It’s frustrating that Media Center only displays seven television channels in the program guide at a time, especially if it’s part of a home theater setup. This hack adds more channels to the program guide for easier living-room browsing. More

Windows 7: Remote Potato is a free application that integrates with Windows 7 Media Center, allowing you to watch and schedule recorded video from the comfort of your browser, no matter where you are.

A couple years back I detailed how to watch and schedule Windows Media Center recordings from any computer with an application called WebGuide, but unfortunately WebGuide hasn’t been updated for a while, and it doesn’t currently support Windows 7. Remote Potato, on the other hand, is built specifically for Windows 7 Media Center. As Ryan from CybernetNews points out, setting up Remote Potato is a bit tricky at spots, but once it’s up and running, the Silverlight-powered interface is really impressive. Once it’s set up, you can stream any recorded show to any browser, schedule and manage your recordings, and do pretty much anything else you can do from directly inside Windows 7 Media Center.

Remote Potato is a free download for Windows only. If you give it a try, let’s hear how it worked for you in the comments.

If you use Windows 7 Media Center to record TV, you’d probably prefer skipping commercials. After all, a big reason you record programs is to avoid commercials, right? Here’s a fairly simple and free way to start skipping commercials in no time.

In Windows 7, the .wtv file format has replaced the dvr-ms file format used in previous versions of Media Center for Recorded TV. The .wtv file format, however, does not work very well with commercial skipping applications.

The Process

Our first step will be to convert the recorded .wtv files to the previously used dvr-ms file format. This conversion will be done automatically by WtvWatcher. It’s important to note that this process deletes the original .wtv file after successfully converting to .dvr-ms. Next, we will use DVRMSToolBox with the DTB Addin to handle commercials skipping. This process does not “cut” or remove the commercials from the file. It merely skips the commercials during playback.

WtvWatcher

Download and install the WTVWatcher (link below). To install WtvWatcher, you’ll need to have Windows Installer 3.1 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

If you get the Publisher cannot be verified warning you can go ahead and click Install. We’ve completely tested this app and it contains no malware and runs successfully.

After installing, the WtvWatcher will pop up in the lower right corner of your screen.

You will need to set the path to your Recorded TV directory. Click on the button for “Click here to set your recorded TV path…”

The WtvWatcher Preferences window will open…

…and you’ll be prompted to browse for your Recorded TV folder. If you did not change the default location at setup, it will be found at C:UsersPublicRecorded TV. Click “OK” when finished.

Click the “X” to close the Preferences screen.

You should now see WtvWatcher begin to convert any existing WTV files.

The process should only take a few minutes per file. Note: If WtvWatcher detects an error during the conversion process, it will not delete the original WTV file.

You will probably want to run WtvWatcher on startup. This will allow WtvWatcher too constantly scan for new .wtv files to convert. There is no setting in the application to run on startup, so you’ll need to copy the WTV icon from your desktop into your Windows start menu “Startup” directory. To do so, click on Start > All Programs, right-click on Startup and click on Open all users.

Drag and drop, or cut and paste, the WtvWatcher desktop shortcut into the Startup folder.

DVRMSToolBox and DTBAddIn

Next, we need to download and install the DVRMSToolBox and the DTBAddIn. These two pieces of software will do the actual commercial skipping. After downloading the DVRMSToolBox zip file, extract it and double-click the setup.exe file. Click “Next” to begin the installation.

Unless DVRMSToolBox will only be used by Administrator accounts, check the “Modify File Permissions” box. Click “Next.”

When you get to the Optional Components window, uncheck Download/Install ShowAnalyzer. We will not be using that application.

When the installation is complete, click “Close.”

Next we need to install the DTBAddin. Unzip the download folder and run the appropriate .msi file for your system. It is available in 32 & 64 bit versions.

Just double click on the file and take the default options. Click “Finish” when the install is completed. You will then be prompted to restart your computer.

After your computer has restarted, open DVRMSToolBox settings by going to Start > All Programs, DVRMSToolBox, and click on DVRMStoMPEGSettings.

On the MC Addin tab, make sure that Skip Commercials is checked. It should be by default.

