Frequently Asked Questions - Media Center

Not easily...

This is not supported by Media Center. Many DVDs have copy protectionⁱ on them, and in many countries it is illegal to break this protection - even if you are legally allowed to make a backup copy. Microsoft has not included any type of support for copying DVDs to your computer.

That said, there are ways to do this. There are several 3rd party plugins available that assist with this. More on this topic is covered in the Rip DVDs guide.

Can I add a Cable Card to my computer?

Maybe... to have a Cable Cardⁱ tuner you need to have a computer that supports it. You are not able to add a Cable Card tuner to computer that doesn't have the proper bios and Cable Card product key (OEM only) - this means that you can not add Cable Cards to a computer that you built yourself.

How can I record HDTV in Media Center?

Currently you can record High Definitionⁱ TV in Media Center using one of the following methods:

ATSCⁱ - get a tuner card that supports ATSC (digital over the air), and get an HDTVⁱ antenna. Using this method you can record your local stations in high definition.
HD Homerun - this is a network tunning device that will allow you to record clear QAMⁱ (unencrypted) channels from your cable provider. This method works well, but individual results will vary depending on your cable service provider. This method also requires a decent understanding of how to use a computer as it is not simple to set up (it's a bit of a hack).
Cable Cardⁱ - If you have a Cable Card capable PC equiped with a Cable Card tuner and a Cable Card (provided by your cable company) then you can record HDTV channels from your cable service. The advantage to this is that you can record encrypted channels (e.g. ESPN or HBO).
- One disadvantage to the Cable Card method is that all recordings made with a Cable Card are DRMⁱ protected. This means that you can't share these recordings with other computers or portable devices (though they will work fine on an extenderⁱ).
Satellite - Currently there is no way to record HDTV from Satellite, though DirecTV is rumored to be doing beta testing that would allow Satellite HD recording in Media Center.

Search

Navigation

User login

Quick Tip

Use the channel +/- buttons on the remote to browse the guide a page at a time.

Almost any menu strip can be hidden with a simple registry tweak. Click here for details.

Pressing "OK" on the remote while watching Live TV will go to the previous channel.

With a picture on screen, press "Info" (or "More") on the remote and select "Rotate" to rotate it.

You can enhance your Media Center experience through 3rd party applications. Click here to see some.

In the Guide, press Skip/Replay on the remote to skip forward/back 12 hours at a time.

In the Guide, press FF/REW on the remote to skip forward/back 3 hours at a time.

Press "Clear" on the remote to delete the media that is currently highlighted (works for Recorded TV, Videos, Music, and Pictures).

While in the guide press the Record button on the remote twice to do a series recording.

In the picture library, highlight the folder or tag you want, then press "Play" on the remote to start a slideshow.

With an album, video, or recorded show highlighted, simply hit "Play" on the remote to start it playing immediately - faster than pressing "OK" and then selecting "Play" on the menu.