Although there are a growing number of users who have dedicated Media Center systems, a large number of users are still using an all purpose machine. Often times these users will switch to a secondary set of outputs (a second monitor and audio outputs) when using Media Center for their entertainment. The problem for many of these users is the lack of audio or video output options inside Windows 7 Media Center. This makes changing output sources quite a hassle, needing to navigate the various system menus to switch the outputs. For audio output, however, theres a new plugin available that allows users to switch audio output sources from inside Media Center called Audio Renderer Updater (in english).

To get started using this handy little plugin start by downloading the proper version for you (english or french) from Media-Center.fr. Installation is pretty straightforward though English users will need to agree to a terms of use they likely cant read. Once installed, access the main program through the Extras Library from inside Media Center.

Once open, changing the audio output source is as easy as selecting the device youd like to use from the dropdown box and saving the new settings. In older versions this was the extent of the options available but with the latest version the author has added quite a few extra features to the plugin. For instance there are now options to determine when these settings will be applied. This way the end user is able to set the device to only be used when inside Windows Media Center or make this the new default device permanently (even after shutting down Windows Media Center).

Also included in this version is the ability to bind the remote controls Mute button to launch the plugin. Setting the Activate speedy playback device change mode option should make this the new behavior. Users will likely need to restart their machines in order for this new setting to take effect though. Also this would render your mute button inoperable as well so the plugin contains an option to actually mute the audio. Should this option not work there is a registry file available for download as well that will bind your remotes mute button to launch the plugin. Apply the files changes to your registry and restart the machine for the behavior to take effect.

Thats all there is to using this handy little tool inside Windows 7 Media Center. Questions and comments for the author can be made on Media-Center.frs forums here. For updates on even more Media Center plugins and tools be sure to subscribe to Hack7MC to get the latest!

The popular Windows Media Center plugin, TunerFreeMCE, has been updated in a release the developer, Martin Millmore, is calling a major upgrade. The new plugin is now Windows 7-only, forgoing Vista support in order to allow for the numerous improvements it includes.

Vista users can continue to use the older version of the plugin, though. The developer says that two-thirds of the plugins users are on Windows 7, so he made the decision to make improvements the majority can enjoy.

So whats new in this release? Things users have been asking for, including:

• A new popup screen for managing the TV programs, allowing you to play the program, set a timer recording to record other showings of the program if you have a TV tuner configured, and if the program supports it you can add it to a playlist or download it (the last two work for BBC WMV programs, but not flash).
• When playing flash content, sometimes the mouse didn’t click in the right place. Now you can mode the cursor round the screen with the remote by pressing the cursor keys, and OK to click. This allows you to play even the most troublesome programs.
• The interface is now touchscreen enabled, so if you have a touchscreen media center you can easily navigate through the screens.
• Plugins are now directly available within the application. When you go to preferences you will see a list of plugins. When you pick one, the system will take care of installing and updating it to keep you up to date with your favorite content.
• MSN has been removed. This is because there is now a native media center app to support MSN.
• Improved memory management – only one instance of TunerFreeMCE will be active at any one time

If youve never tried TunerFreeMCE before, I recommend checking it out. Its a great plugin for watching streaming Internet video on your PC and Media Center extender, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five for UK users and Hulu support for US users. Believe it or not, the plugin is actually free. However, donations are accepted.

(via Ian Dixon)

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

There are already a handful of movie movie trailer plugins for Windows 7 Media Center, though they may require the user to download the trailers or install additional codecs to work. My Trailers 2.0 from MCEZone is simple to use and relatively easy to install though the full version will set you back about six bucks. There is a trial version available now however so you can try the plugin before you shell out for the full thing. How does the trail version stack up to the alternatives out there? Lets find out.

To get started, download the trial version from MCEZones plugins page and go through the standard installation process. After installation launch Windows 7 Media Center, disappointingly the default installation doesnt add an icon to the Movies strip and youll need to launch the plugin from the Extra Programs menu. This can, of course, be remedied by Media Center Studio if youre so inclined. Upon launching the trial version youll be met with a 20 second notice that youre running a gimped version.

The notice lets you know that this is the trial version limited to 10 trailers at a time total and directions on how to purchase the full version. Once the program has launched youll quickly notice that there are only five trailers listed. Though they do blend well with the default look of Windows 7 Media Center in the default settings. To change the layout and mode press the Play button on your remote or the ctrl button for those at a keyboard.

