comes with your tv tuner?

2. How cheaply could you get a copy of Ultimate?

I like using Vista Media Center for my TV and DVR needs. It works well and does what I want it to. It is a lot better than the software that came with my Hauppauge tuner, and because I got it free from college (even after graduating, somehow), it was a no brainer. I would think a lot of schools have campus agreements with MS where you could get a free license for certain OSes. Also, there are some free DVR software suites out there (MythTV, I think?). If you can't get Ultimate for free, I would check out some other options first to see if they suit your needs.

Alternatively, you could download Windows 7 beta which comes with media center that has (in my experience) improved tv tuner functionality. It's free and will work until at least August. Maybe Vista will be free by then, who knows?

 

[roguerower]

The tv tuner is a hauppage, but it has been discontinued. Link to software: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/...t/support_pci_878.html

I can get vista ultimate for 5 bucks.

 

[ultimahwhat]

Originally posted by: roguerower
I can get vista ultimate for 5 bucks.

Nice! Hook me up...

Well, for $5 it may just well be worth it. But like I said earlier, think about Windows 7. It's free, and you'd have to install a new OS anyway if you decided to go with Ultimate. (I like Vista, but I really like Windows 7). Besides, I seem to be able to pick up an extra channel or two in Windows 7 MC that I wasn't able to get in VMC. If you go with Windows 7 and like the Media Center interface, just grab a $5 Ultimate license before your beta expires.