We've been following the High Definition Audio Video Network Alliance for over a year now and at this year's CES the group is announcing it has added 18 new companies, most notably Cablevision joining as a board member. The promise of easily connected HD devices from companies like JVC, Mitsubishi and Samsung is enticing but the fact is that none of those companies announced plans for the technology in their new product lineups. CE Pro sat in on a reception last night and did see connectivity demonstrations on various devices, including a HANA-enabled Samsung HDTV. Progress takes time so for now check out a list of HANA's 17 other new members after the break and dream of a day when your HDTV, AV system, set-top box, DVR and PMPs can join hands as sisters and brothers throughout the house with no new wiring or extensive setup necessary.

Read - Cablevision Joins High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) Board
Read - HANA Scores with Multiple Vendors Showing Interoperability over 1394

While we all sit patiently waiting for Windows Media Center CableCARD support I started to wonder. FireWire has been available on Cable boxes for almost 2 years but we still can't stream HD to our Xbox 360 since most of the channels are protected with 5C. This of course also prevents us from enjoying the content in HD on our HTPCs because of the lack of 5C support. Some people say that 5C will never be supported by PCs, but the original 5C presentation actually has a picture of a PC connected to the 1394 network. So all of this this lead me to the question:  why hasn't Microsoft added 5C support to Windows Media Center Edition?

Is it simply because CableCARD is a better solution, so why bother? Wouldn't it be cool if WMCE could participate in a HAVi or HANA network, turning other HANA TVs into Media Center connectors? Or support backing up to DVHS? Maybe they have tried but were turned down. Either way, I think it would be a great option, especially considering it wouldn't require a special capture card in the computer, just a 5C supported 1394 port.