In the settings notice that there are two modes listed under Trailers. This is why there are only five trailers listed at a time in the trial version of the plugin, thats five trailers for each mode ten total. There are also options for changing various aspects of the plugins layout including sorting by Date, changing the way covers are displayed, the background and the movement effect. Though there are a number of options for each (and to each his own) none of the additional settings seemed to blend as well with the default look of Windows 7 Media Center.

One interesting setup was the VideoMode setting which seemed to want to put the trailer behind the line-up, somewhat obscured from view, but only managed to accomplish it whenever the back button was pressed during trailer playback.

The selection of movies available in each mode was somewhat disappointing unfortunately. It certainly would have been nice to see at least a single title I recognized but they seemed to be relegated to more obscure titles as many streaming trailer apps seem to be. Perhaps with the ten title limit removed bigger name titles begin to appear more frequently in the listing. One extremely great thing going for this plugin, however, is that it streams videos in HD WMV which will require no extra codecs installed and no downloading videos. This means it should work just fine with any Media Center extenders .

So the line-up of trailers was slightly disappointing as was the lack of an icon in the main Start strips by default but is it worth the six large? Sure, I actually even managed to find an obscure Ed Norton movie Id be interested in watching (and isnt that the point of trailers?), plus its only $6. So head on over to MCEZone and at least give the trial version a go.

Looking for a way to launch commands or programs to run in the background from the Extras Library menu? When you may be in luck, CW-Kid and Andrew Cherry have come up with a .dll and a set of direction for doing just that. The process can be a little daunting for novices but if youre looking for a way to run cmd files in the background youre likely able to tackle the task. This can be especially useful for those looking to run mc2xml or that have setup batch files to process WTV to DVR-MS conversion. After following this guide youll have a handy little icon to launch the command from right inside Windows 7 Media Center.

To get started youll need to download the .dll file created by Andrew Cherry and extract it to the C:Windowsehome folder. This will handle the launching of the cmd file in the background. These cmd files are simple text files with the .cmd extension that can be written to do anything you can do from a standard command line interface, also known as a batch file.

Once youve got the .dll file extracted to the ehome directory and a batch file ready to run create a new xml file. Again this is a simple text file which can be created in any notepad application, simply save the file with the .xml extension and its an xml file. Copy the following into the new XML file:

The title text that appears below the icon in Media Center”

With the release of My Movies 3 one of the most popular movie library plugins for Media Center makes its way into Windows 7. The plugin has received a complete makeover to the user interface as well as updated code to work with the new structure of the Windows 7 Media Center platform. How does this update to an old standby fare against the new mainstays in the Windows 7 Media Center arena? My Movies does bring some features to the table that similar applications dont have such as disc copying inside Media Center that may well make some converts of other plugin users. Lets see how My Movies 3 stands up.

To get started My Movies 3 can be downloaded from the My Movies website. Downloading the plugin is completely free and the basic features are free for everyone to use but there are limitations built into the software. Users who havent used the My Movies software previously are likely to be surprised by the limitations. My Movies uses an Xbox Marketplace style points system for purchasing extra features. Points can be had for participating in the submission of movie metadata to any titles with less than adequate metadata or can be purchased for cold hard cash. A full compliment of features will set you back a whopping $50 if you should choose the cash route.

My Movies uses a collection management application to manage the titles in your movie collection. This setup allows you to install a server/client setup to enable storing your collection data at a single machine and network the data between multiple computers. This is certainly a plus, allowing edits to metadata and images to be propagated across a users entire network without needing to make the changes on each machine. Collection management applications are becoming a much more popular alternative to downloaded or handcrafted text/xml files to store metadata for your movie collection and proves to be much more user friendly.

For those opting to add points to their account through submitting metadata, they can do so through the collection management application. Simply locate any titles in your collection that contain less than adequate metadata, indicated by a yellow or red indicator icon next to the title. These titles are able to be updated inside the management application and will then ask you to submit your additional data to the My Movies service. Youll need to read the guidelines first and agree to the terms of the service or face penalties including suspension of your account. The guidelines are an effort to prevent questionable data from being entered into the central system and keep the metadata complete and clean and curb submitting data simply for points.

