Audio Conversion using Popcorn Audio Converter
There are several situations in which you may find yourself needing to do a simple conversion of the audio contained inside an MKV file only to find out it’s not so simple after all. Despite the fact that the MKV format is a simple container for holding a video and audio files (as well as subtitles, chapters and other media) there aren’t too many options for working with the pieces contained within them. Demuxing (extracting) the parts contained in the MKV file and then working with them individually can be a somewhat daunting process for beginners and requires multiple pieces of software. Lucky, if you’re only in need of a simple program for working with the audio tracks contained inside Popcorn Audio Converter may have the solution you’re looking for.
Windows Home Server Power Pack 3, Waiting For You
Tuesday is here at last, and for Windows Home Server owners that means one thing… Power Pack 3 Day! Microsoft have released PP3 for download via Windows Update, and it’s free and waiting for you to download. Simply open your WHS Console, go to the Settings dialog, and click Update Now in the General section. You’ll need to restart your home server, and each hope computer connected to Windows Home Server, after which Power Pack 3 will be yours! Let’s recap on what’s new, courtesy of the Windows Team Blog : Windows 7 Libraries integration When you install the Windows Home Server Connector and log on a computer running Windows 7, you can access the Windows Home Server shared folders from the Windows 7 libraries. Windows 7 Action Center backup warning suppression After you install the Windows Home Server Connector to enable the home server backup for your computer running Windows 7, you can suppress the Action Center warning reminding you that Windows Backup has not been set up
Made for Media Center Now Open
Two Windows Media Center MVPs, Andrew Cherry and Ian Dixon, have collaborated on a new resource for Media Center owners. Made for Media Center is an “app store” for Microsoft’s “TV on your PC” platform, combining a website for plugin authors to submit their wares, and a Media Center plugin which allows users to browse and download those applications. A growing list of free plugins are now available for beta testers – fingers crossed the Media Center developer community jump on board and help support a great resource for MCE owners. To find out more about the plans for Made for Media Center, check out Missing Remote’s interview with Andrew Cherry
Auto Rip n Compress adds DVD Ripping to Media Center (Almost)
Despite Windows 7 Media Center’s inclusion of a native movie library no function to actually rip the DVDs to the library was included. Certainly an attempt to avoid this legal grey area of copying purchased media to a secondary source, this also leaves out an important feature from the Media Center platform. This of course leaves an area open for third party developers to come up with a solution, however, up until this point very few options were available such as My Movies’ Media Center plugin. Fortunately, eMpTy3000 of The Green Button forums has taken up the initiative to create another option for Media Center users though not quite as developed as the My Movies option.
Using WTVWatcher and Lifextender to Cut Commercials from Recorded Shows
One major advantage to be had when using a Windows 7 Media Center over your standard cable DVR is the ability to scan and remove commercials from Recorded TV shows. Programs such as Lifextender , which can be setup to use either comskip or Showanalyzer , can arrange for new shows to be scanned and the commercials removed without having to process each file by hand
Top 10 reasons to use Windows Home Server in your SOHO
Since we had such a great response from our previous post on the Top 10 reasons to use Windows Home Server , we thought it would be beneficial to share our thinking on the business side of things. Don’t let the name Windows Home Server fool you into thinking that this product was created for home use only.
Bringing a Recording Schedule from Vista to Windows 7
Are you one of the many Media Center users already running a Vista Media Center and planning to upgrade to a new Windows 7 install? If so, it’s likely that you’d want to move your recording schedule over as well. For those planning to do a simple upgrade the process should be automatic, however, if you’re planning a clean install it’s going to take a bit more planning and effort. Media Center developer Danny Ton has posted the method to getting this done over at The Green Button for those planning on a clean install of Windows 7 from Windows Vista