On the Commercial Skip tab, make sure the Auto Skip option is selected. Click “Save.”

If you try to watch recorded TV before the file conversion and commercial indexing process is complete you’ll get the following message pop up in Media Center. If you click Yes, it will start indexing the commercials if WtvWatcher has already converted it to dvr-ms.

Now you’re ready to kick back and watch your recorded tv without having to wait through those long commercial breaks.

Conclusion

The DVRMSToolBox is a powerful and complex application with a multitude of features and utilities. We’ve showed you a quick and easy way to get your Windows Media Center setup to skip commercials. This setup, like virtually all commercial skipping setups, is not perfect. You will occasionally find a commercial that doesn’t get skipped.

Need help getting your Windows 7 PC configured for TV? Check out our previous tutorial on setting up live TV in Windows Media Center.

Resources

Download WTV Watcher

Download DVRMSToolBox

Download DTBAddin

The How-To Geek‘s articles can be found daily here on Lifehacker, How-To Geek, and Twitter.

Windows: Maybe you’re a Windows Media Center fan with an occasional jones for Boxee apps, or a Boxee fan who’d like a little DVR action. A free utility can integrate Boxee into Windows Media Center, giving you the best of both worlds.

This Windows Media Center plug-in comes courtesy of the same folks who gave us the Hulu Desktop Integration, and acts much the same way. Click on the Boxee option from Windows Media Center’s main menu, and Windows Media Center will close down while Boxee opens up. Watch your NBC/ABC/Fox/Hulu, see what’s new on the Onion News Network, and then close Boxee—back up comes Windows Media Center.

The real benefit comes from using a remote on your couch to navigate both applications, never having to get up and mouse around or VNC into your home theater PC from a laptop to get just what you want on your big screen. With both Hulu and Boxee available as temporary switches, Windows Media Center balances out a few of its weaknesses in a head-to-head comparison.

Boxee Windows Media Center Integration is a free download for Windows 7 only. As with Hulu Desktop Integration, it won’t work with media center extenders like the XBOX. Thanks to Hector, who both tipped us off and, apparently, inspired this app’s creation!

Windows only: Tired of bland channel listings in Windows Media Center? Free utility My Channel Logos adds nice, colorful logos to Windows 7 Media Center’s channel listings so they look more like what you’d expect from a commercial DVR.

Here’s how the setup works:

Download, extract, and run the installer file.

When the install is finished, go to Start All Programs My Channel Logos to open the application. As you run My Channel Logos for the first time, it will proceed to download your regional logos to your PC.

After the Logo download is complete, the My Channel Logos windows will open. Click the Auto Populate Logos button to automatically assign logos to your channel listings.

When finished you will see a pop-up window indicating how many logos have been assigned. Click “OK.”

Under Merged Channel Listing, click to expand Channels without logos to see which, if any, of your channels are missing logos.

If you have some missing logos, you can choose to manually assign your own custom 96×42 pixel .png image. To assign a custom logo, click to highlight the channel, then click on the the dark blue box under logos.

This will pop up a browser window to allow you to browse your computer for a logo. When you’ve selected your .png image, click “Open.”

Your new logo will now be added to the channel listings.

Close out of My Channel Logos and open Windows Media Center to The TV listings guide and check out your new logos.

That’s it! Sit back and enjoy the new rich, colorful appearance of your channel listings.

Windows: If you were jazzed by the free utility we mentioned recently that plugs Boxee into Windows 7 Media Center, then you’ll love that there’s a similar utility for XMBC. It a lickety-split way to flip back and between XBMC and WMC.

Once installed, the utility resides in the main menu of Windows Media Center. One click fires it up, closes WMC down, and opens XBMC at the same time. When you’re done, hit escape to shut XBMC and return to Windows Media Center.

The app gives users a super-easy way to switch back and forth between XMBC and WMC with a remote, instead of having to mouse around a computer screen. It’s especially handy if you’ve got your computer hooked up to your TV or a larger monitor across the room.

XBMC Integration 1.0 was created by the same folks that came up with the Hulu and Boxee utilities for Windows Media Center. Between the three of them, you’ve got a pretty awesome trinity of tools to turn the native Windows media app into a powerhouse for watching TV, movies, and more.

