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A new Media Center computer with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 does everything a great new computer does and it lets you easily organize, search and select photos, music, TV shows and movies from an easy-to-use, onscreen menu.
Picture this. You're cuddled up on the couch, remote in hand, ready to watch your favourite movie. Suddenly you realize you've missed half of it.
With a Media Center PC you could have checked the online TV guide and pre-programmed when and what you wanted to record. No worrying about cassettes or fiddling with a VCR. In fact, no more worrying about ever missing a favourite show or movie again.
In most families, digital media is scattered around the house. Your music is on MP3 players, computers and CDs. Then you have all your digital photos on your computer, memory cards and storage CDs...
With a Media Center PC everything is in one place. All your digital content is consolidated and organized together so that you always know where everything is — and you can easily access it anytime with one remote using a very easy-to-use onscreen menu.
A Media Center PC is a computer and home entertainment centre rolled into one. If the home office is your perfect location, set up the Media Center PC in that room. If you'd rather have your entertainment hub in the family room, consider a unit that's designed to look more like a stereo receiver. No one will even notice there's a computer in the room!
With a Media Center PC, you can:
I want my Media Center TV
When it's so easy to find everything on the Internet, flipping through a paper TV guide and manually programming a VCR can be downright frustrating. You end up missing shows — either because you don't know what's on or you forget at what time. And when it comes to taping, doesn't it always seem like there's no spare cassette? Or if there is, it's not long enough to hold everything you want to record?
A Media Center PC takes TV viewing and recording to the next level. Most come with one or more TV tuner cards, which allow you to connect the computer to your cable and watch TV.
Use the free TV guide, which can be programmed to download automatically every two weeks and that works with any TV source (cable, satellite or digital), and search for shows by episode, series or category. Pre-program the Media Center PC to record your shows on whatever date and time you specify.
If you have a computer with two or more TV tuner cards, you can watch one show while recording another. You can even pause and rewind live TV.
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Movies galore
With so many movie listings in the TV guide, it's hard to narrow down what you want to watch. Plus with a busy schedule, you may not be able to watch a film at its scheduled time. Say, for example, that you want to have a Brad Pitt movie marathon. With the My Movies section of a Media Center computer, you can download cover images, cast information, summaries and reviews for virtually any movie available. Browse for titles by genre, actor or director, or what's on next. Your Brad Pitt search might generate a list of 35 movies playing over the next two weeks and you can pre-program your Media Center PC to record all of them. Then you can watch each movie on your own time - just make sure you have lots of popcorn!
With a Media Center PC, you can also view homemade digital movies and burn movies from TV to DVD for personal viewing.
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Music everywhere
Given the many ways we listen to music, it's no surprise our music collections are scattered around the house — even in the car. There's the MP3 player, the CD rack and all those cool tunes downloaded to the family computer — or was it the laptop? Problem is, when you want to enjoy the music or put together a new mix, you often can't find what you need.
The Media Center PC consolidates all your digital music in one place. Easily find your favourite song using the remote control. Download CDs from the Internet or save virtually your entire CD library on the Media Center computer. Organize your collection, create playlists, listen to Internet radio, and burn CDs or DVDs with the remote control.
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Picture perfect
It's hard to put together a slide show when your digital photos are scattered all over the place — on the computer, in the camera, hidden away on CDs. And somehow having your entire family crowd around a tiny computer monitor doesn't seem to do the images justice.
The Media Center PC makes it easier to organize digital photo collections by putting them in one easy-to-find place, accessible with one remote. Hook your computer up to a TV screen — you can even hook it up to a widescreen TV — and show off your recent vacation pictures. Create a slide show, add your favourite music, and print or burn it all to a CD or DVD.
Plus perform basic photo editing, including picture cropping, touch-ups and red-eye reduction, from the comfort of your couch.
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Extend the entertainment to other rooms
You're viewing family photos on the TV in the family room. Another family member is watching prerecorded TV in the den. And you're both working off one Media Center computer.
Sound farfetched? With a Media Center PC, you can extend the digital experience to more than one room in the home. All you need is an extender and a home network.
If you have an Xbox 360, there is an extender built right into the console. The extender is connected to your Media Center computer with a wired or wireless connection, although an Ethernet connection is recommended for optimal TV viewing.
The setup is incredibly simple and straightforward.
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Set up your digital media in one place easily
The first time you set up a Media Center computer, a series of easy-to-use Setup Wizards will take you through the process to make sure everything is installed correctly. It will even prompt you to make sure you're using Canadian settings. And you can do it all with the remote control.
The Wizard will automatically configure your TV signal, go out to the Internet to download a free searchable TV program guide and teach the Media Center remote to change channels, so you can toss out your old TV remote (or, as the case may be, all six of them).
Browse and shop for a Media Center PC
Interested in finding a Media Center PC model for your family? Click here to find a Media Center retailer near you.
Click here for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 demos.
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