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Microsoft plans to introduce several new consumer products on October 12 at an event in Los Angeles. The announcements are expected to include an update to Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 and the first devices using Media Center Extender technology.

The Redmond, Washington, software maker has hosted events in September or October for the past two years to introduce new Media Center products for the December shopping season. In 2002, Microsoft announced the first version of Windows XP Media Center Edition, followed by an update, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, last year.

This year's event at The Shrine Auditorium and Expo Center in Los Angeles will include a presentation by Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates. Several Microsoft partners, including hardware makers Hewlett-Packard and Gateway, are expected to attend.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirms that the company has scheduled an event for October 12 to talk about consumer products and that the current plan is for Gates to speak. He declines further comment.

Entertainment-Oriented OS

Windows XP Media Center Edition is a superset of the Windows XP operating system, designed to make the PC the media and entertainment hub for the home. The PCs come with a remote control and a TV tuner card. Users can watch DVDs; manage digital audio, video, and picture files; and play, pause, and record live television, in addition to using the PC for traditional tasks.

An update to Windows XP Media Center Edition has been in the works for a while. The product, code-named Symphony, has been in beta testing since early this year. The end-product is expected to be called Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

The update includes a host of new features, including support for more portable media players, DVD burning, high-definition television, and an improved user interface. A key new feature is support for wireless technology and in particular Media Center Extender, a new technology that lets users wirelessly connect TVs to the Media Center PC.

Media Center Extender was first announced by Gates at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Microsoft at that time said hardware makers including Dell, Gateway, HP, and Samsung Electronics would deliver products incorporating the technology by the end of 2004.

Media Center Extender technology will be offered in set-top boxes as well as in new TVs, Microsoft has said. At CES, Gates demonstrated one HP flat-screen TV with the extender built in. The technology supports 802.11a and 802.11g for wireless transmission of data from the Media Center PC to the Media Center Extender device.

Microsoft has gradually expanded the Media Center product as well as the geographic market it is sold in. Initially, Windows XP Media Center Edition desktops were only sold in the U.S., Canada, and South Korea by HP. The product has since expanded to laptops and many more manufacturers and countries.