Remove TotalMedia Theatre DVD Prompt in Media Center

Dec 15, 2011 by Richard Gunther

This registry hack will eliminate the annoying prompt that TotalMedia Theatre displays every time you try to play a DVD in Windows Media Center.

Media Center Quick Tip – Starting Media Center from the Xbox Dashboard...

Dec 12, 2011 by Richard Gunther

The Fall 2011 update for the Xbox 360 brings a great new Metro-style UI to the Xbox dashboard, but where did Media Center go? You can still use your Xbox as an extender, you just have to dig a little to find it.

Media Center Quick Tip – Guide Shortcuts and Features

Dec 1, 2011 by Richard Gunther

Windows Media Center's guide may look like a traditional set-top box grid guide, but these tips may help make the guide much more useful.

Media Center Quick Tip – Enable Media Only Mode

Nov 17, 2011 by Richard Gunther

Hide the standard window control buttons from Windows Media Center by enabling Media Only mode.

Media Center Quick Tip – Add a New Drive to Your Recorded TV Library

Sep 1, 2011 by Richard Gunther

If you're adding more storage to your Windows Media Center HTPC, you can change your settings so the new drive will be used to store all new recorded shows.

Netflix HD on Atom Workaround

Aug 21, 2011 by Josh Pollard

Chris Barnes, over at Barnesian.com, has found a workaround that allows him to watch Netflix instant streaming content on his PC despite the fact that it is powered by the diminutive Intel Atom processor. Basically the workaround is to tell Netflix to limit your “video quality.” This...

Media Center Quick Tip – Fix Record Start/Stop Time Problems

Jul 22, 2011 by Richard Gunther

If the time is wrong on your Media Center PC, your recordings may start late or cut off too early. Improve the reliability of your time service updates by changing to one of a number of different services offered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Media Center Quick Tip – Remove Start Menu Strips for Add-ins

Jul 6, 2011 by Richard Gunther

Windows Media Center's Start menu groups your media into nice categories. But what can you do if third-party apps decide to install their own strips in your Start menu? Remove 'em. This week's tip walks you through the steps.

Media Center Quick Tip – 30 Sec Skip, Replay for DVDs

Jun 2, 2011 by Richard Gunther

If you’ve become accustomed to Media Center’s 30 second-skip and instant replay features for TV, you can add that feature to DVD playback, too. By default, the skip buttons jump between chapters when you watch a DVD. But you can change that by configuring the behavior of your remote...

Media Center Quick Tip – Color Code the Guide

May 18, 2011 by Josh Pollard

At the Digital Media Zone we love Windows Media Center! One of the reasons we love it so much is that it just looks gorgeous on a big HDTV. Even if you never customize it at all it looks great, but there are easy ways to make it look even better. One such way is to add a bit of color to the TV...

HTPC on the Cheap [Part 2] Review

Jan 30, 2011 by James Montemagno

Cheap HTPC is a Champ Two weeks ago I decided to create a HTPC on the cheap. The goal was simple build a powerful HTPC for under $500. I put together full list of parts that you can read about in HTPC on the Cheap Part 1. The main points are 2 TV tuners, large hard drive, smoking fast AMD Athlon...

HTPC on the Cheap, Part 1 [Update 1]

Jan 18, 2011 by James Montemagno

A few Entertainment 2.0s ago we discussed building your own low cost HTPC. I have always been a big fan of Intel with my Revo HTPC, however for most people the Atom/ION combination is just not powerful enough for them. The Intel i3 is a great HTPC processor paired with Intel HD Graphics, however,...