Using Digital Media on
Windows XP
In This Chapter
◆ Using Windows Media Player 9
◆ Using Windows Movie Maker 2
◆ Managing digital photos
DIGITAL MEDIA HAS BECOMEan integrated part of our lives. From digital photos to movies to music, digital media is here to stay, and consumers are demanding more from computer operating systems for digital media management. Windows XP pro- vides some helpful tools for digital media management. This chapter covers Windows Media Player 9, Windows Movie Maker 2, and several tools for managing and using digital photos.
Windows Media Player 9
Windows Media Player 9 contains improvements and updates from the previous version of Media Player included with Windows XP, Media Player 8. If you have Media Player 8 installed on your Windows XP computer, you can download Media Player 9 for free from www.microsoft.com/windowsxpand install it on your com- puter. Like Media Player 8, Media Player 9 provides you with a primary media area, a list of buttons on the left side of the Media Player window (called Features), and a standard toolbar. When you first open Media Player, it attempts to connect to
www.windowsmedia.com(called the Media Guide). If successful, you’ll see a media interface, as shown in Figure 4-1. If you’re not connected to the Internet, you’ll first see a URL error page.
You use the features of Media Player by accessing the different buttons on the left side of the interface. The following sections show you what is available.
Now Playing
Now Playing lists or shows the type of media you are currently playing. Most types of media will automatically launch Windows Media Player. Any media that you play, such as music or a movie, appears in the Now Playing area. For example, as
shown in Figure 4-2, if you play music, you’ll see the CD, names of the songs, and a visualization, which moves to the beat of the music. Note that the CD cover and the CD music list are downloaded from the Internet, so if you don’t have an Internet connection, these two items will not appear.
Figure 4-1: Media Player connects to Windows Media.
In the same way, movies that you play are shown in the Now Playing area as shown in Figure 4-3. If information about the movie clip is available, it will appear in the Now Playing area as well.
Figure 4-3: Any media appears in the Now Playing area.
You can configure the Media Player window so that it suits your needs, and you’ll want to get familiar with these controls because they can easily help you customize the Now Playing area. First, in the lower-right corner of the Media Player window, you see the following three buttons:
◆ Maximize the Video and Visualizations Pane — This option maximizes
the area of the Now Playing window that displays video or visualizations. After you click this option, you don’t see the album and song list or movie info pane.
◆ View Full Screen — This option allows you to view the Now Playing area
full screen on your computer, which can be helpful if you are watching a movie clip.
◆ Select Playlist Options — This shows or hides the playlist in the Now
Playing window. If you are listening to a music CD, the songs on the CD are displayed in the Now Playing window if this option is enabled.
If you look toward the play controls at the bottom left of the player, you also see the following:
◆ Shuffle — This button shuffles your current playlist. This feature is cool if
you want to play a music CD and hear the songs in a different order.
◆ Change Player Color — This option lets you quickly change the player’s
color.
◆ Switch to Skin Mode — This option switches to skin mode, which is
explored later in this chapter.
A drop-down menu in the upper-right corner can also be used to select different media to play. Or, you can click the arrow on the Now Playing button and access the same options. This feature easily helps you access media in your Media Library. Use the standard buttons at the bottom of the Media Player window to play the media, stop playing the media, adjust the volume, or use related stereo or video controls. You can find these same controls in the Play menu at the top of the interface.
Aside from the immediate options on the interface, you can use the View menu to change a number of items affecting the Now Playing area’s interface. The following list tells you what options are available to you and what they do:
◆ Full Mode — The default display is shown to you in full mode. If you
switch to compact mode, use this option to return to full mode.
◆ Skin Mode — This option gives you a smaller interface. You have the same
options, but some of them appear as pop-out menus. This option takes up less room on your desktop. If you are in full mode, click this option to move to compact mode.
◆ Now Playing Options — This option provides a pop-out menu where you
can manage the look of the Now Playing window.
◆ Show Title — This is the same as the button option found directly on the
interface. It shows the title and the playlist option.
◆ Show Media Information — This displays title information about the
media (such as the artist and songs, name of the video, and so on).
◆ Show Playlist — For music media, this option shows the list of songs on
the CD or the playlist you have created.
◆ Show Resize Bars — Resize bars appear between the different options you
elect to show in the Now Playing area. The resize bars enable you to adjust the size of the components, as desired.
