We assemble and configure HTPC. Practical guide. Setting up Internet television in Windows Media Center
Windows media center is software that allows you to listen to music and play movies without additional utilities, except Kodaks, if they are not included with the system. In fact, this tool is quite slow and has little functionality compared to competitors from outside software developers, for example the same Media Player Classic. By disabling Windows media center, you can achieve a significant increase in the performance of your operating system.
It often happens that your media center is present in startup, regardless of whether you need it or not; we plan to fix this problem. It is worth understanding that this application is very tightly integrated into the system, so you will not have to remove it, and you most likely will not be able to do this. Deleting is dangerous, because the registry is the head of Windows, where everything is stored necessary information and removing any parts from it should be done only if you are completely confident in your abilities, and Media Center will definitely affect important records, which will have to be restored manually. Accordingly, if you just want to completely disable it, you may encounter problems, that is, along with disabling it, it deletes some parts of your registry that may fail at the most unexpected moment after a certain time.
After Windows shutdown The media center system actually begins to perform assigned tasks noticeably faster.
It's important to have maximum performance if you have weak computer or you use resource-intensive applications, this article is especially relevant for you. It is also worth noting that after disconnecting, you can continue to use other audio and video processing players, which are available in abundance on the network.
How to disable Windows media center?
Method 1
First, let's figure out how to simply remove it from autorun, in other words, you can use your media center only when necessary, it will not create additional load on your computer the rest of the time. For this purpose, you need to press Window + R to the “Run” line and enter msconfig.
In the configuration window you need to go to the Startup tab first and disable it if there are any related named Windows media program center. After that, go to the Services tab and find the same services responsible for autostarting your media center, characteristic features will full name Windows media center as part of the service name. When you find the items you need, double-click on them and in the window that opens, set the status to “Disabled” or “Manual”.
Method 2
Another very convenient way- is to take advantage CCleaner utility, which has the same Startup item in the service tab as in the option below, if Media Center is running, you will have an item in this tab that needs to be disabled.
After that, go to the “Scheduled tasks” tab, in which you can also remove all services related to our application, I have it already disabled, so there are no such tasks.
In the first and second methods, after disabling the necessary parts, you will be asked to restart the computer for the changes to take effect, this is important to do, but you can postpone it and do it manually after some time.
Now let's look at if you can still turn off the media center, about the nuances associated with the possibility incorrect operation We have already talked about some drivers or programs.
How to remove Windows media center?
1. Go to Start, where the “Control Panel” tab is located;
3. We are not interested in this moment enable or disable programs, so go to the “Turn Windows features on or off” menu;
4. Wait until the list is built, find the “Components for working with multimedia” folder in it, click on it;
5. In the list that opens, you can uncheck all the boxes, Windows will warn you about possible consequences, just click "Yes".
That's all, you don't have to worry that something might not work correctly for you, because you can always turn on this component without touching any vital arteries of the Windows system. But in some cases, automatic recovery No work happens when you check the box in the required section, but you need to enable it.
We will look at an example of how to remove from Windows boot Media Center, but the algorithm also works in reverse side, if you need to get the component running again.
In the Run field, enter regedit command. In your registry directory, go to the path HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run or RunOnce, remove the ehTray parameter from the registry key, it is responsible for autostarting the application.
If you are creating a launch, right-click in the CurrentVersion section and click Create. In the text box, enter RunOnce and click save.
There are cases when it is not possible to disable Media Center due to the fact that there is a violation in the file extension association; it may be that your .exe or .rar files are processed by this component, for which it is fundamentally not suitable. In this case, the first thing you need to do is restore the correct association; to do this, you need to download a special .reg file, which you can easily find on the Internet.
If you have any questions about the topic "Shutdown and Windows removal media center", then you can ask them in the comments
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Windows 7 contains many built-in components that complicate the system boot process and do not make it run faster. Such applications also include a media center, by disabling which you can optimize the process of starting the operating system. By turning off all useless services and disabling windows media center, you can achieve exceptional loading speed for the OS in modern times - it will start in less than 10 seconds. And this is great luck. How to remove the built-in media center in Windows 7 is the subject of our further discussion. Let's say right away: disabling the functions of this application can be done in two different ways:
- Completely remove the application from Windows.
