To get started download mcBackup 3.0 from Made for Media Center and install. You’ll need to sign-up as a member of the site before being able to download the program, there is no confirmation email. Once downloaded and installed, run the program from the start menu under TheDigitalLifestyle.com –> mcBackup 3.0.

Due to user trouble downloading the program from the official site we’ve mirrored the 32-bit installer and the 64-bit installer here at Hack7MC.

Under the Backup and Restore Now tab you can select the type of data to backup: schedule, lineup, recorded TV, extra. To do an immediate backup just check the boxes for the data to backup and hit the Backup Now button. Once a backup has been created you can restore the latest backup using the Restore Now button. However, the restore option should only be used on fresh started Media Center setups. Running the restore on an already setup Media Center will likely mess up your listings and such requiring a clearing of the data and then restoring once more.

On the next tab, Backup Location, you are able to set the location where backup images should be saved. These are the folders you’ll need to copy to a safe location if doing a full clean install. For listings and recording schedule backups I’d even recommend having the default save location be a USB drive. This keeps your backup separate from the actual Media Center’s system drive should it cease operating properly.

Also available is the option to backup another folder, important plugin data or even just large downloaded caches such as MediaBrowser’s ImagesByName folder make good candidates.

Coming to the Schedule tab we have one of the more important features of mcBackup. Here we can setup a schedule to regularly backup frequently changing things such as the recording schedule. Being something that typically changes often, it’s an especially good idea to regularly backup the recording schedule.

Simply enable the scheduler then select the days and the time you’d like backups to be created. Either restart the program or enable the service using the link on the Home tab of the program. This home tab will report the status of the backup service whenever needed as well as the option to start or stop the service.

Now as long as you’ve set the backup to a safe location you should have a recent backup of your scheduling and lineup data whenever you need it.

The program works incredibly well in the background requiring virtually no intervention from the user beyond the initial setup. Simply set it up and forget it, just the way regular backups should be done. Thanks to Ian Dixon for making both the program and Made for Media Center. Stick around Hack7MC for future updates and a review of the Made for Media Center platform for Windows 7 Media Center.

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To get started with Remote Potato’s newest features we’ll need to download and install the latest version of Remote Potato from FatAttitude. The program will need to be installed on the main Media Center machine only. Remote Potato uses a web-based front end for remote viewing meaning no extra software to install on each machine. Once installed on the Media Center machine access to the front end can be found at http://networkname:9080. This of course is only possible if the proper firewall rules are allowed during setup, which you will be prompted for during installation.

Once installed and running the first thing of note is the revamped start page for Remote Potato. This new look is certainly more stylish and even a little bit entertaining watching the background respond to mouse movements. Those looking for something different can even choose from a few other themes in the Remote Potato server configuration including retro and minimalist. There’s also a blank theme included for those looking to customize for themselves.

The biggest new feature of recent version, however, is the ability to remotely stream Recorded TV to anywhere with access to the internet. Simply press the Recorded TV entry in Remote Potato’s menu to bring up a listing of recorded television. Just choose an episode, press play and select a quality. Here of course is where it gets a little sticky.

In normal quality, over a gigabit network, everything was able to stream from the main Media Center machine (no lightweight machine). Unfortunately, normal quality was terrible to actually watch. Content was fairly blocky during action sequences even on HD content.

Likely this was only due to the quality settings chosen when play began, unfortunately, we couldn’t get HD content to successfully stream over the local network in any higher quality setting than normal. Hopes were high as it is a gigabit network but the buffer would start to climb then abruptly “wonk out” displaying random numbers. Also the server would report all clients disconnected in debug mode’s event viewer.

Standard Definition content was able to be streamed in full quality (Ultra) with considerable success over the local network. There was quite a bit of buffering going on at some points but the show was ultimately watchable in the default view. Under the full screen view, however, there was considerable interlacing visible though when scaling standard definition to 1080p in a web browser this is completely forgivable.

Yet to be tested personally, streaming across the internet is likely to only give worse results with a much more limited available bandwidth to work with. Though the program has spawned an epic thread on The Green Button spanning over 52 pages at this point and the answer may lie somewhere in there to solve our streaming troubles. If you experience any issues the thread appears to be a fantastic place to get technical support for Remote Potato bot from the community and the project owner carlosp_uk.

