Chapter 21
Electronic Entertainment
In This Chapter
Working with digital video
Sharing a video on YouTube
Viewing TV on the Internet
Getting the Internet on your TV
Enjoying music on the computer
Using Windows Media Player
O PC, entertain me! You don’t really need to bark that order, because the PC — despite its disdain for all humans — is fully capable of providing you with electronic entertainment. It can sing. It can dance. It can put you in a trance. Well, maybe not a trance, but you can watch video, TV, and movies and listen to music by coercing the computer in many ways.
PC Movies
Are you old enough to remember watching home movies? The family would gather in a large room. The projector went clackity-clack as a silent, fuzzy, three-minute color film danced upon a sheet hung on the wall. Then you’d watch it run backward, and everyone would laugh. Many Hollywood producers owe their professional careers to that simple concept.
Today, home movies are shot using digital video cameras, cell phones, or tablets. Sound is recorded. The images are clear. And the movies last as long as you can tolerate sitting in the dark, watching your family’s vacation antics, forward or backward.
Storing video in Windows
A folder exists in the PC’s mass storage system for video. In your account’s home folder, you’ll find the Videos folder, also called My Videos in some versions of Windows. That’s the location where any videos you add to the computer are saved automatically. Here’s how to display the contents of that folder:
- Press Win + E to summon a File Explorer window.
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In the list of folders on the left side of the window, choose Videos.
The folder lists video files available on your computer’s storage system. The files are shown as icons, and even more video files may be available in folders within the main Video folder.
Windows may come with sample videos. If not, don’t fret if the folder is empty; you can easily create your own videos. The most common way is by importing a video from a digital camera. See Chapter 19.
Viewing a video
To view a video, double-click its icon. A capable program starts and displays the video, complete with onscreen controls.
In Windows 10, the Movies & TV app opens and plays the video.
In Windows 8, you’re hosed. Windows 8 lacks a video viewer. This is but one of hundreds of reasons why so many people detested Windows 8.
In older versions of Windows, the Windows Media Player opens and plays the video.
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You can also view a video by inserting a movie DVD into your PC’s optical drive. A program starts that plays the DVD on the computer screen, just as though you were watching it on TV. - Other video viewing programs are available, including Apple’s popular QuickTime. Go to
http://quicktime.apple.com.
Uploading a video to YouTube
You can invite the world into your den and have everyone sit there, smelly feet and everything, and watch your movies on your computer screen. Or — and this is a better choice — share that video on YouTube. That way, the world can stink up the web with their smelly feet, and you can continue to use the computer unmolested.
To upload a video to YouTube, follow these steps:
- Visit
www.youtube.com. -
Sign in to your Google account.
Click the Sign In button or link. If the link isn’t there, check the web page to see whether you’re already signed in. And if you don’t have a Google account, you can create one: Click Sign In, and then click Create Account.
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Click the Upload button.
The Upload screen appears.
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Choose to set whether the video is public or private.
I recommend choosing Private for now. You can change the setting to Public later.
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Click the screen to use a Browse dialog box to locate the videos.
Or you can open a folder window and drag a Video icon into the upload portion of the web page.
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Edit video settings.
As the video uploads and processes, you can edit more information — video name, description, tags — and change your mind about public and private settings.
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Click the Done button.
Some videos may continue to process, but short videos are done right away.
Videos are available in your channel. To view your channel, go to YouTube’s main page and choose My Channel from the navigation panel on the left side of the window.
- Only you can view private videos. Their links can’t be shared with anyone.
- A public video is available for anyone to view on YouTube.
- An unlisted video is available for anyone to view, but only when you send them an invitation.
- To reset a video from Private to Public, view the video: Locate it in your YouTube channel. Click the Pencil (edit) icon and change the setting from Private to Public.
- Google eventually sends you an email when your video has been processed and is finally ready for viewing and sharing.
