Watching TV and Time-Shifting with Your Remote Control

Just as with watching on your conventional TV, the most natural way to enjoy video programming on your Media Center PC is with the remote control in one hand and a refreshing beverage in the other.

Watching Full-Screen TV

Watching television in full-screen mode on your Media PC is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Press the green button on the remote, and select My TV.

2. Press the right-arrow button to navigate to and highlight the Live TV window (see Figure 6.1).

   Figure 6.1. Make sure that the Live TV window is highlightedwith a green border around itbefore selecting OK/Enter to watch full-screen.

   

3. Press OK/Enter to maximize the TV viewing window to full-screen mode.

To return to the My TV menu, just press Back.

Viewing TV Show Details

Although some of the TV-watching features of Media Center are pretty standard stuffsuch as using the Ch+ and Ch- buttons to change channels, or pressing Mute or Vol+ and Vol- to adjust the audioother buttons on your Media Center remote may be less familiar.

For instance, pressing the More Info button while the video window is selected, or while watching TV in full-screen mode (see Figure 6.2), brings up the Information Bar, which shows the following:

• Current time

• Channel

• TV show title

• Show start and end times

• Show genre /category

• Short description

Figure 6.2. The Information Bar displays details about the show you're watching.

Select the highlighted More Info onscreen button in the lower-right corner to view full details about the show (see Figure 6.3). Select Play on the screen or highlight the video window and press Select on the remote to return to full-screen viewing.

Figure 6.3. To get the real lowdown on the current program displayed on your screen, highlight and select the onscreen More Info.

Pausing Live TV

This is definitely one of the "wow" features of your new Media PC: the ability to stop your live TV program in its tracks. When life suddenly begins to "happen"the phone rings, or someone calls timeout for a snack or bathroom breakit no longer means missing part of your favorite program. Just press the Pause button once to freeze the live TV image.

Fast-Forwarding, Rewinding, Going Live, and Stopping

Here are a few more time-shifting tricks you can perform with your remote control:

• Fwd Press this button to choose between three fast-forward speeds. To watch at 3x normal speed, press Fwd once. Press it a second time to speed it up, and a third time for maximum speed (see Figure 6.4).

  Figure 6.4. The three speeds of fast-forward motion are indicated by the number of arrows above the progress bar: two, three, or four.

  

• Rew Press this button to make the show run backward. As with Fwd, there are three speed levels. Pressing the button a fourth time returns you to normal playback.

• Live TV Press this button and, as advertised, you will be catapulted directly to the live TV signal on the channel that My TV is currently tuned to.

• Stop Press this button to halt live TV. If you press Play again within 30 minutes, My TV will pick up right where you left off.

Replaying and Skipping Ahead

Some of the most powerful features of your Media Center PC are contained in the tiny Replay and Skip buttons, located just to the right and left of the Pause button on your remote control.

If you press Fwd a fourth time, you will resume normal viewing speedthe same as pressing Play. Remember that you can't fast-forward live television playing in real-timeonly stored video that was recorded, such as what My TV automatically stores in its 30-minute memory buffer. (As amazing as your Media PC is, it still can't display video that hasn't been broadcast yet!)

The Replay, or "skip back," button instantly rewinds your program 7 seconds and shows you what just happened , allowing you to watch that amazing play one more time. It's also perfect for those "Did he/she really say that?" moments on your favorite soap or talk show. Press Replay repeatedly to keep moving back in 7-second increments , or to keep replaying the same classic moment of video, over and over again.

The Skip button is even more useful. This is the feature that will free you from the tyranny of TV advertising, as discussed previously. Every time you press it, you will be magically transported 29 seconds into the future of your recorded TV show. A few short presses and that annoying commercial break has come and gone without so much as interrupting the dialog of your favorite show. Remember, using the Skip button regularly can give you back days or even weeks of your life, over the course of a year (for details, see Table 6.1).

tip

If your show is paused when you press the Skip button, the video will advance but remain paused . Press Play on the remote and the action will resume. The Replay button works in the same way. To quickly rewind or fast-forward to the beginning or end of the recorded buffer, press and hold Replay or Skip, and then press Play.