Xbox 360 VGA Lead - Restricted resolution within Windows 7 MC

2010-01-20T13:51:34Z

Why is the video restricted to SD when using the Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender with Windows 7?

Will my current hardware support the forthcoming 3D Blu-ray?

2010-03-03T20:04:47Z

I have just built a Core i3-based system and am curious about whether it will support 3d Blu-ray playback. I have read some information from Intel that seems to indicate the i-series CPUs with integrated GPU will be able to handle it, but it didn't seem conclusive. Does anyone know whether the i3 will handle playback through its integrated GPU?
I want to purchase a new AV receiver, but it seems like all existing receivers will probably choke on a 3d HDMI signal and I'll need to wait for some that have HDMI 1.4 support, is that true?

TV Doesn't Pass Through Surround Sound

2010-07-06T18:15:35Z

The devices I have connected to the TV are as follows

coaxial antenna (cable) Wii (component video/RCA audio) XBox 360 (HDMI) HTPC (HDMI and optical)

My sound system is a Logitech Z-5500

Right now the TV can handle all of these devices, and more. It has an optical output that goes to the Logitech sound system, and it works and is relatively simple.

The problem is surround sound. The only time the TV will emit a digital surround sound signal over the optical output is if the coax is the currently selected source. If the XBox sends Dolby Digital to the TV via the HDMI cable, then the TV will send stereo, not surround, on the optical output.

I thought I could solve the problem with a receiver, but that is not the case. The Logitech system really is the receiver, all the speakers connect to it. Any home theater receiver you buy will have speaker outputs, but I need just one optical audio output and one HDMI video output.

I haven't been able to find any sort of solution on the Internet short of replacing the TV or sound system, and I'm not doing either one any time soon. Is there some sort of switching device that can solve this? Perhaps there is some way to extract the audio from the HDMI cable before it gets to the television and then use an optical audio switch? I'm out of ideas.

Display Frame Rate in Windows Media center

2010-06-21T21:07:26Z

Is there a way to display the framerate of the currently playing video in Windows Media Center?

Windows media extender vs. PC running ??? software?

2010-04-10T22:30:15Z

I use WMC in Windows 7 to host all media (photos, music/mp3, downloaded movies and TV) as well as record digital (HD)TV programming over DVB-C using an anysee tuner E30TCPlus. I want to access all this content, incl live TV from the main WMC, on other TVs in my house and am looking to options. I can buy a windows media extender, but then problems like subtitles (I download .srt files for tv shows and movies I download and then ffdshow displays them when playing the media), video formats, lack of internet browsing access, etc might annoy me. Are there also software alternatives I could run on a cheap PC to match up well with my WMC source? Maybe some other embedded devices?

Windows 7 Media Center: No Surround Audio over HDMI with TV content (sound only over front speakers)

2010-04-04T18:07:07Z

I cannot get full surround sound audio with live or recorded TV in 7 MC. Sound is only heard over the front speakers. I have a 5.1 setup connected via HDMI (Radeon 4650-->Yamaha 5.1 HDMI receiver-->Panasonic Plasma). When I play the same file in Media Player I do get the full surround effect. I also receive full surround with WMVHD in Media Center so the problem is with how Media Center is handling AC3 audio. When I go to speaker setup in Media Center and select 5.1 all five chimes are heard but only over the front speakers, usually 2 in one front speaker and 3 in the other. The Windows audio setup works perfectly and I hear tones in all speakers so it is only a problem with Media Center. Any ideas? Is there anyway to troubleshoot these problems outside of the MC interface? Would it help to do the Media Center setup again?

HDMI to PC Losing Signal

2010-03-20T23:08:03Z

I have my Media Center PC hooked up to my Samsung pn42c450 plasma via HDMI for video. Sometimes if I turn the tv off for a while, leaving the computer running, when I turn the tv back on again I will not get any video signal sent to my tv.

If I turn off the tv, remove the HDMI cable from the tv, then plug it back in, turn the tv on, i get signal. restarting the computer also works. obviously neither of these fixes are wife-acceptable.

I have the computer set to never turn the display off.

