Freeware for Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center is a software program that is included in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate, and Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate, Professional and Enterprise editions, as well as the Windows Media Center Edition of Windows XP. You can use Windows Media Center to watch live TV on your computer, to watch Internet TV, play games, browse the media library on your hard drive and much more. There is a wealth of freeware available for Windows Media Center online. These free programs allow users to do additional tasks, such as watching videos, listening to music, browsing their movie library or checking their local weather, all within Windows Media Center.

Yougle Vista, produced by Push-A-Button software, is a free plugin that will allow you to watch media from the Internet in Windows Media Center. It works both with Vista 32 bit and 64 bit. Using Yougle Vista, you can use Windows Media Center to watch videos on Youtube, Yahoo! Music and MSN Soapbox. You can also use Yougle Vista to listen to online radio such as Live365 radio, view pictures on sites like Flickr and watch animations on sites like Neurotically Yours. You can search these sites easily from within Windows Media Center.

To install Yougle Vista, simply navigate to the Push-A-Button website and click the "Downloads" link. Select the "Yougle Vista" link and then select the right version for your operating system. After you've installed the program, open Windows Media Center and select "Tasks," then select "Program Library." Yougle Vista should appear in the list. Select the source you'd like to browse within Windows Media Center or select "Get More Sources" to see more options.

My Movies 3 is a free program that can catalog your DVDs and Blu-Ray disks and store them on your hard drive for easy playback in Windows Media Center. Within Windows Media Center, My Movies displays the front and back cover, rating information, plot synopses, cast information and a list of the special features on your disks. You can also change the audio and subtitle setup within My Movies. My Movies can also monitor the folders on your computer for DVDs and Blu-Ray disks to add to your collection. To install My Movies 3, download the zip archive file from the MyMovies.dk website. Extract the file and install the program. Open My Movies in the "TV and Movies" section or "Program Library" section of Windows Media Center.