Media centers are amazing pieces of software that can turn your computer into a full-on entertainment system.  This is especially useful if you have a home theater setup to work together with your computer, where your TV is your monitor and your surround sound system is hooked up to your computer for the full, home theater experience.  Windows Media Center is one of the best softwares out there for turning your computer into a home theater personal computer (HTPC).  Basically, Windows Media Center is a software for Windows-based systems that gives you a sleek, intuitive, and all-in-one solution to your media needs.  With Windows Media Center, you can import all of the media files on your computer, allowing you to view videos and pictures, listen to music and sound files, and watch TV, if you have a tuner on your computer.  To get more out of Windows Media Center, however, you may want to install some plug-ins and make some tweaks.  Here's a short list of some great plug-ins and tweaks that you may want to try on your Windows Media Center system:

MediaBrowser's nifty features

MediaBrowser is a great plug-in that helps you take full control of your media library.  Formerly known as Video Browser, Media Browser enhances your Windows Media Center interface by adding some key features and visual enhancements in a simple, fast, and convenient plug-in.  Perhaps the best feature of this plug-in is that it scans your media - including digital files, ripped files, and recorded files - and automatically retrieves metadata on your files.  The plug-in then presents the metadata in a sleek manner, providing you with information about the file, display pictures, and even streaming online trailers for movies.  Some of the other great features of Media Browser include media bookmarking (for resuming play), Vodcast support, themes, folder playlists, and customizable layouts.  Furthermore, this plug-in is open-source, meaning you can expect some great updates for it in the future.

What WebGuide has to offer

Windows Media Center is a good software for recording and managing your media.  One problem you may encounter, however, is that you are not at your computer when you want to record something important.  WebGuide is an add-on that allows you to remotely control your Windows Media Center from practically anywhere.  In fact, you can even use WebGuide to view and listen to your media from a remote location.  All you have to do is install WebGuide on your personal computer, then you will be able to access your Windows Media Center through any other computer or smartphone that has a browser.  This is great for remote viewing or setting up your media center to record things while you are away from your computer.