Many movie enthusiasts prefer to watch content in it’s original resolution and refresh rate. Unfortunately, Windows 7 Media Center doesn’t automatically adjust the refresh rate or resolution of the program to suit content instead resizing and adjusting the content to suit Media Center’s settings. This of course distorts the content from it’s original format. Luckily for purists, Dgaust of the Australian Media Center Community has created a simple plugin to allow users to adjust the resolution and refresh rate of Media Center. Now changing Media Center to suit the content is fairly simple, even if not completely automatic.

To get started download and install the plugin from the Aus. Media Center Community forums. Next you’ll need to edit the settings.xml file and adjust the resolutions and refresh rates to suit your needs. Locate the settings.xml file in “C:Program Files (x86)RRC” and open it up in your favorite text editor.

Next, adjust the resolutions and refresh rates by adding a new line to the resolutions section of the file. For each new resolution add the following WidthxHeight@XXhz. To accomplish changing the resolution and refresh rate the plugin requires a restart of the Media Center application. While this is a somewhat cumbersome method it certainly beats not being able to change the settings at all. You can set the delay in ms of the restart function in the settings file under the section.

Once inside Media Center you’ll find the plugin under the Extra Programs section. You can of course add this to a custom start strip using one of the popular programs available for download such as MC Studio or WMC Custom Configuration Wizard. Also, using the entry point /entrypoint:{3a8e5756-f890-42a4-8d7a-1a4a32242507}{751885da-f449-4c0e-a21c-4fc142240245} you can setup the plugin to launch from a button on your remote using a program such as Intelliremote.

From inside Windows 7 Media Center, select the plugin then choose the proper resolution and refresh rate. The plugin will take care of adjusting the settings and restarting the program with the proper display options. The plugin is still a work in progress but will suit users looking for an easy way to handle refresh rate and resolution switching.

That’s all there is to it! If you’ve got trouble or suggestions be sure to head over to the Australian Media Center Forums post and let the developer, Dgaust, know. Don’t hesitate to let him know if you’ve found this plugin useful either as the community of developers working to improve on and add the features left out of Windows 7 Media Center play an extremely important in advancing Media Center for everyone.