Convert VOB to WTV profile with DVRMSToolbox

2010-04-05T05:03:54Z

I am trying to convert DVD rips to either a DVR-MS or WTV file. When using the Convert VOB to WTV profile I get a error for Could not locate profile: Copy Video and audio to mpg container. I also get am getting a Could not locate profile: error if I use Ben Drawbaugh's Convert VOB into MPG - ffmpeg profile. Anybody got an idea on what is wrong.

New xBox 360 4GB for Extender

2010-08-26T15:32:38Z

Any reason why the new "arcade" level xBox 360 4GB that is selling for $199 wont work as an extender? Seems like the perfect extender given it's much quieter and cheaper (not cheap, but cheaper than the $299 original release with 250GB hard drive).

I am considerting one for my bedroom to extend from my dedicated HTPC.

Nevermind the usual PC vs. Extender arguments... I'm passed that since My Movies works over extenders and I can get live HD TV to my bedroom via my new Ceton InfiniTV card.

If only MS would put a Blu-Ray player in the xBox, then it would be perfect!

Thanks! Rich

Total Media Theatre MC plug-in letterboxes some of my DVD rips?

2010-02-02T20:31:53Z

Here is my problem:

I have both DVDs and BluRays ripped to my WHS. I have TMT Platinum installed on my HTPC. I use MyMovies3 on my WHS and my client HTPC.

On many of my DVD rips when I play them directly through the TMT software the aspect ratio fills the screen on my Zenith HDTV (4.3).

When I go to play the exact same ripped DVD file through My Movies via the TMT MC plug in the Movie is Letter-boxed? with Black Bars on the R and L sides. This happens when the Movie is ripped in its original file structure or if I rip it as an ISO.

If I use strictly the TMT software there is an aspect ratio setting choice that appears when you right click the screen. Using TMT within the Media Center plug in there appears to be No Setting for aspect ratio.

How do I fix This????

I am running Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate and use AnyDVD to archive my DVDs and BluRays. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it! I run a Nvidia 8600 GTS graphic card. I have play with the resolution settings in the Nvidia control panel but I haven't had any luck correcting this problem.

What Windows Media Center-integrated software options are there for Blu-ray playback?

2010-01-20T04:10:23Z

I'm planning to do a new HTPC build with Windows 7 Media Center and a Blu-ray player. This will be my first experience with Blu-ray so I'd like to learn more about the pros and cons of the software out there by ArcSoft, PDVD, etc. I would prefer that the software be integrated as much as possible with the Windows Media Center UI and is controlled via IR remote completely. I also plan to use an i3 with its integrated video and feed a TrueHD/DTSHD capable receiver via HDMI so bitstreaming options are preferred.

Video Card Question

2010-08-06T21:46:38Z

I have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 coming next week and ran the Cable Card test program and it said my PC passes except for video. I have an Intel (Stoughton) G965 Motherboard (LGA775 slot) which has a PCIe x16 slot... will SAPPHIRE 100294L Radeon HD 5550 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102892) work on this motherboard?

How do I get Media Center to recoginze .TP files as video files?

2010-07-20T17:18:16Z

I'm a Beyond TV user switching to Media Center. Beyond TV uses ".tp" as the file extension for transport streams captured from ATSC or QAM sources. Apparently, Media Center doesn't recognize these as video files because they don't show up in the video library.

Is there a way to tell Media Center to accept additional file extensions as media files?

Build List for New HTPC to Run WMC7 with Ceton InfiniTV card

2010-07-01T16:30:14Z

I have a Ceton InfiniTV pre-ordered and will be using this new box to drive our main TV plus 2 or 3 xBox 360's throughout the house. This will be a dedicted HTPC, no personal use. It will be connected to a Toshiba '55 1080p LED and will replace an HD Tivo. It will be in an enclosed cabinet (stacked with A/V components horizontally) so noise nor size are an issue... within reason. I want to build in standard size Blue-Ray drive as well as enough horsepower for any needed transcoding, HDMI out, etc. HD space is not an issue, since all content will be stored on my Mediasmart Windows Home Server. And of course like eveyrone, I want to exceed the minimum requirements for Ceton, but do this as cheaply as possible. :-)

Any pointers you can provide to build lists that would meet these needs? I'm hoping to keep the build at/under $400 before Ceton cards if that's doable.