Browsing around to the older features of the program this is one thing Remote Potato still does extremely well. Remote scheduling of recordings and viewing of the TV guide have become much more stylized and easier to use. New features include loading the EPG data, including channel icons, directly from the Media Center machine as opposed to retrieving them on each client machine.

With new selectors for popular times of the day and the ability to quickly select later dates it’s almost easier to use than the built-in Media Center TV guide. Shows are now colored coded similar to the option available in Windows 7 Media Center and any icons added by My Channel Logos are loaded automatically.

Search the guide from the main menu as well as managing scheduled recordings and even series schedules, Remote Potato still does all of this very well. Even better it’s all complete free and open-source, two of our favorite words. Be sure to give Remote Potato a try, it’s definitely worth the time to install and even seems to run straight out of the box very well. Even if you haven’t the need for remote scheduling capability it’s interesting to see what’s slowly becoming possible with Windows 7 Media Center.

To get started download MCEBuddy 1.1 (x86) or MCEBuddy 1.1 (x64) from our Hack7MC mirror or check the official MCEBuddy page for the latest version download links. Once downloaded, extract the files from the archive and run the setup .msi file. Go through the standard setup install then run the program’s configuration from Programs –> MCEBuddy –> MCEBuddy Configuration. After launching the program you can access the configuration at any time through the System Tray as long as you minimize the program instead of exiting.

The first area contains the settings to be used when converting the video file. Choose what type of video to output at the end as well as whether or not to delete the original file, cut commercials, sort by series and start the program minimized to the System Tray. For HD programming I would recommend WMV (no resize) or H.264 MP4 (no resize, 2-pass) to retain the best quality video. Standard Definition television can likely get by with lower quality settings such as MPEG2 or H.264 regular. Though there was a minor issue with one file that was processed most came out fairly good quality.

Also of note in the configuration is the Video Paths section. Here you will need to set your Recorded TV directory and another directory to use for processed videos. The program seems to strongly dislike using the same directory for both and files disappeared forever when trying to use the same directory for each.

Set to the default directories the program performed quite well. WTV files were converted and commercials were cut with a fair deal of success from the shows. You can see above that a File Log is provided giving you a full recount of processed files as well as a more detailed events log that will gladly provide you with details on each step of the process performed on every file.

Unfortunately, the program doesn’t yet support the cutting of commercials directly from a WTV file so they’ll all need to be converted. Curiously the program doesn’t seem to offer DVR-MS output either which would help to overcome the last issue being the incompatibility of Recorded TV and non Media Center file types (WTV and DVR-MS). This means you’ll either need to use the Videos section under Pictures and Videos or obtain a third-party plugin like Media Browser to look through the files.

Aside from those few issues MCEBuddy does exactly what it claims it will do, convert video files into other video files automatically and even remove commercials. Hopefully we see some further progress on version 2 and it will include support for WTV files natively. It was clear early on that the switch to WTV from DVR-MS would hinder development of programs like this (likely intentionally) and it’s a problem still lingering shortly after the official release of the operating system.

To get started let’s add Kylo to Media Center’s Start Menu by downloading Media Center Studio and the browser software. Install both then launch Media Center Studio. Inside MC Studio switch from the Themes to the Start Menu tab as well as the Start Menu menu bar. Select the Insert Application button then fill out the Title and Path of the Kylo install (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Hillcrest Labs\Kylo\Kylo.exe on 64-bit systems, remove (x86) for 32-bit).

Once you’ve saved that return to the Start Menu tab and expand the entry points bar at the bottom left of the Media Center Studio program. Locate the entry point icon for the Kylo browser and drag it into the Extras menu strip. Once saved we should be able to launch the browser from inside Windows 7 Media Center (after re-launching 7MC if open).

Now we can launch the program from inside Media Center but we still have to grab our wireless mouse to actually use the browser. To be fair it’s made for an air mouse and still works incredibly well with the basic cordless optical mouse we’re using but it would be great if it had support for the basic four direction pad on the remote at least.

Aside from that this little browser is absolutely amazing. With over 100 of the internet’s most popular destinations listed right off the bat when you open it with large easy to click icons it’s incredibly easy to get start surfing the net with Kylo. First on the list, YouTube even sports a custom look though it seems to be the only one in the list that does. The custom YouTube interface makes it extremely easy to navigate on the big screen as well so hopefully there are more of those in store for the browser.

