16.2. Setup: Premium UltimateOpen Media Center by choosing its name from the Start All Programs menu. You can also just type "Media into the Start Menu; Windows then shows you all programs on your computer with "Media" in their name. If Media Center offers a little hello that says "Welcome!" and "Select Next to begin," then you've never opened the program before, and you'll have to set it up. That's what this section is about. (If you don't get the "Click next to begin" greeting, Media Player is already set up. Skip to the next section.)
Tip: You can always repeat the setup process later if necessary. Open Media Center. Then, from the main menu (in the middle of the screen, not the top), choose Tasks Settings General Windows Media Center Setup Run Media Center Setup Again. | ||
UP TO SPEED Media Center vs. Media Center PCs | ||
Don't confuse Vista's Media Center software with a "media center PC." Media center PCs are usually high-dollar investments. They almost always come with TV tuners, high-end video cards, speaker systems, DVD burners, and large monitors . Their TV tuners may even be HDTV capable and accept input from other sources, like video cameras and old VCR players. You can connect a media center PC to a television in your family room. Media Center, on the other hand, is just a program. It runs on any PC that has the Home Premium or Ultimate edition of Vista. You could even run Media Center on a "media center PC" and then connect it to a TV and other external devicesa dreamy setup indeed for the high-end couch potato. |
If you're actually operating the PC from a chair right in front of it, as usual, the whole thing might strike you as a little weird. But you'll remember the plight of the people who are sitting 10 feet away, and you'll thank Microsoft on their behalf .
The setup sequence walks you, first of all, through the Required Setup, where you'll see the following options:
Join a Wireless Network . If Media Center decides that your PC can get on a wireless network, it offers you the chance to use the cleverly named Join Wireless Network Wizard to join a wireless network. (If you're already connected to a network or wireless connection, you don't see this step.)
Internet Connection . If you decline the wireless setup, you're offered the chance to specify some other kind of Internet connection.
Test . Click a button. Test your Internet connection. Hope it works.
Privacy Statement . Click "View the privacy statement online" to see Microsoft's privacy rules and regulationsboring reading, but a must if you worry about those types of things.
Help Improve Windows Media Center . Choose to join or not to join the Customer Improvement Program. If you join, Media Center will send anonymous information to Microsoft about your Media Center use and how reliable Media Center is on your end.
Get the Most from Windows Media Center . Allow Media Center to automatically go online to get music, album art, and other media information (Figure 16-2).
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To configure Media Center, you'll set up the optional components last. Figure 16-3 shows the Optional Setup screen.
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Confirming your region is just another step in the setup process. Choose "Yes, use this region to configure TV services" if the region shown matches your own (for instance, United States). If it does not match, select "No, I want to select a different region" and follow the instructions.
If you don't choose the right region, Media Center won't be able to access the information it needs to configure itself correctly, like the type of cable connection you use, where you want your TV listings to come from, and more.
Wait. It'll take a few minutes for Media Center to download the latest TV setup options for your region. During this process, Media Center tries to detect and configure your TV signal based on what it expects to find in your region. Most of the time it succeeds.
When that step is complete, you're asked to choose "Configure my TV signal automatically (recommended)" or "I will manually configure my TV signal." Select the former. (You can set it up manually, but why ask for trouble?)
When you choose to let Media Center configure your TV signal automatically, Media Center scans for a set-top box signal, a satellite signal, an antenna signal, or a direct cable signal, and configures it automatically.
What you see and do here depends on what kind of connection you have for your television signal. Here are a few options:
Antenna . You have an antenna connected directly to your TV tuner, probably taped to a window next to your PC for better reception . Newer antennas are flexible and can be discreetly hidden behind a curtain or stapled to the outside of a doorjamb.
Direct cable connection . You have a coaxial cable that connects a jack on the wall to your TV tuner. As noted earlier, you may have an external TV tuner or one that's directly installed inside your PC.
Set-top box . Choose this option if you have a cable box from the cable company in between the wall and your PC.
Satellite . You use a satellite connection for your TV. The satellite connection is made via your TV tuner.
If Media Center reports that it can't find a connection, there's probably something wrong with your hardware setup. Make sure the TV tuner is plugged in and turned on, and verify the connections to the tuner. If problems persist, stop the Media Center setup and reboot the computer (and the tuner and cable box for good measure).
If, on the other hand, the program correctly identifies your TV-signal source, click Yes. Work through the wizard until you've successfully chosen the hardware and connections that match your computer's configuration.
Along the way, you may be asked to make a few additional decisions. For example, if you have an Internet connection, you'll need to decide if you want to use the online TV guide for your program listings. If so, you'll be prompted to input your Zip code. The Guide will show you everything that's going to be on TV in the next two weeks, making it simple for you to record stuff.