Thanks for any advice you can give. Rich

HTPC IR Receiver

2010-01-07T16:01:23Z

Just completed building my HTPC, now I am looking for integrating an IR receiver and using a RC to controlmy box (including power-on and off).

Looking for some good articles to setup IR/RC and USB wake-ups.

Anyone found a way to stop disabeled channels from being readded to the guide?

2010-01-25T01:02:34Z

I hate that I have turned off several QAM channels but they keep popping back up.

Anyone found a way around this?

Show other file formats in Recorded TV in Media Center?

2010-06-09T13:34:25Z

I have a large collection of recorded TV that's not in .wtv or .dvrms format. I'm looking into switching to Media Center to get cable card support but I want my current content to integrate seamlessly into Media Center. Ideally it should show up in the same menu structure as shows recorded with Media Center so there is no difference in how the content is accessed.

I tried just adding the folders to the recorded TV library in Media Center, but the shows don't show up. How do I get them to show up?

Album art in Win7 Media Center on Xbox 360 Extender

2010-06-02T01:36:58Z

Regarding Album art in the music library of Media Center on my Xbox 360 in extender mode-

After trying both the registry fix as outlined here:

link text

and realizing I have the Pro edition and can set group policy which I've also done, un-watching and re-watching the music folder, deleting album art caches & such found in both:

C:/Users/Mcx1/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Media Player

and

C:/Users/Mcx1/AppData/Local/Microsoft/eHome

and recreating the music library on the extender, and applying the hotfix so it doesn't recreate the music library every single time,

I'm still getting incorrect album art, metadata, and missing tracks for several albums. I've scanned in better/higher res art for some albums, and while some album art that has been pasted in wmp12 (and media changes applied) seem to "stick", a lot of it doesn't.

So my question at this point is, is there a folder that I missed that I need to delete? Or should I nuke the whole thing and re-rip all of my CD's? If so, what are all of the folders I need to delete to clear out any and all of the old/bad data?

Ironically it looks great in media center on my pc, it's just the extender that's still not right. I'm sure there's something simple I'm missing- thanks in advance for helping out.

setup: win7 pro x64 and xbox360 elite in extender mode

LcdWriter and SoundGraph Imon

2010-03-20T12:54:45Z

I'm getting fed up with the imon software and the remote but I'd still like to use the display (VFD with USB connection that comes with the Silverstone LC16M HTPC case. I think it is the OEM version of IMON Inside)

I've got the display working with LCD Smartie and MediaPortal but I have problems getting it to work with LcdWriter. Is it possible, and if so, what do I need to do?

Fixed overscan on WMC

2010-05-05T20:52:23Z

I have been spending way too much time trying to fix my overscan problem. But I have solved it!! I got the desktop perfect by using DTD calculator. But I still had overscan on my ATSC TV in WMC. I tried all sorts of fixes but nothing worked. Then I search the registry and found this little gem. ATSC Zoom. It was on!! Why? I don't know, but I turn it off and now I have a perfect picture. I just want to laugh and punch someone at Microsoft in the nose for having this ridculous registry entry. For anyone else with this issue, here is where its at in the registry, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings\Zoommode_ATSC.

I believe one of you at Entertainment 2.0 was having this issue.

Windows 7 32 bit ASUS P7H55D-M EVO motherboard i3-530 CPU Crucial 4 G RAM Lite On iHES208 Bluray reader DVD writer Samsung Spinpoint 1 T Hard Drive Avermedia AverTV HD Duet Tuner Haupauge 1800 Tuner Silverstone GD04B Case Logitech DiNovo Mini Keypad URC MX800 Remote

Is it possible to change refresh rate with IR remote while using TMT3?

2010-04-08T20:20:04Z

Is it possible to use one of the colored buttons of a WMC remote, for example, to kick off a script to change the refresh rate while playing back media in TMT3?

WHS PP£ Transcode quality

2010-04-03T19:39:21Z

Does anyone know where i could possibly edit the transode settings to up the quality within the transcode option when using the WHS plugin for media centre?

