MEEDIO ESSENTIALS IS FRONTEND
SOFTWARE THAT HIGHLY CONFIGURABLE
FOR CUSTOMED FRONTEND OF YOUR
PC-BASED PVR, HOME THEATER PC

Updates to this page, including Ruel's report on the Meedio Essentials frontend software, are forthcoming. So visit here again soon.

This is currently a page of screenshots of Meedio Essentials as taken by Ruel who has been watching a lot of TV. It's been taking a while for Ruel to get around to updating this PVR section of the PC-TV pages, but for now here are a bunch of screenshots to give you an idea as how Ruel has been using the software for quite some time. If you can see how much enjoyment from watching TV that you can get from this type of software, then you can understand why there has been such a great delay in updating these pages.

If you are looking at the other PVR-related pages here at Ruel.Net, then you might be asking yourself: Which software does Ruel like the best? Well, stay tuned and visit this page again as Ruel updates this page.

Also visit this page again for Ruel's report about how he has been using the the Meedio Essentials frontend software for watching television and other entertainment.

FYI, the Meedio Essentials frontend software comes from the same folks who brought you the free myHTPC frontend software. Meedio Essentials is the commercial version of the myHTPC software. The myHTPC software is still available for downloading but it is no longer in development, but, instead, Pablo and his new Meedio company have transferred their efforts to their new Meedio commercial software. Meedio still has a TV component in development and not available yet, but there are third-party user plugins that provide a built-in TV function for Meedio and you can also simply include any TV software that you may have as a menu item in the Meedio menu system.

The Meedio Essentials software is intended to be used with a remote control, but you can use it with a mouse and keyboard. However, if you were to use a remote control, which one do you use? Well, there is the Streamzap remote control, the ATI Remote Wonder, and the Firefly remote control. The Streamzap remote control is an InfraRed (IR) remote control meaning that it is a line-of-sight remote control that you have to directly point at an InfraRed sensor. I don't have a Streamzap remote, but it is apparently highly configurable for various software programs -- meaning when you go from one software program to another then the buttons on the Streamzap remote control are then specifically set up for each software program. The same also for the Firefly remote control which I do have but the Firefly remote is a Radio Frequency (RF) remote control meaning that you don't have to directly point the remote at the sensor for the Firefly and the remote control signals are suppose to go through walls. The ATI Remote Wonder which I did buy in a buy-it-now auction from an EBay vendor is perhaps the sturdier of the three remote controls, but I could not figure out how to configure the ATI Remote Wonder to adapt to different software programs -- so I only had it configure with only one set of commands for the buttons and I only currently use the ATI Remote Wonder with an Apple eMac. However, there is what is called the Girder program which if you go about learning how to use it, then you can use Girder with the ATI Remote Wonder (or with any other remotes) to have the remote adapt to each different software program by having specific commands assigned to buttons on the remote that are specific to each software program.

Ruel learned from using internet set-top boxes that you may want
a wireless keyboard sitting somewhere nearby in addition to a
handheld remote control to manage your PC-TV HTPC system.

In the alternative, if you don't want to use a handheld remote control, you can always use a keyboard and a mouse including a wireless keyboard with a built-in mouse. Particularly, when you include internet functions such as internet browser activities, then you may find having a wireless keyboard to be handy while you are sitting on your couch and typing in a URL on your TV screen. You can have an onscreen online keyboard, but you may find that a real keyboard may be more handy.