Recently in Media Center PC Category

"What type of file format does Windows Media Center use to record television?"

Windows Media Center uses the DVR-MS file format, which is an ASF container with MPEG-2 video and AC-3 audio packaged in a slightly non-standard way. ASF is the same container format used for Microsoft's WMV video files, with the difference being that WMV typically uses WMV video and WMA audio. The files aren't recognized by many other media players and video conversion software frequently fails to convert the files to new formats because it's unrecognized.

For the most part PC video playback either works or it doesn't. Every once in awhile, software makers add a few features that make it worth upgrading to the latest version. PowerDVD 9 from Cyberlink is one of these occasions. If you've been having trouble playing back Blu-ray or AVCHD movies on your system, consider PowerDVD 9 Ultra and Deluxe a dramatic improvement. The software is getting better at rendering complex high definition video on less powerful hardware, providing a better experience for HD video. This doesn't mean your PC from 2001 will suddenly be able to play HD with ease, but PowerDVD seems less reliant on optimal hardware specs with this version. HD playback isn't the only reason you may want to think about an upgrade.

"What is the format used by Windows Media Center recorded TV? The program is saved in the all users TV recorded folder & plays back OK on the Dell computer. I'm having problems converting to a compatible format such as AVI or WMV using the AVS 6.0. Mainly a lot of pixilating when playing the DVD on our Nakamichi DVD-15 1995 vintage player. I convert using To DVD & Profile NTSC High Quality. I burn using ImgBurn or Roxio."

The format Windows Media Center uses for recording is DVR-MS, which is MPEG-2 video in a Microsoft proprietary file wrapper. If you have Media Center 2005 or newer, the easiest way to burn it to DVD (without all the extra conversion steps you cite), is to use the built-in DVD burning tool. For older versions of Windows Media Center, the best solution is MyDVD, which is bundled as part of most newer versions of Roxio Creator.

"I have read your guide on how to use an HDTV as a computer monitor and found it to be very informative. There is however one detail I am unsure of. This is Sound. If I were to plug my PC video card to my HDTV via a DVI/HDMI cable I would get pure digital visual but no audio correct? But if I were to plug it in via HDMI/HDMI from video card to HDTV would I get audio? Or do i have to buy a sound card with HDMI out to get surround sound?"

There are a several different ways to get audio passed from your PC to your HDTV. Depending on what hardware you have available, you may be limited to stereo audio, with a few cases where you can also get surround sound.

Stereo audio from PC

Stereo audio is going to be the most common scenario, because there still aren't many source video files you'll find online with multi-channel audio. Many HDTVs include one HDMI connection that also has stereo audio in via RCA connections, which would simply require a mini-plug out of your computer to the RCA connections on the TV, in addition to the cable for video.

Surround sound audio from PC to HDTV

If you have an HDMI video card that also includes audio support, you would get audio passed to the HD screen similar to what's available from any other video device. This is considerably more expensive than merely working with what's already in your system, but gives you something closer to a "real" home theater experience.

In most other cases, you'd need to pass audio from your PC to a home theater receiver with support for surround sound, while passing the video separately from the video card. You can find home theater receivers for under $200 that will give you acceptable surround sound specifically for this purpose, which is still cheaper than overhauling your computer to support audio over HDMI.

The home theater PC market has been rather dull for several years. Sure you can get a sound card with 7.1 surround sound, but they've generally been noisier than I'd want in my own home theater. You can purchase video cards that output to an HDTV and support HDCP, but the experience hasn't been on par with using home theater components. At Computex 2008, AMD is showing off a couple of new boards from MSI that change the game in important fundamental ways.

First up AMD's 780 chipset supports Blu-ray and other HD video playback through integrated video on the motherboard. Nobody else can currently do this - Intel drops frames. Couple this with the MSI boards integrated component and HDMI out and you've got ease of use in getting the video portion of your PC signal easily to your television, without the nonsense of converting DVI to HDMI. You can of course still add a separate video card, but for normal home theater use it would not be necessary.

The second key thing MSI and AMD have done is create something that grows with your audio needs. 2.1 surround (pre-amp) is included on the sound card with either analog outputs or digital. You can grow that to either 5.1 or 7.1 using an add-on card that easily extends your audio channels (That's the board in the front of the picture). The board seated on the motherboard provides amplified 5.1 surround. Audio uses a D2Audio chip on the motherboard to prevent extraneous noise.

A final component of this system is an ultra-quiet cooling system (pictured below). You're more likely to hear noise from your Blu-ray drive than you are from the fans keeping this entire thing cool. Best of all, I have it on good authority from a source at MSI that all this will be on the market by June 15, 2008 and you should be able to build a system (minus Blu-ray player) for under $1000.

How can I connect my PC to my HDTV? I know it's possible to connect my PC to an HD screen, but I'm not sure what hardware I need to do to make it work.

