Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

[SupaStar]

Picked up Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and spent the better half of my day installing it and trying to get it to work with my digital TV card (VisionPlus DVB-T). I'd say that after a LOT of work, I'm three quarters of the way there. I got it to detect my card but a scan picks up only 2 of our 5 free to air digital channels.

The drivers I am using with my card are still in BETA so there is still plenty of room for improvement. Here are a few (tiny) screenshots of MCE 2005 in action.

[Conan]

I heard that it's faster than regular Windows XP, what's your experience regarding this?

[cash_site]

this looks really nice, is it compatible with most VIVO video cards and HDTV cards?

[SupaStar]

I heard that it's faster than regular Windows XP, what's your experience regarding this?

Seems to run really well here. I wouldn't say it is FASTER but I havn't done any benchmarks to prove otherwise.

[SupaStar]

this looks really nice, is it compatible with most VIVO video cards and HDTV cards?

No not really. Thats the short answer :P

I believe MS has a list of supported cards on their website. I think over time more and more manufacturers will start to create supporting drivers. At least I hope so :)

[phishhead]

I heard theres a few hardware tvtuners that are compatible right now. but they do now accept 2 tvtuners. also if you want to view dvds thru mce you should use the ndvd codecs. from what I read seems to work the best

[cash_site]

So can you actually use MCE as an XP replacement? will other apps work ie. Office, etc

whats the difference between hardware tvtuners and 'normal' ones??

[phishhead]

So can you actually use MCE as an XP replacement? will other apps work ie. Office, etc

whats the difference between hardware tvtuners and 'normal' ones??

yes I replaced my xp with the mce and working fine. and havent had any issues with other apps not working. best way to explain it is like dos and win95...its basically a multimedia shell over xp. or you can shut it off so then it looks just like reg ol' xp.

my tvtuner is a tv@anywhere from msi and it strictly relies on the software to run. now I guess hardware tuners just utilize the drive and MCE controls the device via driver vs software. kinda like a winmodem or soft modem.

[SupaStar]

So can you actually use MCE as an XP replacement? will other apps work ie. Office, etc

whats the difference between hardware tvtuners and 'normal' ones??

Cash, it is just XP SP2 with a few extra media type programs, one of which is Media Center which is a central remote controllable application to manage/view/watch/listen to your MP3s, TV, DVDs, MPGs and AVIs. You dont have to run the Media Center app if you dont want to, but it's there if you do and works really well with a great interface.

I'd say that all TV cards are hardware based, its just the MCE will only work with those that use WDM drivers (for analogue cards) or BDA drivers (for digital cards). At least I think thats how it all works.

Come over for a demo (it seriously rocks) but be advised that I only have two channels so far...so we can't watch The Simpsons.

[SupaStar]

I heard theres a few hardware tvtuners that are compatible right now. but they do now accept 2 tvtuners. also if you want to view dvds thru mce you should use the ndvd codecs. from what I read seems to work the best

This codec works great, thing is, you also need it to watch TV (not just DVD). It might be due to the fact that my TV card is digital, so the stream is MPEG2, but without some sort of codec, TV wont play.

I think MS have a list of compatible cards somewhere. Lots of manufacturers have announced support for it already with more to come I'm sure. It's just a matter of updating the drivers in most cases I'd imagine.

UPDATE: Here's the offical list from MS: http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/MCEReadinessCenter/MCE_Approved_Components_for_MOSB.xls

[SupaStar]

UPDATE

Newly released beta drivers for my card have got me scanning all channels. Scheduling works great, so I can catch all those shows that I'm not around to watch and there's no mucking around with tapes since it's all recorded on my HDD.

Time-shit features are really smooth and once you are used to it, going back to regular TV is frustrating.

One slight limitation of the software so far seems to be the inability to fast forward/rewind through divx movies. I don't yet know why that is, I've tried a few different codecs with no success.

Currently using uICE (http://www.mediatexx.com/) to interpret remote control signals and relay them to Media Center, since I dont have a Microsoft remote.

