Windows Media Center Edition (July 21, 2005)
Published: July 21, 2005
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity
Introduction
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Media Center chat!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Today we are answering your questions about Media Center.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Now, I'll have our hosts for the chat today introduce themselves:
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
I'm Andrew Brown, and I'm the MVP Lead for Media Center, and the moderator for this chat.
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Evening everyone, I'm Mark Salloway a Media Center MVP from the United Kingdom.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Hi; my name is Todd. I am a program manager working on Media Center Extender technologies.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Hi, I'm Robert Schlabbach, MCE MVP from Berlin, Germany!
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Hello everyone, I'm Corey Gouker a MCE and DMD MVP, for more about me check out my blog http://blogs.coreygouker.com
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Go ahead and begin sending us your Media Center questions, and we'll get the chat underway.
Start of Chat
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Where besides the newsgroups are MCE KB data bases and tutorials from MSFT? I don't find them.
A: A good place to start is http://www.microsoft.com/mediacenter. In addition, there are multiple resources for Media Center information, including the Expert Zone (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/communities/mediacenter.mspx), which contains expert columns related to Media Center, the Media Center public newsgroup (Microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter, web-reader at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter), MSDN (http://msdn.microsoft.com/), which includes resources for Media Center developers (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnanchor/html/anch_winxpmce.asp)
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Media Center will not properly decode the THX audio test on Princess Diaries DVD. Am using latest Nvidia DVD decoder version 01.00.67.00. Any suggestions?
A: Most likely the THX audio test on the DVD is encoded in a AC3 stream with Dolby Digital. It's possible something is causing the nVidia decoder to not be able to capture the stream. You might want to try http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=DE1491AC-0AB6-4990-943D-627E6ADE9FCB&displaylang=en and check and see if there are other decoders installed. If so uninstall the extras till you only have one. You might also need to adjust the settings during playback, there should be a nVidia icon in the system tray during playback to do this. You might also need to set the Audio Properties on your speakers to 5.1 as well.
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Thank you Corey Gouker for a very informative reply! Decoder check shows 2 decoders, though the Nvidia is set as Preferred. The other is the Sonic MPEG Video Decoder which must be part of their Encoder package that we OEMs use to add Record to DVD. Ideas?
A: The Sonic decoder should be okay. Have you installed any third party filters like AC3 Decoder, ffdshow, etc? Besides adjusting the settings in the nVidia decoder and Audio Properties to verify things are set to 5.1 (or SPDIF if that's what you're using), more information about the audio card and system you're using would be helpful. But I'd suggest taking this to the Media Center newsgroup http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: when will Media Center rotate JPG photo's according to the EXIF data?
A: That's a really good suggestion. I'll pass it along right now. Thanks
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Q: Will there be a 64bit edition soon?
A: Sorry we are not able to comment on any future projects in this chat.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: Is there anyway to have the radio stations listed by their call sign rather than the tuning frequency, as the cable freq. is different from the OTA freq.
A: Not with MCE itself, but I saw a third party addin in an MCE forum which would put radio stations under a name and with a logo of your choice into "More Programs". That also allows for an unlimited number of presets. So you might want to check some MCE websites for this addin.
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: When I use my 5 megapixel camera and import pictures into Moviemaker they end up pixelated when I put them on the full screen how can I fix that?
A: You might want to try out Photo Story since that handles large photos much better than Movie Maker, you can download a copy from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: I have just installed a hauppauge tv tuner card w/ an FM tuner, but I can't find anywhere in MC to "turn the radio on". I followed the troubleshoot guide but that didn't seem to work...help.
A: You may have to go through the first run setup again to get radio. But: Is your tuner card an MCE compatible one? If this is a plain "TV card" without PVR capability, its radio function is unsuitable for MCE as well.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: The tv card does have PVR and is "especially" digisned for MCE. I tried setup multiple times to no avail. Any other suggestions?
A: Try starting Media Center, go to Settings -> General -> Media Center Setup -> Run Media Center Setup Again. Does that help?