I've covered a couple of variations on this in the past, talking about using an HDTV as a PC monitor and which connection you need to go from a PC to HDTV, but this time, I'm including a video to walk through the process. For most HDTV screens purchased in the last 2-3 years, you need to make a connection from a DVI out on your PC to an HDMI in on your HDTV. If you currently use onboard video on your PC (as in you didn't buy the more expensive video card option when you bought the computer) there's a strong possibility that you'll need a new video card. For cabling, choose between either a cable with DVI on one end and HDMI on the other, or an HDMI cable coupled with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter. Either way, read this article on how to not overpay for HDMI cables.

"I have Windows XP and don't want to buy a new operating system to get Media Center functionality. What are the best alternatives to Windows Media Center Edition that I can install on my existing operating system?"

Adding the ability to record television on your computer, browse photos and videos from the comfort of your couch, and quickly integrate your digital music library with your home theater is one of the more useful advances in computing over the last several years. I personally prefer Windows Media Center Edition for all my PC home theater integration, because it integrates with my Xbox 360 (which means I don't need a PC in my living room) and because it is the most elegant solution on the market. I can certainly understand not wanting to spend additional money on a new operating system just to add Media Center-like functionality to an existing computer. I continue to recommend two alternatives to Windows Media Center Edition as the best options for integrating with Windows.

Beyond TV

SnapStream Beyond TV was one of the first home theater PC products on the market and it remains one of the best solutions for people who don't have Windows Media Center Edition. One of the things I don't like about Beyond TV is all the extra stuff you have to buy to get feature parity with Windows Media Center Edition. For instance, if you want to manage photos and music, you need Beyond Media in addition to Beyond TV. Some of the core features include:
Commercial Skipping with 30-second fast forward of recorded shows and live television. This also comes in handy for skipping the open title sequence on shows or anything else you'd rather miss.
Scheduled recording of shows and entire seasons of programming.
Fast-forward and Rewind You can fast forward or rewind if you're interrupted by a phone call or the kids while watching your favorite show.
Burn Shows to DVD with an add-on that integrates DVD burning directly in Beyond TV.
Smarter Searching for shows you want to watch by title or keyword through all available guide data.
Record Over-the-air HD using an HDTV tuner card and antenna to get local HD content.
Take TV with you Anywere by copying files to your favorite portable device or by using the free Orb software to access recorded shows from any Windows device with an Internet connection. This feature combines Slingbox-style place shifting of video with the Tivo to go concept of taking recorded video files with you.
Multiple Tuner Support allows you to watch and record more than one show at a time. Windows Media Center only supports this functionality in the Vista version.
Schedule Recordings Remotely when you're not in front of your PVR computer. Beyond TV includes a Web interface for scheduling recordings from any Web browser, including Web-enabled cell phones.

SageTV

SageTV has a number of features that set it apart from Beyond TV. In addition to being a PVR, SageTV includes support for managing music and photos as part of its core package. SageTV also includes parental controls to govern playback of content. Some features of SageTV include:
Commercial Skipping to get back to watching shows quickly.
Fast forward and rewind for repeating content when you're interrupted or skipping ahead when you want to avoid boring parts.
Scheduled recordings of single shows or entire seasons, including a smart scheduling feature that suggests programs you may also like based on your recording habits.
Search customization for searching by favorite actor, category, or keyword.
Media management features including music management, local DVD playback, picture browsing and slideshows, integrated weather reports, and visualizations during music playback.
Over-the-air HD support provides high definition content with a high definition tuner and antenna.
SageTV Placeshifter supports live and recorded television playback from any Mac or PC for an additional $20.
Multiple tuner support for recording and viewing more than one show at a time.

Choosing A Media Center Solution

Beyond TV and SageTV match up very closely in features. While Beyond TV bundles support for playback on other devices (via Orb) as part of its core package, it requires an additional purchase of support for music and photo browsing capabilities. SageTV bundles photos and music and requires a purchase of its Placeshifter app for around the home sharing. Beyond TV does a better job of automating sharing of recorded files to portable devices. Beyond TV includes remote access for scheduling recordings from anywhere. Both apps support multiple television tuners. SageTV includes the Tivo-like feature of automatically recording shows it thinks you might like. SageTV offers a slightly more elegant enterface.

Bottom line here is that both Beyond TV and SageTV do an excellent job scheduling recordings and managing recorded television. Guide browsing in either option is superior to all the cable boxes, with the possible exception of Tivo-powered DirecTV. Beyond these core features, you need to look at both for which extras you think you might want bundled with your $70-80. If you feel like splurging, you can hit feature parity around $99.

One of the things I like most about the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive is portability. I can connect it to my Xbox 360 or I can plug it in to a PC elsewhere in the house. The only tricky part is figuring out all the right pieces to making HD-DVD playback work on your PC. Windows XP doesn't currently support HD-DVD playback without finding a hacked driver for the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive, so if you want HD-DVD playback, moving to Windows Vista is your best option.

The software part of the equation is easy. Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra supports both HD-DVD and Blu-ray playback in the same download. It has the bonus of solving a number of problems related to using the new AVCHD camcorder format.

Tony writes, "I have recorded loads of TV programes on Windows Media Center but when I try to burn them to DVD they don't work. Helpline advised Nero 7, do you have a better solution?"

Nero will burn virtually anything to DVD. They have a great depth of features for burning, but I really dislike their user interface for simple tasks because the application seemingly makes the simple complicated. My preference for burning Windows Media Center Recordings is Roxio MyDVD.