This being spring break it’s been extremely easy for even the children to use Kylo on the big screen, switching to Disney XD’s website on the big screen is so simple it’s almost ridiculous. Among the browser’s unique features, a simple interface for pan and zoom, on-screen keyboard and built-in multi-provider search are all presented alongside the browser standards like history and favorites without using up too much screen real-estate.

Pressing the address bar brings up both a half width on-screen keyboard and a short history of recently visited sites making returning to your favorite locations as simple as possible without having to pickup a keyboard. Bookmarks are listed as screenshots of the site along with the title listed below making them easy to click. The entire product is almost as easy to use as similar minimalist browsers like Google Chrome except super-sized for the big screen. Though, Kylo will let you know upon launch that it has been optimized for 720p screens if you run a resolution over that.

To get back to Media Center just click the power button in the bottom right hand side and Exit Kylo. The browser should close and we will be returned to Media Center.

Definitely a browser to check out for use on your Media Center setup though you’ll need to pickup a mouse to use it effectively. A solid product given that it’s free to download though it could still use some refining. For instance, what does the trophy in the corner do besides send me to Kylo’s website? Likely we’ll see advertisers in those spots in the future.

MCPrioirty gives you an easy way to close any program and return to Media Center’s main interface. Created by dbarak on The Green Button forums, the program checks a simple text file each time Windows Media Center is launched and attempts to close each process on the list. To get started download the latest version of the app from the forums or this Hack7MC mirror of version 1.0.

Once downloaded the program is nothing more than a simple executable file and a text file, there is nothing to install per say. However, in order to get the program to launch with Windows you will need to set it up to do so manually. The simplest way to accomplish this is to explore the actual Startup folder and add a short cut. Open the start menu, find Programs –> Startup, right-click and select Explore. This will open a folder, create a new shortcut by right-clicking the MCPriority exe file and selecting Create Shortcut then place the shortcut in the Startup folder.

Now the program should launch each time Windows restarts. The next step is to define which programs you’d like to keep closed while running Windows Media Center. Open the ProcessList text file and you’ll notice that both Hulu and Boxee are already on the list. To add more simply create a new line and add the name of the process to the text file. You’ll need to obtain the actual process name from the Task Manager (Start –> search “task manager” –> view running…). Have the program running and find it under the Processes tab, leave out the .exe and list the process name in the text file on a new line.

Without being able to look at the code it’s hard to say exactly how often the code will execute though. It may run each time the green button is pressed or only when Windows Media Center is brought into focus initially. Hopefully the code is made open source as we love to see with any Windows 7 Media Center plugins and helper apps.

Either way the handy little program gets the job done closing unwanted apps with the push of a big green button and returning you to Windows Media Center. If you’re looking for an extremely simple way to close pesky background apps be sure to give this one a try. Thanks to dbarak for creating the app and hopefully many continued revisions in the future (and open source code) as well.

Of course, we could go in and edit the registry manually increasing buffer time. It’s not incredibly simple though and may even test your math skills a bit, not to mention cutting into your TV time. Luckily, there’s a handy app available that will do the heavy lifting for you. MCE Live TV Buffer Manager from Doug Knox is a small app whose sole purpose is to increase the default live TV buffer size.

This little app based on code from Schmecky on The Green Button Forums gives you a handful of options ranging from 30 minutes up to 120 minutes of replay buffer length. Just choose the duration you’d like to set and press the Apply button. Of course, before the new setting will take effect you’ll need to do a quick reboot of your PC as well.

That’s all there is to it. Now you can increase the live TV buffer in less time than i takes to make popcorn. Thanks to Schmecky and Doug Knox for making this incredibly useful little application and Rick Broida of PC World for bringing it to attention. Though the program doesn’t specify working with Windows 7 Media Center, the changes needed to alter the replay buffer are the same as in previous versions of Media Center. Enjoy and be sure to stick around Hack7MC for even more handy tools like this one!

First we’ll need a copy of vLite, a free piece of software that will allow us to add and remove certain pieces of Windows as well as drivers and other items to the Windows 7 installation process. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the program you will also be notified that you need to download the WAIK package from Microsoft. The version linked by the vLite program works well enough but there is also a version that officially supports Windows 7 here.

