Burn, Archive, and Share Digital Videos Using Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Published: March 23, 2005
Although I spend most of my time working with hardware manufacturers that produce Media Center PCs, I also find time to enjoy Media Center at home with my family. One of the best things I use my Media Center PC for is to share digital videos and photos with my extended family. With Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (and some blank CDs or DVDs) you can create gifts such as Holiday DVDs to give to your family any time of the year. This is why I like to think of Media Center as "the gift that keeps on giving" when it comes to sharing digital media.
Using My Camcorder, Windows Movie Maker, and Media Center
With two small children at home my wife and I decided to invest in a Canon Z45MC digital video camera (You can find digital video cameras at Windows Marketplace Digital Cameras and Video.). We use the digital video camera to record our family memories and share with others. Not only can I record precious family moments, but I can also store photos on my digital video camera using the memory card.
My digital video camera can transfer digital photos and videos to my Media Center PC using Movie Maker. Additionally, I use Movie Maker to edit my home movies like a pro and then share the video files with the Media Center PC. Movie Maker enables me to add finishing touches to the movies like Titles, credits, and smooth transitions.
Import Digital Movies to the Media Center PC
The Media Center PC enables you to easily import digital media. While there are a number of ways you can do this (with music, photos, or CDs), the following are the steps I use for transferring digital movies to my PC to share with other family members.
1. | Connect the digital video camera to the Media Center PC. For my camera, I use a 1394/DV connection cable. For more information on importing videos to Windows Movie Maker and 1394/DV connection cables, go to the Recording Video into Windows Movie Maker support article. |
2. | Power on the digital video camera and put it into Video Playback mode. |
3. | The Media Center PC automatically detects the digital video camera and displays a prompt on the Windows Desktop to select what to do next, as seen in Figure 1.  When the digital video camera is connected to the PC, you are prompted to decide what Windows should do next. |
4. | Select Capture Video using Windows Movie Maker. Movie Maker to launch a wizard to import the video. |
5. | Complete the import video wizard by making the following selections: | • | Select the appropriate capture device. For my camera, I select Canon Digital Camcorder. | | • | Enter a name for the video file to be imported and then select the location it should be imported to. | | • | Select the Video quality for video playback. I always choose Best Quality because disk space is not an issue on my Media Center PC,. | | • | Select to capture the entire tape automatically. |
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6. | The import video wizard will automatically rewind the tape and starts capturing the video. Note: The file size of an imported video averages approximately 60 MB per 5 minutes of tape and the tapes from my digital video camera are 60 minutes long. |
After Movie Maker has completed importing the digital movie, I usually go through and edit it—this includes splicing together segments of film, adding transitions, or creating titles and credits. When it is edited, my digital movie is ready to share with my family on my Media Center PC.
Share Your Digital Content
Now I have to admit, as much as my extended family loves digital movies, not all of them have Media Center PCs! However, almost all of them do have a consumer DVD player that can play DVDs, music CDs or data DVDs. This works great because Media Center allows me to create DVDs or CDs that can be shared with them—even if they don't own a Media Center PC.
Before you start to create a DVD in Media Center, be sure that you have all your materials lined up. You will need:
| • | Writeable DVDs to burn the media onto. I generally use Memorex DVD+R 4.7 GB discs but any writeable disc that is compatible with the drive in your Media Center PC will do. Be sure you have the appropriate disc type for your PC as some PCs only recognize either +R or -R but not both. If you are not sure which type of disc to use, refer to the documentation that came with your Media Center PC. |
| • | A drive in the Media Center PC that is capable of writing to DVDs. Many computer manufacturers chose to bundle the drives into a single CD/DVD combination writeable drive. |
Create a DVD to View on a Media Center PC
Here are the steps to create a DVD that can be viewed on a Media Center PC.
1. | Insert a writeable DVD into the drive. |
2. | Press the START button on the remote, and then select More Programs. |
3. | Select Create CD/DVD. |
4. | Select either Data DVD, Video DVD, or DVD Slide Show as seen in Figure 2 below.  There are three options for creating DVDs that you can choose from: Data DVD, Video DVD, or DVD Slide Show. |
5. | Enter a title for the DVD. For example, you could use a title to describe the event like Kids Ballet as seen in Figure 3.  When creating a DVD using Media Center, you can add a title to the DVD. |
6. | Select the movies that you want to include on the CD or DVD. For example, I can find most of my home movies in the My Videos section of Media Center. |
7. | After you have added all the movies you want, select View DVD to see which movies are queued up to go on the disc. You can also change the order they are in. |
8. | When you are ready to burn the files to the disc, select Create DVD. Media Center is off and running to create your ready-to-play DVD! |
After the Media Center PC has finished burning your media, Media Center will ask if you want to make another copy using the same files without going through the entire selection process again. This is handy when creating the same CD or DVD for multiple family members.
Create a DVD Slide Show with Music for Play on any Consumer DVD Player
Another cool feature of Media Center allows you to merge your favorite digital music with a photo slide show to be shared with your family. To create this type of slide show, use the same basic steps, except select the DVD slide show option.
To create a DVD slide show
1. | Insert a writeable DVD into the driver. |
2. | Press the START button on the remote, and then select More Programs. |
3. | Select Create CD/DVD. |
4. | Select DVD Slide Show. |
5. | Enter a title for the DVD (for example. Kids Ballet slide show). |
6. | Add the pictures and accompanying music that you want for your slide show. |
When I'm done creating my DVD or CD I'm ready to hand them out to family members so they can be played in most consumer electronics CD and DVD players. When handing out the CDs or DVDs my family members will sometimes ask me if I made their media with the Media Center PC—this is because when they put the media in their consumer DVD player it shows the Windows Media Center background.
Archive Files to CD or DVD
While it is great to be able to burn newly created media so easily, another benefit of the creating CDs or DVDs is you can archive files off your PC. While working in the Information & Technology Group ( ITGroup) at Microsoft, I was always thinking about archiving older files to maintain a backup copy and to keep some data material on the computer. The same principal works when archiving data off your computer using Media Center.
For example, it can be a real struggle to keep up with all the TV recordings that I have. I just don't have the time to watch all the great content. When I go on an overseas business trip I use this opportunity to burn all the TV shows to a DVD and watch the media on the plane ride. Archiving recorded TV to DVD also helps to free up space on my PC so that too many recordings do not get piled up and take up extra space.
As you can see, Media Center is the gift that keeps on giving. The new Create CD/DVD feature included in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 gives me the capability to make my media much more portable. I can now archive data onto CDs or DVDs; back up files from my computer; or create custom digital media to share with my family.
And there is more to portable media than I have mentioned in this article. After a video is transferred to the Media Center PC, it could also be played in another room using the Media Center Extender or the video can be transferred to a Portable Media Center and be taken anywhere. If you want to find even more ways to make your media portable than I have described in this article, go to the product information sites for Media Center Extender or Portable Media Center.
 | Tim Muscott graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in Business Administration (emphasis in Management Information Systems). Tim has worked in a number of different product groups and also the Information Technology Group (ITG) in his 15 years at Microsoft. When Tim is not working with the computer manufacturer partners for Media Center PCs, he is busily burning Media Center DVDs of his family to send out to family and friends.
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