Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center®

networks are no longer uncommon even in these small-footprint living spaces.

However, to appeal to that larger marketplace, the Media Center still needed a

sound network strategy.

Today, Media Center offers complete networking capability from its “2-foot” PC side,

by virtue of the underlying Windows XP Professional operating system. That net-

working allows only limited entertainment-related functionality in Media Center,

however. Look for that to change. As Microsoft continues down this development

path, new technologies and capabilities will emerge that place Media Center at the

hub of a household’s entire digital experience. Video and audio data will eventually

course throughout your home, just like water, heat, and electricity do today. Turn on

the digital tap in any room of the house, and you’ll have instant and complete

access to your library of images, games, audio, and video entertainment.

The Media Center machine you own today is just the beginning. Adding it to a net-

work in your home may not completely rock your world at the outset, but that con-

nectivity promises to spark a new generation of applications and activities to

expand the definitions of both “fun” and “functional,” as they pertain to home

computers.

Networking Your Media Center PC: What You

Can and Can’t Do

So let the networking begin! First, it’s always a good idea to set your expectations,

based on a reality check of what you can and can’t expect to do with your net-

worked Media Center.

Here’s what you can do:

■ Share printers and files

■ Share Internet access

■ Watch TV shows recorded on a Media Center from other Windows XP com-

puters on the network

And here’s what you can’t do:

■ Open Media Center applications from a remote computer on the network

■ Watch live TV on other (non–Media Center) computers

■ Have Media Center automatically record TV shows to a network drive

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP MEDIA CENTER