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Using Windows Media Player 11

pardizzone

Windows Media Player is a media player for all your digital media (audio, photos and video) for computers running Windows XP and Vista. It is available as a downloadable application for Windows XP directly from Microsoft or via Windows Update and ships with Windows Vista as its default player. It is also available on Pocket PC and Windows mobile based devices. In the following sections, I will show you the basic interface, library management, ripping/burning audio cds to the library and how to sync your media to a portable MP3 player. This article focuses on Windows Media Player 11. The Interface Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11) is the latest version on Microsoft's Media Player. It has undergone a complete overhaul from previous versions and sports a slicker user interface. It is pretty simple to navigate and access your media by just a few clicks of the mouse. You can use it to share media with other pcs, media streaming devices (XBox360, PS3, Netgear EVA8000, etc.), to rip and burn cd's to and from your library and sync your media to/from portable media players (both audio and video). There are 5 main buttons on the interface, they consist of the "Now...

How To: The Perfect TV for Your Room

Electronic House — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:49:48 GMT

Finding the right size TV for your room is easier than you might think. But picking the right resolution is just as important. Written by Dennis Burger - Maybe it’s due to my job, maybe it’s fate, or maybe I’m just being punished for something my karma did in a last life—or however that works—but when my friends are in the market for a new TV, I’m always the first one they call. And the conversation invariably plays out the same way every time: “I just want to make sure I’m getting my money’s worth.” OK. “I want the best TV I can afford.” I love to hear it. “I don’t need anything as monstrous as yours, though!” Insert the sound of a phonograph needle being dragged quickly across vinyl right here and you’ll get the gist of how this scene will play when they film my life story. My 56-in. Samsung DLP TV, I explain, falls right in the middle of THX’s acceptable range for my room size and eight-foot seating distance. In fact, it could actually stand to be a teensy bit bigger or I could benefit from sitting just a smidge closer. “I don’t care,” I hear...

So Your LCD Monitor Went Black?

justin nichols — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:28:05 GMT

Do you have a LCD monitor that turns on but has no picture? Does it display for only a few seconds than go blank, or maybe it just turns off completely? I've been seeing this problem more and more and I find myself doing the same repair over and over again. Thats right, I'm talking about the power inverter. The power inverter is a power supply that takes the low voltage that runs all the logic and steps it up to around 600 to 800 volts with an even higher initial start voltage. It does that in order to run a cold cathode flourescent lamp (CCFL) that illuminates the LCD panel itself. These inverters seem to be a weak point in LCD screens and my experience is that they fail most of the time because the electrolytic capacitors failed, or filter caps. There are usually 2 or 4 caps that range in value between 220uf to 1000uf and I've just made a habit of changing them. If you're failry proficient with electronics you might save yourself a lot of grief by changing these first. They're usually pretty easy to spot because they'll be around the input side of the inverter...

JVC KWAV810 In Dash Navigation System Review

yh786515 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:51:47 GMT

It is becoming more and more popular for the aftermarket in-dash units to meet all of our needs. We often dream about having a car receiver that can just do everything. Something we could simply hook up and have it all. JVC has been one of the leaders in making this dream a reality. Now we can have it all. The new JVC KW-AVX810 is to some, a dream machine. Here is why some would consider it that. Let’s start with the outside. The JVC in dash navigation system (KW-AVX810) looks good and it doesn’t matter whether it is on or off. The 7” LCD touchscreen display can add a refined look to any car. Turn it on and the brilliant colors will surprise you. The touch screen itself is motorized and will move up and down. When the screen is down, the user will have access to the CD/DVD slot. The really unique feature about this unit is the detachable face. This is one of the few 7” double DIN receivers that offer a detachable faceplate, which is a security feature that some people specifically look for. Good job JVC. The KW-AVX810 also features a proximity sensor that will...

How-To: Motorola v3 Housing Change

Joseph Ahern — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:45:08 GMT

All or most service providers are offering the Motorola V3 for practically free nowadays. What really gets people though is the colors offered. Some offer black, others offer blue, but it seems none offer them "all". This tutorial explains the process to take apart your current V3 and customize it to your liking. For many reasons, the image quality has been reduced. For a PDF version, shoot me an email! All materials can be found at a cell phone parts store - try CNN.CN WARNING! Before reading any of this tutorial, please make sure to review your phone warranty. Opening up and/or tampering with stock phones may result in a void of warranty. Use this tutorial at your own discretion, and if for any reason you aren't comfortable with opening up your phone, bring it to the attention of a professional. Now to begin, we must start off with the proper tools. Here is a complete list of what I used: 1. Motorola RAZR 2. New OEM Gold Battery Cover 3. Rubber Stopper 4. Keypad 5. New OEM Gold Faceplate 6. Black Mouthpiece 7. New OEM Gold Mouthpiece Bezel 8. Soft Card (Cut Up Gift Card) 9. Two Hinge Nuts...

A Mom's Guide to DVD Players -- The good, the Bad and the Ugly

shoe — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:28:13 GMT

Keeping kids entertained in the car can be a monumental task. Whether you are running errands around town or on a cross country trip, keeping little minds occupied and little hands out of trouble can be a lesson in extreme frustration. Enter the portable DVD player. This handy little gadget has become a lifesaver for many busy families. While many laptop computers come with a DVD drive attached, the DVD player is smaller, lighter (most weigh less than 2 pounds) and much less expensive than a computer. In addition, it is safer than toting around your valuable computer files. Portable DVD’s also tend to have a longer battery life than laptop computers. While they were quite expensive when they were first introduced, portable DVD players have come down in price significantly, with basic units running less than $200. Shopping Considerations When looking for portable DVD player to meet your needs, it is important to consider how you will be using the unit. If the player’s main function will be to keep the kids entertained in the car, make sure the unit you choose has an AC / cigarette lighter adapter so that you can save the battery life. In addition,...

Dash Express: First Impressions of My New GPS

Steven Jones — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:22:45 GMT

GPS devices will bring the Internet to the car and my new Dash Express is leading the charge. My first 48 hours with the device were exactly what I had hoped for and it is clear this is a sign of good things to come.

Clean up your tags with BeaTunes - good data is good for you.

Michael Czyz — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:45:11 GMT

Everyone with a digital music collection of any size has this problem: their music tags are far from perfect. Maybe it's because you ripped the songs from a CD before it was in cddb or one of the other directories, maybe there was no cddb back when you took your first steps into digital audio, maybe your ripper didn't do a good tagging job - remember MusicMatch Jukebox? Whatever the reason, however bad the tags, there is a pretty straightforward way to sort them out, and that's to let your computer fix them for you. I've tried a number of tools to do this, but the best I've found so far is BeaTunes . BeaTunes works on both Mac and Windows machines, all you need is a copy of iTunes with a library containing the (non-DRM'd) tracks you want to clean up. The way BeaTunes works is that it analyzes the audio of selected tracks and creates a fingerprint which it then compares to a database run by MusicIP.com. If it finds a matching fingerprint, BeaTunes can use the associated track data to update your track's tags. Yes, it's just that simple, and pretty fast too. Even if your current...