- Disable an application with the option to restore it in the future.
If you use the center for entertainment, then you can temporarily disable it and try switching to other programs third party manufacturers. If you initially made a choice in favor of separately installed software, then you can completely remove the center from the system. Those who have not yet decided should read the next section of our note, and those who have decided to finally part with media center can skip the second section and go straight to the third.
Disable Media
Some craftsmen rely on the famous “CCleaner” utility for everything, doing the following: going to the “Startup” page and removing from startup all processes with a name that includes the phrase “Media Center”. Let's face it - this is not the most reliable and correct way to solve our problem. Some components of the service may remain active. Let us describe in detail the procedure for disabling a service by excluding it from startup.
- Launch the Windows Media Center component and go to the Startup and Behavior menu (Tasks => Settings -> General).
- Look for the checkbox that says “Start Windows Media Center when Windows startup" and remove it.
- Launch the services.msc snap-in - this can be done from the “Run” window, called up by “Win” + “R”.
- Disable autostart of the following services: “Windows Media Center Receiver Service”, “Windows Media Center Receiver Service” Windows scheduler Media Center" and "Media Center Extender Service". To do this, select these services from the list and go to their properties windows by clicking on them right click mouse and selecting the “Properties” menu item. In the window that opens, you need to change the “Startup type” option to “Disabled”.
To complete the work, you will need to run the registry editor regedit.exe (again using “Win” + “R”) and delete the key named
EhTray from the sections listed in the image below:
Restart your computer as usual. That's it, now the desired media Windows subsystem 7 has been removed from autorun. To restore the operation of the subsystem, you must perform all the specified actions in reverse order, i.e. enable autostart of disabled services and restore registry keys.
Removing Media
Next, we will describe how to disable Windows media center for good - that is, we will find out how to completely remove Windows media center from the system. You can remove the application you are looking for in the same way as any other Windows component. To do this you need to do the following simple steps:
- Go to "Control Panel".
- Select the “Programs and Features” section.
- On the left side of the screen, click on the “Turn Windows features on or off” link.
- In the window with a tree-like list of components, find a node called “Components for working with multimedia.”
- Expand it and uncheck the “Windows Media Center” item, as in the picture below:
Media Center in Windows 7 has a lot powerful tools allowing you to watch TV. For example, Media Center can be used to watch live, recorded television programs, and IPTV playback.
However, some features must be configured in advance for Windows Media Center to work properly because it does not have the ability, by default, to play TV programs. This article is about how to watch watch in live IPTV and TV recording without using a TV tuner, which most people don't have. However, if you use the services of an Internet and digital TV provider, the company IPNET, which provides Internet in Kyiv, your possibilities for watching TV become almost limitless.
Before we begin, it should be noted that Windows Media Center works with television content just like Hulu, you can simply watch reruns of your favorite TV shows.
To begin, launch Windows Media Center using the Start menu - All Programs - Windows Media Center. If this is your first time using Windows Media Center, you will be prompted to select Media Center options. Now just select the install option standard settings. Once you do this you will be shown home screen Windows Media Center.
You may be offered the option of adding a TV gadget to your desktop. It's not particularly necessary, but it's handy if you plan to use Windows Media Center TV all the time. If you haven't already done so, scroll down until you see TV settings. Click on the option labeled Internet TV.
The next window will display the licensing terms that you will need to agree to. Check the box I have read and understand the terms of service And Privacy Statement and click the Install button.
Once you do this, Windows Media Center will download everything necessary updates. When the updates are finished, the Windows Media Center plugin for Internet TV will be installed.
You can simply click the Watch Now button next to the name of any program to watch it. You will be given the option to view full episodes or clips. Select the mode that is convenient for you and press the selected episode. You will be shown a summary for each specific episode, which provides a quick overview.