◆ Visualizations — You can choose from different visualizations here. You
can also change the visualization directly from the Now Playing area by clicking the arrow buttons found under the graphical visualization window.
◆ Info Center View — This option displays the info center, which downloads
information about the media being played from the Internet.
◆ Plug-Ins — Some media may require a plug-in, which is a small software
program designed to work with Media Player. The Plug-Ins menu option allows you to see what plug-ins are installed and gives you some addi- tional options for locating and managing plug-ins.
◆ Enhancements — The Enhancements option allows you to use some equal-
izer and volume management features, as well as Video Settings when you are playing video. If you point to Enhancements and click Show Enhancements, you can see a graphic equalizer in the Now Playing area so you can adjust the sound, as shown in Figure 4-4.
Figure 4-4: You can add an equalizer using the Enhancements option.
◆ Statistics — When playing videos, access this option to view statistics
about the video transmission quality. The statistics window can be partic- ularly helpful when troubleshooting problems with streaming media.
◆ Full Screen, Refresh, and Video Size — The final options in the View
Media Guide
The next feature in Media Player is the Media Guide, mentioned earlier in this chapter. This option connects you to WindowsMedia.com, where you can download all kinds of music and movie files. This is a fun Web site, so do check it out. You must be connected to the Internet for the Media Guide to work.
Copy from CD
The Copy from CD feature, shown in Figure 4-5, gives you information about the music CD to which you are currently listening. You are given the names of the songs, their length, and standard information about the album. This information only appears, however, if you are connected to the Internet.
Figure 4-5: Copy from CD.
In the upper-right corner of the interface, you see the Find Album Info and View Album Info buttons. You can click these buttons to get additional information from the Internet about the album. Sometimes this feature gives you additional informa- tion, sometimes not, depending on how the album is listed, as shown in Figure 4-6.
Figure 4-6: View Album Info.
You also see a Copy Music button. You can copy any music track from a music CD to store the track on your hard drive. This feature has two benefits. First, you can store songs you really like directly on your hard disk so that Media Player can play them without the music CD. Also, you can generate your own collection of favorites and create a playlist (which you learn about later in this chapter).
To make a copy of a song from a CD, just follow these steps:
1. In Media Player, click the Copy from CD feature button.
2. In the list of songs, clear the check boxes next to the song(s) you do not
want to copy. In other words, any songs with the check box enabled will be copied to your hard disk.
3. Click the Copy Music button. Depending on your configuration, you may
be able to hear the song while it is being copied. The feature area shows you the progress of the copy as it occurs.
4. Once the copy is complete, the song is placed in your Media Library
(explored in an upcoming section).
You can also control how songs are recorded and managed by clicking the Tools menu in Media Player, and then clicking Options. Click the Copy Music tab, shown in Figure 4-7. Under most circumstances, the default options configured on this tab are all you need, but you might encounter instances when you want to change the default behavior.
Figure 4-7: Copy Music option tab.
The following options are found on this tab:
◆ Copy music to this location — By default, the location is C:\My Documents\
My Music. If you want to change this default location, click the Change button and select a different folder on your computer’s hard drive.
◆ Copy settings — You can choose to copy music in either the Windows
Media format or MP3 — the choice is yours. The Copy protect music check box simply means that Windows Media Player is keeping a license for you to copy the music and play it on your computer. It is illegal for you to e-mail copies of music to other people, however. Finally, you can choose to copy music at different quality settings by adjusting the slider bar. The higher the quality you copy, the greater the hard drive space that is con- sumed. Even at a lower quality, several megabytes of storage space will be needed for only a few songs.
Media Library
The Media Library is a library designed to hold media. All of your saved music and video files are stored in the library under different categories so you can easily access them, as shown in Figure 4-8.
Figure 4-8: Media Library.
On the left side of the interface, you see various categories. Click a category, and you can see the songs or videos in your library for that category. For example, when I expand Album, I can select an album and see a list of songs I have copied to my computer from that album in the right pane. Just double-click a song or video clip to hear it or see it. Keep in mind that the library’s purpose is to help you keep track of files that you want. The Media Library is able to detect the type of multimedia you are using and add it to the appropriate location in the library. You can search your library by clicking the Search button at the top of the interface, and you can perform standard add, remove, and delete functions.
You can also use the Media Library to create a playlist of your favorite tunes or videos. To add a new item to the Media Library, click the Add button (plus sign) on the interface. A submenu pops out that enables you to add a track that is currently being played, a file, or media found on the Internet. If you want to add a file, a typ- ical browse window appears for locating the file you want to add. If you want to add something from the Web, a window appears in which you can enter the URL of the media item.