Download TVTonic

I'm constantly on the lookout for new ways to extend my Media Center. jkOnTheRun tipped me off to TVTonic over the weekend. It's by far the best looking interface for adding subscription audio and video content from RSS feeds to Media Center. The interface supports any audio or video format you can play in either Windows Media Player or QuickTime, which covers almost everything. A nice list of pre-populated channel selections is included for browsing, although you need to subscribe to get any of the actual videos. Add your own favorites to the list of channels, or make your own video channel and add it to the collection.

Download DVRMSToolbox

Many solutions attempt to make it easy to manage the video recording from Windows Media Center Edition, but all fall short in some small way. MyTV ToGo could score the best overall app rating if they'd create a watched folders option for outputting converted files automatically. In the meantime, the latest release of DVRMSToolbox gets my vote for best conversion tool, in spite of lacking an option to convert files for iPod or PSP playback. Other features make this forgivable. The key combination is support for converting files to either MPEG-2 or WMV while stripping commercials in the process. You end up with a smaller file and no commercials at the same time, which is a win for Media Center users. The other key feature is background processing and automation, which makes setting up overnight conversions a no-brainer for those of us who want our media ready to go while we are sleeping. Free also has a certain ring to it, although I'd gladly pay for the same feature set in a version of MyTV ToGo, because the interface is well worth the price. [Windows XP $0.00]

With the December 4, 2007 update, Xbox 360 now directly supports streaming DivX AVI movies from your desktop. All you need is Windows Media Player 11 or the Zune software. I personally prefer Windows Media Player 11, because it also supports playing back Amazon Unbox videos on the Xbox 360.

Here's what you need to do to configure your computer to share video, music and photos with your Xbox 360. Make sure your Xbox 360 is turned on and connected to your home network before beginning.

I'm fully in the Windows Media Center camp in the debate over using Tivo vs. using MCE. At the same time, I got my parents a Tivo because I knew they wouldn't want to mess with all the complicated setup in using a media center PC to record and view television. I think everyone could benefit from the media management aspects of a media center PC because watching a slideshow on your television is closer to the old slideshows I grew up with in the living room and whole house access to a common music library just makes sense. Still, Tivo's simplicity is its biggest asset. You don't need to be a geek to enjoy Tivo. Xbox 360 integration take the MCE experience in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.

digital501 offers an interesting comparison of the two home media managers, with the conclusion that the end game is all about money. I think this is where everyone gets confused. Tivo popularity has nothing to do with cost, although there is a perception that $300 for a box and "lifetime" service is cheaper than setting up a media center PC. Tivo, like the iPod, has a certain elegance media center solutions still can't match. Agree? Disagree? Take up the discussion on Digital Media Thoughts.

Mark says, I want to buy a TV tuner card for my home PC. What feature should I be looking for? Will I need to increase the RAM on my system (currently 512 MB)?

If you don't have an immediate need for the tuner, my best advice is to wait until CableCARD tuners start shipping around the end of this year. Current TV Tuner solutions require a convoluted wiring scheme to make using a remote control with the TV tuner and cable guide on the computer feasible because you still need a digital cable box in the mix. The remote functionality is necessary for both changing channels for viewing and using PVR software to record shows. CableCARD integrates the digital cable box function into the TV tuner, making everything work seamlessly. If what you're looking for is an immediate solution for recording shows, you can find a number of reasonably priced options to carry you through the end of the year. Before deciding on a specific TV Tuner, you need to decide how you want to use it.

HDTV Tuning

If you have an HDTV, over-the-air HDTV tuner cards provide the only means of viewing and recording HDTV on your computer. These over-the-air tuners rely on an external antenna to receive HDTV broadcasts, with available programming varying widely depending on where you live. Major metropolitan areas have a wider selection of offerings than small markets.

Standard Definition Tuning

If you aren't planning to watch or record HDTV, there are at least 100 options. Ideally you want to look for tuners that use hardware encoding, which offloads the recording functionality to the TV tuner, keeping the heavy lifting away from your processor. The WinTV 250 and WinTV 350 from Hauppauge are both solid choices for hardware encoding. ATI's TV Wonder Elite provides what I consider the best looking picture in the class.

Software Compatibility

One thing to watch for in choosing a TV tuner card is software compatibility. Most of the cards include some kind of PVR solution, but they are generally inferior to third party solutions. My three favorites at the moment are Beyond TV, SageTV and Windows XP Media Center Edtion. The best guide for finding a card remains the Designed for Media Center Edition list provided by Microsoft. I haven't found a card on that list that isn't also compatible with other apps, although it's still a good idea to scan the list of supported cards for the software you plan on using.

Record Format

Windows Media Center Edition and its competitors all record in MPEG-2 format by default. As I pointed out above, getting a hardware encoding solution with MPEG-2 support is ideal from a computer resource perspective. MCE competitors like Beyond TV and SageTV both support recording in DivX format with compatible tuner cards and SageTV also supports MPEG-4. The files sizes of MPEG-2 recordings are considerably larger than MPEG-4, which is the big downside to opting for MPEG-2 recording options. Plextor makes three cards with MPEG-4 recording capability. Regardless, make sure you have plenty of drive space for recording shows.

