TunerFree MCE Version Checker

The biggest feature in the new version of TunerFreeMCE is going to be completley invisible to everyone for a while. It's a check to see if you are using the latest version. The reason that it is going to be invisible is because only the latest version has this check in, so until I release the next version, there won't be anything to notify you about! Installing version 2.1.0 means that every time you open TunerFreeMCE it will check for a new software version, and you can download it, ignore it, or be reminded 1 day later.

Also fixed in this version is an issue where the date of Channel 4 programs was not being picked up any more, and the sorting of programs has been improved. 

TunerFree MCE first year

At the start of a new year, I thought it would be interesting to look back at our progress over the past year.

TunerFree MCE has gone through a number of fantastic milestones. From the first basic release with just BBC support, we have added Channel 4, ITV and Five support, bringing our channel support count to 18 (BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News, BBC Alba, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, Channel 4, More 4, E4, Five, Five US and Fiver). We also have live TV available on 11 of those channels too, meaning that anyone in the UK with a TV licence can watch live digital TV on their PC wherever they are.

We have been through a few UI iterations, starting with a basic list of program episodes that loaded quite slowly. We added offline caching which really sped up the program loading dramatically. With input from a number of our most helpful users we also had fantastic evolution of our UI, with the critically acclaimed V2 making it incredibly easy to use.

The first release supported vanilla 32bit Vista. Since then we added support for TV Pack, 64 bit, and now Windows 7 support has been added too on the same day that the public Windows 7 beta was released by Microsoft.

In terms of popularity, as of the time of starting this article we had 18,633 downloads of the software, and our hosting company, hostgator, never flinched even at the busiest times. I added a link because I really like them, and I get commission if people sign up via the link.

Speaking of commission - I got my first cheque from google for the advertising on the site. The current low value of the pound against the dollar is good for me and makes that worth a whopping £70. Thankfully there have also been a number of people who have very generously donated to me to help me continue development. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for that again - no matter how large or small, each donation has motivated me to continue development.

We do have a wishlist of things to do in future, and it's a never ending task to keep the software working with the never ending changes from the TV companies, so look forward to more releases in 2009. We rely on you,  the user, to point out anything that doesn't work and to suggest new directions, so keep those comments coming to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Thanks for your support

Martin

TunerFree MCE for Windows 7

I have released a beta version of TunerFree MCE for Windows 7. It does have some minor installation issues, but otherwise appears to work OK so far. See here for details.

Update: This version only works for Vista/Windows 7 dual boot machines. I need to wait for a dedicated windows 7 SDK before I can build a version that works on Windows 7 standalone.

Version 2 of TunerFree MCE Released

Version 2.0 of TunerFree MCE has been released. It brings a number of usability enhancements to bring it more in to line with the native components of Vista Media Center. It uses icons for the channel and date search, and adds a completley new search screen. It also navigates backwards with the remote in a more intuative way. More programs can be seen on the screen at any one time, and programs are grouped by episode. Download it now!

BBC One and BBC Two live

Live streams from BBC One and BBC Two are now also available within TunerFree MCE. There is also an update to make the program compatible with new BBC feed formats. Download version 1.9.3 now!