Transcript: Windows Media Center Edition, August 18, 2005
Published: September 26, 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:
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Hi everyone! I'm Robert Schlabbach, MVP for Windows Media Center Edition from Berlin, Germany.
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):
Hi! I&m Mark Salloway an MVP for Windows Media Center from the United Kingdom.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Hi my name is Todd. I am a program manager working on Media Center Extender technologies
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Hi, I’m Joe - a developer on the Media Center TV team. Thanks for coming.
Daniel_ms (Expert):
Hi, I’m Daniel, a program manager with the Media Center Extender team.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Go ahead and begin sending us your questions, and we'll get the chat underway.
Start of Chat
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: I'm having trouble with the stuttering or jerking video in MCE Live or recorded TV, NTSC and ATSC. DVD's played through MCE work fine.
A: What graphics card, driver version and MPEG-2 decoder package (and version) are you using?
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Does Windows MCE have all the features of XP?
A: Yes - Media Center has a superset of the functionality of XP Home; in fact is has all of the features of XP Pro with the exception of domain joining and the credentials manager (both of which are enterprise-focused features). More info is here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/evaluation/default.mspx
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: I can only receive live tv from by basic cable channel, I can't get any of the premium channels from comcast
A: If you want to recieve any digital channels with Windows Media Center, you need to use a set top box from your service provider.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: I'm having trouble with the stuttering or jerking video in MCE Live or recorded TV, NTSC and ATSC. DVD's played through MCE work fine.
A: (ATI X700 Pro PCI-E 256M, Power DVD 6.0) - Can't see any immediate problem with that. Are you using the latest Catalyst driver release (5.8) from ATI?
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: What’s the main user benefits of the Sept. MCE 2005 upgrade? Will it deliver as a standard Windows update?
A: We've announced one major benefit, which is full compatibility with the Xbox 360 game console as a Media Center Extender - we're really excited about that! We have not announced the exact method used to deliver the upgrade, but it will be free to users. You can see the press release here for more information: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/may05/05-17MCEE32005PR.mspx
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: When a box set of CD’s span several discs they appear as separate folders in Windows/MCE, but MCE will not play them in succession. Will this be fixed
A: Since they are separate discs we treat them as separate albums, but you can add all of the discs in a box set to the queue to play them all sequentially.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: Is it a normal installation for MCE like how we install Xp prof? Do you provide any help and installation guides for installation...?
A: MCE installs a bit different than XP, as it requires a second CD-ROM, and certain third party software to be installed to be functional. Note that MCE is only available as a "System Builder" version. Microsoft has a partner site for System Builders and support channels to help System Builders with preinstallation problems.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Is there some place I can find out what "Spotlight MCE application work in Media Center Extenders?
A: I am not aware of a centralized list, but almost all Online Spotlight applications work on Media Center Extender. In the rare cases where an application is not yet supported on MCX, it is likely that we are already working with that partner to enable it on MCX.
Daniel_ms (Expert):
Q: Can MS considder Spread the load by designating drives that can take the remaining recording of a programme so it is not lost due to size limitations i.e. if a second HDD exists then MCE should use it so the programme is not terminated prematurely.
A: That’s a great suggestion, I’ll pass it along to the right people.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Why can MCE play WEB streaming content but Extenders can not in most cases e.g. AOL Music works fine on extenders but MusicMatch does not. Any plans to fix this?
A: We are aware of this issue and working with MusicMatch to resolve it.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Joe [MS] (Expert), since i need the set top box from my cable service provider, how can i use the MCE as a PVR since the channel tunning is made from the set top box??? Will i need to let the set top box turned on in the channel i want to record?
A: Your Media Center may have come with IR blasters that will allow Media Center to control a set top box. These should be connected to your IR receiver (what your MCE remmote talks to) and attached to your STB. You'll need to re-configure your TV Signal and Guide to set up the IR blasters and get the full digital guide.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: When I'm copying my music cd's through MCE, by default it copies them to my C: \.....I want to change it to another harddrive. How am i able to do that
A: You should be able to change this in the Media Player Options\Rip Music\Ript to this location
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Q: What program plays DVDs in Windows MCE 2005? Is there a way to change that to, e.g., InterVideo WinDVD or TheaterTek?