Before You Buy

The bottom line in buying a tuner card is to:

• Decide whether you will record Standard Def television, HDTV, or both
• Avoid software encoding
• Pick a card compatible with your software
• Choose a card based on the format you want to record

Gerald writes, "LCD HDTV, and monitor: What inputs would I need make sure the unit would have to run the input from the cable box digital tuner, and an input from the cable internet? Or maybe the correct question or setup would be to put a computer near the monitor and have a Internet connection into the computer, with a connection into the monitor? Costco has some great prices on the Sceptre brand with a 32, 37, and in March a 42 inch available. This way I could have a great system in the family room."

Adding an HDTV as a monitor is a fairly simple process, assuming the video card in your computer already has the correct outputs. It sounds like you want to take things a step further and integrate the PC more completely into your home theater experience. This is a perfect case for a media center application of some kind in addition to the basics of connecting the correct components to your system.

Download SageTV

SageTV provides a clean program guide for easy navigation and scheduling. Of the media center apps I've tested, it performs better at avoiding duplicate recordings than almost any competitor, which is important if you record series. A recommend feature (not unlike the one found on Tivo consoles) supports intelligent recording and scheduling to find shows you might like based on your existing recording preferences. MPEG-2 is the default recording format, but more space efficient MPEG-4 and DivX options are also supported if you use a compatible tuner card. I personally prefer the SageTV search experience to anything currently on the market (although I'm still a Windows Media Center Edition user on a fulltime basis). Scheduling locates recordable programming based on favorite shows, actors and categories through an intuitive process. Over-the-air HD support is standard, with theoretically unlimited tuner support (you'll run out of open ports before SageTV hits a limit. For video playback, both TV output and playback on PCs in your home network are supported using SageTV. Hardware SageTV extenders provide support similar to Windows MCE Extender support. A 15-day free trial is available. [Windows 9x/2k/XP $19.95/$79.95]

Darius Wey over at Pocket PC Thoughts wrote a remote control app for Windows Media Center. Using his plug-in for Media Center, in combination with software running on a Pocket PC, you can control playback of your media remotely. The app supports useful features like text entry where sending IM messages to friends might be cumbersome in using a Media Center remote. PPC Tablet is required for core remote control functionality.

Download Pocket PC Remote for Windows Media Center

So far, the Windows Live Gadget collection is nothing more than a novelty act filled with clocks, astrological updates, and weather data I can get somewhere else. The AJAXY drag-and-drop interface is killer and I like being able to create my own news page, but the functional benefits of existing plugins aren't cool. I want features that enhance my experience, not make it quaint. Microsoft is finally delivering with a new gadget for scheduling Media Center Edition shows, recommending shows based on previous viewing experience and keeping on top of what's coming up from your Windows Live account. The gadget monitors your Media Center recordings making it possible to update your recording schedule anywhere you can get signed in to Windows Live. We got a sneak peak today at Search Champs V4 complete with permission to post a semi-exclusive screenshot of the experience. Presumably this is an extension of the existing MSN TV Remote Record feature. No word on an official ship date for the MCE gadget, but you can bet I'll install it the day it goes live.

Full Size Screenshot

I have several thousand individual songs in the My Music section of Windows Media Center. Since I never associated any of them with track information, they all show up as unknown. I want to delete them from Media Center without deleting them from my hard drive. Media Center won't let me delete more than one at a time. Please tell me there's an easier way.

Not being able to delete more than one track or one album at a time from Media Center can be frustrating. Fortunately, Media Center pulls all it's album information from Windows Media Player, which means you can eliminate the tracks en masse using the Windows Media Player interface and effectively remove them from Media Center as well.

To remove all the tracks, open Windows Media Player and click on the Library tab. In the left hand side of the player window, click on All Music. This displays only your audio tracks.

Select one file in your music library, then use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A to select all music files in your library. Tap the delete key and then leave the option to Delete from library only before clicking OK to remove the files from your music library. All the tracks will also be removed from the music list in Media Center.

Surf the globe from the comfort of your couch by combining Google Maps with the Windows Media Center interface. Colin Savage hacked together a solution combining the Google Maps API and the Windows Media Center SDK to make a map surfable from the 10-foot experience. Up and down buttons on the MCE remote control move you around the globe with the channel buttons zooming in for a close up. Numbers 1, 2, and 3 switch between map view, satellite view and hybrid view respectively. To add Google Map functionality to your own Media Center install, add a shortcut Google Maps in the More Programs section by right-clicking this Media Center Google Maps link and Save Target As to: {system drive}\Documents and Settings\All users\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Media Center\Media Center Programs\

If saved properly, you should see the Google Maps button in your Media Center navigation like the one below. If you have an Xbox 360 as Media Center Extender, you can browse the world from your Xbox too.

