Due to the popularity of our (fairly outdated) top five plugins post here at Hack7MC lets take a look at some of the new plugins that have come out since then and look at what is available now. Lets not limit it to purely plugins however instead focusing on the whole range of programs that make your Windows 7 Media Center run more smoothly. The Media Center is supposed to be a hub for the whole family, providing not only the latest entertainment but also information. Getting the latest weather and even the latest YouTube sensation have become critical to the Media Center experience. Lets take a look at some of the best plug-ins and programs for getting it done.

1. Media Center Master

Media Center Master gets the top spot because no matter what movie library plugin youre running it needs metadata, likely tons of it. The program features automatic metadata retrieval for your entire collection, simply point it in the right direction and Media Center Master does the rest. Under constant development as well as supported by a single man via the MCM forums the program has continued to expand from humble roots to support a number of metadata formats and options.

For users of the native Windows Media Center movie library simply pointing MCM at the same directories and letting it go to work is enough to fill out the complete metadata for most peoples entire collections. For those using alternatives you may want to run the program locally in the background and let it pick up new additions automatically using an incredibly accurate system for selecting the proper movie. Of course, there are a number of advanced options as well, especially for third-party plugin users, allowing users to download backdrops, posters, actor images and more with out raising a finger.

Though not technically a plugin, Media Center Master goes a long way toward putting a finishing polish on your Windows Media Center setup no matter which movie library used. Nothing makes a Media Center look more unsightly than an incomplete set of metadata in your movie library while showing off to the friends. Make sure youve got yours up to date automatically with this handy little program and you wont regret it. The latest downloadable version of Media Center Master is available from mediacentermaster.com. Need help getting started with Media Center Master? Weve got a couple of short guides to using MCM here at Automatic Metadata Retrieval with Media Center Master and Master Metadata with Media Center Master.

2. My Channel Logos

Part program and part plugin, My Channel Logos secures the second spot for its ability to sublimely enhance the look of Windows 7 Media Centers TV Guide listings. Adding white or full color logos to Media Centers TV lineup greatly improves the usability of the guide itself especially when considering the sometimes cryptic call signs

While these may not be fixes in the traditional sense, nothing is actually broken, but they do go a long way to altering and improving the default Media Center experience. There are several options available for adjusting Media Centers displays that dont require extra programs or even installations in most cases. These small fixes can make a rather big difference, expanding the TV guide an extra three rows, changing skip intervals and adding support for additional formats. Heres a short guide to some of the small fixes available now here at Hack7MC.

Splitting Those MKVs

First on the list is a tiny little program which expands the number of video formats able to be played in Windows Media Center. Haalis splitter now comes in both x86 and x64 and will enable new video formats, such as MKV, by simply splitting the content into audio video streams and sending it to the already available Microsoft decoders. This sort of software is known as a splitter.

Haalis isnt the only splitter available. Gabests splitter also comes in both x86 and x64 formats and will also take care of playing MKV files inside Windows 7 Media Center. Links to Gabests splitter can be found in the MKVs for Minimalists guide here on Hack7MC. Though the FFDShow installation is no longer necessary you can expand your playback options by installing it as well. FFDShow will allow for manipulation of settings not available in the built-in Microsoft decoders.

Extended Play

Ever paused Windows Media Center for so long that when you came back the show that had been playing has now been mutilated into a worthless unwatchable mess? This is due to the default pause buffer being too small, in spite of the fact that most Windows 7 Media Center machines carry hefty amounts of storage to hold the data.

This quick fix will let you set the default pause buffer as high as 120 minutes (2 hours). Its both easy and efficient, just set it up once and forget about it from now. That is until you pause a show on the Media Center for over an hour and come back to a perfectly watchable show afterward.

Faster Forward

Ever notice skipping past those commercials in recorded television can be somewhat of a chore at the default settings? Weve got a simple set of registry fixes that will allow for easily setting the skip intervals to new values. Changing the forward setting to a minute or even just matching the forward and reverse skip intervals, which by default are 30 seconds forward and 7 seconds reverse, can make a world of difference.

Expanded View

Media Centers TV Guide defaults to a slim seven row display leaving ample room to display the Media Center background along with pertinent information. Its an esthetic choice that limits the number of rows in the EPG and can even be a waste of time. Clear up this issue and bump the number of displayed channel rows up to ten. Take that big screen TV and use its real estate for all its worth.

