How to make your Windows Media Center a real HD machine (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by mattCR

Now, now.. I'm sure the ownership is glad to see you "slum" I'll try to start a thread on it soon.

[rathole]I'll elaborate, in any case any onlookers don't understand my opinion: I think the outside Review section is effectively a completely different website with no relationship at all to the core forums. That's a design weakness. Because of that, I never even think of going there. When you said you put a review up, I was scouring this sub-forum wondering why I couldn't find it. Then I realized there is the other HTF "site" and checked there. I advocate some sort of unification. In my mind that means any review-site entry creates an equivalent thread for the product. And posting to the thread is integrated into the review section. Since the heart of this is database queries, I can imagine a simplistic solution to this that unifies the forum and review sections and encourages reviewers to participate in the conversations and forum-ers to contribute more reviews to be found by review-centric newbies. In practice, I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but that's my thesis. [/rathole]

 

[John Dirk]

Thought others might benefit from my troubleshooting of TMT5 integrating with WMC. For those [like me] who were getting a blue screen when trying to play a BD from within WMC but were able to play it fine using the standalone version, take a look at your WMC settings [Settings > Start Menu and Extras > Extras Library Options]. Once I checked "Control the media experience in Windows Media Center" my problem was solved. Seems like Arcsoft could have automated this. Perhaps in a future release.

I still have other issues with TMT5 such as audio sync and the fact that I have to manually reset the resolution of my display after a system restart if I have used it, but this was a big one and will help me decide if I should purchase the full version.

Hope this saves someone a little time.


John

 

[mattCR]

John:


I didn't get a response to the last PM I sent, so I hope that helped. But what resolution are you setting at? Realize, TMT will want to lock into 1920x1080 or 1280x720. But if you exit it should autoreset back.

 

[Andrew Pierce]

I got sick of waiting for the SiliconDust cablecard tuner, so just pulled the trigger on a new HTPC system with the Ceton card. I was torn between dropping the CETON card in my primary PC and accessing it via XBox MCE, or building up this box. After pricing it out at newegg, and seeing several of the items were on sale, I decided to just go for it. I think having the full blown HTPC set to boot right into MC7 will be easier on the wife -- it will make it seem more like a cable box then having to power up the XBox and navigate through the menus to get to the TV. And she gets the Netflix plug in integrated into the Media Center interface. This is a full blown HTPC including Windows license for right around $650 + the $400 ceton tuner -- I can't believe how cheap some of this stuff has gotten, it helps that several of these items were on sale:


from Newegg

$88 MSI H67MA-E35 Motherboard (B3 stepping chipset)

$135 Intel i3-2100T Sandy Bridge 35 Watt CPU

$80 2TB Western Digital green hard disk

$60 Silverstone MILO series ML03B Low Profile Micro ATX HTPC Case

$35 XIGMATEK 400W 80+ Bronze Power Supply

$70 Samsung BluRay reader/DVD burner drive

$100 Windows 7 Home Permium 64 bit OEM

$25 KWorld UB435-Q USB 2.0 ATSC tuner


from Amazon

$400 Ceton 4 tuner InfiniTV

$24 Noah Company MediaGate GP-IR02B Media Center remote

$34 Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad


I have 4 GB of DDR3 laying around from upgrading my main PC so I didn't order any memory, but that would have been an extra $60-80.


I get the 4 cablecard QAM tuners in the Ceton, and a single channel of over the air ATSC, plus I have a single channel Silicon Dust Clear QAM already in in the basement, so I'll have a total of 6 tuners. I'm not sure if I need to do the Tuner Salad hack since there's 3 different brands of tuner. Probably. The case has room to slot in a low profile ATI 5xxx card in the future if I decide the integrated Intel HD 2000 video in the i3 is inadequate. The Silverstone case looks like it will be slim and sleek and fit right into the entertainment center. The power supply has a slow 140mm fan which is allegedly silent, and with the 35W CPU I'm guessing this thing will be quieter than my XBox. I'll hopefully be feeding HD bitstreams into my 7.1 Onkyo receiver. I will probably never use my cheap Blu Ray player again. Not sure if I'm going to go the rip and archive route or not, but I've got some space to play around with for sure. I'm told that with this tight case and power supply, the $60 Lite-on drives are too long to fit, the Samsung and LG drives are shorter and should work, but it's definitely going to be a close squeeze. I may or may not need some right-angle SATA/power adapters for the drive.