You can also navigate the map online here:
http://savage.org.za/GMAPMCE/

Download AV Music Game

One thing that improves both Windows Media Center and the Media Center Extender concept is add-ins that makes Media Center the focal point of entertainment. AV Music Game helps take the geek out of Media Center with a guessing game add-in. The game starts by selecting a playlist or all music in the Media Center music library, requiring contestants to listen to a track and guess the name of the song and artist. After guessing, a Jury feature reveals the answer and the room full of judges determines if respondents answered correctly. A second game option lets you guess artist and album based on seeing a segment of the album art. [Windows XP MCE $0.00]

Chris wants a MCE feature to find and schedule movies in Windows Media Center based on what's either coming up later in the month or what's coming up next on his platinum package of movie channels. While there's no instant messaging solution with a reminder of upcoming movies, scheduling a recording in advance is a snap.

If you want movies playing now or later today step through the screens below to find something you want to watch:

The idea of a Linux media center intrigues me. I'd love to find a combination of free software applications delivering the level of usability I get from the actively developed media center apps like Beyond TV, SageTV and Microsoft's XP MCE. So far, the usability falls down at some point in the process for anyone who's not a hardcore geek. At first glance, this intrigue is what makes Tom Lynema's Ubuntu media center implementation look compelling. Tom walks through the hardware used to create his media center configuration, as well as a number of tricks for configuring hardware drivers. For many usability reasons, I'm sticking with a Windows-based media center implementation for the foreseeable future, but it appears Linux solutions continue to evolve.

Download Designed for Media Center Edition list

Building your own Media Center PC is entirely feasible even if Microsoft isn't clued in on the fact that users shouldn't need a new copy of Windows XP just to run the Media Center code. For about $130, you can pick up an OEM version of XP Media Center Edition from a handful of legitimate retailers. Making sure you have compatible hardware is a little more complicated, because the list of supported TV Tuner cards is smaller than many of the MCE competitors like Beyond TV and SageTV. Fortunately, Microsoft just released the Designed for Media Center Edition approved hardware list, including a recommended list of DVD decoders, graphics cards, TV tuners, remote controls and wireless routers. Microsoft Word is required to read the file and it will prompt for a password, but opens in Read Only mode. [Windows 9x/2k/XP $0.00]

Besides giving away an Xbox 360, I'm also tinkering around with the integration between the Xbox 360 Media Center Extender solution and its integration with the Media Center Edition of Windows XP. Before you tune out because you don't game or because you don't currently have a Media Center, keep in mind this is the future of Windows. When Windows Vista rolls around at the end of this year, one major focus of will be on integrating your whole entertainment experience with your computer. In general, home entertainment means something to do with television. In my estimation, Microsoft comes as close to getting it right this time as is conceivable.

I had some headaches with my home network security, because I have MAC address filtering turned on to only allow specific machine IDs to connect to the network and I have a ridiculously long password for my network. My biggest gripe with the current Xbox setup is having to type in passwords and configuration details using a game controller (yes, you can use a USB keyboard, but that's not a realistic scenario for everyone). After getting the Xbox side of the equation sorted out by adding network connectivity, I went to work on configuring Windows Media Center. Even for someone with limited computing experience, the Media Center config is a piece of cake. You download an app from Microsoft to update Media Center, the app installs, you enter a code to connect to your Xbox and it just works. I walked upstairs after the install and the Media Center guide was on the screen where the Xbox 360 is plugged in.

If you don't game, the $299 base price point for an Xbox looks a little expensive as a solution to connect your PC to your home entertainment center. Hopefully that will drop, but if it doesn't the experience is well worth the price. You can delete channels from the cable guide you don't subscribe to (or eliminate the ones you don't want the kids to watch). You can scroll the guide quickly. You can skip commercials after installing Tweak MCE. Browse your photo library from your television (which is far superior to crowding around the computer screen). You have instant access to every song and video on your computer's hard drive. The television picture on the Xbox even seems better than pushing it out directly to television via a tuner card.

I know a few people have connectivity issues in syncing the Xbox 360 to a Media Center, but overall I'm amazed at the experience. I haven't tested an HD stream on my home network yet. HD is supposed to work with the Windows Vista version of Media Center. The one thing that really gets me is how bad some portions of the games look in standard definition. There are a few sections in the Project Gotham Racing 3 game where shadows make your car practically indistinguishable from the shading onscreen (which is only a problem with in standard definition). Apparently King Kong has a similar issue. Fortunately my experience with watching recorded television and videos proved much better.

What is the location of my videos recorded on Windows Media Center? I can't find them in the My Videos folder.

Microsoft makes the television recordings from Windows Media Center available to any user that logs in to a Windows XP Media Center Edition PC. If the recorded shows were stored in your My Videos folder and your wife logged in with a different account, she wouldn't be able to see any of the recorded shows. While this might be a good thing for some relationships, in general, making the videos available to any potential viewer helps promote things like marital harmony while also allowing individual user accounts to have different access permissions for other features of Windows XP.

The official location of the recorded television in Windows XP Media Center Edition is stored in {system drive}:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Recorded TV

You can also access this folder by clicking the Shared Documents folder in Windows Explorer and clicking on the Recorded TV folder located there.

By downloading Microsoft's free TweakMCE app, you can change the location Media Center uses to store your movies very easily.