Made for TV

Another slightly disturbing default behavior is Media Centers habit of placing recorded from TV movies, full of commercials and cut to ribbons, in the Movie Library. Certainly this would be great if recording from HBO or Showtime but it doesnt quite work out when recording from TBS. Take a minute to apply this quick registry fix to never have recorded from TV movies added to the main Movie Library again.

7MC Doesnt Take Flac

Out of the box Microsoft seems to have a huge problem with supporting free and open-source formats, MKV and Flac among the many. Flac being a popular format for audiophiles and music lovers this can be a serious problem. The fix for this problem will require a couple of downloads but will get Flac working inside Windows Media Center and even Media Player. Though there isnt any extended track information support inside either program or Windows Explorer for that matter.

Dont Forget

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One of the advantages of having your own personal Windows 7 Media Center setup is the ability to automate mundane tasks, like metadata retrieval. Many of the metadata retrieval tools available feature ways to completely automate the process as they run in the system tray. Media Center Master does all that and more, checking multiple sources before deciding whether or not its even got the correct movie and then acquiring a ton of data and images for each listing. Weve looked at MCM before, almost a year ago now, but lets take a look at whats new since then.

To get started with the latest version of Media Center Master head over to the MCM official forums and select the thread with the latest version. Download and installation is fairly standard procedure. Launch Media Center Master from Start > Programs > Media Center Master. First time users should go to the Application menu and select Set Scan Folders.

Add your movie folders and hit done, Media Center Master will begin scanning those folders for movie or TV content as this version supports TV series as well. Press the triple arrow button to expand the TV Series view. Looking in the option there is certainly quite a bit more to the program than there was a year ago. Much of it has become standard options for metadata retrieval tools: renaming, actor images, poster downloads, etc. A few of the options, however, are quite impressive (and slightly confusing).

The new downloader feature is particularly interesting and seems to be a major of Media Center Master though instructions on how to work it seem to be quite unavailable. Inferring the intent is to automatically download television and movies one may also question its legality. Losing as great a metadata tool as Media Center Master to some legal quagmire would be a big loss. It would be good to see Downloader become a second program thats capable of interacting with Media Center Master.

The addition of a Post-Processing is an exciting addition to the program, allowing you to execute batch files and such after Media Center Master has finished processing a movie. This means the ability to monitor a folder for new movies then automatically retrieve metadata and apply Stark Covers (though youll need to use this workaround). Also, a set of options for automatically (or manually) downloading theatrical trailers for your collection is great to see included.

Back in the main dialog Media Center Master begins to automatically process the movie folders and at metadata retrieval it really is a master. With options set to check multiple sources for the best possible results and download backdrops, posters and actor images all automatically the program is remarkably accurate. There were very few movies that the program couldnt identify on the first run.

Media Center Master was able to update our metadata in a matter of minutes over the network updating all the relevant data and giving us a nice clean default Movie Library view (which seems an impossible endeavor some days). For those movies not picked up automatically, simply right-click the listing and select Fetch Metadata. If no listing is found on this manual run the MCM will prompt for you to enter an IMDB number, typically found in the url of a movie on IMDB.com and beginning with tt. This will help the program find the correct title and fill out the metadata for the movie.

The program also supports downloading content for Media Browser, XBMC and Boxee for users of those programs and plugins. Thats all there is to it, using Media Center Master really is both automatic and incredibly accurate following a quick setup of the options. The author of the software is extremely dedicated having posted 33 updates in the last year adding countless features to the program. Best of all the program is completely free and has a great community of users as well as the developer on the Media Center Master forums. Media Center Master is definitely worth a try and will likely have to back to watching movies instead of filling out metadata in no time.

Dont forget to put your name in for our ATI TV Wonder HD 650 Dual TV tuner Giveaway! Entries are over this Saturday and you dont want to miss your chance to win free stuff from Hack7MC. RSS subscribers didnt get an entry form delivered to them during the original article so this time around just be sure to click the link and submit an entry. Remember, lets be fair and just one entry per household, international entries accepted and be 18 years or older. While youre on the site why not check out some of the recent articles as well:

• MCEBuddy Still Saving Space and Cutting Commercials now in WTV

• Remote Potato now Streaming Recorded TV and more

• Changing Windows 7 Media Center Plugin Icons

• Using MetaBrowser 2.0 to tag a Movie Library

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For any Media Center enthusiast with a decently sized movie library the problem quickly becomes keeping it all organized. Things like movie metadata, covers, backdrops and more contribute quite a bit to the look and feel of a Media Centers library. At some point most turn to a software solution to keeping it all in line and one of the most popular is Meta. Recently a trial became available for a version 2 of Meta which adds a good amount of polish to the interface and some extra options.

