Windows XP Media Center Edition
Published: October 29, 2002
By Barb Bowman, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
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Imagine a single box attached to a standard PC monitor that replaces the need for a separate TV, VCR, or stand-alone DVD player. A single box where you catalog and store your music collection and run all your games and Microsoft Office programs. This combination home entertainment center and computing workhorse is called a Media Center PC, and it's powered by Windows XP Media Center Edition, a new member of the Windows XP operating system family.
Windows XP Media Center Edition will come pre-installed on Media Center PCs, shipping in time for the holiday season. Hewlett Packard will be first to market in the U.S. with a Media Center PC.
Media Center PCs are targeted at college dorm residents or people who live or work in small spaces. The Media Center's graphical user interface is designed to be viewed from across a room and remotely controlled from up to 10 feet away.
What Can a Media Center PC Do?
As an entertainment center, the Media Center PC is where you enjoy TV, video, DVD, and music using a remote control. As a desktop computer, it's a full-featured PC with hardware designed for solid performance. It's also a multi-tasker's dream machine. Write your term paper and watch the Osbournes. Answer e-mail and listen to your favorite music. Watch the news and surf the Web. The possibilities are endless.
Enjoy all types of media while you work with your applications running in resizable windows while the Media Center interface runs in a separate resizable window. When the Media Center is running full screen, and you want to change that display to a resizable window, click the square on the Media Center interface title bar, just like any other Windows application.
The Windows XP Media Center Edition interface provides integrated access to all content that can be catalogued by Windows Media Player. The Media Center PC remote control lets you shuffle or play a single album, control volume, or change tracks from anywhere in your room.
Windows Movie Maker in Windows XP gives you all the tools you need to edit video, add soundtracks and narration, and share your masterpieces via e-mail or the Web. Powered by Windows XP Media Center Edition, you can also share those videos from the comfort of your favorite chair during a home movie screening on your Media Center PC's display.
You can already view, manage, print, and share photos through the built-in support in Windows XP for digital cameras and other imaging devices. Take that a step further with Windows XP Media Center Edition, and open My Pictures from the Media Center menu, sort your collection, and launch a slide show using the remote control.
When you can't find a program on live or recorded TV that suits your mood, you can pop in a DVD movie. It all comes together in one simple-to-use Media Center interface. For a look at the interface, check out the Media Center images.
The Media Center PC's remote control lets you control all multimedia functions from any place in the room using a specially designed menu system. It even has a Start button. Use the Media Center remote control to control and pause TV, browse the TV program guide and set a recording, play music, flip through pictures, watch home movies, or play a DVD—all from your couch, chair, or bed.
Hardware Overview
High-end TV tuner/capture cards from vendors such as Hauppage and eMuzed are the heart of the personal video recorder (PVR) functions in Windows XP Media Center Edition. DVD playback is powered by decoders from Cyberlink or Intervideo. The typical machine includes a gaming-quality video card such as NVidia's 64-MB GeForce MX 420 and comes with a Pentium 4 processor and 256 MB or more of memory, with hard drive storage space starting at 80-100 GB. Sound will be powered by the likes of Creative Labs Audigy sound cards. Klipsch Promedia 200 watt speakers accompany the HP Media Center PC, with Dolby Digital 5.1 versions being supplied on the top of the line HP machines.
The HP Media Center PC shipping for the holidays won't include a monitor. My beta version didn't have a monitor either, so I connected my 17-inch LCD Envision EN-7100e flat screen monitor to the Media Center PC.
Of course there's a CD burner (and some models of computers powered by Windows XP Media Center Edition can be purchased with DVD+RW drives). And there's the included cool handheld remote. My Media Center test PC was equipped with USB 2.0 ports and IEEE 1394 (FireWire) ports at both the front and rear of the PC.
My test machine was delivered with an 80-GB hard drive. I found I needed extra storage, because I'm a real packrat. (A typical one hour show uses approximately 2 GB of storage space.) Fortunately (unlike other recording solutions like TiVo that require serious hardware and software manipulation), additional storage is easy to add because this is a full featured PC.
