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Windows Vista Features

Watch TV and Movies Anywhere

No matter where you are - in your living room, around your house or anywhere in the world - you may still want to watch TV and films. When you're using a PC with Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Media Center - along with compatible products - makes it easy to watch what you want, anywhere you want.

You can transfer content from your PC to portable media devices, rent or buy content over the Internet, share content throughout your home and back it up for future viewing.

Watch content in any room in the house

When you're at home, you can use your high-speed home network to stream all of the recorded TV and films, music and digital photos on your computer to an Xbox 360 or other Windows Media Center Extender devices throughout your house.

Network and Sharing Center

You can stream recorded TV and films, music and digital photos on your computer to an Xbox 360 or other Windows Media Center Extender device.

Watch films wherever you are

Using Windows Vista, you also can stream or download films and TV shows from a growing list of content providers through Online Media - an innovative portal that helps you find and enjoy TV and films over the Internet. You can get TV and films on a desktop, laptop or the new lightweight and compact Ultra-Mobile PC. With this feature, you can watch TV and films wherever you have a high-speed Internet connection, even if you don't have a TV tuner installed in or connected to your PC.

Online Media portal

Online Media helps you find and enjoy TV and films over the Internet.

Take your TV and films with you

You don't even have to use your computer to watch your recorded content. You can download content from your computer to a variety of devices. For example, you can use a Windows Mobile device or Portable Media Center to play recorded TV shows or films. Just copy your recorded TV show or film from your PC running Windows Vista to a compatible portable media device, or use software from partners to automate the process for you. Many portable devices have a TV output connection, so you can play your portable content on a larger TV screen.

Keep more of your entertainment

With Windows Vista, you can record live television shows and films on your PC's hard drive. To help ensure that you don't run out of hard drive space, you can back up your favourite shows to a local USB external hard drive or to a storage device attached to your network. To make it easier to archive and share, you can burn your favourite shows directly to a DVD that can be played on a standard DVD player.1

Windows Vista and TV and films

Windows Vista - and the content, service and hardware partners who offer products that take advantage of the operating system's features - makes it easier than ever to enjoy watching TV and films. It simplifies watching, pausing and recording live TV. In countries where the electronic programme guide is available, you have tremendous flexibility in finding and recording content. And once you have recorded content on your PC (or if you have Internet access), Windows Vista puts you in control of your TV and films wherever you are, whenever you want them.

1Windows DVD Maker is available in Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate.

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