Gallery: Record TV with Vista's Media Center

This Workshop is applicable only to the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Begin by clicking on the Start button and then point the mouse cursor to All Programs before picking Windows Media Center from the list. If this is the first time Media Center’s been used, the setup process will kick in while it scans the PC for photos, music and video. After that, the main interface will launch. It’s pretty un-Windows like and is essentially a carousel with the different kinds of media (TV, photos and so on) listed vertically, and the available options for each listed horizontally. Scroll through the vertical menu to Tasks (using either the mouse scroll wheel or by hovering the mouse pointer over the up or down arrows in the Media Center window) and then click on Settings.

Select TV by clicking on it, then choose Set Up TV Signal. Make sure the TV tuner is installed and working properly (ie Vista recognises it and doesn’t display any error messages) but don’t bother installing the software that came with it. Then click on the Next button. Confirm your TV region by clicking on the radio button and clicking on Next, then wait while Media Center downloads the latest TV setup software for the selected region.

After a few moments Media Center will display a ‘You Are Done!’ message. Click on the Set Up Guide Listings radio button and then on Next. Click on Next again at the following screen and then Yes, then Next, then ‘I agree’ to accept the terms of service and click Next again. At the following screen, type in your postcode and click the Next button and wait for Media Center to download a list of local TV signal providers (that’s transmitters to us). Select the nearest one and then click the Next button to continue.

Next, Media Center downloads an electronic programme guide (EPG) – this will be familiar to anyone who’s used a modern telly – which includes information on shows that are broadcast over the next 14 days. When the download is complete, click the Next button and then click the Start Scan button to find out which services (TV channels) are available in your area. This usually takes several minutes and this screen shot shows the process 79 per cent of the way through, having found 48 different TV channels.

In the end, Media Center finds 69 channels (remember that this will vary by region, transmitter and TV aerial reception) – click Next to continue and then Finish to complete setting up the TV features. Back at the main TV setup menu, click the green Windows Vista button to return to the main menu, navigate to the TV + Movies section and then scroll through the horizontal menu and select ‘live tv’. Here’s a TV show, playing right on the PC’s screen.

Notice the various ‘transport’ controls at the bottom right of the screen, such as pause and rewind. From here it’s possible to quickly record a show as it’s being broadcast (by clicking the little red button), move from channel to channel, alter the volume and so on. Right-clicking on the screen brings up this quick menu, which allows access to a number of Media Center’s TV viewing and recording features. For now, click the Program Info menu item at the top.

The TV show continues to play in the little window at the bottom left of the screen. Elsewhere, there are a number of useful features listed here to record a single show, record the entire series (Media Center will track these down using the electronic programme guide downloaded in Step 4) as well as the advanced recording settings which allow us to specify how many shows to record, which channel to record them from (in case they’re repeated on different ones); there’s also an other showings menu that lists upcoming episodes.

It’s also possible to record a show from the programme guide. Click the green Vista button to return to the carousel, make sure to select the TV + Movies menu and then scroll horizontally to ‘guide’. Click on it to select the TV programme guide. Scroll around the guide using the mouse and hover the pointer over a show to get a brief synopsis of the content. Here we’re looking at the US medical sitcom Scrubs.

Click on the name of the show and the Program Info window opens, as we saw back in Step 7. Click the Record button and then go back to the programme guide where the episode of Scrubs now has a red mark on it, indicating that it’s scheduled for recording. Click Back and then click the green Vista button. As we return to watching TV – you can see what’s currently playing behind the horizontal menu (it’s an episode of Friends) Media Center pops up a message from the Notification Area to say it has started to record Scrubs.

It’s important to realise at this stage that Vista’s Media Center behaves like a ‘real’ TV. So, because we’ve only got one Freeview signal (coming from the Hauppauge USB TV tuner) this is what happens when we try to change channels to watch something else while we’re recording Scrubs. Media Center presents a message explaining that if we want to switch channels, then recording will be stopped. To watch one channel while recording another requires two Freeview tuners, or a single ‘twin tuner’ adapter.

By the way, Media Center doesn’t have to be open to record TV shows – it’ll still display the little red recording button in the Notification Area, even if you’re busy writing a letter or surfing the net. Once a show’s been recorded, launch Media Center again, cycle to the TV + Movies section of the main menu and this time select ‘recorded TV’ to see those programmes that have been recorded. Hover the mouse pointer over an entry to see show details, click on a show to open the Program Info window and select Play to watch it.

Recorded shows can be paused, fast-forwarded and rewound using the transport controls at the bottom of the screen and if it turns out that a particular programme becomes a favourite, it’s easy to return to the Program Info window and choose Record Series – Media Center will then record every episode it finds until told to stop. Notice that this menu also allows TV fans to tell Media Center how long to keep a recorded show and also includes an option to save it to DVD.

Once series recording has been set up, Media Center is relentless and will continue to record – possibly without anyone noticing if they’re busy doing other things – until the series ends or the hard disk fills up. To take control of series recordings, go back to the Program Info screen and click on the Series Info button. The following screen lists those episodes that are scheduled to be recorded at a future date and – most importantly – includes a Cancel Series button for when the show loses its appeal.

Before we finish there’s one more feature that’s worth mentioning and that’s the ability to pause live TV in order to answer the phone or make a cup of tea. Of course, Media Center isn’t actually pausing anything, it’s simply recording the TV programme to the hard disk so that it’s possible to continue watching again from the same place. To ‘pause’ live television, just click the Pause button in the transport controls. Click Play to continue watching again from the same point.

Before we finish there’s one more feature that’s worth mentioning and that’s the ability to pause live TV in order to answer the phone or make a cup of tea. Of course, Media Center isn’t actually pausing anything, it’s simply recording the TV programme to the hard disk so that it’s possible to continue watching again from the same place. To ‘pause’ live television, just click the Pause button in the transport controls. Click Play to continue watching again from the same point.