Onto the real meat of the plugin, the actual Media Center application, we see a familiar interface similar to other popular movie collection plugins such as Media Browser and Open Media Library. This is actually a departure for My Movies, formerly featuring a more menu based interface reminiscent of the original Media Center. The interface has been updated to reflect the Windows 7 Media Center style but has run into some growing pains along the way.

As you can see in the image above, My Movies uses the default style to output the movie title, date and rating information. The problem comes in when the movie title extends to cover the majority of the third row, obscuring the view. To complicate the situation further, stopping on a single title for approximately four seconds results in the entire display fading into the fan art view and hiding the collection completely.

The other view available to users without the appropriate point levels, list view, suffers the same problem with the fan art display. Stopping on a single title fades the view making reading the listing impossible. Though the list view does have a description of each movie as well as ratings, dates, cast and crew and more information that remains visible.

For those not opting to go the metadata submission route the other two collection views will run you $20 and $40 respectively for covers with details or centered covers. While probably the biggest included feature, disc copying, costs a full $50 to unlock the feature. While this is likely a killer feature for a select few many will likely be content with ripping their disks on a networked pc and simply transferring them with plenty of free software available to get the job done.

Despite setbacks in the interface design, once theyre addressed My Movies 3 looks to provide a feature complete solution to browsing and even growing your Windows 7 Media Center movie library. The collection manager is solid and easy to use for even the newest of users and the plugin interface meshes very well with the default Windows 7 Media Center design making for a seamless integration into an existing system. Unfortunately, considering these usability problems and the price involved in unlocking many features that are included free with other Windows 7 Media Center plugins, disc copying aside, its hard to recommend My Movies 3 over the alternatives.

Now that weve covered a handful of great plugins to improve your Windows 7 media Center, here and here, its time to go through a few programs and background plugins that can greatly improve your experience. These programs and plugins will improve on the Media Center interface as well as adding some missing options and features that are lacking in the basic Media Center installation. Add logos to the TV guide listings, create your own Media Center themes, put Caller ID on your TV and more.

Programs

My Channel Logos

My Channel Logos allows you to quickly and easily add channel logos to your Windows 7 Media Centers TV guide listings improving both the appearance and usability of the guide. The newest versions of this program even include sets of downloadable channel logos including color versions. Using the program is quite easy as well, once youve setup your TV guide listings inside Media Center just open the program and select your region then apply channel logos. My Channel Logos will search through your guide files and make the appropriate changes to add logos, just relaunch Media Center.

Media Center Studio

Media Center Studio, the successor to Menu Mender, is the ultimate in Windows 7 Media Center customization apps. Allowing you to design, create and distribute your own Media Center themes as well as customize and create your own start menu strips. Change the Media Center background, add a games strip and more all with ease using this handy program. This program makes it simple to create and rearrange your Media Center interface until youve got it just the way you like it. Make changes to the graphic interface by using your own images and fonts then just drag and drop start strip tiles to make your Media Center truly unique.

More Plugins

MC7 Sleep Timer

Though a sleep timer likely isnt one of the firs things to cross your mind as a missing feature, if youre used to having one on your television it can be a sorely missed feature. MC7 Sleep Timer is exceptionally easy to use as well. Simply install the plugin then use the plugin interface in the Extra Programs listing to set a sleep timer for any number of intervals. Quick buttons are available for 30 and 60 minutes as well as teh ability to create a custom timer button and even just turn off your monitor. This handy little tool is sure to make at least a few Media Center enthusiasts setups complete.

Refresh Rate Changer

There are plenty of movie and media enthusiasts that prefer to watch their content the way is was originally intended, which includes in the original refresh rate. By default Windows 7 Media Center runs in the default resolution of your monitor, typically 60hz, however much of todays HD media is intended to be played back at 24hz. Refresh Rate Changer will let you do just that. Just setup the resolutions and refresh rates for your monitor and media in the options file then access the plugin inside Media Center to change the refresh rate. Though not automatic and requiring an automatic restart of Media Center its a solution to the problem.

Vista Caller ID

Not just for Vista any longer, Vista Caller IDs developers have even create a plugin to allow you to harness the programs functions to get Caller ID right inside your Windows 7 Media Center. A feature commonly included in modern cable and satellite DVR boxes and sorely missed by many making the switch. As long as youve got a compatible analog modem, install the basic program and the Media Center plugin to get started. Then be sure to setup your preferences and youll be all set.

