How to record broadcast TV

You can use Windows Media Center to record live TV shows and movies directly onto your computer. You can even schedule recordings in advance or automatically record new episodes of your favorite TV series.

This tutorial covers the following topics:

• How to record a live show or movie

• Schedule recordings using the Guide

• Schedule recordings using Search

• Schedule to record an entire series

• Schedule by channel and time

• Schedule by keyword

• Play a recorded program

To record a live TV show or movie

You can record a TV show or movie that's currently airing. When you do this, the show is recorded from the moment you start recording. For example, if you're halfway through watching a show before you start recording it, the recording won't include the first half.

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Live TV.

2. While a program is airing, move the mouse so that the playback controls appear, and then click Record

   If you don't see the Record button, it might be because the Media Center window is too small. If this is the case, increase the size of the window, or go to full-screen mode by clicking the Maximize button in the upper-right corner.

To schedule recordings using the Guide

You can quickly schedule recordings while browsing the Guide for upcoming TV shows and movies.

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Guide.

2. Right-click the program that you want to record, and then click Record to schedule a recording of the program.

To schedule recordings using Search

You can search in Media Center to find a TV show or movie that you want to record.

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Search.

2. Click the category that you want to search by (such as Title), and then follow the instructions to start a search.

3. On the search results page, click the TV show or movie that you want to record, and then click Record to schedule a recording of the program.

To record a TV series

Rather than schedule the recording of your favorite TV show every week, you can automate the process by scheduling the recording of an entire series.

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Guide.

2. Locate the TV series that you want to record, click it, and then click Record Series.

3. If you're using a Media Center remote control to browse the Guide, you can press the RECORD button twice to quickly schedule a series recording..

To schedule recordings based on channel and time

You can set up Media Center to automatically record a specific channel at a specific time.

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Recorded TV.

2. Click Add recording, and then click Channel and Time.

3. In Channel, enter the channel that you want to record.

4. In Frequency, click the plus (+) or minus (-) button to specify how often you want to record the channel.

5. If you selected Record Once for Frequency, in Date, click the plus (+) or minus (-) button to specify the recording date.

6. In Start time, enter the time you want the recording to start.

7. In Stop time, enter the time you want the recording to stop.

8. Under Keep, click the plus (+) or minus (-) button to specify how long you want to keep the recorded show.

9. Click Record.

To change the title of a scheduled recording based on the channel and time: On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, click Recorded TV, click Add recording, click Channel and Time, then click Change Title, and then follow the instructions.

To schedule recordings based on keywords

You can set up Media Center to automatically record TV shows and movies based on keywords that are associated with a program. These include an actor's name, director's name, or even a word that appears in the title. In the future, when a TV show or movie airs that matches keywords you specified, the program will automatically record.

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Recorded TV.

2. Click Add recording, click Keyword, and then click a category depending on the keyword that you want to use for recording (such as Actor name).

3. Type the keyword for your recording, and then click the matching keyword in the search results.

4. Click the plus (+) or minus (-) button in the different categories to modify the settings that will be used for your custom recording, click Record, and then click OK.

To play a recorded TV program

1. On the Windows Media Center start screen, scroll to TV, and then click Recorded TV, click the show you want to watch, and then click Play or Resume.

2. To control the playback of a recorded TV program, move the mouse to display the playback controls, and then do any of the following:

   • Click Pause to temporarily pause the program. You'll see a time span bar that shows how much time has passed in the recording. When you're ready to resume the program where you left off, click Play.

   • Move the slider that appears above the playback controls to a different point to start watching from that point in the recorded program.

   • Click Skip Backward or Rewind to watch something again, and click Fast Forward or Skip Forward to move ahead in the program.

   • Click the Volume Increase button or the Volume Decrease button to increase or decrease the volume, and click the Mute button to turn the sound on or off.

When you're finished watching the recorded program, move the mouse, and then click Stop