Media Center University

Welcome to Media Center University (MCU). Sponsored and developed by industry leading technology companies, Exceptional Innovation and Microsoft, MCU offers two-days of practical how-to training on the technical and management keys to succeeding with media centers as a core product discipline of your custom electronics integration business. The program runs over the course of two days and is broken into four half-day segments, with registration available for both individual segments and the program as a whole. Courses are taught by leading technologists from the supplier companies with contributions from market leading integrators who have been pioneering with the media center platform. You’ll learn not only from the instructors and panelists but also your peers in the audience, all of whom understand the emerging importance of the media center platform and are working to implement it as a core offering in their product/service mix.

Media Center University Day 1
Media Center 101

Segment One – Tuesday, March 11, 9:00 - 12:00
Optimizing Media Centers for Entertainment & Networking
Not all Media Centers come out of the box optimized for media-centric applications. This session discusses the elements of a Media Center, and how to make it work well in home theater and whole-house applications. It also reviews the traits and capabilities of Media Centers that are preconfigured for application in the custom environment.
How to pick a Media Center: What's the difference?

Audio and video cards
Value-added software
Other features such as cooling, communications ports, etc.

Prepping a Media Center

Stripping out junkware, updating drivers, setting admin privileges, etc.
Recommended configurations and plug-ins

Media Center ecosystem and whole-house applications

Media Center Extenders – features and limitations
Configuring a system for storage and sharing, including customers' own PCs
Optimizing the network for A/V including wireless
Extending the experience: Media Centers vs. Extenders
Other elements of the Media Center ecosystem (printers, portable media devices, etc.)

Audio

Surround sound hook-up options
Media Center features for high-performance audio
Audio cards: what's the difference?

Video

Making the best connections
Media Center features for high-performance video
Video cards: what's the difference?
Video calibration, optimization
Vista-certified monitors
CableCard
Troubleshooting

Digital Rights Management
Killer Demos
Training the customer – demonstrations & stipulations (what they can/can't download; how/where to load/rip content, etc.)

Segment Two – Tuesday, March 11, 1:30 - 4:30
Whole-House Integration of Media Center Systems
Media Centers offer a variety of options for whole-house music and automation. This section addresses the key hardware and software issues for creating and supporting an integrated system.
Home Control

Controlling automation systems through Media Center
Controlling Media Center through automation systems
Available solutions

Multiroom Audio

Selecting the right Media Center for multiroom audio
Connection options
Software solutions

Interfaces and add-ons
Technical case studies of integration scenarios

Media Center University Day 2
Media Center Business Fundamentals & Tech Enthusiast Workshops

Segment Three – Wednesday, March 12, 9:30 - 12:30
Media Center Content, Services & Business Opportunities
With the Media Center category being relatively new, integrators are still testing business models for both high-end and mass-market installations. In this session, attendees will hear from integrators who have figured out successful sales, support and pricing models. Also, learn about online products and services that can benefit your customers, and aid your bottom line.
Content and Services

Online services that add value and sell systems
Overcoming one-way cable using online services
How to incorporate Internet, satellite and AM/FM radio
Where to find HD content
Content aggregation

Integrator Business Models

High-end installations
High-volume installations
How to price a system
Sales and marketing
Post-installation support
Recurring revenue opportunities

Segment Four – Wednesday, March 12, 2:00 - 5:00
Media Center Tech Enthusiast Workshop
Segment Four of Media Center University is the most interactive of all the courses. This session seeks to connect custom integrators of media center systems with tech enthusiasts who’ve been working and living with media center systems for years and have developed hands-on expertise in problem-solving and troubleshooting systems. The first half of the session features presentations from the proprietors and hosts of the popular media center tech forum, The Green Button. They will summarize some of the most important technical solutions discovered on The Green Button over the last couple of years and outline some of the key unanswered technical questions and challenges. Part two mixes Green Button enthusiasts and MCU sponsor representatives and attendees in roundtables to workshop the unanswered challenges and report out there thoughts on likely fixes and paths to finding ultimate solutions. All of the segments proceedings will be captured in a transcript available to attendees and elements of the segment content will also be posted at a new online forum, The Green Button Think Tank on Custom Integration, where additional conversation and work can take place for months to come.