Finally, dont forget to subscribe to Hack7MC as we bring you the latest and greatest news from the Windows 7 Media Center community including plugins, hacks and programs to complete your dream Media Center setup. Hopefully youve found most of the plugins you need already in this guide, including the previous parts 1 and 2. Stay tuned to Hack7MC as we bring you even more!

As any bachelor can tell you the basic sleep timer function built into any recent (or even not so recent) television is the perfect partner for those nights falling asleep on the couch. This basic functionality has long been missing from Windows Media Center however. For those missing this feature, look no further. The Green Button forum member StixBit has created a plugin to fill the gap, providing a Sleep Timer menu that allows for 30 minute, 60 minute and custom sleep timers.

To get started using this handy little plugin, download and install the package either from StixBits LiveDrive or the Hack7MC server. Once installed, launch Windows 7 Media Center, youll find the plugin in the Extra Programs area under the Extras menu.

From inside the plugin interface youll find options to set a sleep timer for 30 and 60 minutes as well as the ability to setup a custom time at five minute intervals by selecting the Custom Timer button and pressing the right arrow until youve got the appropriate amount of time. Once youve got your custom timer set just press the button and the sleep timer will take care of the rest.

There are even options to turn off the Monitor from the sleep menu as well as cancel the timer completely. Unfortunately, however, this plugin doesnt currently work with extenders and accessing the Sleep Timer from the Extras Menu is slightly more cumbersome than your standard TV sleep timer. If the timer could be set through a simple button press of the remote it would be quite a bit more user friendly.

For those looking to add this basic function to their Windows 7 Media Center though the solution is more than adequate to get the job done. Its great to see the Media Center community coming together to add the type of features included in other systems that seem to have been left aside by the Microsoft team. Thanks to StixBit for this handy plugin and be sure to give it a try!

The latest version of Open Media Library is now available for download from openmedialibrary.org and it includes a number of bug fixes and some minor additions. The additions are mostly in the back-end and database manager, however, the bug fixes are certainly worth the update. Much of the work in this patch focuses on the database editor provided to allow users to work with the new SQL database backend which makes OML performance incredible compared with other Media Center movie library plugins. If you havent already be sure to check out our post on the Open Media Library .4 beta.

For those whove already got the SQL server version installed updating to the latest version is as simple as downloading and installing the latest client version. Weve got the 0.4.2 client for x86 systems and x64 systems available for download or you can head over to the Open Media Library site to get the latest versions. For those who havent given the 0.4 server a try yet weve got them available for x86 systems and x64 systems as well. As previously noted in the last Open Media Library article, single system installs require the server version to be installed though if youve already got server version 0.4 the latest client is all that is required to update to version 0.4.2.

For those updating, heres a list of bug fixes and changes in this update, from the OML website:

Fixed:

• Bug fixes to importing previous oml.dat files
• Bug fixes to importing MyMovies.xml files
• bug fixes to importing oml.xml files
• bug fix to the moviecollectorz plugin
• Trailers now work
• fixed disappearing box art in db editor
• bug fixes to backing up/restoring the database
• various crashing fixes relating to meta data searches
• fanart from 0.3 versions of oml will now be pulling into 0.4 during import
• fixed race condition in the database layer
• deleting and updating favorites should now work
• fixed various issues when using 4:3 resolution tvs
• bug fixes relating to extenders (diff bugs for vista and win7 fixed) (extenders)
• fixed bug in transcoding mkv files under win7 (extenders)
• various fixes to drag/drop in the db editor

Added:

• Added firewall exception to the installers for sql server
• Added separate settings for plugins (movies vs tv)
• ability to remove fanart from db editor
• more logging
• ability to rebuild the database from scratch
• ability to do meta-data searches for tv shows and seasons

Changed:

• tv episodes now use frontcover image instead of thumbnail for display

If youre havent already given Open Media Library a try be sure to check out our previous guide to getting started with version 0.4 and check it out. With development speeding up recently OML is sure to become a favorite for Windows 7 Media Center users in no time. Also, if youve got graphic design experience or coding skills be sure to head on over to the OML forums and lend a hand. Currently theyre looking for someone to create a few icons for use inside Media Center and coders and plugin creators are always in demand.

Dont forget to subscribe to Hack7MC for the latest on Open Media Library!