Windows XP Media Center Edition, November 17, 2005

Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity

Todd_MS (Moderator):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Media Center chat! Today we are answering your questions about Media Center and Media Center Extenders (including Xbox 360). Now, I'll have our hosts for the chat today introduce themselves:

Introduction

Todd_MS (Moderator):
My name is Todd and I am a program manager on the Media Center Extender team. I will be the moderator for this chat.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Hi I'm Ed Rich and I'm a Program Manager on the eHome Team

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Hi, I'm Barb Bowman, I'm a Windows MVP. MCE 2005 Rocks

Joe [MS] (Expert):
Hi everyone! I’m Joe and I am a developer on the Media Center TV team.

EPG Chris [MS] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Chris and my primary focus is working with the Program Guide data quality.

Dave_MS (Expert):
Hi. I'm Dave and I'm a Project Manager on Media Center

Nathan_MS (Expert):
Hi everyone, my name is Nathan and I'm a Program Manager on the Media Center Extender team. Welcome to the chat.

Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Hi, I'm Robert Schlabbach, MCE MVP from Berlin, Germany. Ready to take your questions!

Todd_MS (Moderator):
Go ahead and begin sending us your questions, and we'll get the chat underway.

Start of chat:

EPG Chris [MS] (Expert):
Q: is MSFT ever going to fix the DTV guide issues with MCE? it doesn't show the correct listings for some shows (notably PBS) and it shows the master listing for all subchannels. and yes, i've submitted the issues to the correct MSFT site.
A: Our digital TV guide data comes from the FCC and we are working with them to get these issues corrected.

Nathan_MS (Expert):
Q: what version of MCE could be connected to domain.
A: Windows XP Media Center Edition does not support joining a domain.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Q: Is Media Center Extender system software available to install on computers? I have a middle-aged laptop with composite video output that might be up to the task of media extension.
A: Currently there is no Media Center Extended Software for the PC such as an older Windows XP system.

Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Is Media Center Extender system software available to install on computers? I have a middle-aged laptop with composite video output that might be up to the task of media extension.
A: Currently we haven't announced anything allowing a PC to run extender functionality. Personally, I'd love to see this. I'll FW your request to the proper people on the team. Don't forget that on 11/22 you'll be able to get an XBox 360 with full HD extender functionality.

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: I have a 1600 x 1200 LCD monitor. "My Pictures" in Media Center look poor compared to Picture and Fax Viewer or in any other program. Is there any way to have Media Center 2005 display the full resolution?
A: I'm not sure what you mean by full resolution. Are you attached to a TV or a monitor and what kind? MCE displays a thumbnail of each image. When you click it or select it with the remote, it should display full screen. What you see depends on the device you are viewing the image on. What resolution is your display running in while inside MCE? Outside MCE?

Nathan_MS (Expert):
Q: Will the Xbox 360 as an extender support the four zoom modes the a Media Center PC support?
A: Yes it will :)

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Q: After copying ripped music (WMA files) from my external backup to my already-configured Music folder, Media Center doesn't show the new music as artist, album or song. How do I get MCE to add the copied files to My Music?
A: I would try two things: Go back into Add Music and follow the wizard (no need to make changes, just say that you want to choose folders on your local computer) and go into Windows Media Player to ensure it sees your music as well.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Q: Why does Live TV seem to freeze on so many Media Centers and what is the best way to isolate the trouble.
A: I'm not aware of widespread reports of freezing. Some possible causes can be system heat causing the video card freeze. Sometimes it can also be related to the video driver or MPEG2 decoder.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Q: The covers are off the case and the video card has been in a slot with no nearby cards. I am using a NVIDIA's MPEG2 decoder. Do you have a suggestion for another decoder.
A: I can't point you to a particular tool. You should really work with the public newsgroups or your PC Manufacturer to try and resolve this.

EPG Chris [MS] (Expert):
Q: I want it to go to 32-Bit but it will only go up to 24-Bit.
A: Most of the time this is driver related. Try going to the manufactures website and install the latest driver.

Dave_MS (Expert):
Q: I can burn DVDs of recorded NTSC TV programs through Media Center but not ATSC standard definition (480p). I get the" Unsupported File Type" message. Is there a fix or work around for this limitation?
A: The DVD burning issues will take additional troubleshooting. I suggest going to the public newsgroup: microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter.

Dave_MS (Expert):
Q: I tried going to the microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter as instructed, but it doesn't appear to be the right sight.
A: You need to use a newsgroup reader to get to this newsgroup.

Aaron Stebner [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: I can burn DVDs of recorded NTSC TV programs through Media Center but not ATSC standard definition (480p). I get the" Unsupported File Type" message. Is there a fix or work around for this limitation?
A: I wanted to add to the previous answer to this question - you can force the Sonic burning software that comes with Media Center to create a log file by doing the following:
1. Go to the Start menu, type Run and then type notepad %windir%\ehome\createdisc\soniclog_mce.log
2. Press Yes to create a new file
3. Save and close the file
4. Try to burn the DVD again and let it error out
5. Look at the soniclog_mce.log for additional error information
Hopefully this will give more of an indication why you are getting an error trying to burn the ATSC content.

