There may come a time when you want to edit the metadata of a WTV or DVRMS file manually. Luckily, Windows 7 includes a built-in editor allowing the editing of metadata of both file formats. Much like music metadata editor provided in previous versions of Windows the metadata editor for WTV and DVRMS files can be accessed by right-clicking the file in Windows Explorer and selecting the properties window. From inside the properties window, selecting the Details tab will bring up a basic editor for viewing and modifying the current metadata of the file.

Just hover over the value area for any given detail and a text entry box will appear allowing editing of that value. Unfortunately, not all the values are displayed or editable inside this basic metadata editor. There are a number of additional meta values that can be used to customize the categorization of files such as genre and whether or not a particular file is a movie.

Fortunately, there is a third-party program created by Steven Toub that’s perfectly capable of editing these hidden metadata values in both DVRMS and WTV files. His DVRMS metadata editor is quite old at this point but still works quite well with both file types. When opening a WTV file you’ll just need to adjust the file filter dropbox to show all file types and select the WTV file you’d like to edit.

As you can see, Toub’s editor provides a much more comprehensive listing of metadata values available inside DVRMS and WTV files than the built-in editor. Having access to the genre and movie meta tags and well as title, description and HD designations makes this an excellent tool for anyone looking to convert their movie collections to the new WTV format standard in Windows 7.

There are a few reasons some may be considering converting their collections to WTV, not least of which is the ability to play the format on any Windows Media Extender. This means not having to deal with the issues that seem to plague other formats such as .mkv on extenders. We’ll be covering more on this movement as software becomes publicly available to facilitate the switch such as the next version of DVRMSToolbox from Andy VT’s blog.

When you’ve finished editing metadata details inside Toub’s editor just hit the Save Metadata button to commit the changes and that’s all there is to it.

We’ve already covered replacing the built in movie library with a third party plug-in like MediaBrowser or Open Media Library. There are even a handful of solutions to hide the default movie start strip and add our own, such as MC Studio and Mikinhosoft’s Hide Strips program. The one problem that has persisted, however, is that pressing the video button on your MCE remote still takes you to the built in movie library. It’s as if there was nothing we could do to completely eliminate this cockroach like infestation inside our Windows 7 Media Centers. Luckily, with a few quick tweaks and Melloware’s Intelliremote program we can take down this final issue once and for all.

The first thing we’ll need to do is head over and download and install the latest trial version of intelliremote. This latest version fixes some issues that cropped up with Windows 7, so if you’ve got a previous version installed be sure to remove it and upgrade to this version. The trial version can be used for 30 days and the full version will set you back $24. This modest price will is likely worth it for most Media Center enthusiasts simply for the ease of use that Intelliremote provides as well as the fantastic support evident on their forums.

Once Intelliremote is installed we’re going to perform one more quick fix to enable the program to take control of the system once inside Media Center. By default Windows 7 Media Center takes control of the input device and overrides any other program’s preferences once inside the Media Center program. To disable this we need to open up the Services and disable the Human Interface Device Access service.

To do this open Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative Tools and open the Services application. Locate the Human Interface Device Access listing, right-click the entry and select properties. Inside the properties dialog select Disabled under startup type and Stop the service using the Stop button. Press OK to save your changes and exit the properties and Services application.

Now let’s open up the Intelliremote program from the programs menu. Then open the Customize options from the system tray icon by double-clicking or right-clicking and selecting Customize. This brings up the options to set the buttons on your MCE remote to perform any action you’d like.

Let’s get started by selecting the Media Center icon on the left then choosing the MCE Videos button from the listing just to the right. Next press the Learn Code button and on your MCE remote press the appropriate button. If Intelliremote has detected the input properly a Success message should appear briefly then close the dialog. Afterward you can establish the action you’d like that button to perform.

For example if you’d like the MCE Videos button to open MediaBrowser instead of the native movie library choose the application event option and enter the location of the ehshell program, usually “C:Windowsehomeehshell.exe”. Under Params, set the entrypoint parameter by entering “/entrypoint:{ce32c570-4bec-4aeb-ad1d-cf47b91de0b2}{fc9abccc-36cb-47ac-8bab-03e8ef5f6f22}”. This is the “/entrypoint:” switch followed by the AppID, a slash and the EntryPoint ID. For example, to change the button to run Open Media Library the parameters would be, “/entrypoint:{3f0850a7-0fd7-4cbf-b8dc-c7f7ea31534e}{1044a023-44cc-401c-a5df-4f58601f1f57}”.

Once you’ve set the application and parameters be sure to press the Apply Change button to commit the changes you’ve made to Intelliremote’s settings. That’s all there is to it! Relaunch Windows 7 Media Center and give it a try. As long as the HID Access service has been disabled you should now have total control over the Media Center remote using the Intelliremote settings. Note: Should you notice any remote buttons stop functioning properly inside Media Center you likely need to use the Learn Code function for that particular button inside Intelliremote.