Click the play button. Now, you can go to next step. Windows Media Center works in conjunction with Adobe Flash Player. So you may need to install Flash Player. To do this, select the agreement checkbox and click the Update button.
Once the update is complete, the episode will begin to play.
Now that the Internet TV plugin is updated and ready to go, you can also use the TV guide function. At any time, you can press the home button or back button to return to the home screen. Back on main screen Windows Media Center, click the Guide button.
This will launch Windows screen Media Center, which is very convenient for quick search programs.
That's all there is to it. Windows Media Center Live TV is easy to use, but requires some specific steps and updates before it can actually be used.
Good day, dear Khabrovsk residents!
I have been a reader of Habr for a long time, now I decided to become a writer, especially since I had a reason. Not long ago I solved the problem of watching movies on an LCD TV from a computer, for, so to speak, “untrained users” - parents. They don’t understand anything about computers at all, but they want to watch movies. I'm simply tired of burning them onto discs. I searched the site, did not find a similar topic and decided to fill the gap. We'll talk about Windows setup Media Center, or rather about a wonderful addition to it in the form of Media Browser.
To begin with, I will describe the connection diagram. I have an LCD TV connected to my computer as a second monitor (DVI -> HDMI), the desktop is extended to it. Windows 7 Ultimate is installed on the computer and it never turns off - torrents are downloaded and distributed. In order to not even need to touch the mouse and keyboard, a remote control was purchased for ridiculous money Microsoft management Remote Control for Media Center.
It does not require any special settings and works, as they say, out of the box. I won’t talk about setting up WMC itself - everything is quite simple there. Let's talk separately about MediaBrowser.
Media Browser is a plugin for Windows Media Center and is designed to organize convenient viewing collections of films and videos available on your computer.
Download the latest version (at the time of writing this is version 2.2.2.) and install. During installation, the program will ask for the date “older” than which films will be considered viewed (a check mark will be checked) :-)
After installation, a new item will appear in the WMC menu: 
Settings can be made either in the media center itself, or using a special wizard. For minimum settings you need to specify the paths to the movie folders. Video files can be divided into groups (for example, “Series”, “porn”, “Cartoons”, etc.), and later these groups can be assigned age restrictions.
In principle, after this you can already watch films, but this was not enough for me. After searching the Internet, I found a plugin for automatic update information about films from the Internet, or rather from Kinopoisk.
Media Browser plugin - Kinopoisk ( KinopoiskMetadataProvider.dll) - and having an Internet connection makes it possible to automatically receive all kinds of information about the film of interest in Russian: posters, film content, cast, stills from the film, etc.
Take the latest version (Version 1.0.0.5 (12/01/2009)) and put it in the “C:\ProgramData\MediaBrowser\Plugins” folder.
For the plugin to work, you need to name files or folders containing 1 video file with the full Russian name, which matches the name on Kinopoisk, and the year of release indicated in brackets. Special characters can be skipped.
For example, the film “Adrenaline: High Voltage”.
Correct name:
c:\movies\Adrenaline high voltage(2009).mkv
Incorrect name:
c:\movies\Adrenaline 2.avi
I'll list a few more Media capabilities Browser (hidden behind the advanced button):
- “parental control” - you can specify age restrictions for various movie catalogs and hide all the “strawberries” from children’s eyes with a password;
- it is possible to specify an external player for certain file types;
- displaying weather information in the menu;
- The menu interface is fully customizable and supports themes;
- There is a note about the movie you watched.
Then all that remains is to look for the names of films on Kinopoisk and when downloading, immediately indicate the “correct” file name - everything else is loaded automatically.
Finally, a couple more screenshots of what we end up with: 
Now, in my absence, parents can easily choose and watch any film from the collection.
Download links.
Want to view downloaded files, streaming videos and other media content on your TV? Not sure which media center is right for you? Here, a summary table and Venn diagram show the characteristics of each of the most popular applications.