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: in "full screen/restore" switching when in radio mode will sometimes cause the audio to begin from the beginning of the ongoing recording. From that point forward you need to reset the computer to have it function again. Familiar problem? Hauppauge MCE500)
A: I have not heard of this behavior before; I can pass this along to the appropriate folks.
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: I used PhotoshopCS to number vacation photos in the desired sequence using the batch rename function. When I create a slideshow DVD of the photos using Media Center, the sequence of the photos is different when shown on TV using a DVD player. Why?
A: When you renamed the photos did they rename with 1 2 3 4 ... 10 11 12 or did they get renamed with 01 02 03 ... 10 11 12. This would most likely make the difference to the order with which they photos got entered into the playlist.
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: I renumbered the photos begining with 1_vacation.xxx All 20 or so photos in the folder were sequentially numbered.
A: I'd suggest making sure the photos have the leading 0 when you burn the disc they should appear in the right order then.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: on the top left of the media center remote there is an off button for the TV. Why doesn't it stop MediaCenter?
A: The power button on a standard Media Center remote will turn off your Media Center PC, not your television.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Also, is there a good program to convert MCE recorded programs to mpegs? Thanks for the help.
A: There are multiple different options available for DVR-MS file conversion; a lot comes down to personal preference, so I recommend visiting the Media Center newsgroup (Microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter or via the web-reader at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter) and posting details there of what you'd like to do/solicit feedback from Media Center community members.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: Is there a registry edit to improve the quality of Live TV playback? I know when using Hauppauges winTV 2000, i can bump up the bitrate up to 12 mbps with their tools, but was wondering if there is a way (registry) to bump the bitrate w.in MCE?
A: DISCLAIMER: Editing the registry is at your own risk. The bitrates MCE uses are found in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: Great! thank you for registry location.. now do you not suggest changing the bitrates? the reason for the disclaimer?
A: The disclaimer about registry editing always applies. But there may be a reason for the bitrates being as they are. You may have some ill effects from driving the bitrates up, so make sure to backup the original settings so you can restore them if you find your changes broke your system.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: I currently run 2 harddrives, the second is only for tv recordings. Is there a specific reasson as to why the TV Recordings are fragmented so much, even recording when the drive is empty?
A: Do you have COMPRESSION enabled on your second harddisk? That can lead to quite a bit of fragmentation, so if you have enabled it, try turning it off. Aside from that, it may be a "feature" of the SBE (Stream Buffer Engine, the timeshifting+recording component of MCE) that causes fragmentation.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Can you improve MCE response when entering a folder with 2000+ pictures?
A: At home I have quite a large media collection and I also notice that with very large collections, we tend to be slower. We're always looking for ways to improve the experience for users with large amounts of media. Thanks for the feedback.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Media Center 2005 on a Shuttle SN41G2 DIY system (using integrated GPU): The problem is that when I sometimes navigate around, the Menu items will disappear and then its real hard to see what button is what. Have you heard of this issue?
A: The SN41G2 uses the nForce 2 chipset, which is not on the list of "Designed for Media Center" logo'ed graphics adapters (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/partners/dfw/partnerlisting.mspx). I suggest updating to the latest available graphics driver; if that doesn't help, I recommend considering buying a graphics card that is on this list.
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: How can I change the interval in the registry for the time update to be more frequent?
A: You might want to check out Doug Knox's page regarding adjusting the sync interval which can be found here: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_inet_time.htm. There's also a couple MS KB articles that talk about adjusting the max time offsets as well as update frequency. Please note that they involve registry editing so please be sure to set a restore point and back up your registry: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884776/
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: My MCE guide always crashes when I turn on automatic guide update. The symptom is that Guide data is corrupted. I have to turn off auto-update. Is it a known problem or specific to guide data send to my zip code?
A: Unfortunately, none of our Experts here today have seen this issue or heard of anything like that being reported. You may wish to post this question to the Media Center newsgroup. A list of all Microsoft-hosted support newsgroups is here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/default.asp
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Joe [MS] -> there are two off-buttons on my MS model 1039 remote, the left is for TV, the right for PC. I wondered if it could be reprogrammed to switch of MCE
A: So do you want to map one of your power buttons to close the Media Center shell? As far as I know there isn't a simple way to do that. You might post to the Media Center newsgroups to see if anyone else has tried to do this.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: I've read that there used to be a "compensation" feature in MCE2004, which has been removed from 2005 (fast-fowarding, hit play, and it rewinds a bit since you overshot what you wanted to watch). Is there a way to re-enable this feature?