To get started with version 2 of Meta access the official site click on Files and download the installer .msi file. Go through the normal setup process then launch the program from the desktop icon. On the first run youll be prompted for a username and password. For the trial version (which is limited) just enter trial and trial for both. Currently the software is only up for preview so trial is the only thing available to users.

The limitation of the trial seems to be that any movie marked (trial) is unable to have the metadata saved. The trial version does give you a good idea of what you would get with a complete product, which is the point of a trial after all. Program developers have previously noted that this version of Meta will be a paid product.

To get down to business start by pressing the Settings button in the upper left hand corner of this extremely well stylized new interface. Under the Locations settings youll need to add at least one path to search for movie content. Use your movie collection (with caution, this is not feature complete software) or download the fake movie collection from the Files section of the Meta site.

This new settings dialog is an important part of the new Meta with most of the settings and output now capable of being modified and expanded through plugins. Expanding the Movies section, Locals, Fetchers and Savers all allow for plugins to expand on the base functionality of the program. Under Savers you will need to check whether or not you would like to save folder images as well as the types of metadata to save.

There are also settings available for renaming your media as well as downloading the latest movie trailers. Developers have taken an interest in providing a broader spectrum of data, images and video as metadata as well as supplying the data better to programs other than Media Browser. Returning to the main interface, youll notice that the main difference, aside from the new style, is the ribbon across the top of the window.

Load the listing of movies by pressing the Rebuild button to scan the directories you listed earlier. Once the listing has completed loading, narrow the list by pressing the filter button, selecting a criteria and setting a value. For instance, select backdrops equals 0 to find all movies that dont currently have and backdrops available.

Select the movie to edit in the left hand pane to get started downloading metadata and images for the movie. Select the service to download information from on the ribbon then press the Fetch button on the far right. Confirm that the fetcher has found the right movie and Meta will fill out any missing data.

Navigate through the wealth of metadata provided using the tabs just under the movie information. Each new tab will give you a slew of options for editing and retrieving that data. For instance, select the Cast tab and youll have the option to fetch Cast images for each of the people listed. Though we couldnt figure out how to work downloading trailers for the current selection, the software does feel like it would do a great job of taking care of not only the dirty work but some of the light dusting as well.

Meta 2 looks like it could become one handy tool for not only organizing your media and downloading metadata but also grabbing those extra touches that give a Media Center the edge over a DVR. Being able to have trailers already downloaded and ready to go when browsing a movie collection could be handy. After all, most of us arent trimming down our media collection so why not store the trailers locally as well.

Depending on the final price tag Meta 2 could be well worth the money.

Most Media Center enthusiasts will, at least at some point, endeavor to replace the native Media Center Movie Library with a third-party plugin such as Media Browser. While adding the plugin to the Movies menu strip is easy enough using a program like Media Center Studio lets take a look at changing the default icons that come with these third party plugins. This way instead of using the default Media Browser icon we can change it to Media Centers default movie library icon and retain some a bit of the default look while adding Media Browsers functionality.

To get started well need the original icon. Now we have the original Movie Library icon extracted here for you but if you need any of the other default icons youll need to extract them yourself from the ehres.dll file using Restorator. Just open the C:Windowsehomeehres.dll in Restorator and browse to RCData. Locate the series of files named StartMenu.Quicklink. and extract them using drag and drop or the right-click menu.

Now that weve got the image that we want to use to replace the plugins icon lets open up regedit (start > search regedit). Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterExtensibilityEntry Points and look through the keys (represented by folders in the left pane) until you locate the one which contains the appropriate data inside. The title or Add-In values should give you an idea of whether or not youve got the right key. Each plugin will have its own set of keys as long as it has got an entry point somewhere in Media Center.

Now on the right hand side locate the entries labeled ImageURL and InactiveImageURL. These are the two values we need to change in order to change the images used inside Media Center. Be sure that the images you will be using are saved to a permanent location then double click each entry and enter the location of the replacement image. ImageURL will be the colored image for when the item is selected and InactiveImageURL will be the white image for when the item is not selected.