Not yet familiar with the idea of computers that support television? Below under the diagrams you will find an explanation and more full comparison systems If you are already familiar with the concept of creating a computer-based multimedia center, we will first offer you good software.
We compared three publicly available, and also popular, media center programs. Of course, there are many alternatives, both free software, and the equipment itself, but these are the most popular media centers that are constantly being improved and are easily installed on large number home multimedia centers.
Graphic explanation
Here are the characteristics of the three main programs in the form pivot table and Venn diagrams.
Note: The table compares standard features, which do not require the installation of additional plugins.
What is a media center?
What is a media center for? Media centers vary in features, but in general they all provide the same features that you can access on your computer or portable device, like listening to MP3 music, watching video files, Netflix and Hulu content, digital photos and Internet/ social applications, reproduce them using speakers, and can be transmitted over wireless network. Media centers can work on a large number of computers, but are intended mainly for small ones. special computers, called multimedia centers or HTPCs.
Multimedia centers have the video and audio ports needed to connect to modern television high definition and mostly have powerful processor and enough memory to handle converting, playing and sometimes even recording files from high resolution. if you have the local network with files public access And network device data storage, media centers can transfer their content to other systems and devices, as well as receive files for storage and download them directly from the Internet.
Simply put, a media center allows you to sit on your couch and enjoy most of the features you would have on a computer with a remote control. You can record a movie from streaming Netflix service or a file you've already downloaded, use Hulu to find the show you missed last night, show your guests photos you've posted on Flicr or Picasa, and much more.
Not every media center has all the features at once - some are better suited for certain actions, than others. The editors at lifehacker.com compared several apps to find out which job each one does best, tried to highlight what each system can do, and presented the data in a way that makes your choice easier.
Windows Media Center, XBMC, and Boxee
This paragraph presents more detailed review media centers - installation and configuration, pros and cons.
Windows Media Center included in the package Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate series, in all versions of Windows 7 except Starter or Home Basic, and a separate version of the XP operating system, Media Center Edition, is also available. XBOX is free and publicly available software for multimedia centers, originally appeared as a qualitative new xbox modification, but now works on Windows, Mac, Linux and XBOX systems, and also boots and works from a USB drive.
Boxee is based on the same internal code as XBMC, but is aimed at bringing Internet content - video sites, blogs and social applications - into your living room, while XBMC is still focused on downloading and playing files.
Plex- a popular and pleasing media center for Mac OS X - of course a competitor in this category. In terms of goals and objectives, however, this is an option XBMC. Most of everything written and shown in this article about XBMC also applies to Plex, with the exception of the appearance and interface.
In any case, this is just brief information. Now let's take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of each system.
Windows Media Center
Installation and Initial setup: Everything is quite simple. The application is included in the packages latest versions Windows Vista and Windows 7, and provided that your computer or media center has the necessary connectors, Windows will be able to output the data displayed on the computer monitor to the TV screen quite easily. If other systems on your wireless network also have operating system Windows, you won't have to figure it out for long system settings to start sharing files between the media center and other platforms. If your computer is running Mac or Linux, then this process will be much more difficult. If your computer already has a TV tuner installed, Windows will recognize this and use it to record TV shows.
Advantages:
- Attractive and simple recording device digital video: And you don't have to pay monthly.
— Unobtrusive, simple interface: Separate obvious sections and intuitive layout.
— A large number of compatible devices remote control: Look for devices for "Windows Media Center remote" on the Internet or in an electronics store, and you will certainly find a device with big amount buttons, which will easily connect to your multimedia center, usually via a USB receiver.
— Ease of networking: B Windows systems, that is, if you constantly create shared folders.
Flaws:
- Working with files: In general, Media Center processes the same files as Windows Media Player, and after installing the right codecs, this wave may be enough. But don't expect your media center to support wide range video and audio formats found on the Internet.
- Windows only: But you knew that.
