Using Vista Media Center

More and more of us are using our PCs for watching TV and video on the desktop.

With large monitors dropping in price and widescreen displays becoming more common – especially in high-end laptops – using a PC as a home media centre is ever more appealing.

If the PC is really going to take the place of your TV, it has to be just as easy to use. It shouldn’t feel as though you’re using a computer, and you should be able to do everything you want from the other side of the room with a remote control.

Before the release of Windows Vista, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (MCE 2005) was Microsoft’s solution for the home but it has, until now, been available only in pre-built Media Center PCs, or as unsupported OEM software for DIY installations.

What’s new in Vista Media Center
Windows Vista’s Media Center offers major improvements on the XP-based version – although many people would say that its feature set is still incomplete, and it’s not the only option (see section ‘Alternatives to Windows Media Center’).

Many visual and usability advances have been made, including optimisation for widescreen displays, use of Vista’s new hardware-accelerated graphical interface, and faster and easier library browsing. Greater use of thumbnails makes navigation much easier.

Some new functionality that was previously only available as third-party additions has also been included. One of the most notable of those is that Media Center now comes with its own Mpeg2 codec – something you had to purchase and install separately to be able to play DVDs on previous versions.

A simple point-and-click DVD burning system enables you to turn videos and recordings into DVDs from within the Media Center interface. These can be in either data backup or DVD-Video format.

Also significant is that 64-bit editions of Windows Vista are the first of their kind to support any Media Center, making it an option for those with the latest processors.

Finally, a large amount of online content is now set up automatically within Vista Media Center. You can add more by installing free applications such as TVTonic, which will give you access to RSS-based video podcasts from the Media Center interface.

Configuring Media Center Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions both come with Media Center built in. This means that for the first time anyone can set up their PC as an entertainment system, without the need to install any additional software.

However, installing Vista and simply double-clicking on the Media Center icon won’t transform all PCs into a usable media PC – you’ll need sufficiently powerful hardware and know-how to configure it before you can enjoy the Media Center experience.