A: The DVD decoders which have been certified for use with MCE2005 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/partners/dfw/partnerlisting.mspx If you wish to see the installed decoders and see if they are compatible with MCE and select a preferred one you can use the Windows XP Decoder Checkup Utility from the Microsoft download centre. Outside of Media Center any DVD player which works on XP will be ok.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: Wil MCE add RSS calendaring functionality e.g. subscribing to a blog with podcasts would have the show auto downloaded ready (I presume MCE plants to plug into Vista???s RSS capabilities)
A: There were no plans announced with regards to RSS support. I'm fairly sure there are some 3rd party plugins on the market that do it in MCE2005
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: can i ask any development question here? i have tried to use the forum in thegreenbutton.com, but no one answer my question :(
A: The focus of this chat is end-user rather than developer, but we'll do our best to answer development-related questions as well. Our Experts are currently working through the questions as fast as they can, so thanks in advance for your patience!
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: What about increased flexibility with recordings i.e. bitrates, resolutions and formats: Why are recordings in dvr-ms why not WMV or QT and what kind of quality are these videos anyway and why canot they be preset by the user? and will they
A: About the compression format: MCE relies on _hardware_ compression, and PVR cards are only available with MPEG-2 encoder chips. dvr-ms is a container format for the MPEG-2 video and the associated audio stream. As to using different resolutions, what would be the benefit of that? And different bitrates are already available and selected by the "quality" setting.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: I have a set top box. Do connect the set top box to the tv and my computer, or do i set it up with the extender and the tv
A: If you have a media center system, you will need to connect STB to it. If you want your extender to watch TV remotely, it will be able to do so via MCE machine. Extender alone cannot be connected directly to STB
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: I have a set top box. Do connect the set top box to the tv and my computer, or do i set it up with the extender and the tv
A: I will pass your suggestion along to the people who work on the Music area. Do you hear the gap between tracks or between albums?
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: alexF - I meant the release of mce when longhorn ships and no todays version
A: As I said - the MCE plans for Longhorn time frame have not been announced. I doublt you could get an answer on that
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: What's the development-release track of Media Center with regards to Longhorn (oops Vista). Will there be a Media Center Vista edition?
A: Media Center has become an increasingly popular product over the past few releases and is an area we will continue to invest in. We’re very excited about Media Center and the direction we’re taking it in the future. That said, I cannot comment on specific details of future releases that have not been publicly announced.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: Is there any way for upgrading the MCE from Windows XP Professional...?
A: MCE is only available in SB/OEM versions and meant to be preinstalled on new machines by OEMs and System Builders. Thus, upgrades from other Windows editions are not supported.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: I have two questions.The first one is with the development of HTML applications for MCE, and how can i set the text inside an HTML Input object??? the other one, is about developing in Macromedia Flash. I have build a simple swf movie, but the navigation w
A: If you do it from javascript, you can set it in the same way as setting any other DHTML element content. What is your programmiimg environment?
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Todd .. you are reporting Spotlight Applications like MSN Music, Live 365, ABC Enhanced TV should work on my HP Extender .. who do I call for supporton this one MiscroSoft or HP?
A: In the event you encounter an issue with an Online Spotlight experience, please contact the content provider for that particular experience. You can also report issues to the public Media Center newsgroup.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: Is Remote Desktop a part of MCE?
A: Yes, it is - I use it frequently myself on several different Media Center PCs.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: joe- well can mce recognise that several folders have disc #1, disc #2 etc.. with the same names and make a decision to just automatically do it, problem is i think that there are pauses and gaps with joined music, like dj seamless mixes
A: I'll pass along the suggestion about loading up boxed sets into the queue automatically. You shouldn't hear a gap between songs if they are all in the Queue. Are you adding them all into the queue?
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Q: What cud be the reason for STOP:0x0000007E ?
A: There can be a lot of causes for this such as a hardware incompatibility, or a device driver issue to name a few. Is a file being referenced in the error?