Now for the magic, open up Media Center Studio and the Start Menu tab. Expand the Entry Point tab and locate the icon for the plugin well be using to replace the default, in this case Media Browser. The icon should appear with the one entered in through regedit, the default Movie Library icon. Drag the icon to just before the default Movie Library icon and check the box to disable the built-in icon. Of course, you can also rename the Media Browser icon to Movie Library for a seem-less change-over as well by clicking on the name.

Then just save your settings and re-launch Windows Media Center to see the changes take effect. You should see Media Browser in place of the default Movie Library, with the default icon. It may take some fidgeting in Media Center Studio to get the image to be the first selected when moving to the start strip, however. Be certain to place it just before the default movie library icon and it should work (but doesnt always seem to).

There you have it! Media Browser in the main start menu looking like it was meant to be there all along. You should be able to follow the same general steps to get the same effect for just about any plugin. For those looking to change all the default Windows 7 Media Center icons check out the Themes tab inside Media Center Studio, create a new theme and browse to the Images > Start Menu section.

Continuing on the last article covering an assortment of movie and audio plugins you need to try with Windows 7 Media Center, weve got even more plugins you need to give a try. These plugins cover features that should be included in any decent ten-foot media application in this day and age of widespread internet access, Weather and Social Media. Be sure to check back again soon for the third installment where well cover several programs that lend themselves to an even better Media Center experience as well.

Weather

Vista4Cast

Misleading name aside, Vista4Cast is the perfect addition to Windows 7 Media Center. This handy plugin allows you to get a quick view of the weather forecast for the next few days right from the Start Menu as well as dig deeper into future weather patterns using the main plugin. The short forecast display is very configurable including fonts, colors and more. The main plugin supports multiple cities and includes very extensive details gleaned from The Weather Channels forecast. Be sure to give this fantastic plugin a try today!

Heatwave

Heatwave is a wonderful weather plugin thats incredibly stylish to boot. Allowing you to access a number of city locations you can set from inside Media Center through a convenient and easy to use configuration panel. The newest version, which also updates the plugin to work with Windows 7 RTM, even includes a built in on-screen keyboard (though currently not functioning). Now that this plugin has been updated to work with the latest version of Windows 7 Media Center its sure to return to many a Media Center thanks to it beautiful interface styling allowing for a full five day forecast to be viewing at a glance with easy to understand icons.

Social Media

Media Center Mail

Want to read those forwarded joke mails and other assorted spam on your ten-foot interface? No problem! Media Center Mail can bring you all that and more. This plugin supports multiple users and an easy to use configuration plugin to manage your email account settings. Each user can have multiple accounts and accessing email from each account is fairly easy from inside Media Center as well. If youre looking for an email solution for Media Center, look no further.

TwitterMCE

Twitter addicts fear not, you can tweet from your couch while watching movies and TV! TwitterMCE allows you to not only check tweets from friends while away from the PC but you can even make tweets right from Media Center. Use the full on screen keyboard, complete with character countdown, to tweet about whatever it is you just saw on TV or the movie your watching. You can even browse through a complete list of your friends and followers. This is a must have app for movie loving Twitter users.

Media Center Status Application

Looking for a more hands-free method of updating your Facebook and Twitter friends to what your currently listening to or watching inside Windows 7 Media Center? Media Center Status Application has got just what you need. This little plugin lets you establish a series of rules to automatically update your status on either social network whenever you begin playing media inside Windows Media Center. With advanced rules to determine exactly what types of media to update for and exclusion rules for specific files you can even avoid being overly annoying to your social media buddies (or letting them know about that embarrassing Justin Timberlake obsession).

Be sure to stick around for the next part in the series where well cover a few more plugins that take care of some of the missing features in the background of Windows 7 Media Center as well as a hand full of must-have programs that make your Media Center interface even better. Want to know as soon as its posted? Sign for one of our completely free subscription methods and be one of the first to find out!

Any good media player relies on a community of plugin developers to fix the small gaps and specific features that have been left out of the original design. Windows 7 Media Center is no exception with plenty of plugins being developed and release each day to enhance the experience provided. While its not always easy to find the plugin youre looking for weve got a short list of those available that you should definitely give a try. This short list of add-ins for Media Center is sure to enhance the basic experience with a handful of improved features and media browsers.