The easiest way to change your record directory for Windows XP Media Center Edition is to install the Tweak MCE Power Toy from Microsoft. If Tweak MCE doesn't work with your version Media Center, here's an optional method for changing the record location:

Change the RecordPath value in the Registry to point to the new folder:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording = REG_SZ "{system drive}:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\PSPWare\Dropboxes\Movies"

To make sure your recording list stays up to date in Media Center, edit the Watched Folders key. If the Registry Key does not exist, create it.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media
Center\Service\Recording\WatchedFolders = REG_MULTI_SZ "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Recorded TV {system drive}:\Documents and Settings\{username}\My Documents\PSPWare\Dropboxes\Movies"

Close and restart Windows Media Center for changes to take effect.

For the foreseeable future, DVD will remain an integral part of any home theater experience. At an average price of $20, it doesn't take long to generate a huge investment in DVD media. If you have small children or pets (I've personally witnessed a DVD being dented by dog teeth), putting the original DVDs in the closet while using a backup copy makes more sense, especially considering blank DVD-R media cost less than $1/disk in consumer volume purchase quantities.

In order to perform backups of DVD media, you need software. There are tons of choices, all with minor limitations and quirks. At the moment one of my favorite solutions is
Xilisoft DVD Ripper Platinum. It's an ideal tool for ripping DVDs to your hard drive for playback via your Media Center or for simply making a backup copy of your DVDs to protect the original from scratching.

For parents looking for a way to make movies accessible to their kids, without having the original
damaged, Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate is an affordable solution. Using Xilisoft DVD Ripper, you can configure the movie file to fit on a DVD, minus special features and other things your kids may not care about. The picture quality remains great, Most small children won't recognize the
quality difference between the ripped DVD and the original. Of course you can copy menus, trailers, and special features too.

After you rip the DVDs, you can either keep the files on your computer and play them back from your hard drive, or burn them to DVD. You may need to double-check the documentation on your set-top DVD player to make sure which burned DVD formats it supports before making an
investment in blank DVDs.

You can find a trial version here:

Download Xilisoft DVD Ripper Platinum

Creating a television ready interface for your home theater system would probably take more time than it's worth. Luckily, a ready-made solution exists in the form of myHTPC. Providing a convenient interface to all the media on your hard drive, myHTPC also bundles some cool plug-ins for an experience that makes browsing your computer via the TV a joy. The software is still considered an alpha product by the developers, but I've found it to be very stable.

A configuration wizard quickly steps you through locating the folders where pictures, music, and movies are stored on your computer. On finishing the initial myHTPC configuration, the interface launches, but I recommend further configuration before continuing. The configure application included with myHTPC lets you change the onscreen appearance of the application, define user permissions for each resource, modify weather information settings, and tweak the general display options for sub-menu items.

Not only will myHTPC allow you to browse media on your hard drive, it also launches applications and performs many user definable tasks. This make myHTPC a decent user interface for both multimedia interaction and as a simplified interface for navigating a subset of computer applications, which can be ideal for maintaining control over what small children have access to on the computer.

Movies and music are played through Windows Media Player while maintaining the look and feel of myHTPC, similar to interactions with Windows Media Center Edition. Queues may be created to play entire albums, playlists, or any other combination of tracks. The focus of myHTPC is to simplify all interactions with media on your PC.

To get the full benefit of myHTPC, a computer remote is a must. This allows you to easily browse the menu system, without needing to remain chained to mouse and keyboard. Supported remotes include Irman and the WinLIRC project at Sourceforge, which allows you to use virtually any remote, including the ones that come with your home entertainment system. WinLIRC does require a serial IR port in order to function properly.

One single application motivated me to create my first integrated home theater PC--personal video recording (PVR) technology. The idea of being able to record television to my hard drive for later viewing is outstanding. I already own several computers, so I don't want a standalone solution like TiVo (not to mention, a monthly fee to use the hardware leaves a bad taste in my mouth).

Software options remain somewhat limited in the television recording space. TV tuner ATI and NVIDIA video cards both include proprietary PVR solutions. I haven't tested the solution bundled with NVIDIA chip cards, but the PVR from ATI performs well. The downside to either solution is a proprietary tie in to specific video cards. I already have more than one video card with support for TV input. Spending more money on a new card doesn't make sense.

What do I look for in a PVR?

• The ability to fast forward through commercials.
• Program shifting which records shows for on-demand playback, even when they haven't finished recording.
• Video serving to any available viewing device, including televisions, computers, and PDAs.
• Remote scheduling via a Web interface.
• Compression to reduce space used to store programming.

The ATI and NVIDIA solutions will do all this. TiVo meets my requirements too. Each of those solutions meets my needs at a price I'm not willing to pay. TiVo locks users into a contract and the ATI and NVIDIA solutions both need some interface improvements before I would deem them usable.

The only software solution I strongly recommend for PVR recording is SnapStream Beyond TV 3. Previously known as Personal Video Station, this application offers all the features you could ever want in a PVR, without being tied to a specific hardware device.

Beyond TV 3 allows viewers to skip commercials. Beyond TV 3 timeshifts programs. Scheduling of recording can be performed remotely and can be configured to remember your favorite shows so they are recorded weekly. A very slick interface makes using Beyond TV 3 easier than using a VCR. Video may be served to any networked device or to a television. Compression converts video to save space and make it portable on Pocket PC devices in Windows Media format.

