Interested in getting a quick overview of the Plus! Digital Media Edition's features? Take a tour!

System Requirements

As you've probably already guessed, you need Windows XP Professional/XP Home/XP Media Editon installed on your computer to use DME. Before springing for the package, you should also make sure your computer has at least a 233MHz Intel Pentium processor (or equivalent) and 64MB RAM; for better performance, Microsoft recommends a 500MHz processor and 128MB RAM. Additionally, check to ensure that you have, at the bare minimum, 78MB of available hard drive space, although Microsoft maintains that the exact amount needed will vary depending on your configuration and which features you want to use. Of course, you'll need an optical drive, SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array) monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Finally, to tap into the online features and activate your copy of Plus! DME, you'll need Internet access; to record narration for photo stories, you need a microphone.

Assuming you have the correct equipment to run the enhancement package, installation is relatively seamless, and you'll be ready to use the various features and utilities. For an overview of each feature, we recommend that you choose Tour Plus! Digital Media Edition by clicking Start, All Programs, and Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition. (You can also launch any DME tool by clicking it from this same menu.) Each component in the package includes a wizard-like series of screens that let you work through steps for using it. If you have questions, each utility also includes a Help feature.

Use Photo Story to combine digital photos from various locations into an electronic slide show. After you choose the photos, you can rearrange them for a more logical sequence.

Plus! Photo Story

This popular utility in the Digital Media Edition enables you to share digital photo collections with others, complete with narration and music. To use Photo Story, you must have a 400MHz processor and 128MB RAM (more than the requirements); to create Video CDs, you must have at least 256MB RAM, 2GB free hard drive space, and a CD-R/RW drive.

Create a story. To begin, launch Plus! Photo Story by choosing Start, All Programs, Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition, and then Plus! Photo Story. Click the Begin A Story button to advance to the Import And Arrange Your Pictures page. Click the Import Pictures button to display the Open dialog box. By default Photo Story displays the photos in the My Pictures folder; you can use those photos or navigate to where you typically store your digital pictures.

Next, select the photos you want to include in your story. You can select a group of consecutive photos by clicking the first photo file, holding down the SHIFT key, and then clicking the last photo file. To choose nonconsecutive photos, press and hold CTRL while clicking the ones you want. After you select the photos, click Open. The selected photos appear on a filmstrip in the Photo Story window. You can add more photos by clicking the Import Pictures button again. You can also reorder the photos on the strip by dragging and dropping the photos to different locations on the strip. Alternatively, select the photo you want to move and then click the Move Back or Move Forward buttons (indicated by left and right arrows). You can also remove a photo from the story by selecting it and then clicking the Delete button.

You can add interest to your Photo Story by recording voice narration for each photo.

Add sound and text to your story. After you arrange the photos in the order you want, click the Next button to advance to the Record Your Story page. This page includes options to add voice narration to the story. To make sure that your microphone is recording properly, click Configure Microphone and work through the step-by-step instructions. When you're ready to narrate your story, click the red Record button. Click the blue arrow whenever you want to advance to the next photo. When you're finished, click the stop button (it has a white square on it). You can then click the Preview Story button to view and listen to your creation. You'll notice that Photo Story automatically adds zoom, panning, fading, and other transitional effects as it moves from one picture to the next.

The next page, Add A Title Page, lets you add text, such as a title and author, to your story. After you enter the text, you can format it by clicking the Select Title Font and Select Subtitle Font buttons and then choosing options in the Font dialog box. To enhance the look of the title page, you can even add a photo as a background image. To do this, select the Add A Background Image checkbox on the Title Page box and click the Background Image button. Locate and double-click the photo you want in the Open dialog box. When you're finished developing a title page, click Next.

Party Mode helps you limit access to only the files on your computer that you specify, such as those in the Media Library.

Include a soundtrack. The Add Music And Preview Your Story page lets you add background music to the story. To do this, click the Browse button and double-click an audio file. This page also gives you the option to preview your story with all the settings in place; click the Preview Final Story button to view the electronic slide show, complete with voice narration and music. To clear the story window, close it and then click Next to advance to the Select Quality Settings And Save Your Story page. Use this page to specify the video and audio compression for the story. High quality settings provide clearer images and sound, but they also take up more storage space. In contrast, medium quality is a better choice if you plan to send the story via email or upload it to a Web site. This page also lets you save the file; by default Windows saves it in My Videos, but you can save it wherever you want. When you're finished, click Next to build your story. The final Photo Story page provides options to view your story, create a new one, or exit.

