{"id":167,"date":"2009-11-04T09:32:14","date_gmt":"2009-11-04T16:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=167"},"modified":"2009-11-04T09:32:14","modified_gmt":"2009-11-04T16:32:14","slug":"windows-7-review-media-center-a-must-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/windows-7-review-media-center-a-must-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 7 Review: Media Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Part One of a Three Part Series on the Benefits of Windows 7<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0I<\/span><\/strong> recently hosted a Windows 7 house party <\/a>to show the new features and benefits of the Microsoft\u00a0Windows 7<\/a> operating system.\u00a0 As Windows 7 has\u00a0just launched, there is a lot of buzz around it.\u00a0 All new computers are either bundled with Windows 7 or there is a promise to give you a free upgrade.\u00a0 Is Windows 7 just another highly marketed upgrade or is it worth your serious attention?\u00a0 If you’re not buying a new computer, is upgrading to Windows 7 really going to help you much?\u00a0 In a three part series, I will take you through some of the compelling reasons why you should consider Windows 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Media<\/span>This first article will focus on Windows Media Center.\u00a0 The second article will focus on Windows 7 Review: \u00a0Useful Features<\/a>.\u00a0 The last article will conclude with Windows 7 Review: Photos & Videos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most computers with Windows Vista <\/a>or Windows 7 <\/a>operating systems have Media Center on them.\u00a0 Yet, many people have never opened Media Center on their computer.\u00a0 Today is the day you’ll open this great program up, if you haven’t already.\u00a0 Media Center has a wealth of multimedia entertainment just waiting to be used.\u00a0 With Media Center you can access your favorite music, pictures, and videos.\u00a0 In addition, if you have a TV tuner and a coaxial connection from your TV provider, you can record live TV – it is a fully functional\u00a0 DVR.<\/p>\n

Media Center is a powerhouse of media – right at your fingertips.\u00a0 After some initial set-up, Media Center will point to all of your music, photos, and video files.\u00a0 To begin set-up, open Media Center and scroll to Tasks.\u00a0 Then scroll left-right to find Settings.\u00a0 Click on Settings.\u00a0 Media Center will then guide you through the necessary steps to set up your media files.\u00a0 \"TasksMicrosoft Windows 7 has a helpful website to assist you in setting up Windows 7 Media Center on your Windows 7 installed computer:\u00a0Understanding Media Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0Media Center contains five main areas: Pictures & Videos, Music, Sports, Movies, and TV.\u00a0 An overview of each of these areas is given below.<\/p>\n

Pictures & Videos<\/span><\/h2>\n

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\u00a0Media Center is a great tool for showing off your pictures.\u00a0 Upon opening Media Center, click on “Pictures and Videos.”\u00a0\u00a0 You will be impressed by the way Media Center displays all of your pictures.<\/p>\n

