Dell Media Experience Software

"The Dell Media Experience offers a simple UI that is roughly comparable to XP Media Center in terms of music, photos, videos, and DVD," George said. "It's been dialed one step down. But it's a great entry vehicle for people without a lot of experience managing digital media." Looking at the Dell Media Experience for the first time, we were stuck by how much the software resembles XP MCE. After using it a bit, however, it's clear that the Dell Media Experience isn't as clean, finely-tuned, or technically advanced as XP MCE, and it's more similar to the old version of XP MCE than it is to XP MCE 2004 from a performance standpoint. Still, you can't beat the price, which is free. Or, for $30, you can order a Cyberlink remote control and USB-based infra-red (IR) interface, which installs on XP without the need for any drivers (photo). In fact, it was Cyberlink that created the underlying Dell Media Experience software; Dell created the look and feel of the software, or the UI, in-house, George told me. The engine that drives the Dell Media Experience, likewise, is Cyberlink technology, not Windows Media 9 Series.