Watching Videos

Watching Videos

You can watch various digital video types using Media Center's My Videos interface. A list of supported video file formats appears in Table 9.1.

tip

Media Center can support additional video file formats, but first you may need to install a new codec. According to Microsoft, codec stands for "compressor/decompressor" and refers primarily to software used to do just that: compress or decompress digital video. The filename extensions shown in Table 9.1 each represent different codecs that are already supported within Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Table 9.1. Supported Video Formats

File Type/Format	Filename Extension
Windows Media files	.wm, .asf
Windows Media A/V files	.wmv
Video files	.avi
Movie files	.mpeg, .mpg, .mpe, .m1v, .mp2, .mpv2

To launch a video file, just make sure that it's stored in one of the directories listed previously, or on a removable media device. If your video files are stored in hard drive folders other than the ones mentioned here, you can open Windows Explorer (select Start, All Programs, Windows Explorer) and drag and drop the files into the My Videos or Shared Video folders.

Using the Transport Controls in My Videos

The transport controls on your remoteFwd, Rew, Pause, Replay, Skip, and so onmay not all be supported when you play back files in My Videos. The degree of support varies depending on the file type. (For details on using the transport controls, see Chapter 4, "Navigating XP Media Center's '10-Foot' Interface.")

Sharing Videos

In most cases, when you capture video either directly from your camcorder or by using an add-on video capture device for digitizing video images, Windows XP Media Center edition will automatically store the file in your My Videos directory. My Videos is a good place to keep files that are only for your personal viewing, or that are "works in progress" which require additional editing.

However, if you want to make your videos available for other users of your Media Center system or your home network to watch, you'll need to copy them to the Shared Videos folder. The files then can be viewed by everyone who uses the Media Center computer, or who has access to your Shared Video folder via a connected PC.

There are several ways to move files from My Videos to Shared Video, but here is one of the simplest:

1. If you are within the Media Center interface, select Minimize.

2. Using the mouse, click the Start button on the Windows XP taskbar.

3. Click once on My Documents, and then click twice on My Videos.

4. Click once on the file you want to share, and hold the mouse button down to drag the object.

5. Drag the video thumbnail image over to the Shared Video folder link that appears in the left margin under the heading Other Places.

6. Release the mouse button, and the file will be moved into the Shared Video folder (see Figure 9.6).

   Figure 9.6. When a video file is dragged on top of the Shared Video folder link, the thumbnail image becomes transparent so you can view the link underneath.

   

Using Shortcuts to Watch Videos

If you want to store your videos in folders other than My Videos or Shared Videos, but you still want to watch them using Media Center's My Video interface, there is an alternative to relocating the files. Rather than physically moving or copying your digital video files into the My Videos or Shared Videos folder, you can place shortcuts in those folders pointing to the videos, or to the folders where you keep them.

Say, for example, that your wedding video is located in a folder you have created, such as C:\Wedding\Videos. You can create a shortcut to that folder in the My Videos or Shared Videos folder so that when you go to the My Videos section of Media Center, you'll be able to select the shortcut and watch the wedding . Your shortcut can lead to a single video, or to a folder that contains multiple videos.

Here's how to do it:

1. From within Media Center, select Minimize to access the Windows XP desktop interface.

2. With the mouse, click the Start button on the taskbar, click My Documents, and then click on the My Videos folder.

3. If you want to create the shortcut in the Shared Videos folder, select the Shared Video link shown under Other Places, or browse to the Shared Videos folder, which is located at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\ My Videos.

4. On the File menu, select New, and then click Shortcut.

5. This launches the Create Shortcut wizard (see Figure 9.7), which prompts you for the complete name of the video folder or file you want to link to. Enter the location, or click the Browse button to browse to the location of the folder or file.

   Figure 9.7. In the Create Shortcut wizard, be sure to enter the complete name of the directory or file you want to play from My Videos.

   

6. Follow the onscreen instructions in the wizard, and select Finish.

Now when you return to Media Center's My Videos page, you'll see that a thumbnail is available for the video file or folder shortcut you created. You can select that image to launch the video or open the directory.