How to Determine Displays I Can Connect to Media Center

Windows Media Center allows you to use your computer for a variety of purposes from serious computing to watching home entertainment through TV and other portable devices. The most important thing while connecting displays to your Media Center is to check for compatibility and compliance. Here is how to do it.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Visit the Microsoft Media Center Web site and learn about the capabilities of Windows XP Windows Media Center Edition 2005. The operating system along with its compatible hardware PC allows interpretability with variety of systems.

2. Connect your Media Center PC with your regular monitor. It will allow you to browse the file menu and operate daily computing tasks.

3. Learn how to connect your Media Center to a TV. You may have a standard TV set. If the set is old, you may need additional cables to ensure connectivity.

4. Connect your Media Center with High Definition Television (HDTV). The image quality is far superior than standard TV. This is possible only if HDTV airs its telecast through a specific antenna and you receive HDTV-ready images. Media Center PC includes HDTV-capable tuner that enables this utility. Currently, the Media Center Supports only up to two analog, two DTV/HDTC tuners for local channels using the air signal in the U.S.

5. Explore ways to connect your Media Center with other displays such as Plasma and LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs. The DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cables should be useful for the connection. Join one end of the DVI or HMDI cable to the TV on the back of your Media Center PC. In few cases, the tuner cards may have more than one TV output. Ensure that you connect to output that is labeled with HDTV, DTV (Digital Television) or ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee). Link the other end of the cable to TV input or Video input on the HDTV-ready display.

6. Connect your Media Center with Portable Media Center devices. For example, the iRiver PMC-140 which has a 40-GB storage capacity and Samsung Yepp YH-999 PMC that can store 20 GB of music, movies and photos are some of the latest portable displays you can connect to.

7. Check other portable devices. Media Center is compatible with several portable devices such as camcorders, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant), mobile phones and so on that have their own LCD displays.

8. Read the Media Center manual for more information on the topic as and when necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Check the cable requirements before making a connection. Certain displays may require you to buy a separate cable set.
• Use standard warranty manufacturer goods while connecting any hardware display with your media center.
• Plasma and LCD displays are often subject to burn-ins due to static computer images. It is advisable to use these displays only while watching movies, TV or other video content. Do not use these displays for regular computing work.