[cash_site]

Nice update, good to hear it works... we got a copy of MCE2005 in our MSDN subscription, so might be time to upgrade and get a DVB-T card ;) can you tell me if the Fusion DVB-T card and Ati 9200se is compatible?

[SupaStar]

Hmm, I've heard results of a few people having luck with the Fusion card. Are you running a 9200 yet or is it a planned purchase?

[cash_site]

Hmm, I've heard results of a few people having luck with the Fusion card. Are you running a 9200 yet or is it a planned purchase?
I am looking at getting the Fusion HDTV card - not sure if current PC can handle it though - but 9200 is current, hand-me down from cousin, he upgraded to 9600XT, so I ditched my beloved ATi Radeon 32DDR, and slotted this baby straight in... its made the obvious performance boost, but 800Mhz CPU is still too slow... would MCE actually work on my PC??

I think, if MCE works good with the fusion card, then I might get upgrade after XMAS, since Intel price cut 775 chips and 915 boards ;) then perhaps an X800 Pro vid card :D

[SupaStar]

I am looking at getting the Fusion HDTV card - not sure if current PC can handle it though - but 9200 is current, hand-me down from cousin, he upgraded to 9600XT, so I ditched my beloved ATi Radeon 32DDR, and slotted this baby straight in... its made the obvious performance boost, but 800Mhz CPU is still too slow... would MCE actually work on my PC??

I think, if MCE works good with the fusion card, then I might get upgrade after XMAS, since Intel price cut 775 chips and 915 boards ;) then perhaps an X800 Pro vid card :D


I think MCE will work. At least the TV watching and video/DVD playback aspect will. Time-shifting would prove interesting - I dont think it would be very smooth.

Can't hurt to try.

[cash_site]

Hmm Interesting Point, I got my copy of MCE2005, and a sparge HD, will order the HDTV card soon then give it a go. like you said, wont hurt to try ;)

[SupaStar]

Definite on the Fusion? I hear there is less success with it compared to the VisionPlus offering, but do some research first and see what you can find.

[cash_site]

Definite on the Fusion? I hear there is less success with it compared to the VisionPlus offering, but do some research first and see what you can find.
Really? I heard it was the other way round... They big issue with VisionPlus is drivers, no factory support all 3rd party... Also I think the Fusion does full HDTV 1080i or at least 720p... its hard to specs from our suppliers...

Im not doubting the VisionPlus is good, they are just getting a little hard to come by these days, and all our suppliers are flogging off the Fusion ~ $170 for VIVO or 130 for lite version...

Dont worry I procrastinate too... my 800 is still good, and 9200se gave a few more months of life... lol, just got to find the time to actually backup all my stuff up, and install MCE... why does it come in 2 discs?

[SupaStar]

Sounds like it's pretty even in the problems department, here is a quote regarding the Fusion

Ive just rebuilt my media PC and finally have live tv actually working but like you I cant get Channel 9 ans SBS. The HD channels are flakey except Channel 7 it works like a dream. The only way I got mine to work was to use the cheap rabbit ears, the antena supplied to the apartment would not give any channels. Im in an apartment complex in Redfern, Sydney.


But then people with the VisionPlus have had similar issues. At least now the manufacturer is working on releasing MCE-compatible drivers.

[cash_site]

Hmm... so it seems that Media Center is the weak link, as im sure both cards would perform exceptionally well under normal XP environment... might need to wait a little while longer for people and manufacturers to get some good MCE drivers out... I think thats the key.

[SupaStar]

Thats the thing. MCE is the problem, but I'm happy so far. Everything has integrated really well. I can spend less time setting up my computer for TV/DVD/DivX and more time using it :D

[thstan]

How Can I Download Them Free

[SupaStar]

How Can I Download Them Free

Download what free?

[cash_site]

Drivers?? Perhaps :confused:

[SupaStar]

Whosy what's now?

[cash_site]

I'll tell you what now, there has been a big push by big retail stores on these MCE PCs... the big names HP, DELL, Gateway etc are releasing several packages and they are getting flogged at ridiculus prices!!! like $3000 for P4 2.8 with 160 SATA and 512 memory with 15" LCD monitor plus MCE :eek:

They claim they are not PCs but instead compete in the Audio-visual department!! What a joke!! they make like 1500% markup!!

