Michael Creasy's blog : Tips

Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 will upgrade Media Center to Media Center 2004

mcreasy — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 01:27:00 GMT

If you've got a Media Center PC running the first version of Media Center and didn't get an upgrade to Media Center 2004 then don't worry. When you install Service Pack 2 for Windows XP you'll be upgraded to Media Center 2004.

See here for more info.

If you want to get an early look at Service Pack 2 you can do so here. Be warned though that's a preview version of Service Pack 2, if you're not comfortable with installing pre-release software then wait for the final release later.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

Curious about which version of Media Center you have?

mcreasy — Tue, 09 Mar 2004 18:07:00 GMT

When the subject of which version of Media Center someone is running there is often some confusion - this is because the version of the Media Center software and the Windows XP version are different. To identify the version of Media Center you are running do the following:

Start Media Center
On the start page scroll down and select "Settings"
Click "General"
Now select "About Media Center" - it's right at the bottom of the list

If the version displayed is not "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004" you're not running the 2004 release - contact the manufacturer of your PC (i.e. HP, Gateway etc.) and ask about getting an upgrade.

New Media Center Online Spotlight application - ESPN Motion

mcreasy — Fri, 05 Mar 2004 19:15:00 GMT

If you haven't visited Online Spotlight on your Media Center recently, there's a new reason to - ESPN Motion. It's in the News/Sports section and delivers video highlights of recent sports. There's a small download and install required so it can download video clips in the background, once you've got that installed new videos get delivered automatically and are ready to watch. Try it out!

Question answer - MCL file associations

mcreasy — Wed, 11 Feb 2004 01:39:00 GMT

I was asked about the MCL files that Media Center uses and why the standard “Windows doesn't know what to do with this file” message can be displayed when trying to run one directly. This can happen when trying to open a MCL from the run dialog on the start menu or from a command line. This is a known issue, but I can't say when this will be fixed currently. Double clicking a MCL file should open Media Center correctly and an MCL file in the Start menu should also open Media Center correctly.

Random Media Center Tip

mcreasy — Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:24:00 GMT

If you press the record button once while selecting a program in the guide, the program will be recorded. If you press the record button twice the series will be recorded. If you press the record button three times the series recording will be canceled.