Windows MCE 2005 Power Compress Plugin

Power Compress is yet another plugin for MCE 2005 that will let you transcode a program from the native DVR-MS format down to a much more storage-friendly file.

Although there are several free alternatives out there (this one will cost you $20), Power Compress one looks pretty slick, with a nice MCE-centric interface and the ability to automatically schedule compression to run in the background.

Power Compressâ„¢ is the Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) plug-in everyone has been waiting for! Power Compressâ„¢ makes it easy for you to convert your recorded TV shows from DVR-MS to Windows Media format. All your recorded video files can now be converted into a format that is up to 10 times smaller than the regular MCE format! More space on your hard-drive means more movies, more music, more sports, more TV shows and just flat-out: more FUN!!!

Well, we’re all about more fun here… I’d have even more fun if it put it in a little more open format than Windows Media, though — I’m still waiting for something like this that does formats I can view on non-MS players. I’m tempted to try it anyway, but for $20 and no try-before-you-buy, I’m likely to end up waiting until some of the reviews are in.

(via Chris Lanier)