Either mount the WAIK ISO using a program such as Virtual Clone Drive or burn it to disk and install the package. Now we can run vLite and select the original Windows 7 installation media (the files from the DVD not the Windows install folder). vLite will ask you for a location to save the files locally.

Continuing on to the next set of options in vLite you’ll be presented with a number of checkboxes to determine what parts of the install you’d like to configure. Check Integration, Components, Tweaks and Bootable ISO as a minimum. This will allow us to add any drivers for hardware such as TV tuners, display and sound drivers and other items as well as remove nonessential items for a Media Center only setup.

The first step is Integration. On this tab we can select drivers and hotfixes to preload into the installation process. For Media Center users it’s handy to include items such as TV tuner drivers, display drivers and audio card drivers. Sure you can wait until after the installation is finished but we can save some time by including it from the beginning. Though there aren’t many hotfixes available at this point since the operating system is so new you should have no problem running a quick Windows update after installation, however, once items such as service packs become available you can also include them in the process on this tab.

Now onto the components to remove from the default installation process. This tab can be somewhat tricky for beginners to handle as there is a large number of options. Luckily there are comments to the right of each option giving a quick description of the what it handles and whether or not it’s typically safe to remove. For Media Center exclusive machines there are actually a large number of options which can be checked for removal. Things such as games, paint, wordpad, printer and scanner support are no brainers for the most part (unless you play the Media Center games then leave those in of course).

Typically, novices should steer clear of the services and system options if they aren’t 100% sure of what they are doing. This is also where you can find the biggest performance gains however. A basic list of system and service components that can typically be removed follows and there may be more or less that suit your specific needs. You will need to examine each one and determine whether or not you need the feature enabled.

• Error Reporting
• Protected Storage
• Remote Registry
• Secondary Login
• BitLocker Drive Encryption
• Disk Quota
• Help
• Natural Language
• Performance Counters
• Reliability and Performance Monitor
• Run a Legacy CPL Elevated
• Security Center
• System Restore
• Tablet PC
• Windows Defender
• Windows Easy Transfer

Remember, turning these items off is only recommended for a Media Center run and forget type of setup. Slimming down Windows 7 for most extensive use will require different components remain installed. Also, requirements will vary from user to user and you should evaluate each component being removed based on your specific needs.

On the next tab you will find a list of tweaks that can be applied during the initial setup as well. Turning off further services by default, without removing them for installation, can result in even further performance gains. Examining items under services listed as Automatic start can setting them to manual or disabled can provide a bit more flexibility than removing them from installation altogether while still not running them by default. Items such as Cryptographic services and firewall are a few you may want to consider setting to manual or disabled to save some additional resources.

Once you’ve finished each of the tasks press the Apply button to begin creating your newly customized version of Windows 7. vLite will begin processing the changes and create a new installation build. Once complete you’ll be given the option of creating an ISO or burning the new installation image to a DVD. We recommend an ISO for it’s portability, storage and copying abilities as it can always be burned to DVD later.

Simply choose the desired option and press the button in the lower right hand corner. If you chose ISO and would like to create a DVD from the image later you can follow this handy guide to using Microsoft’s own USB DVD Download tool. That’s all there is to it! You’ve now got a highly customized version of Windows 7 ready to go.

To get started you’ll need to download the .dll file created by Andrew Cherry and extract it to the C:\Windows\ehome 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 you’ve 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 it’s an xml file. Copy the following into the new XML file:

<application title=”The title text that appears below the icon in Media Center”
    id=”{25e1993f-a9d8-4251-871c-0bf84c6d6e29}”>
<entrypoint id=”{58267566-672b-4b1d-812a-fc46d728d073}”
    addin=”MissingRemote.AppLauncher.AddIn,     MissingRemote.AppLauncher,Culture=Neutral,Version=1.0.0.0,PublicKeyToken=391ca93ec5a00478″
    title=”The title text that appears below the icon in Media Center”
    description=”Description text that appears below the icon in Media Center”
    context=”%ProgramFiles%\foldername\name of your.cmd”
    imageUrl=”C:\Program Files\foldername\Images\your icon image.png”>
      <category category=”More Programs”/>
    </entrypoint>
</application>

Of course, you’ll need to alter the red text to match the title, description and location of your batch file as well as editing the location of a PNG image to use in the Extras Library as an icon. These images should be a square probably not needing to be any larger than 128px X 128px as Media Center will scale them appropriately for the resolution being used. Once you’ve got the XML file ready open an elevated command prompt (run –> cmd –> ctrl-shift-enter).