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: i have encountered the "blue screen" and the mini-dump files says the sytem is looking for aries.sys. An exhaustive search on my system and the web has turned up nada. What is aries.sys and where can it be found or how can i shut it off? Thanks
A: Which version of Windows XP Media Center Edition are you running on your PC?
Nick_MS (Expert):
Q: When the EPG specifies a time of recording, MCE should start recording a few minutes before, to avoid missing the beginning of a programme
A: This is something you can already specify, actually, under the Recording settings. From the home page, go to Settings -> TV -> Recorder -> Recording Defaults and set "Start when possible" to however much of a buffer you'd like before your show starts. You can also set recordings to end after the show actually ends.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: robert - why not have a converter in mce to auto convert and meta-data tag shows into WMV
A: MCE is designed around MPEG-2 video, which is also the standard for digital TV, allowing MCE to handle analog and digital TV in a uniform fashion. Key components of MCE such as the timeshifting engine will only work with MPEG-2 video. Using a different compression format would mean losing a number of MCE features.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Are there any plans for an external A/V interface with MCE?
A: We haven't announced any plans. One reason may be that it would not be optimal for gaming due the the capture delay.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: I love streaming XM Radio in MCE, but it’s a hassle to navigate (Spotlight, XM logo, login screen, start XM to launch player window). Is there a way to add to the main MCE list so it just plays? Or, to Radio (I have a HP Z545).
A: Media Center does support this (Napster radio has a link under radio). This is a great suggestion to pass along to XM.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: robert - i know cards are natively supporting WMV, i dont understand the video formats or if wmv is better, its just a seperate video standard from ms is confusing, when wmv is prob what people think video in win is, if your going for mass market ya know
A: MPEG is the format of consumer electronics video. Microsoft is trying to establish WMV for HD-DVD, but for the time being, you have to use MPEG in consumer electronics devices, and this is what MCE is aiming at. By the way, I'm not aware of any TV tuner cards which natively support WMV compression _in hardware_.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: What level of resolution is output by a MCE when connected to an HDTV (1080i)? Is it full 1920x1080?
A: It depends on the video card and its settings. MCE does not impose any specific restrictions on the resolution. If the card can handle 1080i, it will output 1080i when working with MCE
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: I am running WinXP Media Center 05 on Dell Inspiron 9300. Also using Deskshare Digital Media Converter 2.56 and Pinnacle Studio 9.4.3 SE to create and edit MPEG2 files. I end up w. files > 1 gb stored in My Documents and My Projects. If I try to delete these files (or even select) using Win Explorer, DEP (Data Execution Prevention) ctolosed the program. I can ignore "Send Error Report" message and delete files, but then Media Center crashes w. "files missing" message.
A: This is a great question to post to the newsgroups. Please post as much detail as possible about the crash and the files that are causing the problem.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: When I burn music compilations on my computer, and if the songs are not tagged with title and such, it puts all of the songs in a unknown music folder. So I end up with 300 songs in one folder. How can I resolve this?
A: You need to make sure that the songs that you import have metadata with the Artist/ALbum/Song info. If those are your own compilations, MCE obviuously cannot glean this information on the web, so it is your responsibility as an author to provide it
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: MCE to operate in hibernation mode, so the PC is only using the minimum of processor power. This will also be useful when leaving the house and wanting to use the computer as a home PC server -watching files over the internet from a remote location ie Orb!
A: Hibernation mode is basically power-off with saved state. MCE will not be able to perform any work while hibernated
Daniel_ms (Expert):
Q: YUI: I would like to know if it is allowed to download music from the radio stations to your PC AND WHY SOMETIMES THE RADIO STATIONS MAKE SUCH LONG PAUSES for buffering. What is buffering, anyhow?
A: No, it’s not possible to download music from a streaming radio station to your computer within Media Center. Online applications accessible from the Online Spotlight may allow you to download music, but these are not streaming radio. Buffering is the process Media Center uses to ensure smooth playback of your streaming media. When you first start streaming a song, Media Center downloads a little more than is needed to start playback, called a ‘buffer’, then, as the song plays, if there is temporary trouble downloading the next portion of the song, Media Center can play the buffer instead of interrupting the playback.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Do DirectShow MPEG-2 audio and video filters come with Media Center Edition? What about AC3 aka A52?