Thanks, Hector!

Windows: If you were jazzed by the free utility we mentioned recently that plugs Boxee into Windows 7 Media Center, then you’ll love that there’s a similar utility for XMBC. It a lickety-split way to flip back and between XBMC and WMC.

Once installed, the utility resides in the main menu of Windows Media Center. One click fires it up, closes WMC down, and opens XBMC at the same time. When you’re done, hit escape to shut XBMC and return to Windows Media Center.

The app gives users a super-easy way to switch back and forth between XMBC and WMC with a remote, instead of having to mouse around a computer screen. It’s especially handy if you’ve got your computer hooked up to your TV or a larger monitor across the room.

XBMC Integration 1.0 was created by the same folks that came up with the Hulu and Boxee utilities for Windows Media Center. Between the three of them, you’ve got a pretty awesome trinity of tools to turn the native Windows media app into a powerhouse for watching TV, movies, and more.

Thanks, Hector!

Microsoft’s powerful home theater centerpiece, Windows Media Center, is easily one of the best applications that ships for free with Windows. But you can still make it better—and take it into new realms—with these plug-ins, helper apps, and tweaks.

Photo by ryaninc.

We’ve previously covered a couple of these as part of our feature of top 10 apps that boost your media center, but we thought that Windows Media Center (WMC from here on) deserved its own special loving list. It also fills out the capabilities and powers of WMC, as many commenters felt our media center comparison chart didn’t give the big picture when it came to their Windows boxes. Fair enough—here’s an extended list of powers that the little blue-green app can pull off.

Note: Unless otherwise stated, most of these apps and plug-ins are intended for use with Windows 7′s Media Center. Many keep older versions, compatible with Vista’s WMC and the “Media Center Edition” XP systems, available at their sites, but some may not. Similarly, one or two apps may only work with an older WMC edition, and that’s been noted in the text as well.

10. Start WMC in live TV mode

It’s a small little hack, but this tip for starting Windows Media Center in live TV mode is really helpful for those who see their WMC setup as more of a DVR box first, picture/movie/music player second. By starting up in live TV mode, you can instantly start recording something you were watching and wanted to capture, or just instantly start your channel surfing with the ability to pause. (Original post)

9. Stream Netflix to older Media Centers

Vista only: Windows 7 sports built-in Netflix streaming, but if you’re rocking a Vista Media Center and haven’t made the jump to 7 yet, you can still manage your Watch Now queue and stream content whenever you’d like with MyNetflix. The free plug-in looks pretty darned good for a work-around, and covers all the functions you’d want out of a Netflix box. (Original post)

8. Play more video formats on your Xbox 360 Media Center Extender

The Xbox 360 makes for a pretty killer Windows Media Center extender, allowing televisions not directly hooked to a computer to still deliver the Media Center experience. While the Xbox by itself can play XviD and DivX files, an Xbox working as an extender can’t work that magic—unless you’re up and running with an app like Transcode 360, which runs from your computer and converts movies to an Xbox-extender-friendly format as they stream to the Xbox. It’s not an app that sees frequent, regular updates, so if you’re having trouble working Transcode 360 from Windows 7, try this guide to getting it running. (Original post)

7. Add channel logos to TV listings

The nation’s television entities have spent a lot of time and money making sure you recognize their corporate branding. You may as well put that subconscious recognition to use when browsing your TV listings from afar. My Channel Logos does just what it sounds like, adding familiar icons to the left-hand channel column, making it easier to recognize and sort through what’s on. (Original post)

6. Switch instantly to Hulu Desktop, Boxee, or XBMC

If you were to ask us what’s missing from Windows Media Center, we’d say, mainly, streaming media like Hulu and YouTube, and killer local file handling. One smart and generous hacker has solved those deficiencies by making it easy to switch over to Hulu, Boxee, and XBMC right from WMC’s main menu, and then switch back when you’ve closed those apps. That creates a nearly seamless media experience, controlled entirely from the couch by remote. Between these four apps, you’ve got pretty much the entirety of TV and the web available whenever you want them. (Original post: Hulu Desktop Integration, Boxee, XBMC)