It categorizes\u00a0your pictures by date taken, folders, ratings, and tags.\u00a0 Your camera already adds a date to your picture files.\u00a0 Most file uploading software also will place your photos in folders – typically naming them by the date.\u00a0 Ratings and tags can be added by opening Windows Gallery Live, which, by the way, isn’t really “live.”\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Scrolling through your pictures is a lot of fun, it’s a great way to see visually how many pictures you actually have on your computer.\u00a0 The real beauty comes when you choose the Slide Show option.\u00a0 Instantly you’ll get a great slide show featuring the pictures you selected.\u00a0 You can choose to view just one folder or select all pictures and your computer will run through all of them until it finishes or it will continue if you choose loop.\u00a0 I love this Pictures feature –\u00a0I play it when we have friends over and the pictures are just background, but it can really add interest to a party.\u00a0\u00a0Now your pictures aren’t laying dormant in your computer, they’ve been brought back to life.\u00a0 To make your slide shows even more exciting, begin playing some music from the “Music” section of Media Center first.<\/div>\n
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Videos can also be played through Media Center.\u00a0 You can actually watch your home videos with Media Center.\u00a0 I did take the time several years back to upload my old video camera’s videos up to my computer.\u00a0 And now, I have a Sony HD camcorder and have been uploading my videos.\u00a0\u00a0 With Media Center,\u00a0it’s no longer a huge chore to play my videos.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Music<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Similar to Pictures and Videos, once you run Media Center setup on your music, Media Center will find all music on your computer.\u00a0 Upon selecting Music, you will be treated to a visually appealing page such as the one below.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Media Center connects to the Internet and finds any available Album covers for each of your songs.\u00a0 It won’t find every album, but it finds a bunch nonetheless.\u00a0 In Music, you can scroll by album, artists, genre, playlists that you create, etc. Once you select Play, you will be treated to neat visual graphics while the music plays on.\u00a0 So select your favorite albums, create a playlist, and enjoy your favorite tunes.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Sports<\/span><\/h2>\n
Although the Sports section of Media Center is not very graphically appealing, it’s a great place to get the latest scores in any sports league, research upcoming games and game times, or even set up your own Fantasy football team and track each players scores.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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Movies<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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During set-up, Media Center will find any movies you have downloaded or copied from your personal DVD\u00a0 collection.\u00a0 It will then go out to the Internet and find the movie title and artwork to make it easier to view your movie collection.\u00a0\u00a0Windows Media Player is bundled up with Media Center, so the controls are pretty much the same.\u00a0 You can search movies by title, year released, genre, type, dated added, etc.\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0But the fun doesn’t have to stop at your computer.\u00a0\u00a0Read the section below about\u00a0Watching Media Center from the Comfort of Your Couch.\u00a0 This is really where Media Center gets exciting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

TV\"Media<\/span><\/h2>\n

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If your computer has a TV tuner card and you are able to connect your TV signal to your computer, you will be able to watch and record live TV.\u00a0 For help, watch this video on TV Tuner Set-Up with Windows Media Center<\/a>— it\u00a0will walk you through the steps you need to take.\u00a0 This video uses a HP TouchSmart computer – but set-up is similar for any computer or laptop with a TV Tuner.<\/p>\n

After setting up Media Center to recognize the channels your TV carrier receives, Media Center will search the Internet for the latest TV guide for your TV\u00a0carrier.\u00a0 Within minutes you’ll have a complete guide showing all the shows that are playing this week on TV.\u00a0 Your computer is now your new digital video recorder (DVR).\u00a0\u00a0 With a click of the button you can record a single episode or a season full of your favorite show.\u00a0 If\u00a0 you have a particular show or movie but don’t see it listed, you can search for it.\u00a0 If Media Center does not see your searched show in the TV lineup within the new couple of weeks, you can save the search and Media Center will automatically record if for you when it becomes available.\u00a0\u00a0 Any show that you record will reside on your computer, so you can watch it without the need for an Internet connection.\u00a0 This is especially good if you have a laptop and want to take shows on the road with you.\u00a0 Business people and kids alike can appreciate taking their fave TV shows on a personal DVR on a trip.<\/p>\n

Microsoft’s Ben Reed demonstrates the new TV Guide Features in Windows 7 Media Center:
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\u00a0In addition, Medi\"Interneta Center has included a section called Internet TV.\u00a0 Internet TV includes TV found on the Internet.\u00a0 Although there are a lot more shows available than what was initially available when Vista first started, there is still opportunity for more shows.\u00a0 Nonetheless, CBS content, including Big Brother (past seasons), Survivor (current and past seasons), CSI, NCIS, The Amazing Race, Medium, and a bunch of other shows are available.\u00a0 Other channels include MSN, MSNBC, PBS, The CW, etc.\u00a0 You won’t catch all your favorite shows on these channels, so you have to search through them.\u00a0 For example, there are no kids shows available on the PBS channel.\u00a0 But hey, if you loved Melrose Place and 90210, you can see them again on The CW.\u00a0 One night I was searching and I found the old Family Ties shows.\u00a0 I loved that show!\u00a0 Oops, I’m showing my age!<\/p>\n

