Five tips for Windows 7's Media Center By Lincoln Spector <http://tinyurl.com/WinSecrets-2010-08-19> (Must be online to view included graphics) Not so long ago, computers were for work and television was for entertainment — not so anymore. Microsoft's Windows Media Center transforms the PC into an easy-to-use, remote control–friendly entertainment center; a few tricks can make the experience even better. PCs become the hub for digital entertainment Often overlooked by Windows users, the Windows Media Center that comes with Windows 7 turns the PC into an attractive entertainment system. It can, with a bit of set-up, play the role of Digital Video Recorder (DVR), stereo system, and digital slide projector. For DVR capabilities, all you need to add is a Windows-compatible TV tuner — either as an internal card or external USB adapter. Older versions of Media Center came with some editions of Windows XP and Vista. But the latest edition is included with most versions of Windows 7, and that's the version you'll want to use. Often abbreviated as MCe, Media Center comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise. As you sit at your computer, MCe provides a pleasing environment for digital entertainment. But plug your PC into your television, and MCe really shines. If you've ever tried to click the Start orb on a 40-inch screen from a couch across the room, you'll appreciate the Media Center's TV-friendly menus. Add a USB MCe-compatible remote control, and you have a mini home-theater system. (With a bit of bargain-hunting, you can buy an MCe-compatible remote for less than $10.) Try the following tips, and you can make your Media Center really … sing! Customize Media Center to launch your way When you launch the Media Center, you get a fancy animated splash screen followed by the program's main menu. But with some command-line parameter changes, you can skip MCe's self-advertisement and go directly to your preferred submenu. Click the Start orb, select All Programs, right-click Windows Media Center, and select Properties. In the Shortcut tab's Target field, you'll find the text string %windir%\ehome\ehshell.exe. Adding parameters to that string will change how the program loads. For instance, to skip the splash screen, add /nostartupanimation, so that the command reads: %windir%\ehome\ehshell.exe /nostartupanimation If you want it to always come up full-screen, add /directmedia:general. You can also have it come up full-screen to a particular library, such as /directmedia:music (see Figure 1), /directmedia:tv, and /directmedia:video. For photos, use /directmedia:pictures. Figure 1. By adding additional parameters (underlined in red), you can have Media Center launch directly to your favorite submenu. For more command-line parameters, see the Hacking Windows 7 Media Center page, "Media Center command-line switches": <http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/05/media-center-command-line-switches.html>. One caveat: The launch parameters don't work if you press the remote control's green Media Center button. They do function if you launch MCe from the Windows Start menu or the Task Bar, or if you put MCe in your Startup folder so that it autoloads when you boot Windows. (This makes a lot of sense if you've dedicated a PC to TV/entertainment activities.) Skip forward and back in custom increments Like any good DVR, Windows Media Center lets you jump forward and back during video playback by pressing buttons on the remote. By default, MCe skips ahead 29 seconds and skips back seven seconds. But what if you'd rather skip ahead 60 seconds and jump back 15? Or skip ahead 20 and jump back 20? You can make that change, but you have to do so by editing the Windows Registry — which always contains some element of risk. To be safe, create a system restore point first: Click the Start orb, right-click Computer, and select Properties. Click System protection in the left-hand panel. Select the Create tab and follow the simple instructions. Now that you're protected, click the Start orb again and type regedit in the Search box. Press the Enter key. Navigating the Registry Editor's left panel as if it were Windows Explorer, go to HKEY_ CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings. Once there, you can change the setting for either the InstantReplayInterval or the SkipAheadInterval key (or both). Double-click the key you want to change. In the resulting dialog box's Base section, select the Decimal option. In the Value data field, enter the time interval in thousands of seconds — in other words, for 7 seconds enter 7000, as shown in Figure 2. The changes will take effect after you close regedit. Figure 2. To change Media Center's skip-forward/skip-back duration, first use "regedit.exe" to change a Windows Registry setting. Scroll TV listings and libraries rapidly Media Center's grid-style Guide lists upcoming TV shows you might want to watch or record. Click your remote's — or your keyboard's — right-arrow button, and the Guide advances half an hour. That's fine if you want to see what's on tonight, but it's slow and annoying if you're searching through tomorrow's or next week's shows. To rapidly jump ahead hours, days, or weeks, hold that same right-arrow button down to make the Guide scroll faster and faster until it becomes just a blur of text. So how do you know when to stop? MCe displays the date and approximate time in large, easy-to-see text as the shows rush by. Let go of the button, and it stops at the date and time last displayed. This works for more than TV listings; you can use the same lightning-fast scrolling to browse songs and albums. Enhance your digital slideshows with music For those special photos such as a wedding or last summer's vacation, adding some complementary music can make your slide shows even more entertaining — or at least help keep your friends awake. First, go to MCe's Music section and select a song, album, or playlist. Next, hit the remote's green Media Center button (or the back button until you're at the main menu), then select Pictures and Video. Select an image tag — if you use them — or a folder, and click play slide show. (For more information on tags, see my Aug. 12 story, "Software organizes your photo collection": paid version <http://windowssecrets.com/2010/08/12/05-Software-organizes-your-photo-collection#>). To add to the atmosphere, the slides will pan and zoom like images in a Ken Burns documentary. If you don't like the default effect, go to Tasks and then Settings. Pick Pictures, then Slide Shows. Uncheck Use pan-and-zoom. You'll find other useful options in Settings/Pictures submenus. For instance, in the Favorite Pictures submenu, you can pick which photos in the selected folder or tag to include in the show. Should you feel especially creative, you can build your custom slide show from scratch. Go back to the main menu and select Pictures + Videos, picture library, then slide shows. Under Actions, select Create Slide Show. Here you'll be able to select and order specific songs and photos, then save them with a slideshow title. Revisit a show without launching MCe first Windows 7 gives Media Center capabilities unavailable in earlier versions of Windows. Win7's handy file-launching features, for example, make it easy to replay your favorite songs, slide shows, videos, or recorded TV shows. With a little preparation, you can even do this when MCe isn't running. Starting with Media Center open, right-click its icon on the Taskbar and select Pin this program to taskbar. Now MCe's icon, and with it the pop-up menu of recent content (see Figure 3), will remain on the Taskbar — even when MCe is closed. Figure 3. You can have quick access to your Media Center content by pinning its icon to the Taskbar. If you don't want to take up space on the taskbar, there's an alternative: right-click the program's Start menu shortcut and select Pin to Start Menu. It will take up less space there. Copyright © 2010 WindowsSecrets.com (Win7_MediaCenter-5Tips.htm)