At CEDIA EXPO in September, the Media Center Integrator Alliance (MCIA) announced its entrance into the custom install channel in an effort to drive adoption and raise awareness of the Media Center ecosystem. One of the benefits of becoming a MCIA participant-level member is first access to Media Center ecosystem news, tools, best practices, and training. Now, thanks to Microsoft, there’s an additional–and limited time–offer available to custom installation industry members.
Microsoft, being one of the board of director members for the group, has extended to MCIA participant members a private Windows 7 Media Center beta program. Inclusion in this private beta will allow Microsoft to provide an additional level of scrutiny to the particular issues that users from the custom installation channel may experience. The program is an entirely different from the public Windows 7 beta and includes a mechanism to directly log and report bugs into a tracking system that identifies a custom installer user as a MCIA participant with unique needs that a general Windows 7 Media Center customer would not experience.
Because there is a tight deadline to finish Windows 7 and get feedback for the Media Center component of the product, this invitation will only be open through February 6, 2009.
The offer is only open to MCIA members, but anyone can join the group during this time period and get the opportunity as well.
Comprised of some of the industry’s top companies, MCIA was founded to provide both integrators and manufacturers with best practices and training for technologies using Media Center. Through the MCIA, the industry for the first time will enjoy a central point of contact and interaction for all things Media Center.
MCIA members will share best practices, establish standards, and develop education and certification tools that will further the Media Center cause. In the process, MCIA will serve as a central gathering point for the Media Center movement and hopes to attract the interest, acceptance and participation of many more companies. Participating companies will have the opportunity to contribute to a unified industry-based voice within the Media Center ecosystem, while simultaneously benefiting from the best practices, education tools and certification programs established in through the alliance.
Working together, MCIA members will create tools to help integrators successfully design and quickly install robust systems using components and technology within the Media Center ecosystem while profiting from its use in custom solutions.
For information on how to become a member of MCIA and learn about the different membership levels, visit the website at www.mediacenterintegrator.org.