Nathan_MS (Expert):
Q: Is the remote for the Xbox 360 for Media Center RF or IR? If it ir will other Media Center remotes work?
A: The Xbox 360 remote is IR. Also, there is an option on the Xbox360 to allow any Media Center RC6 remote to work with Xbox 360.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Q: Closed captioning runs ahead of the audio/video on live/recorded TV (not on DVD). Is there some way to sync it?
A: I have seen this happen on some channels and not on others. There is no way to "tweak" this. The closed captioning feed is sent by the broadcaster and if their timing is off, the caption can be ahead or behind. If it is happening on all channels consider upgrading your TV tuner driver.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Q: Closed captioning works properly on all other devices connected to the same video signal (VCRs, Replay TVs, etc.), so I don't think the signal can be blamed.
A: At this point I would then focus on the TV tuner driver and see if there is an update.

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Q: I have an issue with Windows Media Player, whenever I try and play a video my screen locks up and my sound starts to skip, sort of like a CD player does. My screen will also turn off and go to sleep mode, then turn back on.
A: This could be caused by a bad video codec or graphics card drivers. I would recommend you visit the Windows Media Player public newsgroup to seek further advice.

Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: i'm having font size problems on the media center side, everything else works great...The addins that i install , like myTvToGo, the fonts are HUGE
A: You may want to try setting you IE font settings to "Medium". If that doesn't solve your problem you should contact the developer of the add-ins that are not displaying properly.

MCE John [MS] (Expert):
Q: Even with DualView and a multi-display graphics card, it does not appear to be possible to run the XP desktop on an analog monitor while running the Media Center on a television. Is it because XP MCE cannot use a separate mouse on each display?
A: While Media Center is maximized, it locks the mouse to stay within the Media Center window. You should be able to use Alt+Tab to switch to windows on the other monitor. However, be aware that you won't be able to simultaneously have input from your remote go to the Media Center window while having keyboard input go to your other windows. The focus can only be in one place at a time. If you really want two independent sessions, your best bet is a Media Center Extender.

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: Is it recommended to install only ONE video decoder at a time? I have installed five, am switching among them (using XP Decoder Checkup util), and I can't seem to get decent video playback using any. [note: using a PVR250 & latest drivers]
A: I usually install only one at a time since sometimes there can be issues. I keep the installer packages on the hard drive. I've had good luck with the recent NVidia Pure Video decoder myself.

Dana Cline - MCE MVP (Expert):
Q: Is there a plan for MCE to support both the digital and analog TV tuners in the ATI HDTV Wonder?
A: That's probably best answered by ATI, but I suspect they didn't include the MPEG encoder chip on that board, like they also didn't on the All In Wonder tuners.

Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Is there a plan for MCE to support both the digital and analog TV tuners in the ATI HDTV Wonder?
A: If I remember correctly, that particular card doesn't have a hardware encoder for analog video. Even if you could get a software encoder (ATI made this available for some number of cards) we don't support using the card in a hybrid mode. Media Center currently needs to pin a tuner to a specific standard. I'll forward your feature request to the team.

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Q: I would like to return my pc to the default Welcome screen (list of local account) after removing it from an ADS domain. How would I do this without reloading the PC?
A: You will need to turn Fast User Switching on within Users and Accounts in the Control Panel.

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Q: If I have Media Center up as the current desktop and I log in from another computer using Remote Desktop, does the Media Center get beamed out, or does the regular XP desktop?
A: You can use Media Center within a Remote Desktop session, but the functionality will be limited (no animations, transitions, TV, videos, etc).

MCE John [MS] (Expert):
Q: Will there be a Cablecard upgrade option for home built Media Center PCs?
A: Details of how Cablecard hardware will be made available have not been finalized at this time.

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: If I have Media Center up as the current desktop and I log in from another computer using Remote Desktop, does the Media Center get beamed out, or does the regular XP desktop?
A: Remote Desktop doesn't really work very well when the host is MCE. If you RDP to a MCE machine and MCE is not running, you may be able to navigate to some of the menus, but not any of the TV. If you try to RDP to a machine where the MCE interface is already running, you will get an error message that running MCE over Remote Desktop is not supported.

Dana Cline - MCE MVP (Expert):
Q: Can I *force* the XP desktop to be beamed to the Remote Desktop computer while still viewing Media Center?
A: No, because if you're viewing Media Center, that _is_ the current desktop.

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: Can I *force* the XP desktop to be beamed to the Remote Desktop computer while still viewing Media Center?
A: No. See prior answer for description of the expected experience.

