P6712bk2.book Page 1 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Dell™ Media Center User’s Guide w w w. d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l .
P6712bk2.book Page 2 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Notes and Notices NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. ____________________ Information in this document is subject to change without notice. © 2005-2006 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc.
P6712bk2.book Page 3 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Contents 1 Quick Start Optional Remote Control Buttons . Starting Media Center . . . . . . Exiting Media Center . . . . . . Playing DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing a DVD Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing a DVD Already in Your Drive . . . . .
P6712bk2.book Page 4 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM 3 Other Features Using My Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Copying a CD to the Media Library . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Queue and Saving it as a Playlist Using the Optional Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using My Videos . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
P6712bk2.book Page 5 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Quick Start The Dell™ Media Center is your all-in-one computer entertainment center. Whether you want to watch or record TV programs, play or create CDs and DVDs, or view digital photos or videos from your video camera, Media Center does it all. Here’s how your audio and video components work together with your Dell Media Center computer.
P6712bk2.book Page 6 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Optional Remote Control Buttons NOTE: If you order an optional remote control, it may differ from the one described in this document. 1 media control buttons Controls features for a TV, DVD, and CD. 2 BACK Returns the computer to the previous window within Media Center. 3 OK Activates Media Center options you select. 4 START Starts Media Center and opens the Media Center start menu window (see page 7).
P6712bk2.book Page 7 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Starting Media Center Using the Mouse and Keyboard 1 Click the Start button and click Media Center. The Media Center start menu window opens. Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Press . The Media Center start menu window opens. NOTE: The optional remote control does not wake the computer from hibernate mode.
P6712bk2.book Page 8 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Playing DVDs Media Center allows you to watch DVD movies while using your optional remote control or your mouse to control the DVD menu items. If you play your DVD using another program, the use of some remote control buttons is not supported. Playing a DVD Movie 8 • Although Media Center supports closed captioning, subtitles, and multiple languages, these options appear only if the DVD movie includes them.
P6712bk2.book Page 9 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 With the Media Center start menu window open, insert the DVD into the drive. 2 With the Media Center start menu window open, insert the DVD into the drive. The DVD plays automatically after a few seconds. The DVD plays automatically after a few seconds.
P6712bk2.book Page 10 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Playing a DVD Already in Your Drive Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click Play DVD. 2 Press the arrow buttons, , to highlight Play DVD and press the OK button. NOTE: If you do not see the Play DVD option, on your keyboard to scroll through the list. press The DVD movie begins playing in fullscreen mode.
P6712bk2.book Page 11 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Viewing Your Pictures (Digital Photos) Media Center allows you to view your pictures (digital photos) individually, as a slide show, or as a slide show with music. You must organize your pictures in the My Pictures folder in Windows Explorer to view them in Media Center. Viewing Pictures in Media Center Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7).
P6712bk2.book Page 12 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Viewing Pictures as a Slide Show Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My Pictures. 2 Highlight My Pictures and press the OK button. NOTE: If you do not see the My Pictures option, on your keyboard to scroll through the list. press 3 Click the folder of pictures you want to view.
P6712bk2.book Page 13 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Viewing a Slide Show With Music Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My Music. 2 Highlight My Music and press the OK button. NOTE: If you do not see the My Music option, press on your keyboard to scroll through the list. 3 Click the song you want to play. 4 If the music doesn’t automatically start, click on the bottom Media Center toolbar.
P6712bk2.
P6712bk2.book Page 15 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM If Your Computer Has an Optional TV Tuner Media Center allows you to watch on your TV or your computer monitor any program offered by your TV service provider. However, before you can watch TV using Media Center, you must correctly set up your computer for the TV signal source (cable, satellite, and so on) and run the software wizard. For more information on hardware setup, see the setup diagrams that came with your computer.
P6712bk2.book Page 16 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Television Program Guide Media Center provides a television program guide that allows you to scroll through a list of the current TV programs and channels available from your TV service provider. The television program guide displays the channel and network, as well as the program title and scheduled time block. The number of days displayed in the television program guide depends on your TV service provider.
P6712bk2.book Page 17 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Press the GUIDE button. 2 Click My TV. 2 To see a program description, highlight the program and the description appears at the bottom of the window. If you cannot see the complete description, press the MORE button. 3 Click Guide. 4 To see a program description, move the cursor over the program.
P6712bk2.book Page 18 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Recording a Program Using the Television Program Guide NOTE: Depending on the time of day, some networks share the same channel. The television program guide may display the programming for one network, which can cause recording options to be unavailable. You may need to manually update the television program guide before scheduling a recording. NOTE: During scheduled recordings, you can only watch the program being recorded.
P6712bk2.book Page 19 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Recording a TV Program Using the Search Option NOTE: During scheduled recordings, you can only watch the program being recorded. If you change channels while recording, the recording stops. NOTE: If you go to another area in Media Center, the TV channel you last selected is displayed in the inset window at the bottom of the window. Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7).
P6712bk2.book Page 20 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Using the Mouse and Keyboard 6 Click Record to record the specific program or Record series to record the program series. or Record series icon The Record appears in the television program guide next to the program.
P6712bk2.book Page 21 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Recording a TV Program Manually Media Center allows you to begin recording before the scheduled TV program begins. Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My TV. 2 Highlight My TV and press the OK button. 3 Click Recorded TV. 3 Highlight Recorded TV and press the OK button. 4 Click Add Recording.
P6712bk2.book Page 22 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Changing Your TV Program Guide Settings Media Center allows you to change the settings for playing and recording TV programs as well as playing DVDs. If you set up a program recording and another program is scheduled at the same time, you can enable Media Center to resolve the conflict. Changing Recording Priorities Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7).
P6712bk2.book Page 23 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Watching Recorded TV Programs Media Center stores all your recorded programs in Recorded TV. In the Recorded TV window, you can sort the programs by name, date, or category. You can also delete a recorded program or program series and check for any recording errors. Playing a Recorded TV Program Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My TV.
P6712bk2.
P6712bk2.book Page 25 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Other Features Using My Music Media Center allows you to copy, organize, and play CDs or digital music files in your music library (Media Library). Copying a CD to the Media Library Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My Music. 2 Highlight My Music and press the OK button. 3 Insert a CD.
P6712bk2.book Page 26 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Creating a Queue and Saving it as a Playlist Using the Optional Remote Control The queue is a temporary list of songs to be played in My Music. You can create a queue and save it as a playlist to add to your permanent set of playlists. Once you have created the playlists, you can access them in Media Center. To create and save a playlist, perform the following steps: 1 Press , highlight My Music, and press the OK button.
P6712bk2.book Page 27 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My Music. 2 Highlight My Music and press the OK button. 3 Click Albums. 3 Highlight Albums and press the OK button. A window displays icons of all available album titles with pictures of each album cover. 4 Click the album title/cover icon.
P6712bk2.book Page 28 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Using My Videos Media Center allows you to organize and play videos on your computer. Organizing Your Videos When you attach a digital video camera to your computer, Windows XP asks how you want to capture the video. Various programs allow you to capture and edit video files. Most programs automatically save the file to the My Videos folder in Windows Explorer.
P6712bk2.book Page 29 Wednesday, February 22, 2006 4:28 PM Playing Digital Videos Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the Optional Remote Control 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 1 Start Media Center (see page 7). 2 Click My Videos. 2 Highlight My Videos and press the OK button. The right side of the window displays small images of your video files and folder icons, if you organized your videos into folders. 3 Click an image to play the video.
P6712bk2.
P6712bk2.
P6712bk2.
