| Note: This article applies to computers purchased with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 pre-installed that have a DVD burner drive. |
With Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, you can burn TV shows or movies onto DVDs that you can play in standard DVD players. You can take the DVDs with you when you travel, so that you always have some entertainment with you. After your burn your movies onto DVDs, you can delete them from your Media Center PC to create space so that you can record more TV and movies.
To burn a TV show or a movie to a DVD that you can watch elsewhere:
- Insert a writable DVD disk into your Media Center DVD drive.
 Tip: Your computer may support only one type of writable DVD disc, so consult your computer’s manual to make sure that you use the correct disc type. For example, some DVD+RW or DVD-RW media do not work in most DVD players. |
 - Press the Green Start Button on your remote to open the Media Center Start menu, and then select My TV.
 - On the My TV page, select Recorded TV.
 - On the Recorded TV page, select the show or movie that you want to burn to a DVD, and then press the MORE INFO button on your remote.
- In the list of options that is displayed, select Create CD/DVD.
 - On the Disc Format page, select Video DVD, and then select OK.
| Tip: If the Video DVD option is not displayed on the Disc Format page, the DVD burning software is not installed or is not working correctly. Contact your hardware manufacturer for assistance. |
 - On the Name This DVD page, enter a name for your DVD if you want to change the default setting. To enter a name, use the number keys on your remote to enter the title of the series that you want to record. For example, to enter the letter “a,” press 2 once. To enter the letter “b,” press 2 twice. An index of all letters is displayed on the screen. Then select OK.
 - On the View DVD page, select Create DVD.
 - In the Initiating Copy dialog box, select Yes.
 - If the Fit Content to CD/DVD dialog box is displayed, select Yes. The DVD may take several hours to create because Media Center needs to compress the movie to fit on the DVD.
| Tip: When you select Yes in the Fit Content to CD/DVD dialog box, the file is compressed so that the show fits on the disc, and the file will play back with reduced image detail. The more the file is compressed, the lower the quality of the file will be when you play it with a DVD player. |
 - You can wait for the DVD to finish writing, or select OK in the Creation Progress dialog box to continue using your computer.
 - After Media Center creates your DVD, it automatically ejects the DVD. Remove the DVD from the tray, and then close the tray.
- When the Completing Disc Creation dialog box is displayed, select Done.
 When you delete movies from your computer after you record them, you free up storage space on your Media Center PC, making room for new recordings.
| Note: Some movies or TV shows are marked as protected when they are recorded. Because of this, you may not be able to add them to a CD or DVD. The terms of the content protection are determined by the content owner, broadcaster, or originator. For example, you may not be able to burn some shows or movies that you recorded from a premium channel, to a DVD that you can play on other DVD players. Instead, you may need to back up shows that you recorded from premium channels onto data DVDs that will play from your Media Center computer. |
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