You will need some kind of TV tuner card to make Beyond TV 3 work. SnapStream recommends the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR250 or 350 cards. I personally prefer the ATI cards, because they support live TV streaming, but the Hauppauge cards are an excellent choice. If you have one of the older ATI All-In-Wonder cards, like my Radeon 8500 DV, you can extend the useful life of the card by recording TV with it, while saving money on a newer (not necessarily better for recording TV) card.

Priced at $59 for the download version (or $179 bundled with a Hauppauge card), Beyond TV 3 is cheaper than TiVo, which costs $99 plus $12.95 per month. The ATI and NVIDIA solutions will cost you at least $200 for a card with bundled software.

One caveat to my preference: If you happen to have an early 9x00 All-In-Wonder card, you may find the ATI solution acceptable as a free upgrade from the version of Multimedia Center originally bundled with your video card.

A lesser sound card can occasionally be enhanced with some quality speakers, but the best sound card in the world won't make up for cheap speakers. My own personal configuration routes the sound card output to a traditional home theater amplifier. A blended configuration like mine isn't always convenient, so having good computer speakers is a must. To achieve 5.1 or 7.1 Surround Sound, having the requisite speaker configuration is a must. For listeners on a budget, it's possible to get great sound out of a 2.1 configuration, without breaking the bank.

What does the .1 actually mean anyway?

Without going into the entire history of surround sound configuration, I'll briefly reference the history of perceptual sound. Dolby Laboratories began studying the way human hearing interacted with recorded sound back in the sixties, producing the first noise reduction system for audio tape, drastically improving the playback audio quality. Through further study, Dolby Labs isolated the way human hearing reacts to various audible frequencies and created an algorithm for routing those frequencies to speakers positioned at various points in space designed to reproduce something closer to real world sounds.

At the most basic level, Dolby Digital Surround Sound systems route very low end sounds to a subwoofer positioned below any other speakers in the configuration. Instead of referring to Dolby Digital configurations as three speaker systems(2.1), six speaker systems (5.1) or eight speaker systems (7.1), the standard has been to refer to the main 2, 5, or 7 speakers before the dot, with the subwoofer listed as the .1.

Starting with 4.1, Dolby Digital configurations began placing speakers behind the listener, allowing sound to seemingly approach and then passby the listener from front-to-back or vice versa. As technology has progressed, further gaps in spatial listening were closed, first in 5.1 when an additional center speaker was introduced, with an additional center rear speaker in 6.1 and yet another speaker in 7.1, with a shift to achieve even more precise sound around the listener.

Alternative technologies like DTS and THX are debated as being better at producing some types of sound positioning, but Dolby has remained the standard by which everything in the movie and recording industries is based.

Recommended speaker confurations

Dolby Digital 2.1 Surround Sound

Budget: Creative Labs Inspire 2500 2.1 Computer Speakers
Better:Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System
Best: M-Audio LX4

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Budget: Creative Labs Inspire T5400 5.1 Computer Speakers
Better: Klipsch ProMedia GMX D-5.1 Digital Computer Speakers
Best: M-Audio LX4 with 5.1 Expansion

Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound

Budget: Creative Labs Inspire T7700 7.1 Computer Speakers
Better: GigaWorks S750
Best: 7.1 speaker configurations for PCs are still relatively limited. Expect some great new developments in this area soon.

If your computer is anything less than three years old, the included sound card should meet the minimum requirement of 16-bit audio. Unless you upgraded from the computer manufacturer's default card, you won't have any surround sound support, which is vital to getting an experience approximating traditional component home theater systems.

At the lowend of the sound card upgrade selection, consumer grade hardware will more than suffice for most users. The Audigy MP3+ from Creative Labs features Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and 24-bit audio processing for under $70.

The Turtle Beach Santa Cruz card comes in slightly higher, at around $75, but comes with Turtle Beach digital signal processing (DSP) technology, which off-loads more of the audio processing to the sound card reducing the load on your CPU. The tradeoff is only 18-bit audio, which is above our minimum requirement, but less than the more affordable Audigy MP3+. The Santa Cruz also supports 5.1 Surround Sound.

For just under $100, the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 provides the best of the affordable PCI consumer solutions, with Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound, 24-bit output, and some of the best on board noise shielding available in the consumer space. Assuming I ever purchase another PCI audio card, this would probably be my first choice. This card doesn't support Windows 98, but should work with Me, 2000, and XP.

For better audio performance, an external USB solution may be preferable for several reasons. The USB solution is outside your computer case, so there's less opportunity for noise from other computer components to introduce garbage into your audio signal. Many of the USB solutions offer XLR connections, which further contribute to noise reduction. Another convenience of external audio solutions is accessibility to the connectors. With even a 3-foot USB cable, you can easily position the USB "sound card" closer to all of your connections, and further from your computer case. With a USB solution, there's no more crawling around on the floor, squinting at tiny little connectors, while trying to remember which one of the arrows on the back of the card is referring to input. For under $200, here are two 7.1 ready audio devices, with 24-bit output:

M-Audio delivers here as well, offering a solution geared toward portability. For under $100, Sonica Theater offers 24-bit, Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound output in a device designed to fit in your pocket.