Movies

Media Browser

Media Browser is one of the most popular movie browsing plugins for Windows 7 Media Center, featuring an easy to establish library with customizable folders for browsing your media. Media Browser also provides an extremely sleek interface for browsing your movie collection with the latest versions adding a brand new style of start page to the plugin. Listing the latest additions to each of your folders as well as the weather, movie trailers and more. Be sure to give this plugin a try!

Open Media Library

Open Media Library is an excellent option for replacing the native movie library. OML provides an extensive number of options for sorting and arranging your movie collection beyond the basic options available in the default movie library. The newest versions include the use of an SQL database and movie collection editor for managing your collection making this plugin quite a bit snappier to use than the built-in library as well. Completely free and open source, this is definitely a plugin to try and even keep an eye on in the future.

Music/Radio

mcShoutcast

Want to add thousands of free streaming radio stations to your Media Center music experience? mcShoutcast may just be the plugin for you. This handy little plugin adds the complete library of Shoutcast radio stations in an easy to browse graphical interface right inside Windows 7 Media Center. Browse through the stations, mark your favorites and listen to any of the free stations provided through the Shoutcast directory. A definite must have for music lovers and Media Center users.

RadioTime

RadioTime is another radio plugin boasting a collection of over 100,000 stations provided through the RadioTime service. The plugin provides a more traditional menu browsing directory listing and has thousands of stations listed in each category. The RadioTime plugin will even provide additional information about the station and currently playing selections. Also, more local and news stations seem to be included than what you get with mcShoutcast if you happen to be looking for those.

Music Browser

If youre just looking for a way to browse that music collection by folder as opposed to the classic Media Center method of browsing your collection Music Browser has just what youre looking for. Media Center plugins dont get much simpler than this but the simple nature of browsing a well organized music collection by folders is exactly what many Media Center users are looking for. Music Browser even includes support for folder images allowing you to add custom artwork and album art to your collection.

Be sure to check back soon as we continue the list and even add a few programs to the list that are sure to enhance your Windows 7 Media Center experience. To be sure you always get the latest articles and guides be sure to subscribe to Hack7MC using our RSS feed, twitter or one of the other methods provided on our subscription page.

Many Windows 7 Media Center enthusiasts have forgone the built-in Movie Library for something a little more sophisticated and feature packed. Plugins such as Media Browser and Open Media Library can provide a much more evolved move browsing experience than the native Movie Library. The problem is that, although these packages typically install a basic start menu strip of their own, they dont include some of the default features of the native movie strip or allow you to customize the tiles appearing on the strip.

Luckily we can take our favorite movie plugin, Media Center studio and a simple plugin from Mikinhosoft we can recreate the original movie strip experience while using our custom movie plugins. To get start youll need to download and install your favorite Windows 7 Media Center movie plugin, Media Center Studio and the extra Mikinhosoft plugin to add some of the default functions to our new strip.

Once installed open up Media Center Studio and select the start menu tab to begin editing our start menu strips and tiles. Youll also need to enable the start menu toolbar to allow us to add and edit new start menu strips.

Next press the Insert Menu Strip button and a new strip with the title Custom Strip will be added to the end of the menu strip listing just above the auto play handlers. Start by renaming your new strip, probably to something like Movies since well be replacing the original Movies strip. Then, using the arrows to the left and right of the menu strip title rearrange the strip and place it just below the original movie strip.

Begin adding tiles to your new start menu strip by expanding the Entry points menu at the bottom of the Media Center Studio window. From here you can add any entry points available, with the exception of the default tiles. Some of the default tiles can be dragged from their original place on the native movie strip onto our new strip. Others, such as the copy disk tile may need to be added from the Entry points listings under the Mikinhosoft plugin. Dont forget to add a tile linking to your favorite movie plugin to replace that default movie library as well.

Once youve finished dragging new tiles onto your custom start menu strip, disable the default strip by unchecking the box next to the title of the original strip. Then be sure to save your changes as well (Media Center must not be running to save these changes). Finally, relaunch Windows 7 Media Center and check out your new customized Media Center Movies start menu strip.

Thats all there is to it! This isnt limited to movie strips either, build custom strips for your music, video and games and launch them all directly from the Windows 7 Media Center start menu.