I considered a SSD drive for the OS to make booting faster, but I think I'm going to leave it on all the time, and couldn't justify the expense. Prices are gettting low enough to make it tempting for sure. Maybe slot it in as an upgrade next year when they'll probably be half what they are now. I'm considering setting up my hard drive with a relatively small system partition for the OS with this in mind.


It looks like it all shipped today so I'll be building it up next week some time.

 

[DaveF]

That looks nice! (And makes me realize I won't have to pay for Win7: I bought the 3-license home pack this year for our two Macs and have an install left.) Nice to see another practical example of a ~$1000 HTPC that does everything.


Re: SSD. I've been wondering about that. I've read about the new Z68 motherboard for the i3 that enables the pairing of a small (

 

[mattCR]

Yes, you'll need to use Tuner Salad. Otherwise only 4 tuners will be visible.


The board and chip is a great combo

 

[DaveF]

I like the case. It looks like it would blend in with the typical living room setup.

 

[Andrew Pierce]

I got sick of waiting for the SiliconDust cablecard tuner

Of course the SiliconDust HD Homerun Prime tuner went live to preorder over the weekend. But having already resolved to spend the extra cash for the Ceton, I find that I'm ok with that. They're still at least a month out and 4 > 3.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Andrew Pierce



Of course the SiliconDust HD Homerun Prime tuner went live to preorder over the weekend. But having already resolved to spend the extra cash for the Ceton, I find that I'm ok with that. They're still at least a month out and 4 > 3.

Cost per tuner, my good man, cost per tuner. The Silicon Dust will be $83/tuner, wheras the Ceton was basically $100/tuner. But you're right. I'm hoping to play with both. I've been OK with the Ceton; there are some driver flag issues that FINALLY got solved in the most recent driver release (ATI chipset issues). But the performance has been solid. The newer version Cetons run cooler and the install is a bit easier. So far, pretty happy with it.

 

[Andrew Pierce]

Don't forget that I'll be renting a single cablecard to drive the tuners for about $5 a month. That's $1.25 per tuner on the Ceton and $1.67 per tuner on the SD. So I'm getting a much better deal on an ongoing basis!

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Andrew Pierce

Don't forget that I'll be renting a single cablecard to drive the tuners for about $5 a month. That's $1.25 per tuner on the Ceton and $1.67 per tuner on the SD. So I'm getting a much better deal on an ongoing basis!

OK So, in about a year and a half, you catch up


I'm currently using 2 Ceton now, been very happy with that as a solution. The bigger issue with the Ceton for me is that because it's internal, it means a bigger HTPC case (mini-ITX is almost right out) and it also means I have to have 4 SDV adapters piled up in my livingroom. The possibility of the SiliconDust is that I can move it to my electrical closet where my WHS and networking all exists, so that it's "out of sight" a much higher WAF... which has one of those unspeakable price tags.

 

[DaveF]

As I'm noodling on this, and waiting for my stars to align, I thought that my perfect system would use one of those cases with the integrated ~7" screens. This sort of dealie: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/touch-screen-htpc-case,2505.html


The goal would be an information screen, dimmable (to not distract from TV & movies) with say a clock and current activity. But the real use would be for when we want background noise (music or TV), with the (energy hogging) Plasma off. The mini screen would presumably show the current channel, or music playlist or web service, making it easier to control with the main screen off.


Though, if I really want to push it, skipping the little screen and instead having some sort of iPad access with the big TV is off would be neato.


Have you done such a thing? Does 7MC support that config so it's worth considering, or should I forget it as it's too messy to get right?

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by DaveF

As I'm noodling on this, and waiting for my stars to align, I thought that my perfect system would use one of those cases with the integrated ~7" screens. This sort of dealie: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/touch-screen-htpc-case,2505.html


The goal would be an information screen, dimmable (to not distract from TV & movies) with say a clock and current activity. But the real use would be for when we want background noise (music or TV), with the (energy hogging) Plasma off. The mini screen would presumably show the current channel, or music playlist or web service, making it easier to control with the main screen off.


Though, if I really want to push it, skipping the little screen and instead having some sort of iPad access with the big TV is off would be neato.


Have you done such a thing? Does 7MC support that config so it's worth considering, or should I forget it as it's too messy to get right?

Ok. It does. I have set people up with them and waffled about it. On one hand, they are very friendly, and their interface with WMC7 is pretty awesome.. iMon software does some cool things that allow you to put out lots of information to that screen while you do something else.