The Sound Blaster Audigy2 NX offers 7.1 Surround Sound and 24-bit DVD-Audio playback for under $130.

There are two different paths to choose when considering video cards for your home theater PC. You can either use two cards, a separate graphics card and a TV tuner card. Or, purchasing a combination TV tuner / graphics card will also work. Most of the home theater software applications recommend using two separate cards, including many of the official Media Center configurations from OEM computer makers.

If your system looks anything like mine did before I started assembling a home theater setup, you probably already have a solid graphics card installed. Anything with at least 32MB of video RAM leaves you prepared for virtually all home theater PC applications. You still need TV tuner capability to perform tasks like recording television, playing TV shows on your computer, and in some cases, playing back video from your computer on your TV. The standalone TV tuner card most recommended by personal video recorder applications (PVR) is the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250. In addition to TV recording and playback, this card is great for converting old VHS tapes to DVD. The card includes a remote and is available for somewhere in the neighborhood of US $129.

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250

The Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 350 and WinTV-PVR USB are also solid alternatives, but be careful of some of the lower-end Hauppauge models, which may produce less desirable results.

Pinnacle PCTV also represents a reasonable standalone solution.

All-in-one solutions introduce some configuration issues with a few software products, but have the advantage of taking up only one PCI slot in your computer. I personally use an ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500DV card in one of my systems. While this isn't the latest card from the All-In-Wonder line, it continues to perform nicely for both video capture and general purpose video applications. The 8500DV includes 64MB of video RAM, offers support for several types of video input and output, and handles TV tuning nicely. One of the newer All-In-Wonder cards will have to suffice, since this particular model has been discontinued. The All-In-Wonder 9600 PRO or 9700 PRO should suffice, without forcing you to bet the farm on a new video card.

All links appearing here go to Amazon because after including shipping at other vendors, the Amazon price was cheaper than several others I checked.

Before we jump into the software components of building a media center PC, having the necessary hardware is a must. Processor speed, graphics card performance, sound card quality, hard drive space, memory, DVD playback, and CD or DVD burning are necessary for building a comprehensive multimedia entertainment system. Having good speakers doesn't hurt either.

Breaking these components down individually:

Processor

To meet the minimum requirements for most of the software I'm including in this media center project, an AMD or Intel processor should be no slower than 733 MHz. It may be possible to squeak by with less, but you won't be very happy with results. Something in the realm of 1.4 GHz (or higher) would be even better. If you purchased your computer in the last 2-3 years, this aspect of your media center is probably covered.

Graphics Card

Without getting into specific card benchmarks, your video card needs the following features to even consider building a home media center: TV Tuner; S-Video or RCA outputs; at least 32MB of video RAM; WDM support. If your current video card is missing any of these components, it's time for an upgrade. If your wallet can sustain the damage, 64, 128, or 256MB of video RAM will make your system happy and speed up many of the video intensive functions of this set up. ATI and NVIDIA release new TV tuner products every year, you don't need the latest and greatest, but something built in the last two years would be advisable.

Sound Card

The most important features for your sound card are a minimum of 16-bit audio support and 5.1 Surround Sound. 24 or 32-bit audio support is recommended for long-term support of digital audio.

Memory

Buy as much memory as you can afford (up to the limit of your motherboard). Memory will speed up things like video rendering and photo editing. You won't really have a happy media center with any thing less than 512MB of RAM. 1-2GB will improve overall performance greatly.

Hard Drive Space

Hard drive space is another area where more is better. Especially if you plan on extensive use of video recording features, space is a valuable commodity. Plan on 60GB for video, 5-10GB for photos, another 10GB for applications, and additional space equivalent to the maximum capacity of your portable media player, add up to a minimum benchmark just under 100GB. Double that capacity if you want to keep all your favorite shows indefinitely.

CD/DVD Playback and Burning

Most computers built in the last three years have DVD drives for playback. Prices for DVD burning have finally reached affordable levels. For archiving TV and movies, a DVD burner is a must. Since the standards are still up in the air, get something that records both +R and -R for maximum compatibility, if you haven't already purchased a drive. For anyone still waiting for the standards to shake out, CD burners still work great and playback isn't a problem if you are outputting the video from your computer to your television.

Speakers

Nothing ruins PC multimedia faster than cheap speakers. If your home theater has great speakers, output your PC audio to your stereo receiver. Otherwise, consider investing in speakers better than the ones shipped with your system.

In upcoming issues, I'll breakdown each of these categories further, recommending several good models in each category. With the holidays coming, your wishlist will be growing.

Microsoft's idea for a computer that acts as the central nervous system for you home theater is a great one. Having a personal video recorder (PVR) to store my favorite television programming for later viewing makes sense. Offering a convenient solution for playing back video and audio from my PC through my home theater makes sense too. On the other hand, buying a new computer specifically designed for this purpose is silly; I've already invested money in most of the components required to make the equivalent of a Media Center PC, why not adapt what I've already got?