Today, Windows 7 controls my home entertainment experience in my living room. It does so through Windows Media Center. I am using the same setup I blogged about here in 2007 with Windows 7 and it’s an amazing experience. Because of how well it works for me, I wanted to highlight 7 great things you can do with Windows Media Center in Windows 7. Windows 7 can easily be the center of your home entertainment experience just like it is with mine.
#1: Watch Live TV on your Windows 7 PC.
If your Windows 7 PC has a TV tuner, you can use Windows Media Center to watch, pause, and rewind live TV directly on your PC! If you’re Windows 7 PC doesn’t have a TV tuner, you can always add one – they are quite inexpensive.
Windows Media Center in Windows 7 supports High Definition TV (HDTV) capabilities as well. Earlier last month, we announced support for Switched Digital Video (SDV). We also announced that customers will now be able to add a digital cable tuner with CableCARD support to their PC. Previously, digital cable tuners with CableCARD support were only available on new PCs from OEMs that supported the configuration. Digital cable tuners with CableCARD support differ from standard TV tuner cards as they support digital cable through “CableCARDs” rented from your cable provider for digital cable channels. Assuming you have the right subscription, this enables you to access the full line-up of channels offered by your cable provider, including the premium channels.
There are also TV tuner cards that support “over-the-air” HDTV (ATSC) with an antenna as well as Clear QAM.
#2: Turn your Windows 7 PC into a DVR (Digital Video Recorder)!
Windows Media Center lets you schedule recordings of TV shows and movies. You can even schedule to record all instances (new episodes) of your favorite TV show! Windows Media Center also makes it very easy to view all your recorded content.
I talked about HDTV and the use of digital cable tuners with CableCARD support above. Microsoft and CableLabs are working together to allow people with digital cable tuners with CableCARD support more portability with their recorded digital cable TV. Recordings that are marked as “copy freely” (CF) will now be able to play on other PCs and portable devices.
#3: Easily find the TV shows and movies that you want to watch.
Windows Media Center has great search capabilities built-in so you can easily find all your favorite TV shows and movies. This makes it easier to schedule recordings.
#4: Access all your personal media in one place - no matter where it is.
Windows Media Center brings in all your digital media– photos, movies, music, and recorded TV shows – into one place. Windows Media Center also takes advantage of HomeGroup in Windows 7 and allows you to access digital media content from other PCs!
With recorded digital cable TV content marked as CF – you can share this content throughout your home network of Windows 7 PCs using HomeGroup (see #2 above). You can even access it when you are away from home with Remote Media Streaming in Windows 7.
#5: Track your favorite sports, players, and leagues.
If you’re a sports nut, you can use Windows Media Center to track your favorite teams and leagues. Windows Media Center lets you track scores, players, and leagues natively within Windows Media Center. You can also see quickly jump to sports on “now” and check sports coming on “later” in Windows Media Center too.
#6: Access your recorded TV and digital media where you want: on the PC or on the TV.
Windows 7 supports a variety of high end displays including HDTVs. You can connect your PC to your HDTV and use Windows Media Center to watch and view all your media. Of course this works with a standard PC monitor too. But because Windows 7 makes it easy to share your digital media, you can have 1 PC connected to your HDTV in your home for Windows Media Center and bring in content from all PCs on your home network to that single PC connected to your HDTV. You could also use the Extender for Windows Media Center technology built into your Xbox 360 to access the same Windows Media Center menu you are used to using on your PC.
#7: Watch movies and TV episodes instantly from Netflix in Windows Media Center in Windows 7.
Watch streaming “Instant Play” movies and TV shows from Netflix! Also add movies to your DVD queue if “Instant Play” is not available. Full control of your Netflix account right from Windows Media Center!
I hope these 7 great things about Windows Media Center give you some great ideas on how to bring your home entertainment together using Windows 7!
"If your Windows 7 PC has a TV tuner, you can use Windows Media Center to watch, pause, and rewind live TV directly on your PC! If you’re Windows 7 PC doesn’t have a TV tuner, you can always add one – they are quite inexpensive. "
You forgot the impossibility to use tuner card's composite video input without having a certified Media Center Remote Controller. Great thing.
KoolKiz, many TV tuners for PCs come with remote controls that work with Windows Media Center.
Please please add native support for DVB-C/QAM and the ability to output to multiple outputs (e.g. analog and digital out, or one speaker and one analog receiver) at the same time.
We still do not see the option to run Netflix inside of the Windows Media Center experience on Windows 7. How do we get that to download or provide us the option to install it? Thanks.
Regards,
=D-
Derek R. Flickinger
Interactive Homes, Inc.
You know, I really enjoy these Windows blogs until the Microsoft employee posting says something like ..."Netflix in Windows 7 Media Center..." when, in fact, they know darn well that everyone reading the post can't get it yet. Shame on you, Brandon, for talking about something unavailable to us in the present tense. Where is this wonderful Netflix experience sir?
Brandon... Where is Netflix in 7MC?!
What about if you hate sports and want to remove sports from Media Center? It's just in the way, after all.
Is that possible?
