Adding a Music Background

Now it's time to add some real pizzazz to your visual display by delighting the ears as well as the eyes. Once again, Media Center makes it easy. Here's all that's required to add a soundtrack to your instant slide show:

1. Press Start on the remote (or click on the green Start button icon at the upper left of the screen) to exit My Pictures and return to the Media Center main menu.

2. Select My Music, and then choose the music you want to use as your slide show background. Press Play.

3. As the music begins to play, return to the main Media Center menu and select My Pictures. Information about the music that's playing will be displayed in the inset window (see Figure 18.9).

   Figure 18.9. The inset window in My Pictures displays the title and length of the music track you have selected to accompany your slide show.

   

4. Start your slide show as described previously.

tip

Want to create a longer soundtrack for your slide show? Use the features discussed in Chapter 16 to create a playlist, and then launch that before playing your slideshow.

Admittedly, this procedure is a bit kludge . Don't be surprised if Microsoft creates an even easier way to achieve this effect in a subsequent revision of the Media Center software. The capability to store your music preference and launch a "scored" slide show with one or two button presses would also be a welcome enhancement.