A: When your purchase a computer with Windows Media Center installed, it comes with a 3rd party decoder (nVidia, Cyberlink, InterVideo, etc.) The specifics of the Encoder will vary depending on who is building the system.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Can you give me a step-by-step installation guide to getting HDTV to work
A: Here's a great place to start http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mce/expert/hdtv.mspx
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: How much memory do the MS Experts have in their MCE PCs?
A: Let's see - 512MB in one, 1GB in the other and 4GB in yet another one.
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Q: Remote online TV scheduling should not only be ported to every country MCE is released in (ie not just the USA) but should be in MSN IM too, give IM some extra personal value
A: MSN know there is a demand internationally for Remote Record and that is a direction that they are evaluating for the future. There are presently a number of 3rd party applications which allow you to schedule recordings through a browser over the net which can be handy if you are not in a country covered by MSN Remote Record.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: alex - i read that vista will allow for secondary displays when in standby, i know you cant comment but not all my suggestions are for the short term. im thinking about the utopia that is the home pc server
A: I'm farly sure that the next major release of MCE will make use of the secondary displays as it seems to be a feature especially useful for the living room system
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: YUI; Iam in a DELL INSPIRON PROFESSIONAL XP but the buffering problem I had in every othoer System too.
A: If you are seeing excessive buffering when playing media over the internet, you may be experiencing problems with your internet connection. If you are playing media that give you a choice of speed (56Kbps, 100Kbps, 300 Kbps, etc.), try choosing a slower speed.
Nick_MS (Expert):
Q: I can see that although, that could be worked arond with another interface, I can do it outside of MCE. But, watching a video from my Video Camera should be a simple task, it must done from outside MCE. MS Remember.. START ANYTHING :D
A: I'll pass this as a feature request along to the development team. Thanks!
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: What program plays DVDs in Windows MCE 2005? Is there a way to change that to, e.g., InterVideo WinDVD or TheaterTek?
A: MCE uses any installed DirectShow MPEG-2 Decoder filter, where MCE compatible ones are preferred. So you can change it by uninstalling one DVD decoder package/software and installing another one. You should use a MCE logo'd DVD decoder for the best possible results.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: hello! I have a problem. My computer restarts suddenly
A: The current topic for this chat is Media Center, so I am not sure if we can troubleshoot your issue with the Experts participating in this chat. It sounds like you may have some form of "malware" (virus, worm, etc.) on your PC. You may wish to download the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool which finds a large number of the most common malware programs: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Caller ID should work with MSN IM displaying a picture when someone calls and have free VoIP support. The show should pause when the video call is accepted and have the option of recording the video call simultaneously (notifying the other end).
A: Great suggestion. I'd add that I'd like to see who's calling on my SmartPhone as well. ;) I'll pass this suggestion on to the correct teams.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Q: I want DVDs to resume play where I stopped it, even if I switch to My Music or pull the DVD out and play another disk. Is this feature in the upcoming MCE update?
A: Please note that we cannot comment on unannounced products, and in some cases may not be able to discuss specific aspects of announced products. This chat is primarily to discuss questions or issues with our current products. We'll take this suggestion under consideration, however.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: One of my development questions is about HTMLInput/triple-tap. How can i set, programatically, the text inside an HTMLInput. I found a method in the triple-tap to send key codes. Is this the only way?
A: If you are already in the Javascript code, why can't you set the DHTML element properties programmatically?
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Q: So a company licencing Media Center Edition for their PC's will have to buy the third party decoder filters? If so is there a list of recomended ones? Is there any other third party components that Microsoft recomends or requires that OEM's add?