Sharing your videos
It’s easy to share your videos with others using YouTube. Basically, you simply send your pals a web page link to your video. Because the link consists only of text, the email message doesn’t take an eternity to send and receive, nor is there any worry about malware-infected file attachments. The process works like this:
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Visit your account on YouTube, at
www.youtube.com/my_videos.You may have to log in first, but eventually you see a list of all your uploaded videos displayed on the web page.
- Right-click the title (link) of the video you want to share.
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Choose the Copy Shortcut command from the pop-up menu.
The command might be titled Copy Link Address or Copy Link Location.
- Start a new email message to your pal.
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the YouTube video link into your email message.
YouTube videos all have a similar-looking link or URL. For example: www.youtube.com/watch?v = -QIQhoahbQ8
That’s it! Clicking that link is how others can view your video on the Internet.
When you view a video on YouTube, you see sharing options listed on the web page. For example, click the Facebook button to quickly share a video on Facebook. The Embed option is used to stick the video into a blog or another web page.
Your PC Is a TV
Thanks to high-speed Internet, watching TV on your computer is no longer considered unholy. It used to be that to accomplish such a thing, you needed a hardware TV tuner jammed inside your computer. That’s still possible, though it’s more common these days to use the Internet to keep track of your favorite programs.
Getting a TV tuner
If it’s been on your bucket list to use your PC as a DVR, or digital video recorder, you can gleefully cross off that item. Computers have been able to host television for quite some time. The procedure involves buying TV tuner hardware and then using DVR software to watch and even record your favorite TV shows.
Two types of TV tuners are available: internal and external. The internal cards are more sophisticated but require that you endure the prospect of opening the computer’s case to install them. A saner alternative is the USB TV tuner, which hangs out the back of your PC like a limp noodle. In both cases, you connect the tuner to a TV cable, just as you would connect the TV cable to a TV set.
For DVR software, you can use the Windows Media Player Center program to watch and record TV. In Windows 10, the Movies and TV app can also be used to view TV over a USB tuner.
- Using the TV tuner with your PC doesn’t add to the cost of your cable or satellite subscription any more than adding a second TV in the house would.
- The DVR software that comes with the TV tuner may also allow you to burn DVDs of your favorite shows. The DVD storage option is better than keeping video long-term on your computer. That’s because:
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Recording television consumes a ton of storage space. The more you record, the more you should review the video library (by using the DVR software) and purge older programs. Otherwise, your PC runs out of mass storage space faster than a politician runs out of excuses.
Watching Internet TV
Broadcast TV is entering its final decade. In fact, my kids use their cable TV subscriptions only for Internet access. I will too, someday. That’s because more and more people are relying on the Internet to deliver their video entertainment.
Here are three sources I offer as consideration for your PC TV entertainment:
- YouTube
- Netflix
- Hulu
More options exist, but these — the big three — are excellent places to get started.
YouTube is perhaps the largest video repository on the planet. The idea is to “broadcast yourself,” so you’ll find lots of homemade and amateur content on YouTube. Some of it is very good and quite entertaining. But true to Sturgeon’s law, 90 percent of it is crap. Visit YouTube at www.youtube.com.
Netflix is the premiere online video content-delivery system. It’s stocked full of TV shows, movies, documentaries, foreign films, and other professionally produced content. You need a subscription, which is presently under $10 a month, and then you can watch that content as much or as little as you like. Sign up for Netflix at http://signup.netflix.com.
Hulu is a fine example of a useful website where the name is completely unrelated to the content. In this case, the content consists of TV shows and older movies, all of which are free to watch. Well, yes, they do have commercials, but so does regular TV, and the point of this section is to watch TV on your PC. You can visit Hulu at www.hulu.com.
Your TV Is a PC
This section has nothing to do with computers. That is, unless you consider the plethora of modern digital devices to be computers. Common items such as your car, game consoles, portable music players, and Optimus Prime all feature full-blown computers in their gizzards. One of the newest kids on the block is the high-definition television, or HDTV — specifically, an Internet-ready HDTV.
The Internet-ready HDTV is essentially a PC unimpaired by the burden of Microsoft Windows. In addition to receiving high-definition TV signals, an Internet-ready HDTV often comes with Internet access and a complete software suite. That list often includes Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, a web browser, Skype (for online chat), Facebook, Twitter, and other popular Internet programs and digital content providers.
