Windows Media Center is a great source of entertainment for some of Windows’ users, especially those that love to record their TV shows to watch later. Did you know that there are some ways to change the application to enhance your experience? Practically everything in Windows can be modified, and we’re going to talk about modifying WMC today. The modifications mostly involve changing the shortcut to the program from where you launch it. Let’s get on the grind!

Before We Go On…

Let’s make sure you know how to modify the target path in a shortcut. Go to your Windows Media Center shortcut, right-click and click “Properties,” and click the “Shortcut” tab. Within that tab, you’ll see a field for “Target.”

This is where you will make your modifications, adding to the current path, not taking away from it. Any modification must be added with a space between the path and the parameter you apply.

Note: If you modify the path you see there, you will most surely experience issues opening up the program. Please pay attention to this advice while following the steps in this article. We do not take any responsibility for any issues that come up as a result of you following the advice within our content, but we may be able to help you if you come into the comments section. That said, let’s roll!

1. Get Rid of The Splash Screen

For some, this is the one biggest annoyance in WMC. It starts up, and instead of taking you directly to the interface, you get some annoying animations. Let’s get rid of that by adding “/nostartupanimation” like this:

That’s it! Got it now? From now on, we won’t be using the full path. Instead, we’ll just tell you what to add.

2. Make WMC Start in Full Screen Without Minimize or Close Buttons

This is self-explanatory. Just add “/mediamode” Keep in mind that you can add multiple parameters to a path by separating them with a space.

3. Configure WMC to Display in RTL

RTL, also known as “right to left” puts all elements of WMC on the right side of the window instead of the left. This might be more comfortable for you if you’re more accustomed to this type of display convention. Add “/rtl” to the path to achieve this.

4. Disable Shut Down Option

In WMC, you can shut down the computer using the “Tasks” tile within the main window. This also lets you close WMC, in case you use it in full screen. Keep this in mind if you added “/mediamode” to the path. While this might not be necessary, it couldn’t hurt to keep the option on. If you’re convinced you’d like this removed, then add “/noshutdownui” to the path.

5. Remove the Window Frame

It might be a bit cheesy to view a video with a frame around it. Add “/nochrome” to the path to get this done.

BONUS: DirectMedia Parameter!

“DirectMedia” allows WMC to start either in the video library, the recorded TV library, your pictures, or your music. This makes things quicker, depending on what you use WMC for. Type “/directmedia:” followed by either “video,” “tv,” “pictures,” or “music” without any spaces between “/directmedia:” and what else you type.

Got Any Questions?

If you have any cool contributions to add to this, please feel free to do so! Until next time!

Miguel has been a business growth and technology expert for more than a decade and has written software for even longer. From his little castle in Romania, he presents cold and analytical perspectives to things that affect the tech world.

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