Once you have your Windows Home Server up and running, the next thing you'll want to do is install the Windows Home Server Connector on your PCs. Installing the Windows Home Server Connector allows you to connect your computer to Windows Home Server. Any of the currently supported Windows operating systems can be connected to Windows Home Server. Specifically, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP w/ Service Pack 2 or higher.
It's also not recommended that you access and your server locally, but rather remotely with through Windows Home Server Connector. This will also allow you to perform any configuration or setting changes from any of your connected computers.
There are lots of cool plugins and add ons to enhance your Windows Media Center experience. We're going to look at one that is already built into Media Center. If you watch live TV in Windows Media Center, you also probably know that the TV listings is nice, but lacks a little flair. It doesn't have nice color coded program listings like alot of the commercial systems you might get from your cable company.Windows 7 Jump Lists are a nice little way to improve your productivity. Jump Lists can provide quick access to files, favorite websites, tasks, and commands from the Task bar or Start menu. Frequently or recently used items are automatically added to Jump Lists, but you are able to pin your favorite items to the Jump Lists as well.
Windows Home Server is, as it's name would indicate, is Microsoft's server operating system for home use. It's designed to be a basic server that Average Joe PC User can implement in his home for backup, file and print sharing, remote access, media streaming, and health monitoring of all connected PC's features.
You can purchase pre-built systems running Windows Home Server from the usual outfits like NewEgg, Amazon, or direct from HP. You can also purchase an OEM copy of the Operating System if you'd like to build your own. I personally like building them myself, but I don't begrudge a fellow who might want to forgo the hassle and just buy one ready to go. As a matter of fact, it's probably the smart way to proceed. Buying from HP would ensure that all your hardware is compatible and that you'll have all the drivers installed right out of the box.
Don't let the videophiles fool you. DivX and XviD are not dead yet. Most of that propaganda tends comes from the folks who feel like if they accidentally look at video that isn't in 1080 HD that they have somehow soiled their eyes. Don't get me wrong. I don't begrudge those that want the best quality they can get. And sure, there is better quality video out there, but that doesn't mean that AVI/DivX doesn't have it's place. Anyway, down off my soapbox...
If you're interested in a good way to get your DVD collection converted to digital video files you might want to check out FairUse Wizard. It takes DVD and converts directly to 700 MB (free version) AVI files. The pay version has some additional features, but I've never recommended it. Updates are infrequent and you don't get many more features for the price. If you're interested in taking a closer look, check out my in depth tutorial over at How-to Geek.
Windows Media Center is a built-in application that is meant to be a media hub for all your digital entertainment. It comes standard in the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate versions of of Windows 7. It can be used as a media player and compliment to your operating system, or with optional TV tuner cards, can even replace your home DVR and function as a full service media PC.
Windows Media Center's initial setup isn't too terribly complex. Actually, If you aren't using a tuner card it's pretty much a breeze. I'm going to run through the basics of getting Media Center up and running Windows 7. There are a few optional steps here you can probably skip, but we'll go over them anyway.
Now, this is a feature that I wish Media Center would have out of the box. Windows, however, doesn't have any built in utility to mount ISO's. So to watch an ISO in Media Center, or any number of other media applications, you need to manually "Mount" the file so it appears as a CD/DVD in an optical drive to the Operating System. Once the ISO is "mounted" it can be played just like a regular DVD.
If you have ISO images you want to play in Windows Media Center, check out Mikinho's Mount Image application. It works in conjuncture with Virtual Clone Drive to automatically mount and play the ISO image whenever the file is clicked in Windows Media Center.
To see how to set it up and configure it, check out my full tutorial at How-To Geek.
The Favorites bar in Windows Explorer is a great way to have quick and easy access to your most used folders. Windows puts a few folders into the Favorites by default, but with the exception of the Desktop, these may not the ones you use most often.
So, to customize your Favorites and make them a little more user friendly, follow these simple tips...
Here's a quick little trick for those who want to start Windows 7 Media Center in Live TV mode. It's as simple as adding a simple startup switch to the Media Center Target.
“/mcesuperbar://tv?live=true”
Looking for a switch that'll work on Vista? Try: /homepage:VideoFullscreen.xml /PushStartPage:True
For detailed instructions and sweet screenshots, check out my write up over at How-to Geek.
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