Microsoft
has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to the living-room PC
experience, thanks to Media Center. Slick interfaces and powerful
audio/video features combine with the power of a full computer to create
a nice experience—though it pays if your PC is CableCard-compatible,
for full HD over cable. In Windows 7, Microsoft added even more
functionality to an already polished package.
New Context/Details Menu
Most
menus share this new look, which pops up whenever you select a song,
album, photo or video for playback. In each case, the page looks similar
in structure but the information it provides is different. In the case
of music here, you can select a track from the album on the first menu;
in the secondary "actions" menu, you get choices like "Burn a CD/DVD."
Pictures and Slide Show Creator
Not
only has the main pictures browser been tweaked, but now in a new slide
show creator, you can hand-pick the photos you want for a slide show on
the fly. If you go into the Picture Library, then select "slide shows"
from the sub-menu, you can create a new list that puts you in control of
the photos in your slide show.
New Video Now Playing Menu
The
on-screen context menu while watching videos is also redesigned, and
it's pretty unobtrusive. One thing Microsoft figured out with Media
Center is how to use a gradual fade as a transition between menus and
content in their UI. To check out the new Now Playing bar, just use the
left/right keys to move through the options at hand. I'm a fan of it,
personally.
Chronological Turbo Scroll for TV Schedules
In most on-screen TV guides, trying to browse a few days ahead is either slow and tedious or so fast you miss your target. In Media Center, the Turbo Scroll feature speeds things up a lot. If you hit the left/right arrow keys for a few seconds while browsing the onscreen guide, the channel listings become a blur, but over that blur appears a marker showing day and approximate time, so you can speed up, then stop on a dime when you get to the spot where you think your show is listed. It's probably quite useful, but as you can see in the video above, it's so cool, you'll do it even if you're not looking for anything.
In most on-screen TV guides, trying to browse a few days ahead is either slow and tedious or so fast you miss your target. In Media Center, the Turbo Scroll feature speeds things up a lot. If you hit the left/right arrow keys for a few seconds while browsing the onscreen guide, the channel listings become a blur, but over that blur appears a marker showing day and approximate time, so you can speed up, then stop on a dime when you get to the spot where you think your show is listed. It's probably quite useful, but as you can see in the video above, it's so cool, you'll do it even if you're not looking for anything.
Alphabetical Turbo Scroll for Music
Similarly, the music player also has a Turbo scroll feature. Again, if you hold down one of the left/right arrow keys while scrolling through any of the categorized music lists for a few seconds, it also begins to zoom through the album cover thumbnails/song titles/artists, with the general section of the Alphabetically organized library that it's in (Ab, Gi, Se, etc...). When you see you're getting close to the name of the album you want, the scroll also stops fast, and you are free to browse.
Similarly, the music player also has a Turbo scroll feature. Again, if you hold down one of the left/right arrow keys while scrolling through any of the categorized music lists for a few seconds, it also begins to zoom through the album cover thumbnails/song titles/artists, with the general section of the Alphabetically organized library that it's in (Ab, Gi, Se, etc...). When you see you're getting close to the name of the album you want, the scroll also stops fast, and you are free to browse.
Video Playback Behind Menus
If
you're watching a video (or listening to a song) and you want to exit
to the main menu to look at something else, the video (or album art)
will continue to play in a slick-looking dissolved background behind the
UI. To check it out, just start watching a video or listening to a
song, then exit to the main screen while selected media is playing. It's
like multimedia multitasking.
Start Menu/Taskbar Launcher
The
nice thing about bringing up Media Center in the Start Menu (or right
clicking while pinned to the taskbar), is that it displays a list of
frequently accessed sections of Media Center. This can be either
specific files, like photos and videos, or functions, such as TV. This
saves the trouble of having to burrow through 4 menus to get to
something you already have in mind. After hitting the Start button, just
click the arrow next to the Media Center icon to bring up the secondary
list.
Album Art Grid
When
you play a song in Media Center, not only is the album art for the
selected song shifting from side to side on the screen, but there's a
quilt of all the other album covers cascading down behind it in a fluid
motion. It's nice to look at, not to mention a bit hypnotic.
Media Center on Xbox
The setup process will begin, and voila, you have Media Center on your Xbox. Much of it looks and acts the same as it's Windows counterpart, with one added feature: If you use the Play To feature in Windows Media Player on your PC, it will work with Xbox Media Center. Pretty neat.
Inside Tip:
In the beta, we learned that it was better for the Media Center PC to
be connected via Ethernet or Wireless N to the router. (The Xbox can be
connected wirelessly or via Ethernet, it allegedly doesn't matter.) If
you have been experiencing a very sluggy Media Center Extender
experience on the Xbox, try ditching slower connections and to your
computer.
Virtual Channels
One
of Win 7 Media Center's most anticipated new features is virtual TV
programming, or virtual channels, that make up the enhanced IPTV
features hinted at previously. More than just running promotional
2-minute clips, the goal for Microsoft is to offer on-demand full
episodes, possibly even from Hulu
and other content providers. MSNBC is currently up and running, and the
feature looks promising with a nice looking on-screen guide, regularly
updated content and the ability to make on-demand video playlists. You
can eventually find these virtual channels under Extras. For now, it's
just MSNBC that actually works, but the basic idea of mixing on-demand
functionality in media center is pretty awesome.
Video Thumbnail Scroll
When
you're playing back any HD video, and you're scrolling along the
timeline (back or forward arrow keys, or dragging the timeline) there's a
thumbnail that pops up, providing visuals on the scene you're about to
skip to. It's like fast forwarding while using Netflix streaming, and
it's a pretty useful, if subtle feature. I'd love to see it extended to
all video playback.
Photo Wall During Music Play Back
When
listening to music, if you select to "Play Photos," it will begin a
slide show of sorts, that arranges your photos into a giant wall, then
pans and zooms through the lot, fading in from grayscale to a full color
view.
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