Developed as the family room entertainment center
Connect your Media Center XPC to a standard TV and enjoy your digital media in a dynamic home theater environment all with the convenience of a remote control. New ultra-quiet designs from major PC manufacturers look and work great as a part of your home theater with support for HDTV recording and up to 7.1 speaker surround sound. Setup is a breeze from a remote control, complete with support for Wireless networks and automatic updates that keep your Media Center current while the Display Calibration Wizard help you configure your TV signal, display type, and video playback quality, so you can enjoy the best possible experience for your equipment. Enhanced widescreen support enables you toggle between normal, zoom, and stretch video modes to fit widescreen displays. Start a movie, get comfortable, and enjoy.

Enjoy more of your entertainment all in one easy-to-use place
Windows Media Center keeps your entertainment in one familiar place that's as easy to use with a keyboard and mouse or a remote control. All in one place, browse thumbnail images of your music, photos, and videos to easily find entertainment. You can even view photos, music, video, and more stored on other PCs or devices around the home all in one place when connected to a home network. Simply resize the Media Center window and you can conveniently listen to music or watch a baseball game, movie, or video while performing other activities on your PC such as surfing the Web.

Easily transfer, touch up and share photo slide shows with music
Transfer photos effortlessly with Plug and Play support for a wide range of over 250 digital cameras. Just plug your camera in and transfer photos to your library with a click. View slideshows to music, or touch up blemishes with features such as automatic red eye removal, auto contrast fix, and support for automatic or manual crop. You can even rotate and print photos!

Burn and back up music, photos, recorded TV, and home movies onto CD or DVD
Back up your photos, music, TV programs, and home movies on DVDs or share photos and home movies on DVDs1 that play in most home DVD players right from within Media Center. You can even create and share home movies with over 100 transitions and effects in Windows Movie Maker with DVD Burning built right in.

Discover, watch, pause, rewind, and record live TV - All with no service fees
Optionally record up to 3 live TV shows at the same time and watch your shows on your schedule with optional Personal Video Recording (PVR). Windows XP Media Center Edition works with any standard signal, from a basic antenna, to cable, digital cable, and satellite. You can even use your PC while programs are recording in the background. Easily discover what's on by channel or time using the built-in Electronic Program Guide (EPG) with no service fees, or use the new Movie Finder to casually browse movies to record by time, release date, rating, actor, and so much more. It's like having your local rental store and a movie guide all in one place and with no service fees.

Enjoy it in any room in the house with Media Center Extender and compatible devices
Experience whole-home entertainment from your Windows Media Center on TVs around your home through Windows Media Center Extender technologies available in set-top-box products or in a kit for your Xbox game console or other devices compatible with Windows Media Center.

Take more of your entertainment on the go with Portable Media Centers or a wide range of music players
Enjoy entertainment on the go by automatically syncing with a wide choice of portable players including the amazing new Portable Media Center, which provides easy access to your photos, recorded TV, music, movies, and more, or a wide choice of portable music players for different lifestyles and budgets.

Connect to movies and music in your living room - on demand
Now, with Media Center, the PC and remote control introduce you to brand new entertainment experiences. Media Center connects you with entertainment options available from leading on-line, on-demand content providers. Rent and watch digital on-demand movies. Find and download new music. Watch movie previews. Catch up on the news. Play games. Discover a world of entertainment content from the comfort of your favorite chair!