You can view previously-created photo stories at any time by opening Photo Story and then choosing Play Existing Stories from the Media Library. In the Play Existing Stories dialog box, select the story you want and then choose Play.

You can use the Party Mode to change the appearance of your screen, as well as tactfully prevent others from accessing personal information on your computer.

Plus! Party Mode

If you invite people to visit your home regularly, you'll appreciate the Plus! Party Mode tool. You can use this utility to turn your computer into a jukebox with a full-screen interface, known as a skin. The Party Mode also lets you restrict access to files and personal information.

The interface is a sort of cover for the Party Mode's real purpose: To secure personal stuff on your computer. For example, you can let your guests choose specific music files on the computer to play but prevent them from accessing the other files. Additionally, you can use the Party Mode to add visual song titles and other effects. One interesting Party Mode feature involves creating an electronic guest book so your friends can add comments about the music.

Launch Party Mode by choosing Start, All Programs, Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition, and Plus! Party Mode For Windows Media Player. Read over the Welcome page and then click OK to display the Specify Your Party Mode Settings window.

Protect your files. One of the most important settings is located in the Privacy Option area. You turn on the option by selecting the Block Access To Desktop And Other Programs While Party Mode Is Running, And Return To Logon Screen When Party Mode Quits checkbox. When turned on, this setting prevents users from closing Party Mode, launching other programs, or accessing hard drives, optical drives, or networks. If someone tries to start another program, Party Mode locks your computer; when you stop Party Mode, the main Windows logon screen appears. You must then type your password to access your account.

Party Mode also includes settings related to how the music plays. For example, in the Now Playing Options area of the Party Mode window, you can choose Crossfading (In Seconds) to allow an overlapping audio transition between music tracks. You can also select Change Visualization When Track Changes to apply a new skin each time a new song begins. Finally, select (or clear) the box for Guests Can Access Media Library to allow or prevent others from messing with your digital audio files.

Modify the interface. If you want to change the Party Mode's skin, choose one from the Skin drop-down list or click the link to Download More Party Mode Skins. Finally, you can make changes in the Marquee Options section to create moving text that displays across the screen.

When you're finished setting options, click the Start Party button. The party's look depends on the settings and skin you specified. Additionally, you can click buttons to toggle the marquee text on or off, add comments to the guest book, and advance to other audio tracks. If you're not sure what a button does, rest your pointer over it until a ScreenTip displays.

When you're finished using Party Mode, close the window. If security settings are in place, a message box appears, warning that the logon screen will display; if not, the main Party Mode window will reappear. To completely close Party Mode or to change settings, click the Stop Party button and then confirm your choice by choosing Yes. Hopefully you don't have people wandering around your house or home office who would maliciously install programs or viruses, but if you do, Party Mode provides a measure of security.

One final note of caution: If others are logged into your computer before you start Party Mode, guests may be able to access your files, even with the Party Mode running.


Plus! Analog Recorder

If you're like most people over 30, you have a sizable collection of tapes and vinyl records that you're loath to part with. Sure, you don't want to be locked into old technologies, but you can't bear to part with all those original Beatles and Al Hirt records, either.

Don't sweat it. You can bring your cassette tapes and records into the digital world by using the Plus! Analog Recorder. This utility converts analog recordings, such as those on tape, into digital computer files. The files are saved in Microsoft's file format, WMA (Windows Media Audio), instead of MP3, which is basically standard on the Internet, but it's still a good way to bring your favorite tunes into the 21st century.

To use the Analog Recorder you need the correct cables to connect the record player, cassette player, or reel-to-reel player to your computer. Fortunately, DME includes excellent documentation and diagrams that illustrate how to do this. Check out the Analog Recorder's Help for details.

