02_579533 ftoc.qxd 2/15/05 5:50 PM Page xix Contents at a Glance Preface . vii Acknowledgments . xvii Part I Music to Your Ears Chapter 1 Playing Digital Music . 3 Chapter 2 Configuring and Tuning Windows Media Player . 37 Chapter 3 Managing and Sharing Digital Music . 87 Chapter 4 Rip: Copying Music from Audio CDs. 119 Chapter 5 Acquiring Music from Cassettes, DVDs, and Other Analog Sources . 143 Chapter 6 Digital Music Store: Working with Online Music Services . 159 Part II A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words Chapter 7 Managing Photos and Images. 185 Chapter 8 Acquiring Photos with a Scanner . 229 Chapter 9 Acquiring Photos with a Digital Camera . 249 Chapter 10 From Still Frame to Full Frame: Photo Slideshows . 267 Part III Movie Making Chapter 11 Playing and Managing Digital Videos. 301 Chapter 12 Raw Footage: Making Home Movies . 323 Chapter 13 Acquiring Digital and Analog Video. 331 Chapter 14 Creating Home Movies on Your PC . 349 Chapter 15 BurnCOPYRIGHTED It: Creating Your Own DVDs. .MATERIAL . 389 Part IV Embracing the Digital Lifestyle Chapter 16 Digital Media in the Living Room: Introducing XP Media Center . 401 Chapter 17 Digital Media Throughout the Home: Using Media Center Extenders. 423 Chapter 18 Take It On the Road: Working with Portable Media Centers and Other Portable Devices . 435 Index . 451 02_579533 ftoc.qxd 2/15/05 5:50 PM Page xx 02_579533 ftoc.qxd 2/15/05 5:50 PM Page xxi Contents Preface . vii Acknowledgments . xvii Part I Music to Your Ears Chapter 1 Playing Digital Music . 3 Discovering Windows Media Player 10. 4 Starting Windows Media Player 10. 6 Exiting Windows Media Player. 9 Using the Windows Media Player Media Guide . 9 Navigating the Media Guide . 10 Discovering New Music with Windows Media Player . 11 Listening to Music . 11 Playing Audio CDs . 11 Playing Digital Audio Files . 14 Listening to Internet Radio Stations . 16 Using Radio Presets . 17 Adding a Radio Station to My Stations . 20 Removing a Station from a Presets List . 21 Playing Streaming Audio Files . 21 Finding Streaming Media Files . 22 Understanding and Using Other Streaming Media Formats . 23 Playing Music with Media Center . 25 Playing Digital Audio Files with Media Center . 26 Playing CD Music with Media Center. 28 Playing Internet Radio with Media Center . 29 Having Fun with Media Playback: A Guide to the Best Windows Media Player Add-ons. 31 Using Visualizations to Put a Mesmerizing Face on Your Music . 31 Geek Out with Plus! Dancer (Windows Dancer in MCE 2005). 33 Have a Party with Plus! Party Mode (Windows Party Mode in MCE 2005) . 34 Summary . 35 Chapter 2 Configuring and Tuning Windows Media Player . 37 Using the Media Library and Playlists . 37 Taking a Closer Look at the Media Library . 37 Using the Contents and Details Panes. 39 Working with Playlists . 42 Understanding the Now Playing List . 47 02_579533 ftoc.qxd 2/15/05 5:50 PM Page xxii xxii Contents Understanding the Burn List . 49 Understanding the Sync List. 49 Customizing Windows Media Player . 50 Displaying or Accessing the Menu Bar . 50 Hiding and Displaying the List Pane. 52 Using Windows Media Player Enhancements . 53 Using Skin Mode . 59 Configuring Windows Media Player Options . 72 Setting Player Options . 72 Setting Rip Music Options . 73 Setting Devices Options . 74 Setting Performance Options . 75 Setting Media Library Options . 78 Setting Plug-ins Options. 78 Setting Privacy Options . 80 Setting Security Options. 82 Setting File Types Options . 83 Setting DVD Options . 83 Setting Network Options . 84 Updating Windows Media Player . 84 Summary . 85 Chapter 3 Managing and Sharing Digital Music . 87 Using the My Music Folder. 87 Introducing My Music . 88 Customizing Folders in My Music . 89 Changing the Location of the My Music Folder . 95 Telling Windows Media Player Where the Music Is . 95 Using Shared Music . 96 Moving the My Documents Folder to a New Location . 98 Moving the My Music Folder to a New Location . 99 Storing Digital Music in Other Folders . 101 Creating a Media Server . 101 Using the Music Task Lists . 103 Playing All Music in a Folder . 103 Shopping for Music Online . 107 Copying Music to an Audio CD . 109 Burning Your Own Music CDs . 109 Understanding Recordable CD Formats . 109 Before You Burn, You Must Playlist. 110 Setting Audio CD Properties. 112 Creating Audio CDs . 114 Summary . 118 Chapter 4 Rip: Copying Music from Audio CDs . 119 Understanding Digital Audio Formats . 119 Windows Media Audio vs. MP3 . 120 Enter Microsoft, Stage Left . 120 02_579533 ftoc.qxd 2/15/05 5:50 PM Page xxiii Contents xxiii Configuring Windows Media Player to Rip CDs . 121 Configuring Your CD Devices. 121 Configuring Audio Format and Quality . 123 Choosing a Location Where Music Will Be Stored . 125 Ripping a CD: Copying Music to Windows XP. 127 What to Do If You’re Offline. 128 Copying that CD . 129 Managing Digital Audio Metadata. 135 Using the Media Library to Edit Metadata . 136 Using the Advanced Tag Editor to Edit Metadata . 138 Ripping CDs with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 . 140 Working with CDs in Media Center . ..