Category: Windows Media Center
Some of you may be thinking, “what are VIDEO TS folders and VOB files and why would I ever want or need to play them in Media Center?” VIDEO TS is the folder on a DVD movie. It holds VOB files that contain the contents of a DVD, such as video, audio, menus, extras, and even subtitles. Think of them as the file and folder structure of a DVD movie. By ripping these files to your hard drive and playing them in Media Center, it’s just like having your DVD collection loaded onto your system. But, you don’t have to go through the hassle of swapping discs.
This is a bit of a follow up on my previous article on how to play VIDEO_TS and VOB files in Windows 7 Media Center. The first time I focused mainly on how to play the DVD rips using the Media Browser plug-in for WMC. This time around, I’m going to focus specifically on ripping your DVD to play in the native Windows 7 Media Center Movie Library.
Shout out to the group at the Australian Media Center Community forum for figuring this one out. After Microsoft pushed out an Update last week, those of us that have customized our WMC menu’s with Media Center Studio saw many of our customizations revert back to Media Center defaults. If you open Media Center Studio you should see that all your customizations are still there, they just don’t appear in WMC anymore.
I had been experiencing this issue for a few months. I have a Hauppage 2250 tv tuner card installed in my standalone Windows 7 Media Center HTPC computer. It came with a Media Center remote that works perfectly in Media Center. However, it doesn’t work with Hulu or Boxee. When I would switch over to Hulu or Boxee, the remote was basically non-functional. I say “basically” because If I held down the directional buttons long enough, the remote’s focus would move, but it was virtually impossible to control.
Do you have an add-in in your Extras Library that you’d like to have added to the main start screen in Windows Media Center? I love the WC7 Sleep Timer plug-in and use it virtually every night. Unfortunately it’s located in the Extras library so it takes a few extra clicks on the remote (or mouse / keyboard) to get to the App. There a quick and easy way to put those Extras library favorites right on the main screen of your Media Center setup.