It's really very interesting to see how far we have gone in few months. Look at the size of the PC used by Brandon or the guy that inspired Brandon to write about his setup and look at the size of the mini PC that I'm using to run Media Center 7.
ultramobilepc-tips.blogspot.com/.../installing-w7-in-ruvo-minicap-7-using.html
Media center is really great, however the lack of retail stores with demos of the latest Media Center and Xbox 360 setups really does mean that many many people are just unaware or do not want to take the financial risk of making a truely great setup.
However with Windows 7 having Media Center built in and the Xbox 360 being more affordable than ever there will hopefully be a turning point where more people will turn their PCs into advanced DVR's.
If these setups were demonstrated in stores like BestBuy even for a limited time it may increase adoption.
I guess Im just suprised that I have seen so little marketing of Windows 7 so far, apart from the Official Launch events and the upcomming House Parties I havent seen or hear about any advertisements yet in the real world.
Heck you could even donate one as a prise to a local public radiostation to increase awareness, my local NPR station is always raffling of lesser prises as an incentive to get listeners to pledge money.
Hopefully the barrage of advertisements is just pending!
kevo777, ctitanic, Netflix for Windows Media Center in Windows 7 is on the way - don't worry. I thought giving a preview to let everyone know it's coming wasn't a bad idea ;-) I hope to have more information to share in the near future so certainly stay tuned on the blog.
Its hard to believe that NetFlix service is actually being built into some high end TV's these days, totally out of my price range, but yeah a nice feature.
Any plans to add Picture in Picture. Also, would love to be able to do some basic editing in Media Center (i.e. cut stuff off the front and end of a recording).
Now just have to work out if I want to give up an arm or a leg to afford the upgrade price from Vista.
If you ask me, people that were tricked into buying Windows Vista Ultimate (like I was twice) (the Ultimate part not Vista, I am happy with Vista) should get a goodwill free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. In Australia to do this upgrade is going to be EXTREMELY expensive!
<3
QAM, SDV, less restrictive CableCARD, less restrictive DRM
All the features I wish Vista's Media Center had
Now if only we can get cable and other TV providers to switch to h.264 video to save on their bandwidth and save us storage space. (the last bit could also be done through TV card manufacturers, but both would be ideal)
I guess the real questions still are pending then - will the new Netflix feature actually work with Extenders for Windows Media Center this time (and provide the full functionality currently in the Windows Vista implementation)? Will it finally deliver HD streams with 5.1 audio?
My Hp Media Center PC has been doing all that and with a remote control too! It's running Vista right now. The extras in Windows 7 version just doesn't entice me to upgrade at all.
As for Netflix, with over 200 channels into my unit, do I need it or want it? Nuts.
My 2cents CDN.
Vista/Win 7 Audio Stack and Room EQ questions…
1. Any easy way to get bit-perfect output via USB, FW, S/PDIF?
a. People on the forums are clamoring for this, and are presently running into various issues with third-party drivers (Lynx, M-Audio) not really being up to speed in Win 7.
b. This approach allows doing PCM, 16 and 24 bit HDCD decoding, etc., externally, and thus people with expensive DACs will feel they’re getting their money’s worth .
2. The room EQ and related features are tremendous. And they’re even available in the Windows 7 starter edition! Imagine, a $359 HP mini as a digital media server, but it works. The beneficial effect is clearly apparent. I’m using a calibrated microphone and medium-level electronics in my office; moving this to the reference system will be very interesting.
a. Is HDCD content be decoded “prior” to going through the EQ?
b. In other words, can the room EQ take advantage of the extra quality available in HDCD encoding?
c. Is it possible to export the EQ settings to another computer? The laptop used to make the measurements might not be the one used as an audio server, even though the DAC will be the same.
3. Are the effects of room EQ, etc., once set up for the main USB audio device, also available via S/PDIF?
a. There’s a mysterious “disable system effects” check box there, and we’re wondering what it does?
b. I personally would rather do the EQ in the computer, and from there, to the DAC.
You did forget to mention the greatest thing about Windows Media Center:
#8 Make your computer freeze
www.google.com/search
Media Center is the only piece of software so far which freezes Windows 7 so bad that you have to hit the power button. I haven't found any other software which has such a behaviour, excellent Microsoft!
i can't get internet tv. i have tried eveything possible with no success. is there a way to reinstall media center.
Hello overthere
Since I passed this Christmas from Vista x64 to Win 7 x64 only with an upgrade dvd, I am suffering troubles in Media Center.
Despite of many attempts to reinstall Media Center 5.0 (2008), my screen switches to half display. I mean only 50% of my screen works including when I play old recorded TV videos. I thought it was the HD TV sets that were responsible because my center worked good only with non HD TV chanels. Nevertheless, since a couple of days, I tried to recover the center and disable again the HD TV chanels but it does not work at all. My screen has got only half of display and the left 50% sparkle...
Do I have to reinstall Vista x64 or do I have to buy a new media center ? I wish I had some help from Windows because all french forums do not know how to solve my breakdown. However I am using a Vaio RT-2SY with Win 7 x64, Sony consider they are not responsible of this matter....
Thank you for your support ! XA
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