Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center®

So, to ensure that you are getting the most out of your Media Center, you’ll need to

configure and confirm your Internet connectivity.

Establishing Internet Connectivity with

Media Center

If this is your first experience establishing Internet access for your home, check out

the choices available to you by reading the section “A Few Words About Your

Internet Connection,” in Chapter 1, “Preparing for XP Media Center.” You’ll need to

do some basic research to find out which Internet service providers (ISPs) have offer-

ings in your area, and which one makes the most sense for your lifestyle and pocket-

book.

After you have signed up and had your service enabled (including any physical

equipment installation that may be required in the case of broadband or wireless

connections), you’re ready to hook up and get online. If you are setting up your

Media Center for the first time, just follow the procedure for using the First Run

Wizard as outlined in “Setting Up Your Internet Connection,” in Chapter 3, “Getting

Started and Taking the Tour.”

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER

FIGURE 23.1

The Online

Spotlight pro-

vides access to

music, movies,

news, and

usage tips to

enhance your

Media Center

experience.

CHAPTER 23 XP MEDIA CENTER AND YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

313

FIGURE 23.2

The Set Up

Internet

Connection

option in

General Settings

is the starting

point to recon-

figure your Web

access.

The first screen to be displayed is a confirmation screen (see Figure 23.3). Select Next

to continue.

FIGURE 23.3

Selecting the Set

Up Internet

Connection but-

ton leads to this

confirmation

screen.

But what if you have already configured your Media Center PC for one ISP, and

decide to switch? Or how about if you previously set up your machine to run without

Internet service, and now want to add it? The First Run Wizard just mentioned won’t

come into play in such cases. Instead, you’ll want to follow another procedure. To

access it, choose Settings from the Media Center Start menu, and then select General,

and Set Up Internet Connection (see Figure 23.2).

Download When Connected

Selecting the Download When Connected option on the Download Method screen

tells Media Center to wait until you establish an Internet connection before auto-

matically pulling down guide information. If you connect to the Web only occasion-

ally, this may be a better choice.

When you select Download When Connected and choose Next, you will proceed

directly to the An Internet Connection Is Set Up screen (see Figure 23.5).

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER

FIGURE 23.4

This screen

allows you to

specify your

preferred down-

load method.

At this point, you are presented with a few choices for downloading program guide

information (see Figure 23.4). At this stage, Media Center wants to know whether it

should always try to connect automatically, wait until you are already connected to

the Internet, or sit tight until you initiate a manual download of guide data.

Manual Download

With the Manual Download option, Media Center lets you have complete control

over the process of receiving guide data updates. Choose this if you want to initiate

the update manually each time. (For instructions on getting guide data manually,

see “Downloading Guide Data” in Chapter 7, “Finding Shows to Record.”)

When you choose manual download, Media Center will present you with some

advice (see Figure 23.6): “For the most up-to-date information, it is recommended

that you connect to the Internet and get Guide data at least once per day.” If that

gives you any second thoughts, you can simply select Back to configure an auto-

matic download instead.

Select Next, then Finish to complete the Internet connection setup process.

CHAPTER 23 XP MEDIA CENTER AND YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

315

FIGURE 23.5

This screen

announces that

your Internet

connection has

been config-

ured, and gives

you an opportu-

nity to test it.