5. Kill commercials, inside or outside WMC

If you wanted commercials, you’d watch live TV. If you want them gone from your media center experience, and you don’t mind the subtle karmic shift in doing so, there’s apps to tackle that, both inside and outside WMC. Lifextender does a great job of automating commercial stripping, but hasn’t been updated to run all that well in Windows 7 yet—or so our commenters have noted (it should work fine for Vista and earlier Windows editions). On the other hand, DVRMSToolbox is a stand-alone program, so those with Windows Media Center setups where getting outside the main media window isn’t hard can bulk-strip their commercials. (Original posts: Lifextender, DVRMSToolbox).

4. Convert recordings for iPods

We’re really glad DVRMSToolbox has gotten updates and attention, because that means it can feed our other favorite non-plug-in WMC tool: iPodifier. Used together, they can strip WMC’s video files of their copy protection, kill commercials, and, most helpfully, convert those files to a format friendly to iPods and iPhones and patch them right into iTunes for syncing. For a quick walk-through of the process, at least as it ran on an older WMC, check out Rick’s guide. (Original post)

3. Customize menus and rip DVDs

If all you’re looking for is a way to see metadata and fancy graphics around your movies, Media Browser does the job beautifully, and it’s oh-so-free. (See more details at the number one slot below.) My Movies 3 also organizes and info-tizes your downloaded and ripped files, but offers a host of other unlock-able features to those who donate a bit of cash. Rip DVDs or Blu-Ray discs directly from inside WMC, skip those ultra-annoying mandatory previews and advertisements at a disc’s beginning, customize your menus and backdrops, and do a whole lot more as your rack up points. (Original post)

2. Control WMC from anywhere with WebGuide

Windows Media Center is built for the at-home experience, but why shouldn’t you be able to tell it what to record, watch what it’s already recorded, and otherwise manage your media from anywhere? WebGuide does that, providing you with the ability to decide at work that you want to record something you’re going to miss at home. Want to watch live, streaming TV? WebGuide can push it to you through your browser. It’s a must-have add-on for any Windows Media Center setup hooked up to a TV signal. (Original post)

1. Get the best view of downloaded and ripped files

As Lisa put it, this is pretty much a required add-on. Media Browser somewhat evens the playing field between Windows Media Center and its open-source XBMC/Boxee competition by providing movies, TV shows, video podcasts, and other ripped or downloaded files with a rich look, web-provided data, and a general sense of shine and polish. For the winning bonus, this plug-in itself is also open-source, so expect further updates and improvements as more people take up the cause. (Original post)

Microsoft’s powerful home theater centerpiece, Windows Media Center, is easily one of the best applications that ships for free with Windows. But you can still make it better—and take it into new realms—with these plug-ins, helper apps, and tweaks.

Photo by ryaninc.

We’ve previously covered a couple of these as part of our feature of top 10 apps that boost your media center, but we thought that Windows Media Center (WMC from here on) deserved its own special loving list. It also fills out the capabilities and powers of WMC, as many commenters felt our media center comparison chart didn’t give the big picture when it came to their Windows boxes. Fair enough—here’s an extended list of powers that the little blue-green app can pull off.

Note: Unless otherwise stated, most of these apps and plug-ins are intended for use with Windows 7′s Media Center. Many keep older versions, compatible with Vista’s WMC and the “Media Center Edition” XP systems, available at their sites, but some may not. Similarly, one or two apps may only work with an older WMC edition, and that’s been noted in the text as well.

10. Start WMC in live TV mode

It’s a small little hack, but this tip for starting Windows Media Center in live TV mode is really helpful for those who see their WMC setup as more of a DVR box first, picture/movie/music player second. By starting up in live TV mode, you can instantly start recording something you were watching and wanted to capture, or just instantly start your channel surfing with the ability to pause. (Original post)

9. Stream Netflix to older Media Centers

Vista only: Windows 7 sports built-in Netflix streaming, but if you’re rocking a Vista Media Center and haven’t made the jump to 7 yet, you can still manage your Watch Now queue and stream content whenever you’d like with MyNetflix. The free plug-in looks pretty darned good for a work-around, and covers all the functions you’d want out of a Netflix box. (Original post)

