In an attempt to clear up the confusion regarding the recently released Windows Media Center TV Pack, Ben Reed, Product Marketing Manager for Windows Media Center just posted a note on the chat boards on thegreenbutton.com, a popular site for Windows Media Center enthusiasts. Reed's post confirms what many web sites have already been reporting: the TV Pack will be available to OEMs only--meaning you can't get it. Remind you of anything?

According to Reed, "In order to ensure that users get the best experience possible, this update will only be available from OEMs, as they are best positioned to provide the testing and hardware configurations for a great customer experience. This is due to the fact that in some geographies there are specific technical and hardware requirements for the Windows Media Center TV Pack that are best handled by the OEMs. We are working closely with our OEM partners as they finalize their decisions on Windows Media Center TV Pack products."

The TV Pack primarily adds support for a number of new television formats and transmission technologies, like the long-anticipated clear QAM format here in the US, and the long anticipated Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite (DVB-S) and Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) standards in Europe, among others. The pack also swaps the default Media Center file format from .dvrms to .wtv, a file format based around the new ReadyPlay DRM content-restriction scheme. But there's neat stuff in there too, such as the ability to pool TV tuners (so that high-def and regular def versions of a show don't record twice, for example) and to set priorities among them.

Too bad it's unavailable. Unless you browse the comment thread on Engadget.