A: This is still enabled in Media Center 2005.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Now I use the ALT-TAB trick to release the mouse from being captured from a full screen MCE. Could you disable mouse capturing by default for multi- monitor users?
A: I've tried multi-mon and noticed this as well. I'll pass this along to the correct people on the team. Thanks for the feedback.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: I see that there is an update for MCE 2005 coming up soon. Do you know when?
A: It will be released in the second half of 2005; details here: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/may05/05-17MCEE32005PR.mspx
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: Can the compensation feature be modified? FOr me it does not compensate enough...
A: NOTE: Editing the registry is at your own risk. Take a look at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants. The value "CompensationInterval" _sounds_ like a good bet, but I don't really know if it is indeed what you are looking for.
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Q: I did try the "CompensationInterval", but it had no affect. :/
A: Did the setting really "stick"? Try rebooting the machine and check if you have a difference then. If not, check the registry if the value hasn't been restored to the original value. If that's not it, I'm out of ideas for now...
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Will the MCE update disable the CGMS-A for broadcast TV? It is a real stumbling point in getting MCE05 to become our sole recording devce for TV, as we would like to continue recording shows as we do now, and watching at our granparents home.
A: You shouldn't be seeing CGMS-A on broadcast TV. Generally, you will see this if you are watching premium cable channels. It's up the the service provider to enable/disable this on a given channel.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: often when I update my guide, which is everyday, sometimes extra channels are added, is there a way to prevent this?
A: Can you provide more information about your locale? If new channels are added to a line-up, then you would see them. Unfortunately, there is not a way to have them not show up in the Guide. I will pass along your feedback to the Guide team for consideration...
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: can you share recorded MCE programs on 2 diffferent MCE's? Does the second device need to be an extender?
A: You can turn on File Sharing and share out the recorded tv folder on the systems and add the shared folder to each system which should let you view the recordings from either machine.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Can MCE support Radio while recording a tv program in the background? Hauppauge tells that MCE doesn't support it but it would rather seem to be a restriction in the driver, as accidentally I had it working once
A: Media Center does support it, but you will have to have two tuners in your system (with one of them being a radio tuner). The card will only allow either the radio or the TV to be conducted at any one time.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: I have two hard drives in my MCE system and would like to take advantage of both for recording TV. Is there a reason that I can't make MCE utilize both drives for recording (short of using RAID or volume spanning)?
A: Although directly recording to multiple hard drives is not supported, you can view recorded TV content stored on multiple drives using Watched Folders in Media Center. The TweakMCE powertoy, can be used to change this setting. It is available from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9C02F0A8-8525-4110-AAA8-36AA8AEBF2AF&displaylang=en
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Will there be a MUI for bi-lingual families?
A: There has been nothing announced at this time. However, this is great feedback, and I will submit it to the product team for consideration.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: Vhave XP home. USB connection to camera pops a window with list of programs to connect. List contains a program name which has been UNINSTALLED, but name still shows up. and the list does not show a new program which I installed. How to update list?
A: If you have general Windows XP-related questions - rather than ones about our chat topic, Media Center - you can ask them in 15 minutes when our current chat is over. Thanks!
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Will there be a MUI for bi-lingual families?
A: Nothing has been announced at this time
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: I'm using a HDTV tuner (Avermedia A180). THe Guide data for my local PBS station is incorrect, yet sources such as TitanTV are correct. Is there a reason that Microsofts guide provider cannot get better data?
A: For ATSC guide data, we map the guide information from the NTSC equivalent to the ATSC channel (we don't have ATSC specific listings). In most cases both channels have the same programming, but in a few cases (I seen this with PBS mostly) there is a different set of programming on ATSC than on NTSC. Let me know if this isn't what you're seeing.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: With regards to HDTV listings, yes I am having the problem with my PBS station. So then hopefully Micrisoft will add support for ATSC specific guide data in the near future? It honestly makes my PBS HD channel very ineffective.
