Windows Media Center

In the latest version, you can avail goodies like TV show images throughout the guide and Recorded TV; media center desktop gadget; trick play functions like fast forward, rewind, and skip; streamlined schedule of recordings; guide button in Window mode; use of movie library without any registry hack and support for more file types; and resumption of various video types except dvr-ms and wtv.

The new WMC enables you to combine tuners of different types to tackle recording conflicts automatically based on priority. It allows you to view a miniature version of a HD video playing backwards or forwards at the same speed.

A running movie or a video clip nicely dissolves into the background when you browse the channel guide or pull up a menu to add a new show or even shift to another area of the Windows 7 Media Center.
WMC also allows you to watch all the virtual channels, including programs like popular shows, TV series, music channels, movies, etc. Hovering the pointer over the start menu (Media Center logo) pops up a list of recently recorded shows along with other frequently used MC features.
While viewing a channel guide, you just need to hold the arrow button on the remote to skip days in a jiffy. It blurs the listings, with only the days of the week and the portion of the day appearing floating, enabling you to see when to stop.

The Windows 7 games, which are available in Extras Library, can be easily launched from inside the Media Center.

WMC includes a new slide show creator that enables you to make multiple slide shows for different occasions. You can also play music and insert pictures in the show from your library.
In a nutshell, new features make the latest version more responsive than the Vista Media Center. The third-party Extenders in the latest edition have become faster with Windows 7, especially the trick play functions – fast forward, rewind, and skip.

Get a smoother sharing of music, pictures and documents within your home network and Windows 7 PCs with HomeGroup.

Earlier, it was difficult to automatically start sharing your music, pictures, video, and document libraries with others in your home by connecting two or more PCs.

The tool enables the sharing of files and printers on a home network. It makes it easy to automatically start sharing your music, pictures, video, and document librarieswith others in your home by connecting two or more PCs running Windows 7, and HomeGroup. The new Share With Menu property of Windows 7, provides a speedy way to share individual files.

Keeping in view your security, the HomeGroup is password protected. It allows you to decide which file you want to share and which not.

You can also share your USB connected printers through Homegroup. By virtue of this feature if you have a printer in the living room that is shared by HomeGroup it will be automatically installed on to your other HomeGroup enabled PCs. Domain-joined computers can also be part of a HomeGroup.

This application was also available in the Windows Vista but it has been improved further in Windows 7 by adding certain features including security and privacy of data and content of one user against other.