After you connect the audio player to your computer, choose Plus! Analog Recorder from the Start, All Programs, and Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition menu. Click Next to advance past the Welcome page. The subsequent page includes a test that DME uses to adjust the recording level. Indicate the source of the analog audio on the Input Channel list, start the music on the device, and then click the Start button. The Analog Recorder automatically finds the best recording level to use so that the digital files aren't distorted. Use the Sound Device list to specify your computer's sound card. (It's very important that the one shown on the list is the same one to which you connected your analog audio device.) When the Analog Recorder indicates that the recording level is acceptable, click Next.

On the Record Your Music page, click the red Record button. When the piece is done recording, click Stop. After you're finished converting your recordings into digital, you can enhance their quality by using features such as automatic hiss and pop reduction and track splitting.


Plus! Dancer

A fun (but marginally useful) feature is Plus! Dancers. After you turn on the feature, a character dances on your computer's Desktop to the beat of whatever music is playing on the Windows Media Player. Whenever the music stops, the character stops dancing. You can also download more than a dozen other dancers via the Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition home page (www.microsoft.com/windows/plus/dme). Each dancer has its own style, such as Hip Hop or Disco, and some dancers come in pairs for couple dancing.

To see this tool in action, launch both the Windows Media Player and Plus! Dancers from the Windows Start menu. You can then right-click the dancer to choose options such as Select Dancer, Start Dancing, and Stop Dancing.

Use the Analog Recorder to convert your analog music into computer-friendly digital files.

Plus! CD Label Maker

Remember when recordable CDs were so expensive that they were primarily used for businesses? Luckily, those days are behind us, and CDs are now traded and used as freely as bubble gum baseball cards. The trick, of course, is keeping track of what's on all those CDs kicking around in your desk drawer.

Take advantage of the Plus! CD Label Maker tool, which you can use to create and print black-and-white or full-color CD labels. You can let the program automatically add the artist, track, and album information or create totally customized looks. You can also create inserts for your CD cases, including the front cover, back cover, and a spine insert. Finally, make a booklet of information about the artist, such as her song lyrics or a biography. To use the CD Label Maker, launch the utility from the Plus! Digital Media Edition folder and work step-by-step through the screens.

You can turn your computer into a fancy alarm clock, complete with tunes from the Media Library.

Plus! Alarm Clock & Plus! Sleep Timer

The Plus! Alarm Clock utility turns your computer into an alarm, which is useful if you fall asleep while waiting for a late-night eBay auction to close. Additionally, you can set snooze times and develop multiple alarms.

You can also use the Plus! Sleep Timer feature to play music for a predetermined length of time and turn it off after you've fallen asleep. You launch the Sleep Timer as a plug-in within Windows Media Player by choosing Tools, Plug-ins, and Plus! Sleep Timer.


Other Tools You Can Use

Plus! DME offers a grab bag of other utilities, including Plus! Sync & Go for Pocket PC, which you can use to copy your choice of music, news, and other content from your desktop computer to your Pocket PC computer.

Another tool is the Audio Converter, which you can use to convert digital audio files from one format to another, such as from WMA to MP3. Best of all, you can reverse the process and convert other digital formats back to WMA.

Additionally, you can use Plus! Effects & Transitions to build on the capabilities of Movie Maker 2 (available free as a download; www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker) so you can create great digital home movies. (For more information about Movie Maker 2, see "Going Hollywood" in the December 2003 issue of PC Today, page 100.) This collection includes 50 transitions and video effects.

And just in case you're not satisfied with the built-in skins that come with WinXP, Plus! DME includes its own set of Windows Media Player skins. Although each skin includes the same underlying functions (such as the controls needed for playing music), the appearance differs greatly. You can access these skins by opening the Windows Media Player and clicking the Skin Chooser button. Select a skin to preview its appearance; click Apply Skin to use the interface.


It's Well Worth It

For about 20 bucks, you can get almost a dozen applications and features in Plus! DME, which makes it a very good bargain for WinXP users who want to expand the basic media capabilities of their OS. If you still aren't convinced, two of DME's most popular applications, Plus! Photo Story and Plus! Dancers, are available to try free: Head to www.microsoft.com/windows/plus/dme/try.asp to download them.

by Linda Bird