- Sophisticated remote controls: Media Center is compatible with a wide range of devices, but they often look like parodies of remote controls a huge amount buttons If you find a simple Media Center remote similar to Apple's navigation device, let us know in the comments.
- Recorded files are locked: Of course, there are decoders, but if you want to watch recorded TV shows on anything other than your personal dialing authorized Windows machines, Zunes, and XBOX devices, good luck.
Note: By Windows default Media Center does not support Hulu, but this can be achieved by connecting the necessary modules.
XBMC
Installation and initial setup : Depends, of course, on the platform and equipment on which the installation is performed. Connection to modern Windows or Mac system should not cause any difficulties, at least as far as software is concerned. Working in XBMC from a live USB drive is also not too difficult, and, in addition, you can install the program from it on HDD your HTPC. However, installing it on Madriva Linux and connecting it to a specific plasma system with an optical audio output could likely lead to a subsequent hair transplant and years of therapy.
Advantages:
— Open access: Do you want XBMC to do some additional functions? You have a chance to achieve this, a smart programmer is working on it. XBMC runs on a different platform than its descendant Boxee, but coders have access to it and can convert it.
- Metadata and file recognition: XBMC is really good at recognizing data, including personal files and comments on jokes, when and where on the system you placed new files, their type (movie, TV show, music or picture) and quickly connects to the Internet to upload important pictures, information, reviews, and even links to video trailers and music you've uploaded.
— Light and dynamism: Generally speaking, XBMC has quite nice graphics and menus, but since it initially appeared on the basis of a project to create an entire multimedia center for gaming system, it is aimed at the image multimedia files as smooth as possible.
- Excellent, customizable design: XBMC beats even Plex with its appearance, making a person think that he is living in the future when displayed on a really big beautiful TV. Don't like the standard design? Install new skin and get a completely different look.
- Format support: It is unlikely that XBMC will not be able to play any file found on the Internet or downloaded from a friend, only if there is something wrong with this file.
Flaws:
- Lack of support for Netflix, Hulu: it will take a lot of effort for XBMC to be able to support these two largest resources streaming video. IN in this case XBMC is not the best choice.
- Overloaded, sometimes overly complex menus: The menus and display of information in XBMC are quite bizarre - your reaction to them depends on your temperament. You can do anything from any screen, GUI The application will seem somewhat futuristic to you. However, for newbies who just want to play something, it can be quite impressive.
Boxee
Installation and Initial Setup: Installation process for the latest Boxee beta version on Windows and Mac systems quite simple, thanks to the use of built-in video and audio systems to display content. In the case of Linux, the situation is somewhat more complicated. The program can also be installed on the Apple TV player, although to do this you need to know some installation nuances. Boxee is essentially based on XBMC and is compatible with the same software. OpenGL or DirectX compatible video cards are required.
Advantages:
- Support for Hulu and Netflix resources: There are some difficulties in the interaction between Boxee and Hulu, but you can watch most of the popular TV shows and movies streaming on Hulu. Netflix works well on Windows and Mac, as long as you don't mind installing Microsoft Silverlight.
— Ability to install extensions: Do you like FailBlog? Are you amused by videos on Twits? Browse them all with the Boxee app and add more resources to the "vault" where user-streamed content is intelligently curated.
- Play any content (technically): Boxee uses a converted version to support Hulu Firefox browser, Moreover, with this version you can access almost any video on the network. Boxee Browser is sort of the last resort for any web content that doesn't have its own app.
Flaws:
— Interface: Even with the app's content-focused design, many media center users find it difficult to get used to the hidden sidebars on the left side of Boxee's window and the rewind feature. Some people just don't like the way the default app looks. But this is not the most important thing; in principle, the main tools here are the same as in XBMC. But if you intend to use this media center regularly, you'll have to get used to the way it looks.
- Treatment local files: Boxee is not that good at recognizing and updating local file stores. As one would expect from a system so focused on transferring Internet content. However, Boxee provides many more features to simplify the process of collecting, organizing, and accessing your downloaded files.