Thanks Si

Remapping remote functions/ buttons in Media Center

2010-03-21T20:53:52Z

Is there a way to change the behavior of the right and left arrow key during video playback in WMC? Default they bring up the menu but I'd like them to do skip back/forward.

Can you manually add thumbnails to shows in Media Center

2010-02-17T14:19:51Z

On Windows 7 Media Center, I've ripped some TV shows from DVD to WTV files and I want to add a thumbnail to the preview in Media Center. Can I manually add the thumbnail that accompanies each show?

Volume control for AC3 is only on the receiver, need to get it on Media Center.

2010-03-17T17:42:11Z

I have SPDIF out from my 7MC to a simple Logitech receiver that is aimed at providing 5.1 to computers. I am running Antipack, which comes with AC3 filter. The way it is setup now, stereo audio sources such as TV and home video have their volume controlled by the Media Center remote, and DVD volume can only be controlled by the receiver. This isn't very WAF, and the receiver isn't in a spot that is easily accessible by IR.

To get volume control on the Media Center, do I need to have the AC3 decoded to stereo before it gets sent through the SPDIF? I've been trying to get it configured this way, but I haven't hit on the right settings. I'm willing to give up 5.1 until I get a better receiver just to avoid telling my family to use a separate remote only for volume control, only for DVDs.

Automatically convert a folder full of DVD rips to DVR-MS

2010-03-11T22:41:01Z

I have ripped all of my DVDs to Video_TS, and would like to create DVR-MS files for all or most of them for viewing on an extender. Before the great server crash of last summer I had a script I had found that used VideoRedo. It would scan the folders in my DVD collection and use VideoRedo to combine the main movie vobs and create a DVR-MS file. If a title already had a dvr-ms, it would skip it and move on. I could set up a task to run the script on the folder every so often so rips would be automatically converted

I haven't been able reinstall VideoRedo because I lost the serial, and I'm not sure I want to buy it again. Is there another program or method to do this using free software?

Showanalyzer or Dvrmstoolbox not skipping commercials

2010-03-11T00:21:31Z

ShowAnalyzer is scanning shows and creating the XML file. However, when the show is played back it doesn't skip the commercial. What should actually be skipping the commerical within Media Center?

This is Dvrmstoolbox MC Commercial Skip settings Commercial Path = C:\Users\Public\DvrmsToolbox\CommercialsXml

XML files are being created in this path

ShowAnalyzer Settings Output = C:\Users\Public\DvrmsToolbox

Is there anything else that I need to configure to make this work?

Dvrmstoolsbox version 1.2.2 ShowAnalyzer version 1.0.59.783

Thanks for any help

Run win7 media center setup from xbox360?

2010-03-03T02:56:49Z

I was wondering if there was any way to run the WMC Display Configuration wizard from the xbox360? I'm using one as a media extender and I'm very happy with it. I just want to change the contrast settings on my TV to be the best possible, but the Tasks > Settings > General > WMC Setup option is missing on the extender. Is there an option to enable this? Or a Hack?

(Running Windows 7 Pro x64, xbox 360 elite)

Can Rosewill RSV-S4-X connect to any eSATA port?

2010-03-01T20:42:46Z

I have a Rosewill RSV-S4-X connected to the SiI3132R5 card that comes with it. Here's the product page: http://www.rosewill.com/products/1503/productDetail.htm

Do I have to use the supplied card, or could I plug it into any eSATA port? I'm not using RAID - JBOD only. It's taking up a PCI-E slot that I could otherwise use.

Sorry about the incorrect tag - it's a required field, but it won't let me create new (and appropriate) values. Should be "rosewill RAID JBOD eSATA".

Thanks, Zak

where is my second tuner card

2010-03-01T10:29:02Z

I recently installed 2 x HVR-2200 tuner cards in my 7mc system. When attempting to scan channels, the 7mc could only find 2 tuners instances in lieu of 4. I checked the drivers in system setting and there was only 1 instance of the driver corresponding to 1 card. I checked the hardware by removing each card in turn and confirming each was working to which they were. Can you help?

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