8. Play more video formats on your Xbox 360 Media Center Extender

The Xbox 360 makes for a pretty killer Windows Media Center extender, allowing televisions not directly hooked to a computer to still deliver the Media Center experience. While the Xbox by itself can play XviD and DivX files, an Xbox working as an extender can’t work that magic—unless you’re up and running with an app like Transcode 360, which runs from your computer and converts movies to an Xbox-extender-friendly format as they stream to the Xbox. It’s not an app that sees frequent, regular updates, so if you’re having trouble working Transcode 360 from Windows 7, try this guide to getting it running. (Original post)

7. Add channel logos to TV listings

The nation’s television entities have spent a lot of time and money making sure you recognize their corporate branding. You may as well put that subconscious recognition to use when browsing your TV listings from afar. My Channel Logos does just what it sounds like, adding familiar icons to the left-hand channel column, making it easier to recognize and sort through what’s on. (Original post)

6. Switch instantly to Hulu Desktop, Boxee, or XBMC

If you were to ask us what’s missing from Windows Media Center, we’d say, mainly, streaming media like Hulu and YouTube, and killer local file handling. One smart and generous hacker has solved those deficiencies by making it easy to switch over to Hulu, Boxee, and XBMC right from WMC’s main menu, and then switch back when you’ve closed those apps. That creates a nearly seamless media experience, controlled entirely from the couch by remote. Between these four apps, you’ve got pretty much the entirety of TV and the web available whenever you want them. (Original post: Hulu Desktop Integration, Boxee, XBMC)

5. Kill commercials, inside or outside WMC

If you wanted commercials, you’d watch live TV. If you want them gone from your media center experience, and you don’t mind the subtle karmic shift in doing so, there’s apps to tackle that, both inside and outside WMC. Lifextender does a great job of automating commercial stripping, but hasn’t been updated to run all that well in Windows 7 yet—or so our commenters have noted (it should work fine for Vista and earlier Windows editions). On the other hand, DVRMSToolbox is a stand-alone program, so those with Windows Media Center setups where getting outside the main media window isn’t hard can bulk-strip their commercials. (Original posts: Lifextender, DVRMSToolbox).

4. Convert recordings for iPods

We’re really glad DVRMSToolbox has gotten updates and attention, because that means it can feed our other favorite non-plug-in WMC tool: iPodifier. Used together, they can strip WMC’s video files of their copy protection, kill commercials, and, most helpfully, convert those files to a format friendly to iPods and iPhones and patch them right into iTunes for syncing. For a quick walk-through of the process, at least as it ran on an older WMC, check out Rick’s guide. (Original post)

3. Customize menus and rip DVDs

If all you’re looking for is a way to see metadata and fancy graphics around your movies, Media Browser does the job beautifully, and it’s oh-so-free. (See more details at the number one slot below.) My Movies 3 also organizes and info-tizes your downloaded and ripped files, but offers a host of other unlock-able features to those who donate a bit of cash. Rip DVDs or Blu-Ray discs directly from inside WMC, skip those ultra-annoying mandatory previews and advertisements at a disc’s beginning, customize your menus and backdrops, and do a whole lot more as your rack up points. (Original post)

2. Control WMC from anywhere with WebGuide

Windows Media Center is built for the at-home experience, but why shouldn’t you be able to tell it what to record, watch what it’s already recorded, and otherwise manage your media from anywhere? WebGuide does that, providing you with the ability to decide at work that you want to record something you’re going to miss at home. Want to watch live, streaming TV? WebGuide can push it to you through your browser. It’s a must-have add-on for any Windows Media Center setup hooked up to a TV signal. (Original post)

1. Get the best view of downloaded and ripped files

As Lisa put it, this is pretty much a required add-on. Media Browser somewhat evens the playing field between Windows Media Center and its open-source XBMC/Boxee competition by providing movies, TV shows, video podcasts, and other ripped or downloaded files with a rich look, web-provided data, and a general sense of shine and polish. For the winning bonus, this plug-in itself is also open-source, so expect further updates and improvements as more people take up the cause. (Original post)