Windows Media Center is one of the core features in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions, and it has received a steady stream of enhancements and bug fixes since Windows Vista first shipped. Now, there are two more updates you need, especially if you use an Xbox 360 or other Media Center Extender.

KB950124

The first update, KB950124, improves the way that Media Center Extenders work with newer TV set-top boxes. If you don't download updates automatically with Windows Update, or if you prefer to save updates so that you can incorporate them into a custom installation source using vLite, you can download the version for 32-bit Vista or 64-bit Vista manually.

KB950125

The second update, KB950125, solves a trio of problems some users running xBox 360 consoles as Media Center Extenders may encounter. From the knowledge base article:

• This update addresses a picture quality issue that occurs when you use Media Center Extender on an Xbox 360 console that has a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector to the TV for video and a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) connection to the audio device for audio.

• This update addresses an issue in which the Media Center Extender stops responding (hangs) when you play a large non-WMV video over an HTTP session.

• This update provides support for 50Hz output together with better quality for HD models. This feature applies primarily to regions that use the PAL video standard.

As with KB950124, Windows Update delivers this update automatically, but you can also download the version for 32-bit or 64-bit Vista manually.