media center

Tweak Media Center for a great experience in Windows Vista

jjones | Guides | 23/01/2007 17:55pm

Once you’ve got your TV channels, Media Center is ready to rock – but there are some other tweaks you can make if you’re determined to get the best possible entertainment experience. If you don’t want to make any more changes just yet, click on I Am Finished and then on Next.

Deja View

We’re back at the setup menu and as you can see, the first option is ticked and greyed out. Now, it’s time to adjust our display settings. Click on that option and then on Next.

Quick Click

As the setup screen explains, Media Center will now make the necessary adjustments to suit your display.

There’s also a video you can watch that explains how to adjust your screen for the best picture.

Pristine Screen

If you click on the Watch Video link then yes, you get to watch a video. It explains how to adjust your screen brightness and contrast, and it features people in beige trousers and brightly coloured tops. Funky!

Pin-Sharp Wizard

Make sure your PC is connected to the display you’ll actually be using – there’s no point in configuring the display so it looks good on your PC’s screen if you’ll be watching most things on a 50-inch plasma display.

Select Your Screen

Media Center uses different settings for different kinds of displays, because what looks great on a PC screen may well look rubbish on a projector. Click on the type of display you’re using and then on Next.

Choose your cable

Now, you need to tell Media Center what kind of connection you have. For standard PC monitors (and HD televisions) the answer will be DVI, VGA or HDMI.

Born to be wide

One more question: do you have a standard screen or a widescreen? Choose the appropriate option and click Next.

Where it’s at

Media Center will now give you the option to keep the current display resolution or to change it. Make sure you’re running Media Center in full screen view when you do this – if you run it in a window the text may be less clear than when you’re in full screen mode.

Nearly done

If you wish, Media Center can now help you adjust your monitor’s settings for the best possible picture. We’re happy with what we’ve got, so we’ll click Finish This Wizard and then Next.

Mr Speaker

We’re back at the menu and this time, Media Center’s ready to configure our speakers. To continue, click Next.

Magic Numbers

Before it can adjust your audio settings, Media Center needs to know how many speakers you have. If you’ve got a 2.1 speaker system – that is, two speakers with a subwoofer – go for the “2 speakers” option.

Ear we go

Media Center will now play a tone through each speaker in turn. If you don’t hear the sound from each individual speaker, Media Center will help identify and fix the problem. We’re fine, though, so we’ll click on Next.

Media Management

That’s our PC tweaked, so there’s just one more step to go: setting up our media libraries for music, video and pictures.

Add a folder

By default Media Center looks in your Music, Pictures and Videos folders for your files. If you’ve stored or will store your media files in another location, use the Add Folder option to make sure Media Center keeps its beady eye on that location too.