Watch your favourite movies from the comfort of the living room.
Published
on 29 January 2007
There are so many television channels out there today, and while a lot are filled with dross, there’s plenty of great stuff that I can’t miss. Now I can ditch the TV listings, make sure everything is recorded, and watch it when and where I want to. If you own Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition, then you’ve got Windows Media Center, which offers no-fuss access to the multimedia content stored on your PC. It conceals the familiar face of Windows behind large, readable text and icons and a simple, effortlessly navigable menu, designed to be viewed on a television or a projector. There’s a lot in Media Center, but it’s the television features I use most. You’ll need a TV tuner card in your PC to use them – but if you haven’t already got one, it’s a simple business to add a USB TV tuner.
Making life easier
The first time you run Media Center, you’ll have to go through a brief set-up routine. Once you’ve got it working, the first benefit is that watching TV is much easier. Press one of the cursor buttons on the keyboard or the remote control (if you’ve got one) and it will pop up a mini-guide where you can check what’s on other channels. Alternatively, hit Pause and it will freeze live TV as if it were a tape or DVD – the signal is recorded to the hard drive, so when you come back you can click Play to start where you left off.
That’s the answer to those irritating phone calls that come through just as Jack Bauer is about to do something heroic, but the really good stuff comes from planning ahead. Delve into the integrated Guide, take a look at what’s coming up and tag the shows you want to watch. When they roll around, Media Center will record them automatically.
You can record a whole series with one click thanks to the Record Series option: every episode is automatically grabbed so you don’t have to worry about missing anything. If you plan on building up an archive, go to TV + Movies on the main menu and choose Recorded TV > View Scheduled > Series, select the series and click Series Settings > Keep. The number of episodes you can keep depends on the size of your hard drive. If you start running out of space, consider boosting it with an external hard drive. Plug it in and tell Media Center to record to it under Tasks > Settings > TV > Recorder > Recorder Storage.
Not that you have to leave everything on the computer. You can just as easily burn them on to a DVD (which can then be watched on any DVD player), or even sync them to an external device such as an Archos 604 portable video player. Again, both of these processes can be handled straight from the Media Center menu, under Burn DVD and Synch to Portable Device.
While we’re on the subject of DVDs, Media Center does that, too. It’s not nearly as exciting as the TV stuff, with only basic playback controls, but there is one handy extra: parental controls. Go into Tasks > Settings > General Parental Controls, set up a four-digit code and you’ll be able to set limits based on a movie’s rating.
The last great advantage of using your PC for your viewing pleasure is that you can junk the airwaves and download shows direct. This is in its infancy, but watch the Online Spotlight section of the main menu for the ability to get the shows you want, whenever you want them.
Tuning Up
The first thing you need is a TV tuner – a device that can take a signal from an attached aerial. Unless your PC has one built in, you’ll need to splash some cash. Naturally, ensure that it’s compatible with Windows Vista.
Go digital
We’d go for a digital DVB-T tuner. These deliver more channels than the five you get out of old analogue tuners, including bags of widescreen material. Better yet, buy a dual digital tuner and watch one channel while recording another.
Antenna-Shun!
Now it’s time to plug an aerial into your TV tuner. A rooftop antenna is the ideal option, but under the right conditions cheap indoor ones can work well, too. For the best results, buy a wideband one with a signal booster.
Setting up time
Fire up Media Center and in the menu select Tasks, then Settings. Enter the TV submenu and choose Set Up TV Signal. The computer will take you step by step through the tuning process, seeking out and storing channels.
Veg Out
For maximum comfort, connect the PC to your TV. Using an Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender is the flashiest route, but a cable will do. See which ports you have on your TV and PC and ask at an electronics store, or our forum to see which one you need.
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