DVR / HTPC
If you use Windows Media Center on a dual monitor or multi-monitor system you may be aware that WMC "traps" the mouse so that you cannot work on the other monitor. This is a big annoyance for Media Center users who enjoy a little entertainment while browsing the web or doing a little work. Fortunately there is a little app called the Maxifier that eliminates this "trapping" and let's you run Media Center in full screen mode on any monitor. It also offers additional options and customizable hot keys. There is a stable version (1.4) for Vista Media Center and a Beta version (1.5) for Windows 7.
This is a really simple little app that solves a big annoyance for many Media Center users. You can download it and give it a whirl here, or read my full write up on The Maxifier at How-To Geek.
Boxee is one of the nicer HTPC solutions this side of Windows Media Center. It's not perfect by any means, but It has been slowly and surely making improvements over the last several months. It's latest version release (0.9.21.11487) features greatly improved media identification. Identifying media, movies in this case, has gone from rather clunky, to somewhat refined in a short period of time. Not only has the initial identification improved, but fixing errors and unknown files is super easy.
Boxee uses IMDB to pull it's movie information and cover art. As long as you have your movie files named properly based on IMDB standards, you're pretty much half way there.
This is a bit of a follow up on my previous article on how to play VIDEO_TS and VOB files in Windows 7 Media Center. The first time I focused mainly on how to play the DVD rips using the Media Browser plug-in for WMC. This time around, I'm going to focus specifically on ripping your DVD to play in the native Windows 7 Media Center Movie Library.
Once again, I'm going to use DVDFab's HD Decrypter to rip the DVD, but we're going to adjust some settings so that HD Decrypter creates an xml file that we can use to automatically pull cover art and metadata for our movie collection in the native Movie Library.
Boxee is a pretty cool HTPC solution, but I'm not a huge fan of the background look of it. Fortunately changing the background in Boxee is pretty easy. You can choose a static image, or a rotating group of images from a folder.
First you'll want to find yourself some nice high resolution landscape images. (They don't have to be pictures of landscapes, just landscape orientation... ) Go to Settings > General and then select Background image on the left. You then see the option to either set a background image or a background image folder. If you choose background image folder, Boxee will rotate through your background images, transitioning every 10 seconds. Check out my full article post on Boxee backgrounds at How-To Geek.
So, you'd like to cut the commercials out of some of your recorded TV programs? There aren't too many programs around that can edit Windows 7 Media Center's Recorded TV (.WTV) files. Before you go digging through Google looking for answers or dropping some cash for a fancy program, you might want to check out this little Windows application that might be right under your nose.
I'll admit it. Initially, I didn't even think about trying movie maker to edit Windows 7's WTV or DVR-MS files. The general consensus solution for editing WTV files was to convert them to DVR-MS files, then use any of a variety of apps to cut commercials, or save favorite clips. While I was perusing the online help files in Windows Live Movie Maker, I noticed WTV as one of the supported file types. I immediately grabbed a couple files, imported them into WLMM and gave it a try. Sure enough, it worked, and it really didn't take very long.
I came across these tips from Ben Drawbaugh (who writes for Engadget HD) on how to reset Windows 7 Media Center if things are starting to get a bit sluggish. My Media Center hasn't gotten to this point yet, so I haven't tried it myself, but at the rate that I install and test plug-ins, etc, I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Ben notes that you should use these tips at your own risk and it worked for him but he gives no guarantee they'll work for you.
Check out Ben's full instructions here on his personal blog. If you give them a try, let me know what you think!
If you found a movie or TV show on Netflix Instant that you really like, you can easily find related titles that you may also enjoy.
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