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

Controlling DVD Playback with the Mouse and Keyboard

Most of the transport controls—shown in Figure

11.3—are also available with the mouse (see

Chapter 5, “Navigating XP Media Center’s ‘2-

Foot’ Interface”) and the keyboard (see Table 5.5).

Although there are keyboard shortcuts for the

skip forward and skip back features (Ctrl+F and

Ctrl+B, respectively), skipping is not supported

with the mouse alone. Likewise, the mouse does

not give you a direct way to display the DVD’s

on-disc menu, though after the menu is opened

using the remote control or keyboard, you can

easily navigate and choose menu options with

the mouse.

CHAPTER 11 WATCHING DVDS ON AN XP MEDIA CENTER PC

157

tip

To access the on-disc DVD

menu from the keyboard,

press Ctrl+Shift+M.

FIGURE 11.3

While the DVD

is playing, just

move the mouse

and the cursor,

and transport

controls will be

displayed.

Playback Preferences: Changing DVD Settings

There are several ways to customize your DVD playback experience using Media

Center by changing the options available in the Media Center Setting menu. To

reach it, press the green Media Center button on the remote to launch the main

menu screen, and then select Settings and then DVD (see Figure 11.4).

Language Settings

Using Windows Media Center’s language settings

menu, you can choose an exhaustive list of lan-

guages, ranging from Afrikaans to Vietnamese.

You can also individually set the language prefer-

ences for Subtitle, Audio Track, and Menu (see

Figure 11.5).

To change the language setting with the remote

control, do the following:

1. Use the navigation buttons to select the

attribute you want to change: Subtitle,

Audio Track, or Menu.

2. Highlight the – or +, and then use the OK

button to change the language that is dis-

played.

3. When you’re satisfied with your selections,

highlight Save and press OK.

If you are currently watching a DVD, each time

you store your language preferences, the DVD

will restart from the beginning.

158

ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER

FIGURE 11.4

If your DVD is

already playing

when you switch

to the Media

Center Settings

menu, the video

will continue to

play in the inset

window.

Changing your “global”

language settings to

Macedonian or

Malayalam (which is the

principal language of the

South Indian state of Kerala, in case

you were wondering) won’t magi-

cally create a DVD soundtrack or

subtitles in that language—the lan-

guages you’ve chosen as your pref-

erences are subject to what’s

available on the DVD disc itself.

Your choices can also be overridden

by selections you make in the DVD’s

default on-disc menu.

caution

Audio Settings

You can also customize your audio settings for DVD playback. You’ll need to have

your mouse and/or keyboard handy to complete this maneuver. The audio controls

are configured using a utility which is not part of the Media Center interface, but

according to the Windows driver files supplied by the manufacturer of the playback

hardware and software inside your Media Center PC. As a result, your Media Center

remote control will be of little use in this exercise.

An example is the nVidia nV DVD audio device control panel application that

shipped with many Media Center PCs (see Figure 11.6).

The nV DVD audio control panel lets you do the following:

■ Choose a dynamic range control. Choices include Normal, Late Night, or

Theatre.

■ View the bit rate (Kbits/sec) for the currently playing DVD.

■ Perform speaker setup. You can specify whether your Media PC is connected

to computer speakers, headphones, or a receiver. Audio options change

depending on which output mode you choose.

Try a range of output options and listen to the differences to determine which ones

work best for your room acoustics, and which ones simply sound more pleasing to

your ears.

CHAPTER 11 WATCHING DVDS ON AN XP MEDIA CENTER PC

159

FIGURE 11.5

If you or your

guests speak or

read a language

other than

English, Media

Center is ready

to accommodate

you.