Sean Alexander

If you’ve been keeping up with the Windows 7 beta, you’ve probably noticed that Windows Media Center has really been focusing on fit and finish across the platform making it quite possibly the best DVR on the market.  Two features for me really, make the TV features sing: Color-coded program categories and extensibility to support station logos.  Here are the categories:

• Green   – Sports
• Purple  – Movies
• LtBlue  – Kids & Family
• Orange – Special
• Yellow  – News

Turning on Color-coded Categories

This feature is actually really easy to set. To turn it on, go  into Settings>TV>Guide Page Options, and click the first checkbox option to “Apply colored backgrounds to shows, based on their category”. You’ll also notice the ability to set channels by name, a useful feature if you can never remember the numbers or your cable operator keeps moving the lineups around (or both, in my case).

Adding Channel Logos into the Guide

Next up is My Channel Logos for Media Center. I consider this to be one of the first, and most useful PowerToys exclusively for Windows 7, courtesy of some enthusiasts from The Green Button.com.  This add-on plugs in the network logos for most major networks directly into your EPG.  It also enables you to create/add your own custom logo for channels.  The application effectively extends this feature in MediaCenter by placing the appropriate logo file in a cache.  MediaCenter finds the cache and updates.

Of course, your mileage may vary, especially with Beta on beta software.