[SupaStar]

Yes, I've seen them to. You can custom-build them for a fraction of the price. In fact, I'm thinking of replacing our existing 'normal' TV with a MCE solution.

[cklotz]

I somehow lost my codecs for MCE 2004 w/ sp2, and was wondering if someone can suggest how to get them replaced :confused:

[SupaStar]

Try reinstalling your software DVD player (such as WinDVD).

[cklotz]

Should I remove some programs first, or just install windvd? Any particular version have good codecs? I would like to be able to play all video file extensions...

[phishhead]

from what I read the NDVD codec from nvidia is the best dvd codec for MCE. I installed it and now I can play dvds in MCE and Media Player fine. also get the Kazaa codec pack that has almost everything you need to play video.

[Big Booger]

from what I read the NDVD codec from nvidia is the best dvd codec for MCE. I installed it and now I can play dvds in MCE and Media Player fine. also get the Kazaa codec pack that has almost everything you need to play video.

Phish,
Does your tv tuner card have no functionality at all? I mean can you install the driver? Can you get it to work with the MSI software?

Just wondering.

[SupaStar]

Guess what guys. PowerDVD 6 includes a DivX codec and is giving me great MPEG2 results. I haven't tried a fresh install yet, but that is the only codec-related app I have installed at the moment and everything is working great - better IMHO than the Nvidia codec.

More info and a free demo can be found here (http://gocyberlink.com/english/products/product_main.jsp?ProdId=28).

[cklotz]

Thanks for the advice, got my video working.... now im having CD/DVDROM errors....hmmm........

[SupaStar]

Thanks for the advice, got my video working.... now im having CD/DVDROM errors....hmmm........

Like what?

[Richard]

Cash, it is just XP SP2 with a few extra media type programs, one of which is Media Center which is a central remote controllable application to manage/view/watch/listen to your MP3s, TV, DVDs, MPGs and AVIs. You dont have to run the Media Center app if you dont want to, but it's there if you do and works really well with a great interface.

I'd say that all TV cards are hardware based, its just the MCE will only work with those that use WDM drivers (for analogue cards) or BDA drivers (for digital cards). At least I think thats how it all works.

Come over for a demo (it seriously rocks) but be advised that I only have two channels so far...so we can't watch The Simpsons.


I would also add, unless mentioned after this post.

It is like XP SP2 "home" edition, it doesn't have the "pro" ability to join domains and stuff

[SupaStar]

I would also add, unless mentioned after this post.

It is like XP SP2 "home" edition, it doesn't have the "pro" ability to join domains and stuff

True, but it's kind of in between home and pro from what I've been reading. You can join a domain, but only during a fresh installation which makes it useful for home users, but not corporations.

It has a few pro-only features too such as Remote Desktop Connections and the like.

[phishhead]

well I 've had it going for sometime now and to tell you the thruth havent used the MCE part hardly ever.

Music- winamp
dvds- powerdvd 6
vids- BS player pro
pictures- adobe album or XP's picture fax viewer
movie making- ulead dvd factory3
messenger- trillian 3.0 beta

[Big Booger]

I am wondering if you can install the TV tuner for the MSI TV@nywhere and use the MSI software to get it to work?

I am going to try this out tonight I think.

[phishhead]

the msi software works fine just not thru the mce control panel.

[Big Booger]

That's good news. Well i can't install it tonight.. so I will try again tomorrow.

[SupaStar]

well I 've had it going for sometime now and to tell you the thruth havent used the MCE part hardly ever.


But isn't that just because your TV doesnt work in MCE or is it that you don't like the interface?

I use it exclusively because it's all remote controllable.

[cash_site]

Supa, what version of MCE are you running? I heard the Australian released version only support ananlog TV and not Digital HD TV cards?? Does support mean there is no M$ WHQL certified drivers for the cards, or that MCE just wont work at all??

[tdawg_65]

I know this is kinda late but I want to know if MCE is a stand alone OS, or does it need XP before installation