Media Center

There's lots of content going up on sites all over the place. I probably wont add many more on here as that is just duplication - however check my delicious Windows Home Server tag - you can subscribe to it if you want to know when I add links.

I will also add any links and information here if I install any further enhancements to the home server. However at this stage it is performing exactly how I want it, serving up videos and DVDs to our Media Centre and backing up local PCS.

Here are the links that I have tagged recently:

mHome - embedded home automation control systems - control lights, curtains etc from windows home server

Windows Media Center Ultimate Install Contest

I posted yesterday about how to make a DVD library work in Vista Media Centre.

I followed Max's instructions, and it didn't work. I could not understand why. I had done everything he said - or I thought I had.

After reading through all the comments on his post I found this little trick on another website. When you add a folder for the DVD library you don't do it in the normal settings Library, add a watch folder area. Instead you go into the DVD library and right click anywhere in the screen and add the watch folder there. Bingo - it worked immediately.

Now I am busy re ripping my DVD collection as DVD format (not ISO) and the media centre picks them up as fast as they are pasted in.. The DVD's I only have as ISO's I can mount in Daemon Tools and then use the DVDFab HD Decryptor software to rip. Awesome!

This is my project for this weekend.

If you'd like to avoid the bother of inserting a DVD into the Player and would prefer to browse you collection very easily all on ourTV/monitor and hit "play" read on.

According to Max all you need to make the best digital library is:

1) Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate (these are the versions that include the new Media Center that I am using)

If you've got a few hours spare and would like to make some improvements to the PC's and the networks you use, check out these twelve tips. The 12 Great Do-It-Yourself PC Projects have everything from turning a PC into an HD media server to tweaking Vista.