HOWEVER, the big reason that it is so cool is the reason why it's a downfall to me. A 7" screen 9'+ away isn't doing me much good but cool lights or display during a movie, which is why I normally try to dim all my components lights down. I sometimes think of these cases as Geek Cases.


HOWEVER, you bring up the iPad. There is a tool that I use on my iPad for my Media Center that comes in incredibly handy: VMC Remote. I also have remote potato and a few others, but VMC remote allows me to search, index, organize and control the menus and system off my media center using my iPad. I can assemble playlists, organize orders, add to song playlists, stop/start, increase volume, etc. anything MC can do, I can do it from my ipad with VMC Remote. The light version is free.. the full version is I think $2.99. Well worth it.

 

[DaveF]

Yeah...and the $300 premium just for a bit of convenience when the TV is off might not make sense...especially if there's an iPad solution.


I'm a big fan of hard-button remotes (love the Harmony One), but this might push me to use iPhone / iPad remotes in addition. Controlling music from the office would be handy.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Yeah...and the $300 premium just for a bit of convenience when the TV is off might not make sense...especially if there's an iPad solution.


I'm a big fan of hard-button remotes (love the Harmony One), but this might push me to use iPhone / iPad remotes in addition. Controlling music from the office would be handy.

Yeah, that's it for me. I like the ability to be in my kitchen, flip over to my Media Center remote on my ipad and change my current music playlist .. comes in handy.. especially when you need to skip something kid-inserted.

 

[John Dirk]

Originally Posted by mattCR

John:


I didn't get a response to the last PM I sent, so I hope that helped. But what resolution are you setting at? Realize, TMT will want to lock into 1920x1080 or 1280x720. But if you exit it should autoreset back.

Hi Matt;


What PM are you referring to? I sent you a PM on May 8th at 07:54 PM and do not show having received anything from you since then. I've been out tooling around Europe for the past week so I'm just getting settled back into my normal routine.

I output to a Sanyo PLV-Z5, so my native resolution is 720P.


John

 

[mattCR]

I had just pm'd asking if you were using ati app drivers or bare.

 

[John Dirk]

Originally Posted by John Dirk

I had just pm'd asking if you were using ati app drivers or bare.

Here's my current version info from CCC. Driver Packaging Version 8.85-110419a-118907C-ATI Catalyst Version 11.5 Provider ATI Technologies Inc. 2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1152 2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0000 Direct3D Version 7.14.10.0833 OpenGL Version 6.14.10.10750 AMD VISION Engine Control Center Version 2011.0419.2218.38209

 

[John Dirk]

Originally Posted by mattCR




As you've probably figured out, playing the same BD converted to MKV is a bit easier But, if you can, run a Belarc scan (www.belarc.com) and attach it to a private message here. I can load it up and see what it looks like.

Hi Matt;


I have actually not had any experience with MKV, but since joining in on this discussion I'm giving it serious thought. While I'm getting most of my movies via Netflix these days, I do have a personal DVD collection nearing 600 titles and I own about 50 Blu Ray's. Now that I'm using my HTPC for TV and music, I am very intrigued by the idea of migrating my movies, however I'm discouraged by the time I expect the migration would take. On the positive side, I have 2 Pioneer DVD-F727's that I could presumably sell if I was able to migrate to a HTPC-based platform for movies.


Any information on transferring DVD's/BD's to HDD would be much appreciated. I'm looking at a Drobo for storage.


Thanks


John

 

[Ralphie_B]

Very helpful thread, and one I plan to re-visit in the coming months as I start to plan out a whole-home DVR/HTPC.

To start getting things figured out, I contacted my local cable company the other day inquiring about the availability of an M-Card. I was surprised when they resopnded that they were unable to provide me with one at this time. Has anyone else run into this issue? I subscribe to a relatively small cableco (I live in a small town near Cedar Rapids, IA), which might be part of the issue.

Anyhow, I responded that "I was allowed to self-install a set-top box last year, so I assumed _______ must be working to the August 1, 2011 deadline specified in ruling FCC 10-181 -- specifically, the amendments to Part 76 of Title 47, Subpart P (Competitive Availability of Navigation Devices), Section 76.1205 (CableCARD Support). This date appears in Paragraph (b), sub-paragraphs (1), (2), and (4). Perhaps you are instead working toward the November 1, 2011 deadline for providers who have not historically allowed self-installs?". In retrospect, I hope I didn't come across as a jerk -- I genuinely did make that assumption. And if the cableco is somehow unaware of the FCC mandate, I wanted to educate them. I guess I'll see how they respond.