Turn your PC into a home-entertainment centre

Launch your browser, visit www.team-mediaportal.com and click on Download Media Portal in the ‘Quicklinks’ column. Go down to Latest Release then click on Download. Save the file to the Windows Desktop and once the transfer is complete double-click on the file to begin installation. Make sure you are still connected to the internet. Select English language then click on Next. Make sure the option ‘Start with the installation now’ is selected then click on Next. The subsequent steps will ask you how you’re going to use the program. This will ensure that the configuration of the program is personalised for you.

The first part of the installation process asks if you are going to watch TV with Media Portal. Only answer Yes to this question if you have a TV tuner card installed on your PC. Otherwise select No then click on Next to continue. Make sure ‘One Click Installation’ is selected then click on Next. All the necessary components required for the program will be listed. Click on Install to continue. You will need to wait while the program components are downloaded and installed on your PC. At the end of the installation click on Exit.

Now Media Portal is installed on your PC it needs to be configured so your existing media can be displayed within its menus. Click on Start, go to All Programs and select Team Media Portal. Click on Media Portal and choose Media Portal Configuration. When prompted leave the configuration in ‘Normal mode’ and click on Continue. First go to Videos and select Video Folder. Make sure the location of the folder containing your videos is displayed. If not, click on Add. Under the Visual name heading enter a title then click on the button in Local folder and locate the appropriate folder.

Repeat this process with other categories such as Pictures and Music. If the folder location isn’t already listed, click on Add and browse to the location of the files. Another category you can configure is Weather. This provides an up-to-date weather report in Media Portal. Click on Add and choose your geographical location. Other categories can be configured but start using the program first to get a feel for it. You can return to the configuration at any time to fine tune settings. Click on OK in the Configuration program when you’ve finished.

Click on Start then go to Team Media Portal on the All Programs menu and select Media Portal then Media Portal again to launch the program. The Media Portal interface will be displayed. Use the mouse or the keyboard cursor (arrow) keys to navigate between the different menu items. Click the mouse or press Enter to select an item. For example, go to Music and you can view your entire MP3 collection. Sort through your tracks, change views and play your favourite songs. You can do exactly the same with your digital photo collection. Select My Pictures to browse through your images or create a slideshow.

And from here, we recommend that you just explore and see all that Media Portal has to offer. What you get out of a program like this really depends on the type of media you have stored on your PC, as well as the way you’d like to use them. For example, if your PC has a ‘TV out’ connection, you can use this to connect your computer to your TV.