2 Good Windows Media Center Apps
Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 December 2010 09:11 Written by Alan Saturday, 6 March 2010 08:00
Windows Media Center is a great addition to any home theater. Even if you don’t use it as your DVR there are still many great uses – storing your DVD collection for easy playback, listening to your mp3 collection through your stereo system, and watching video on demand from Amazon and Netflix, just to name a few.
Too make it even more useful here are a few of my favorite plug-ins.
1. My Movies
My Movies is a much better interface for your movie collection than WMC’s built-in movie function. It’s free to use, although some features require you to have a certain number of points. Points can be “purchased” by making a donation or acquired by submitting data which is missing for certain titles, such as actors names. It has a comprehensive Collection Management tool that allows you to change or add information. Unlike the built-in Media Center Movies My Movies also allows mounting of .iso files using either Daemon Tools or Slysoft Virtual CloneDrive.
Media Center Studio gives you more control of what appears in Media Center menus and how it is grouped. It also allows you change the background and create custom menus. Features include:
- Edit your start menu – rearrange or disable native menu items
- Create your own menu strips, and your own items to go in them
- Monitors your application and returns to Media Center when it exits
- Set up a button on your remote to exit your application
- Create menu items that take you to native Media Center pages, or start media
- Apply themes to Media Center
- Create new themes or edit existing ones
