Chapter 26. Fun with Media Center
Windows Media Center is an optional program that comes with the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate Editions of Windows 7. It brings all your media (pictures, music, video) together in one easy-to-use center. If you connect your computer to a TV, you can use Media Center to enjoy them on a TV screen. If the graphics card that lets you connect to a TV screen came with a Windows Media Center remote control, you can control Media Center with that. No need to use a mouse and keyboard.
A second advantage of Media Center is that it allows you to watch and record live TV, but this requires special hardware in the form of a TV Tuner card or PVR (Personal Video Recorder) card.
This chapter first looks at those aspects of Media Center that work with any computer. That way, if you have Media Center, you can try out the things that will work for you. Things that require special equipment are discussed later in the chapter.
Starting Media Center
If you have an edition of Windows 7 that includes Media Center, use any of the following methods to start it:
Click the Start button and choose All Programs
Press
If you happen to have a Media Center ...
Get Windows® 7 Bible now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