You can also use Media Player to create a playlist. A playlist is a collection of media that you can use or view on Windows Media Player. The major way media lists are used is to combine different songs from different sources into one list that you can then listen to or burn to a CD. To create a media list, follow these steps:
1. In the Media Library, click the Playlists button and click New Playlist from
the menu that appears.
2. Enter a name for the new playlist in the dialog box that appears, shown in
Figure 4-9.
3. In the left pane, choose to access media in the Media Library by artist,
album, and so on from the drop-down menu. Then, click the desired media to add it to your playlist. You can simply browse through all of your media and generate a custom playlist this way. When you’re done, click OK.
Figure 4-9: You can easily create a playlist.
You can import playlists from other locations, such as those found on Web sites, by first downloading the playlist to your computer and then using File→Import Playlist in Windows Media Player. In the same manner, you can export your playlists using File→Export Playlist so you can share your playlists with others, as well.
Radio Tuner
The Radio Tuner, shown in Figure 4-10, accesses Internet radio. With a good Internet connection, you can listen to radio stations all over the world that stream data over the Internet. Note, however, that dial-up connections will give you sporadic results, so Internet radio is a feature best used with broadband Internet connections.
Figure 4-10: Radio Tuner.
The Radio Tuner interface has two basic elements — Stations and Search. The following two sections show you how to use each. In the Stations section of the interface, you see a drop-down menu where you can select preset options. Windows Media Player gives you a list of a few popular Internet radio sites to pick from. If you want to reach one of these, double-click the name in the list to connect to the site. You can create your own preset radio stations by renaming the drop-down window My Stations. Use the Edit, Add, and Remove buttons to manage your sta- tion list. However, you can’t add any stations to the list until you have located one using the Station Finder.
You locate Internet radio stations using the Station Finder window. To find a particular station, click the desired category button, or you can browse the stations by category (such as rock, gospel, jazz, and so on). When you find a station you want, just double-click it in the list — you will then be connected and be able to lis- ten to the station. If you want to save the station, click Add to My Stations to add the station to your presets.
Copy to CD or Device
The Copy to CD or Device feature, shown in Figure 4-11, provides an easy way to copy files from your Media Library to a portable device, such as a Palm unit, a CD, or even to a remote storage media, such as a Zip or Jaz disk. Use the drop-down menu to select the device you want to copy to, and then select the items you want to copy. Finally, click the Copy button. Your specified items are copied and you can now use them on your portable device.
Figure 4-11: Copy to CD or Device.
Premium Services
The Premium Services option is simply a connection to an Internet site where you can sign up to have digital media, such as music and movies, delivered to you for a fee. Just click one of the options if you want to get more information. You’ll need an Internet connection for any of these features to work.
Skin Chooser
Media Player includes a number of different skins — or interface overlays — you can apply to Media Player. These skins give Media Player completely different looks, which you may find very appealing. These are just for fun — you still have the same functionality in Media Player, regardless of what skin you choose to use. To use a skin, select the one you want and click the Apply button. You can also click More Skins to connect to the Media Player Web site where you can download other skins — you’ll find several others available on this site. You can also get more skins from the Windows XP Plus! pack.
In case you are wondering about additional visualizations, you can down- load new ones from http://windowsmedia.com/mg/visualizations. asp?.
Configuration Options
Along with all of the basic options found in Media Player, you can also click Tools→Options and configure some of Media Player’s features. Generally, the default options work great for most people, but you should get familiar with what is available on the Options properties sheet, because you might need to make some configuration changes from time to time. The different tabs you see here are rather easy to use, and the following list gives you a quick overview of what’s available.
◆ Player — This tab contains a number of basic check boxes. By default,
your Media Player checks the Media Player Web site for updates to Media Player on a monthly basis. This setting is all you need. By default, Media Player opens and starts the Media Player Guide. You can change that behavior by clearing the check box on this tab (refer to Figure 4-12). Notice the Download codecs automatically check box option, which is selected by default. A codec is a compressor or decompressor mathemati- cal algorithm that is used for audio, video, and image files. The codec allows the file to be compressed and then uncompressed so that it can be read. Media Player must have codecs to be able to play files. If a codec is used to compress a file, the same codec is used to decompress it. If Media