A: Thanks for the feedback. I'll make sure it goes to the correct team.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Why are the visualizations not showing up in MCE when playing songs, yet they show up in WMP10
A: Through follow-up conversatations, I would recommend you update the ATI drivers with the latest from ATI's website. For hardware drivers on Windows Update, it can take a while for new drivers to make there way there.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: AndyV_MSFT-> MCE500 has two tv tuners and a radio tuner. I noticed that when a program was recording and I entered Media center and wanted to hear the radio, I got an MCE dialog that the recording would stop when I wanted the radio......
A: That is very interesting. We will investigate this and see what comes up. My thought on it for now is that Happauge will only allow one "standard" to come through (either FM or TV). Since it is has two TV tuners, it is still the one TV standard so it will let Media Center think it is two tuners for TV.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: Will the Xbox 360 come with MCExtender default, or will there be different versions of the 360 to do different tasks
A: We have announced that XBox 360 will support Media Center Edition as an Extender.
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Can I use video formats such as DivX with XP MCE 2005 if I install the plugin to media player?
A: Yes you can install XviD and other filters which will allow you to watch the videos in MCE/WMP. Note that these videos will not work when using a Media Center Extender.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: The recordings.xml keep growing bigger and make Guide navigation slower and slower. I believe guide need to lookup recordings.xml for red dot in the guide. When I delete it and re-program again, its size go from 1.5MB to 250k. Why MCE cannot compact it?
A: Great question. I will pass this along to the Guide team for further investigation.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: I use DishNetwork, and the channels that are added are not even a available on dishnet.
A: I will let the Guide team know about this issue. Thanks!
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: I use the Channel Guide and have no problems with the local channels (San Antonio, Texas). I have and HDTV Tuner which works fine for viewing and recording, but DTV is not listed in the Guide. Will this feature be added in the future for DTV listings?
A: If you'd like to add ATSC listings to your guide, you can do so by going through the "set up DTV signal" wizard under Settings - TV in Media Center (note: requires Media Center 2005).
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Is there a MSN messenger for MCE or will MCE always use Windows Messenger
A: Windows Messenger exposes API's that MSN Messenger doesn't. The product team has heard this feedback, but none the less, I will pass it along to them (one more can't hurt, right? :) ).
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Okay, we'll be ending the Media Center chat in 5 minutes. Last chance!
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: You're correct in tha broadcast TV hasn't been an issue, only the HBO network is a problem, and only using MCE05 to record Curb Your Enthusiasm. We can still record the show with the VCR and take it with us to enjoy together with family. You think its HBO?
A: Currently the only channels that I know of that have CGMS-A enabled are premium and video on demand channels. It is up to your provider, so it may vary from service to service.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: @AndyV- It would be nice to be able to video-conference over MCE
A: I agree, and I have recommended this since Messenger was added. :-)
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Are you disappointed that OEM's can only include web-page based plugins for MCE2005?
A: Media Center partners have created some pretty powerful extensibility applications using the Media Center Extensibility SDK. In fact, one of the extensibility applications (ABC Celebrity Mole) won an Interactive TV Emmy and two more (Reuters and AOL Music On Demand) have been nominated this year.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Q: Can I change preset recording time from a show in guide? example, ER always starts from 9:59pm from Guide and I cannot record another show from 8-9pm due to conflict. That is a very annoying 1 minute.
A: Unfortunately, no. Many TV providers do this for this specific reason. Two recommendations: 1. Setup a manual recording (but you won't get the Guide information); 2: Purchase a second tuner and you will not have this issue anymore.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
This concludes our Media Center chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Media Center or other Windows topics.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Thanks everyone for joining in today.
AndyV_MSFT (Expert):
Thanks everyone! Sorry for being late, but you all had great questions! I'll see you all next month!
Corey Gouker [MSFT] (Expert):
Thanks everyone for coming, great questions!
RobertSchlabbach-MVP (Expert):
Bye everyone! See you next chat!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Thanks for coming, everyone!