A: 3rd party decoders (i.e. MPEG2) are not included with Media Center itself and are added by the system builder. Microsoft’s list of certified components for Media Center 2005 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/partners/dfw/partnerlisting.mspx
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: The buffer should be recording when ever MCE is on, not just when watching TV and it should be set by the user, not restricted to 30 minutes. So if I switch to the TV function then I can record something that is half way in
A: If you'd like to extend you pause buffer you can use TweakMCE (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9C02F0A8-8525-4110-AAA8-36AA8AEBF2AF). If you just leave your MCE on Live TV you'll always have a pause buffer full of TV ready to go.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: salmin: Robert: re my question on what plays DVD's in MCE-- how can I find out what my MCE is using to play DVD's (I have multiple MPEG-2 applications)?
A: Use the decoder checkup utility to find out which decoders are installed and which MCE is currently preferring (you can also change that): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=de1491ac-0ab6-4990-943d-627e6ade9fcb
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: joe - what about VoIP in MCE/IM I know you can only comment on MCE
A: I'd love it if a VOIP service wrote a 10' Media Center application. I've send a few emails to my VOIP provider - Let yours know that you want one too. I'd at least like to get my VOIP voice mail from MCE.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Include History navigation for the EPG, allowing me to go back into the week or what I have seen and recorded, IE has a History feature, EPG’s should not instantly be written over
A: Great suggestion. I'll pass it along.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Include History navigation for the EPG, allowing me to go back into the week or what I have seen and recorded, IE has a History feature, EPG’s should not instantly be written over
A: Media Center has a Recorder History. Go to My Tv > Recorded TV > Scheduled > History. You'll see all of the shows that were and were not recorded in the past.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q: AlexFeinman, i'm using HTML based on the HTML Template in the MCE SDK. I have looked in every sample inside the "Online Spotlight", and no one are doing this. The problem is that i want to do a form to modify user personal information, and i would like...
A: I see the problem. Please, post this as a question in the developer.mediacenter NG and I'll try to answer it offline
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: there should be no limit to the pause time or is that a tweak feature?
A: It's going to be ultimately limited by your available disk space. If we had an 'unlimited' we'd have to delete recorded programs just to keep the buffer.
Nick_MS (Expert):
Q: I have a Sony MCE 2005 computer and not happy with the sound quality of the on board processor. I wonder if you know any external sound that I can use (it appears that most manufacturers do not support MCE 2005).
A: MCE does not require any special type of audio card; it should work with whatever sound card you have installed, so you can choose to install whatever card you wish.
Todd_MS (Expert):
Q: Insert bookmarks into the video so it can behave like a DVD and have chapters, what kind of meta-data is auto inserted with mce into dvr files?
A: The DVR-MS metadata includes information relating to the show name, synopsis, original air date, etc. (i.e. all the info you see when you look at the show under Recorded TV)
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Allow MCE to search for online webcams, sorted by country. Allow users to advertise their own webcams in a ‘community webcam’ area!
A: Sounds like a great Media Center Extensibility application. Post some of these suggestion to the newsgroups and maybe someone can work with you on them.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: joe - so its limitless upto the hdd space?
A: In theory it could be. You can make it pretty large with Tweak MCE.
AlexFeinman (Expert):
Q:AlexFeinman (Expert):
the Input element doesn't work with the triple-tap control, or at least i didn't find any way to doing it
A: Could you try SetInputText() method? I believe that it exists but not documented
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Q: Is there a way to modify the metadata information in a recordedTV asset in order to customize it - aka add our own info?
A: Not directly through Media Center, Stephen Toub has written a small utility which allows you to get at the metadata within the dvr-ms files. See http://blogs.msdn.com/toub/archive/2005/05/12/416874.aspx
Daniel_ms (Expert):
Q: YUI: What is Metadata,please?
A: Metadata is information about a file, as opposed to the data in the file itself. Common metadata includes the file name, creation date, format, air date, artist/producer/director, ratings, reviews, and other information about the content.
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
This concludes our Media Center chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Todd_MS (Expert):
Thank you everyone for joining in today.
Nick_MS (Expert):
Thanks for coming, see you all next month!
Andrew_MSFT (Moderator):
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Media Center or other Windows topics.
Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Bye! See you next time!
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Thanks for the great questions and suggestions everyone!
Daniel_ms (Expert):
Thanks all!
MarkS_MVP (Expert):
Thanks for coming everyone, see you next time.