Like other network gizmos, Internet-ready HDTV connects to the computer network, either by wire or wirelessly. The purpose of the connection is to access the Internet and give you all that nifty downloaded content. As a bonus, the Internet-ready HDTV may also act as a media station, letting you view pictures and videos, as well as listen to music, stored on other network computers and devices.
Will the PC be jealous? No. Computers are still far more flexible than devices designed for a specific purpose, such as HDTVs. In fact, there’s little you can do with an HDTV that you can’t already do on your PC, as described elsewhere in this chapter.
- Unless you have a wired network connection everywhere that there’s an Internet-ready TV, you need to use wireless networking to connect them. See Chapter 17.
- If your HDTV doesn’t offer an Internet connection or a software suite, you can purchase an Internet TV set-top box that provides the same features. Apple manufactures Apple TV for that purpose. Google provides a set-top Internet box called the Nexus Player. And Amazon offers the Fire TV Stick.
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The biggest problem with Internet-ready HDTV is in the human interface. A TV remote — even one with upward of 60 buttons — is no substitute for a mouse or computer keyboard.
Your PC Is Your Stereo
Who calls it a stereo any more? Back in the olden days, your home would have a radio. Then the radio was combined with the record player to form a stereo system. On the fancier models, you’d find an 8-track player. It was furniture! Today, your PC provides you with a source for musical entertainment. I do confess, however, that mobile devices — the phone and tablet — are rapidly eclipsing the computer in that category.
Enjoying music from the stream
The strategy for digital music today is not to bother with ripping CDs and storing music on your computer. Instead, you buy music online, and that music stays online. To listen, you visit a website and play the music.
Sources for online music include
- Amazon Prime Music:
www.amazon.com/PrimeMusic - Apple Music:
www.apple.com/music - Google Play Music:
play.google.com/music
Other sources are available as well, although I can guess you may already have an account at one of the services in this list.
Beyond buying music, Internet radio stations are available. You don’t own the music, but you can listen — and for a fee you can listen without commercial interruption.
Although you can't get specific software to listen to Internet radio music, you can pop open your favorite web browser and tune into web pages abundant with songs and sounds from around the world. Here is a sampling of websites you can browse for your listening enjoyment:
- iHeart Radio:
www.iheart.com - Pandora Internet Radio:
www.pandora.com - Slacker Personal Radio:
www.slacker.com - Tune-In radio:
tunein.com
Other services are available as well, including websites that deliver up specific music genres, such as a jazz or classical.
- Windows 10 comes with the Groove music app, which can also be used to buy and listen to streaming music.
- One major advantage of storing music online is that the audio files don’t occupy storage space on your computer. Another advantage is that your music is available anywhere and on any device that has Internet access.
- Some online music sources also provide subscription services. For a flat fee, you can listen to any music in the online library. So you never have to purchase an individual song or album.
- The topic of ripping a CD, which refers to copying music from that media to your PC’s mass storage system, is covered in Chapter 19.
Running Windows Media Player
The musical capital of Europe is Vienna. The musical capital of a Windows computer is a program called Windows Media Player. The program still lingers in Windows 10, even though Microsoft would appreciate your subscription to its online music service. For ripping CDs and listening to that music, however, Windows Media Player is still the king.
To start Windows Media Player, follow these steps:
- Click the Start button.
- Click the All Apps button or All Programs button.
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Click Windows Media Player in the list.
You have to scroll through the list to find it.
If you rip CDs, as covered in Chapter 19, you see your CD collection in the Windows Media Player window. Choose the Music category from the left side of the window to explore your digital jukebox. Click a song to select it. Click the big Play button at the bottom of the screen to start listening.
- Windows Media Player may start automatically when you insert a music CD into your PC.
- Other musical jukebox programs are available, including Apple’s iTunes. These programs aren’t as popular as they once were, mostly because the value for computer companies today lies in online subscriptions, not in playing music you already own.