Using Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP
Published: November 19, 2001
By Galan Bridgman, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
Editor's Note: Past articles by members of the online community are archived for your use. The information may become outdated as technology changes. For the most current information, please search the Web site or post a question in the newsgroups.
As if Windows XP weren't exciting enough, Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP supplies premium multimedia tools at a bargain basement price.
Microsoft Plus! is a collection of add-ons and utilities specifically designed to expand the multimedia experience in Windows XP. Several of the tools are digital media enhancements, and others augment the visuals available in Windows XP, such as themes and new 3-D screen savers. Plus! for Windows XP also includes new 3-D games, perhaps not of interest to serious gamers, but major improvements for the Solitaire and Minesweeper crew.
First, a word of caution: you need a video card with at least 16 MB of RAM to fully use Plus! for Windows XP. And your processor should be at least 750 MHz so the 3-D rendering will be smooth. If you have less than these requirements, Plus! will install, but some features will be disabled.
Of the many new tools in Plus! for Windows XP, this column focuses on some of the digital media enhancements.
Captain's Log, Stardate 4729.4
One of the radical features of Plus! is the Voice Command extension to Windows Media Player. Microsoft's extensive speech recognition technology first appeared in Office XP and now Plus! Voice Command for Windows Media™ Player contains voice recognition software. Using it, you can minimize Media Player on your taskbar and control your music by issuing verbal directions while working uninterrupted on your primary task. For example, your mood changes and you need to adjust the music. Simply say "Media Player, play playlist Soothing instrumental." Voice Command also recognizes artist names, playlists, and genres in your Media Library when you verbalize them.
All you need is a microphone. Setup for me was easy, taking only about four minutes. After I got it working and had a few verbal commands under my belt, I grew somewhat giddy with the new power I had over my computer. Before long I found myself with an overwhelming urge to start dictating my own Captain's Log to the computer like James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Voice Command grew weary of my orders, repeatedly responding with a terse "Command unrecognized." Oh well, maybe in Plus! version 2.
Plus! Voice Command for Windows Media Player did a surprisingly good job of recognizing my commands with the default settings. I was able to navigate the Media Player quite well without completing the optional, ten-minute voice recognition training that's available if you want higher accuracy. Voice Command can also make use of other speech recognition software you may have on your computer. You're prompted the first time you use Voice Command, asking if you want to use the other software, or you can access this ability through the Options dialog box after you configure Plus! for Voice Command. There are some other options available to ensure accuracy, such as the Pronunciation Sensitivity and Accuracy vs. Recognition Response Time settings within each Recognition Profile. You can also add Recognition Profiles for other family members, which are trained to their voice, and easily switch between them.
Just how practical the Voice Command feature will be depends entirely on the environment in which you listen to music. But practicalities aside, it sure is a kick to use!
"No way! I have thousands of MP3s!"
I hear this response all the time to the query "WMA offers the same quality as MP3 at half the bandwidth! Why don't you convert?" I can appreciate the predicament. Even if I could fit twice the number of songs on my portable audio device or burned CD, after I put hundreds of hours into ripping songs into one format, I'd be reluctant to switch formats too, despite the benefits.
Luckily for those of you in that predicament, Plus! includes a batch conversion tool, called Plus! MP3 Audio Converter, that can convert your MP3s to WMA format no matter how many you have. It can be set to encode at any rate you choose, place all resulting files in a single directory or in a mirrored directory structure to your original, and it can even normalize all your songs so they play at the same volume level. It will also convert WAV files if you direct it to, and it can delete the old ones as it goes if you're short on disk space.
In my testing, the MP3 Audio Converter performed very well and quickly. It did need to perform a quick analysis pass on each song when I had the Normalize option turned on, as would be expected. But this only increased the conversion time by about 25% and was well worth it, as I noticed the difference when Media Player went through my converted playlist. It's an awesome tool for making that migration task easier.
Speakers, Enhance Thyself!
Wouldn't it be nice if you could have a better car or house just by telling it to "get better"? Well, you can't do that for most objects, but for speakers it's now possible. No, you can't make a $5 pair of speakers sound like a $500 high-end home stereo system, but some improvements in quality are possible. How? By using Microsoft Plus! Speaker Enhancement. Microsoft came up with audio adjustment profiles after profiling the audio characteristics of about three dozen speaker sets from various manufacturers. Plus! Speaker Enhancement automatically makes adjustments based on these profiles to the signal waveform and frequency response while Windows Media Player plays your audio. These adjustments help compensate for certain deficiencies in speaker response and enhance the perceived quality of the sound.
My speakers aren't on the current supported list yet, but more profiles are being added as Microsoft develops them. After installing Plus! for Windows XP, a new command, Plus! Speaker Enhancement, appears on the Tools menu in Media Player. Point to it, and then click Configure Speakers. The Properties dialog box for the active speaker profile opens, and then click the Change Speaker Profile button In the Media Player Change Speaker Profile dialog box, click Check for New Profiles, and any new profiles that are available on the Internet will be automatically downloaded and installed in your profile list.
My next column will explore additional digital media tools in Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP. But you don't have to wait for my column. If you don't already have Plus! for Windows XP, you'll find it well worth its small price tag.
Galan Bridgman is a developer, architect, and enthusiast for digital media technologies. He co-developed QuickTime for Windows for Apple Computer. At Starlight Networks he developed innovative client and backend technologies using ActiveMovie® and NetShow® Server, the precursors to Windows Media Technology. He is a full-time consultant, and is currently developing a next-generation, fully-automated radio station using Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series technologies. After hours he enjoys showing others how to make the most of Microsoft's latest Windows Media applications. Check Galan's Web site for more information about him.