Watching live TV, recording TV, and watching Internet TV is a lot of fun – but watching TV from your computer is not always the most relaxing.\u00a0 What if you could watch your TV shows, videos, pictures, music, and keep track of your sports teams right from your couch in your family room? Is this possible?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Watching Media Center from the Comfort of\u00a0Your Own Couch<\/span><\/h2>\n

Yes, it is possible to access Media Center from your couch.\u00a0 Microsoft has made it possible to extend Media Center from your computer to any TV in the house – however, you will need some additional equipment and some help setting it up.\u00a0 If you already have a wired or wireless home network enabled and an Xbox 360, you have all you need to get started.\u00a0\u00a0 If you have a wired\/wireless network but no Xbox, and no plans to buy an Xbox, you can buy a Media Center Extender which plugs into your TV and can connect to your wired\/wireless network.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Media Center Extender costs anywhere from $200-$300, depending upon the brand and model.\u00a0 The Xbox 360 costs similarly dependent upon the model.\u00a0 To me, the better cost value is to buy the Xbox 360, that way you have the capability of playing games and watching movies from the console.\u00a0 However, the main drawback is that in order to watch your Media Center media, Xbox needs to be on.\u00a0 Xbox has a fan that needs to run to keep the unit cooled down.\u00a0 It can be noisy and you’ll want to turn it off when not in use.\u00a0 With a Media Center Extender, you can keep it on all the time and it does not make any noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I’ll add that another way around this network business is to put your computer or laptop\u00a0in your family room and attach it directly to the TV.\u00a0 There will be little to no delay in displaying movies and you’ll have all your data at your fingertips – plus you can surf the web and use your TV as a large monitor.\u00a0 Nonetheless, your computer does have a fan, so you will hear the fan running ocassionally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Have an Xbox 360 already and want to learn more?\u00a0 Watch this video from Microsoft’s Ben Reed:
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My SQUEEZE on Windows 7 Media Center<\/span><\/h2>\n

Windows 7 Media Center is a great program.\u00a0 It is a fantastic media toolbox to view\u00a0your pics, music, etc.\u00a0on your computer.\u00a0 The DVR features are great and you don’t have to “rent” this DVR.\u00a0 You can watch your favorite shows in a smaller window while you work on your computer.\u00a0 Or, using the Media Center remote control that came with your Media Center PC, you can kick back in a chair away from the computer to watch TV.<\/p>\n

Now that I’ve told you about all the gems and benefits of using Media Center, I will tell you that I rarely open up Media Center on my computer.\u00a0 I think it’s a fantastic program and it has great user capabilities.\u00a0 Nonetheless, when I’m at the computer, Idon’t watch TV and I use Windows Gallery Live and iTunes to view my pictures and listen to my music.<\/p>\n

So why then am I so gung-ho about Windows 7 Media Center?\u00a0 Because of it’s extension capabiliy.\u00a0 I LOVE the fact that I can access my music, photos, home videos, movies, and recorded TV from my couch in my family room.\u00a0 I do not need to be cramped up in my office chair to see this great content.\u00a0 I can easily show friends our latest pics without having to leave the family room to go to my home office.\u00a0 I can quickly set party mood music using my playlists to play in the background.\u00a0 I can almost effortlessly show my daughter the video footage I took from her soccer game earlier in the day.\u00a0 And I can do all this on my big screen TV.\u00a0 I am doing all this usig my\u00a0wireless network and Xbox 360.\u00a0 Now all of a sudden, my filed away media gains new life.<\/p>\n

Of course, Windows 7 Media Center isn’t perfect using Extenders.\u00a0 One of my biggest pet peeves is the start-up – having to start up Xbox 360 and go through the screens to begin Media Center.\u00a0 In addition, Media Center takes up a lot of your computer’s processing power, so it is best not to have other programs on your computer\u00a0open at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In my next article, I will go over Useful Features of Windows 7<\/a>.\u00a0 The last article in this Windows 7 series will focus on Photos and Videos<\/a>.\u00a0 Be sure to subscribe to WellConnectedMom.com so you won’t miss out on these upcoming articles.<\/p>\n

Lori<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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