The MEDIAssistant™ 200 is the first Media Center PC specifically designed to meet the unique needs of individuals with disabilities. It combines the multimedia features of Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with the simplicity of an easy to use touch screen remote control. In addition, the MEDIAssistant™ 200 can control other equipment in the home, including Audio/Visual equipment like TV’s, VCR’s, Cable and Satellite Boxes and Stereo Receivers; as well as household equipment like lights and fans. The MEDIAssistant™ 200 features a compact horizontal cabinet, which easily fits in any home entertainment center.

The MEDIAssistant™ 200 is a full featured personal computer based on Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 software. It uses easy-to-understand screens to access its media features of watching and recording TV (including pausing Live TV), playing DVDs, viewing digital photographs, listening to CD music and listening to FM radio. The MEDIAssistant™ 200 uses your television as a display so the entire family can share the viewing experience. Because the MEDIAssistant™ 200 is a full-featured Windows® based PC, you can also use the TV to do things like surf the internet and play computer games. The system comes with a Media Center Edition infrared remote control and infrared keyboard for remote operation..

The touch screen remote control is based on a standard Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) which wirelessly ‘talks’ to the computer to tell it what to do. The touch screen remote control combines the functions of multiple remote controls into a single intuitive unit with large ‘soft’ buttons that react to the touch of a finger and don’t require pressure. The remote’s screens change to display the functions appropriate for the feature that you are controlling. No need to decipher what button to press, they are all labeled in plain English.

The MEDIAssistant™ 200 allows you to simply drop a DVD into its tray and give it a slight push thereby turning on the TV, starting the DVD player software and going directly to the proper screen on the remote for controlling the DVD playback. The system can even be programmed to dim the lights when the movie starts! If a phone call comes in, the Caller ID information, if available, is displayed on the remote control’s screen so you can pause the movie or TV show you are watching to take the call. MEDIAssistant™ 200 uses the widely available X-10 technology to control lights, fans and other environmental devices. Each system is customized for each customer’s equipment, including your favorite TV and radio channels and names for your environmental devices (Kitchen Lights, Bedside Lamp, Fan, etc.).

For individuals with higher levels of disability, the MEDIAssistant™ 200V system is now available with a customized version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 8 Professional speech recognition software from ScanSoft® to provide simple voice control of the system. After the system is trained for the user’s voice, it will respond to all of the functions of the remote control by simply speaking the command. You can even use the system to make phone calls hands free! Plus NaturallySpeaking allows you to surf the internet and write emails without touching a keyboard or mouse. The MEDIAssistant™ 200V comes with a separate set of speakers for the telephone functions and a high quality wireless microphone, which is used for both voice control and telephone.