Windows 7 enables you to customise your digital media experience.
Digital media is an important part of many modern systems, so it’s important that you’ve got your PC tweaked to perfection to get the most out of your content. There’s no point having a surround sound speaker system, for example, if your operating system isn’t set up to use it, but thankfully Windows 7 makes it easy to configure your audio and video devices. You’ll also find a number of useful options in Control Panel and Device Manager (open up the Properties box for your graphics card and audio devices).
More functionality will be available through the third-party software and drivers that came with your graphics card, sound card and motherboard. The latest drivers can be downloaded from the relevant manufacturer website – visit AMD or Nvidia based on the chipset installed on your graphics card, for example. The more advanced and powerful your hardware, the more options you’ll find here – some graphics cards will enable you to tweak and overclock performance with a few clicks of the mouse, for example, and quickly switch between different levels of detail and rendering.
If you’re using a more advanced sound card, you’ll find options for processing the audio that comes out of your computer’s speakers, and tools to enable you to switch between various inputs and outputs as required. You might also be able to add special effects to your audio. If you’re recording music via a connected instrument, then again this will be controlled through the third-party software. For more help, consult the documentation that came with your hardware or take a look on the manufacturer’s website.
Find the Sound option in Control Panel (switch to Large Icons or Small Icons if you can’t see it straight away) and you’ll see a list of all the sound devices detected on your system. If you have a more advanced sound setup, you’ll be able to switch between the different inputs and outputs from here. Click the Configure button in the lower left hand corner and you can specify the type of speaker setup you have connected (if the right settings haven’t been detected automatically). Click the Test button to try out all of your speakers together, or click on a particular speaker to test it individually.
(For a full guide to the audio and video features in Windows 7, order the Essential Windows 7 Handbook, on sale now from newsagents and online.)