I connected a 120-GB 7400 RPM IEEE 1394 (FireWire) external hard drive to one of the two IEEE 1394 (FireWire) ports. I used the built-in disk management to quick format the drive using the NTFS file system. From the Settings application in Media Center, I configured the PC's recording settings to use that drive. If I ever fill up the hard drives on the PC and external drive, I can keep adding storage because you can chain multiple FireWire devices.
Although the computer included Internet connectivity options using a built-in 10/100 Ethernet adapter and a modem for dial-up, I was able to easily add wireless connectivity using the new 802.11b USB adapter from Microsoft. HP has also announced a cool "six-in-one media card reader" that will be included on their production machines.
Connecting to Your Video Source
You'll be able to connect a computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition to your cable system with or without a set top box (STB) or to your satellite STB. You can also use an ordinary antenna. In all cases, the connection is made using coaxial cable that plugs into a standard coax receptacle on the computer. A special USB infrared (IR) receiver that communicates with the handheld remote is included. For set top box users, a special cable is included that connects the supplied USB IR receiver to the STB.
When you first open the Windows XP Media Center Edition interface, a wizard automatically displays a wide range of STB manufacturers and tests your selection with your Media Center PC remote. After you enter your zip code and select your provider (cable or satellite), a customized Electronic Program Guide (EPG) is downloaded from the Internet. The guide is refreshed on a daily basis by default, or you can perform manual updates. Based on my experience with my provider, AT&T Broadband, it is extremely accurate. And the guide is absolutely free. No monthly or lifetime subscription charges.
Connecting to TV
Most people will probably connect a traditional PC monitor (either CRT or LCD) to their Media Center PCs because they are going to be used for computing much of the time. Some people will use this monitor as the only display, but Windows XP Media Center Edition also supports multi-monitors. You can connect a monitor and a standard television via an onboard S-Video port. The Media Center interface will display on the computer monitor unless you change the TV-out setting to the TV. When you're ready to take an entertainment break, it's easy to configure TV out to the traditional TV set, sit back and relax, and put your word processing aside.
What's my personal preference? Because I've been using my Media Center PC for all aspects of my normal computing life, I've been spending most of my time with an LCD monitor attached to the computer. The video quality has been superb, and I keep live TV running in a window for eight hours a day or more. I can run the Media Center interface in a resizable window like any other Windows program, by clicking the square on the Media Center interface title bar.
I have a larger traditional TV in my living room, and I set up the Media Center PC there for one weekend to watch some recorded content. When I connected the TV to the S-Video out on the computer and then powered up the equipment, it was a true Plug and Play experience. Windows automatically detected the TV monitor and the Media Center user interface was enabled for the TV. To fully enjoy all the features from my sofa and coffee table, I plugged in a Logitech Optical cordless mouse and keyboard. And in keeping with my wireless lifestyle, I plugged in an 802.11b wireless USB adapter for Internet connectivity.
Using the Personal Video Recorder
If you're new to the world of personal video recorders (PVRs) or devices like TiVo, you'll be amazed by the ability to pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV. Time shifted TV will change your life. You'll never miss a play on Monday Night football or all the facts of a breaking news story because the UPS delivery man was at the door. Windows XP Media Center Edition actually records live TV as you watch it, allowing you to pause and then resume in a playback mode while it continues to record. The real-time recording buffer holds about 25 minutes of programming. It's seamless and it's wonderful. As I was working on this column, MSNBC TV was running in a window on the desktop. I realized that a historic joint session of Congress was underway in New York City in honor of the victims of the September 11 tragedy. I hit pause to capture the image below of live TV on the desktop.
As I viewed the paused TV picture, I realized this was an event I really wanted to watch from the beginning. I clicked rewind twice. Windows XP Media Center Edition started the playback at the start of the real-time buffer and I was able to watch the complete broadcast. The Windows XP Media Center Edition navigation controls are shown when live TV is first paused, but disappear after a few seconds, leaving a clear view of the entire TV picture. I can use the remote to rewind or fast forward or access any of the controls. When working at the desktop, passing the mouse over the window will display the controls.