You may also be prompted to select your TV signal providerTime Warner Cable or Comcast, for example. If you have a remote control, you'll be asked to configure it as well.
Figure 16-4 shows a best-case scenario.
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After you've completed the setup for the TV tuner, signal, and Guide, the Optional Setup page reappears. It offers three additional branches to the setup labyrinth.
During this setup cycle, you can specify how you want video to look on your PC monitor or a connected television. After all, even if you're already happy with how data looks on your computer screen, watching TV and movies is a whole different ballgame.
This setup step is a lot more fun than most, thanks to the professionally produced video that walks you through the steps. When you click Watch Video, a roomful of thin, 30-something models sit around an IKEA-furnished apartment and demonstrate various concepts relating to black levels, color cast, and so on.
During the display setup, you're asked to specify:
Which screen you want to use for Media Center's display, if you have more than one . Choose the highest quality one. You'll get a great picture if you have your PC connected to a real television via an S-video cable, or, better yet, a DVI or HDMI cable (for HDTV sets).
What type of monitor you have . You wouldn't want to tell Media Center you're using a CRT (tube) monitor when you actually have a high-end flat screen.
The type of connection that you use to connect your computer to your display . This step appears only if you've connected an external screen to your PC; it tells Media Center how that TV or monitor is connected to the computer.
Your choices are Composite or S-video; DVI, VGA, or HDMI; or Component (YpbPr).
If you don't already know what kind of cable you've used, you may have to get on your hands and knees and peek behind your PC. Choose the connector that offers the best video quality. (See the box on page 508.)
What aspect ratio (shape) your screen has . It's either 4:3 (the shape of traditional TV screens) or 16:9 ( widescreen , like a high-def TV).
What screen resolution you want . If the screen looks fine, just click Yes and keep going. If it looks squished or elongated, click No and fiddle with the pixel-resolution settings.
Remember that, while a higher resolution makes for a better picture, it also requires more PC horsepower. If you choose too high a resolution setting, your video card may offer no picture at all, and programs in the background might wind up making DVDs skip or stutter during playback. Experiment with various settings to see what you like the best.
You won't get very far in Audio/Video Land without some speakers . If you haven't already set them up, this phase of Media Center setup is ready when you are. You're asked to specify:
Speaker Connection Type . This very helpful window lets you indicate how you've connected your speakers to your computerwhether via MiniPlug (analog), Dual RCA (analog), Single RCA (digital), or Toslink (digital) jacks . (Built-in laptop speakers are an option, too.)
Number of Speakers . Select the appropriate number of speakers. Choices include 2 Speakers, 5.1 Surround Sound, and 7.1 Surround Sound. Test your speakers when prompted by Media Center.
Select "Set up your speakers" to continue the optional setup process. During the process you'll state how many speakers you have and test sound quality.
UP TO SPEED It's Good to Have Connections |
How can a PC be connected to a TV? Let us count the ways. Each connection type has a distinctly shaped jack, requires a different kind of cable, and offers different video quality. Here are your choices: S-video . Generally used for connecting DVDs players, TVs, satellite receivers, and cable TV boxes. Also used on computers with TV outputs. Very good picture quality. DVI . A more modern jack, frequently found on HDTV sets, that's capable of excellent video. VGA . The oldest connection type, offering the poorest video quality of all. The connection is the old monitor-to-PC 15-pin cable. HDMI . What's great about this slim, very modern jack is that it carries both audio and video (high-def video, in fact) over a single cable. HDMI jacks appear on high-end equipment including HDTVs, projectors, plasmas, and more. It's the best option, if you have it. Component . Found mostly on HDTVs and newer DVD players. Excellent video, including high-definition, but a hassle because you have to connect three wires on each end (color-coded red, green, and blue). Component cables are being phased out in favor of digital connections. |
It's finally time to set up your media library that is, your collection of music, videos, movies, pictures, and so on. If this is the first PC you've ever used, you might not have very much media to work with. It's more likely, however, that you've used the Easy Transfer Wizard (page 783) to transfer all of these files from another PC, or upgraded to Vista from an earlier version of Windows.
There isn't much involved in setting up the media library. In fact, if your pictures, music, and videos are already in the Pictures, Music, and Videos folders, you should be good to go. You have to intervene only if you want Media Center to catalog and "watch" other foldersfolders you've created, folders on other drives , or data on other computers on your network.
In that situation, click "Add folder to watch," and then browse to the folders when prompted. (If you're adding a folder on another PC on the network, select "Add shared folders from another computer." Note that you'll be able to "see" only folders that you've explicitly shared , as described on page 729.)
Click the proper folder, and then click OK. When finished, select "I am finished" from the setup page.