Inside the command windows change to the C:\Windows\ehome directory and enter the following command: registermceapp /allusers XMLFILE. Change XMLFile to the location that you’ve saved the XML file to and press enter to run the command. You should get a success message. If you don’t receive a success message it’s likely that you’re not inside an elevated cmd prompt, also for multiple new entries you’ll need to change the GUID and ID in the XML file (id=”{25e1993f-a9d8-4251-871c-0bf84c6d6e29}”>
<entrypoint id=”{58267566-672b-4b1d-812a-fc46d728d073}”).

Once the XML data has been successfully entered into the registry launch Windows 7 Media Center and browse to the Extras Library.

That’s all there is to it! You should now see the icon for the program set in the XML file and pressing the icon should launch the cmd file in the background executing the set of commands inside. Thanks to CW-Kid for sharing this with the Media Center community! Be sure to stop by his blog and check out his many other guides and articles on Windows Media Center.

Programs

My Channel Logos

My Channel Logos allows you to quickly and easily add channel logos to your Windows 7 Media Center’s 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 you’ve 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 you’ve 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 isn’t one of the firs things to cross your mind as a missing feature, if you’re 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 today’s 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 it’s a solution to the problem.

Vista Caller ID

Not just for Vista any longer, Vista Caller ID’s developers have even create a plugin to allow you to harness the program’s 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 you’ve 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 you’ll be all set.

Check out part one and part two of this series!

Finally, don’t 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 you’ve 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!

The first thing we’ll need to do is head over and download and install the latest trial version of intelliremote. This latest version fixes some issues that cropped up with Windows 7, so if you’ve got a previous version installed be sure to remove it and upgrade to this version. The trial version can be used for 30 days and the full version will set you back $24. This modest price will is likely worth it for most Media Center enthusiasts simply for the ease of use that Intelliremote provides as well as the fantastic support evident on their forums.

Once Intelliremote is installed we’re going to perform one more quick fix to enable the program to take control of the system once inside Media Center. By default Windows 7 Media Center takes control of the input device and overrides any other program’s preferences once inside the Media Center program. To disable this we need to open up the Services and disable the Human Interface Device Access service.

To do this open Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative Tools and open the Services application. Locate the Human Interface Device Access listing, right-click the entry and select properties. Inside the properties dialog select Disabled under startup type and Stop the service using the Stop button. Press OK to save your changes and exit the properties and Services application.

Now let’s open up the Intelliremote program from the programs menu. Then open the Customize options from the system tray icon by double-clicking or right-clicking and selecting Customize. This brings up the options to set the buttons on your MCE remote to perform any action you’d like.

Let’s get started by selecting the Media Center icon on the left then choosing the MCE Videos button from the listing just to the right. Next press the Learn Code button and on your MCE remote press the appropriate button. If Intelliremote has detected the input properly a Success message should appear briefly then close the dialog. Afterward you can establish the action you’d like that button to perform.

For example if you’d like the MCE Videos button to open MediaBrowser instead of the native movie library choose the application event option and enter the location of the ehshell program, usually “C:\Windows\ehome\ehshell.exe”. Under Params, set the entrypoint parameter by entering “/entrypoint:{ce32c570-4bec-4aeb-ad1d-cf47b91de0b2}\{fc9abccc-36cb-47ac-8bab-03e8ef5f6f22}”. This is the “/entrypoint:” switch followed by the AppID, a slash and the EntryPoint ID. For example, to change the button to run Open Media Library the parameters would be, “/entrypoint:{3f0850a7-0fd7-4cbf-b8dc-c7f7ea31534e}\{1044a023-44cc-401c-a5df-4f58601f1f57}”.

For more information on Media Center Entry Points check out our previous guide!

Once you’ve set the application and parameters be sure to press the Apply Change button to commit the changes you’ve made to Intelliremote’s settings. That’s all there is to it! Relaunch Windows 7 Media Center and give it a try. As long as the HID Access service has been disabled you should now have total control over the Media Center remote using the Intelliremote settings. Note: Should you notice any remote buttons stop functioning properly inside Media Center you likely need to use the Learn Code function for that particular button inside Intelliremote.