Windows XP MCE Digital Rights Management will enable playback of recorded shows on any Windows XP MCE computer, or any Windows XP Home or Pro computer with Service Pack 1 using Windows Media Player 9 Series. Other leading media players will be able to incorporate the same functionality. According to Microsoft, playback on any consumer DVD player will be possible by the end of 2002. There is one caveat: if the broadcaster designates a show as "copy protected," only the MCE machine which recorded the show will be able to play it back.
Scheduling a Recording
There's a wonderful scene from the 1976 movie Network, where the Howard Beale character throws open a window and screams "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" and encourages everyone watching his show to join in and do likewise. That's exactly how I feel about the clock and other settings on my seven-year old VCR. I hate setting up my VCR after every thunderstorm and navigating the menus. It requires a lot of care before I can even schedule a program to be recorded.
Scheduling a recording with Windows XP Media Center Edition couldn't be easier or more intuitive. It's completely graphical and easily navigable with the included smart remote control. Click once while a show in the guide is highlighted to record a single show. Click twice to record a series.
Searching for TV shows to watch or record is sure to be one of the more popular features of the TV Search interface. In addition to a search by category, a powerful keyword search quickly finds programs that match your search term. You can enter a keyword using the remote control and never leave the comfort of your easy chair on the other side of the room. I'm a real Sci-Fi aficionado and especially love Stephen King thrillers and a search found three results. I couldn't remember having previously watched Rose Red, and easily accessed in depth info from the program guide by selecting the title with a click of my remote.
A few clicks of the remote or mouse allows access to advanced recording features, including the ability to keep a recording indefinitely, keep until space is needed, keep until I watch, or keep until a specified date.
Networking to Share Music
A computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition can easily become a mega-music machine. You access and play any WMA or MP3 file on your local hard drives, and any music CD that Windows Media Player has cataloged using the Media Center interface. You can also add music from a shared folder on your network to your music database and access it from the Media Center user interface.
As long as the directory or folder is shared and accessible on a network, it can be accessed using the Windows XP Media Center Edition interface, even content that's on a Macintosh. The image above (an 802.11b wirelessly-networked PowerBook running Mac OS 10.2) shows an example of the networked music capabilities of Windows XP Media Center Edition. The quality of the audio playback of the MP3 file over the wireless network on my Media Center PC is awesome.
When you're playing an album, Windows XP Media Center Edition provides several views, including the track list, which you can view from the comfort of your easy chair. If album art is available, Media Center will display it.
Digitizing and Sharing Photos
I've got boxes of family pictures that span nearly 100 years. I connected a scanner to an available USB port on the Media Center PC, and started digitizing this collection. It was easy because Windows XP Media Center Edition already includes software to help perform this task quickly. After spending a few hours scanning in the photos, it was a special treat to kick back, sit in a comfortable chair, and playback a slideshow armed with the remote control.
When I want to share this digitized photo album with relatives many miles away, I can use Windows XP Media Center Edition's built in CD burning capabilities and copy these images to a CD.
Adding Programs to the Media Center Menu
The graphical user interface for Windows XP Media Center Edition allows quick and easy access to My TV, My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, Play DVD, and Settings using the Start button on the remote. The GUI allows advanced users to add programs to the Start menu. You'll be able to add new items to the existing menu structure by dragging a shortcut to a special folder. When new applications become enabled to run within the Windows XP Media Center Edition graphical user interface, they'll display seamlessly within the Media Center frame. Currently, while you can start non-Media Center Edition-enabled applications from this menu, the Media Center window itself will be minimized when the application is invoked. (You can play solitaire with the handheld remote but don't expect to set any speed records for finishing a game!)
Here's how to Add an Application to the Media Center Menu.
Suggestions for Future Columns
If you use Windows XP at home and have a topic you'd like to see covered in a future column, feel free to write me at: barb@mvps.org. I'll be glad to receive ideas and suggestions. Please understand that I can't answer individual e-mail messages or respond to them.
Barb Bowman enjoys sharing her own experiences and insights into today's leading edge technologies. She is a product development manager for AT&T Broadband Internet Services, but her views here are strictly personal.