Nathan_MS (Expert):
Q: I am a new XP Professional User. I prefer my Explorer folders view to be "details" but it always seems to go to "tile." Is there some way to set all folders for "details" view and then have it persist?
A: Open up any folder and go to in the menu bar "tools->options". Then click on the views tab. At the top of that window is an option to change the way all folders are viewed by default.

Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Will Cablecard support be added to MCE 2005 or will it first appear in Vista?
A: CableCard support will appear in Windows Vista. There are no plans to make it available for previous versions.

MCE John [MS] (Expert):
Q: I would like to know if there will every be a 32bit transparency of the MCE interface graphics, when overlaying third party pages. For example under the mouse nav bars, and the shared video viewport it will always show the solid page bg, unlike over video
A: This is certainly something we'd like to enable eventually. Curiously enough, you will get overlay transparency when you're running the Media Center Extender on Xbox 360, but you don't get it on the Media Center PC itself. The reasons are somewhat convoluted, but it has to do with the details of how we use Internet Explorer to host our third-party pages.

Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: Rollup2 and the patch for Rollup2 for MCE2005 seem to have changed the file format of dvr-ms files so that they can only be played back by windows media player on a media center machine and they cannot be played back by winodws media player on XP Pro.
A: Windows XP Pro needs an MPEG2 decoder and an update from Windows Update to play DVR-MS files in Media Player.

Dave_MS (Expert):
Q: Question : i try to install latest windows update but an error message is displayed saying that i dont have software installed to do this. After choosing option to install these programs te installation returns to same screen and error message
A: The issue you are seeing is an issue with Windows Update itself. Try the Windows Update newsgroup at: http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.windowsupdate&lang=en&cr=US

Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: also is it true that audio is now recorded in AC3 format within the dvr-ms ?
A: AC3 format is only recorded if the audio is _received_ in AC3 format. Specifically, AC3 format audio is transmitted over OTA HDTV (ATSC Terrestrial) and _can_ be transmitted over DVB-T. Support for the latter has been added with UR2, so _some_ DVB-T users may get AC3 audio recorded with UR2 who had MPEG-audio recorded before this updated.

MCE John [MS] (Expert):
Q: Is it even *possible* to run MCE at two different resolutions - hi-res for the attached monitor, lo-res (a widescreen-friendly resolution) on the TV? Or is it just "locked" so that both "heads" must have the same res (even if they're different desktops)?
A: You should be able to set each monitor to a different resolution, provided -- as you indicate -- they're not configured in "cloned" mode. The availability of this capability may depend on your graphics hardware and drivers.

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: I used to be able to convert my dvr-ms files to avi's for archiveing but the process no longer can extract the audio from dvr-ms
A: what were you using to do this conversion/transcoding?

Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: sorry I should qualify I'm in Sydney Australia, using DVB-T with the PAL format
A: Ok, then what changed is that MCE will record the AC3 audio stream off DVB-T since Rollup 2, whereas it recorded the MPEG audio stream before. If your tool no longer works with AC3 audio in the .dvr-ms file, you will have to check with the maker of that tool if/when there'll be an update to this tool to support AC3 audio.

Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
Q: thanks for that, I have contacted and he is trying, I was just hoping there might be some setting in Media Center I could modify so it recorded back in MPEG audio as a short term fix
A: Hmm, I can't think of any such setting offhand. That's actually something interesting to look into. Could you repost your question in the public mediacenter newsgroup so I can investigate?

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: all new files recorded since RU2 fail to play on non MCE machines
A: the issue is with recording AC3 audio. Talk to the Crunchie owner about an update to work with this.

Dana Cline [MVP] (Expert):
Q: an application called DVRMS toolbox and another 3rd party utility called crunchie. DVRMS toolbox would convert to mpeg and then crunchie would to AVI
A: Crunchie's author, Rick Kirk, is working on the problem. He hangs out on the Australian Media Center Community web site (there's a link to it on my web site at www.mediacenterstuff.com/links.htm.

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Q: How does MCE interface with something like Tivo or ReplayTV? Does it recognize those devices?
A: Currently there is no interoperability with Tivo or ReplayTV.

Barb_MVP (Expert):
Q: my video playback is noticeably blurry/grainy - not as "crisp" as my TV can playback from live cable, let alone from DVD. I've tried both 480p and 1080i (which my TV support). Any suggestions?
A: What video card and what driver? Using the newest one? More important, are you using a current version of your chosen decoder? It's not going to be equal to your TV. I run mine through a Zektor hardware switcher which up converts as well and it evens things out.

Todd_MS (Moderator):
Q: Hey can any one tell me ...is Windows media centre a superset of Win xp pro
A: Media Center is distinct from either XP Pro or XP Home; it possesses all of the functionality of XP Home and most of the functionality of XP Pro (the notable exception being the ability to join a domain, which is not a typical home scenario)

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Q: I'm only viewing Media Center from my LCD display. Why is there a difference in the quality of viewing pictures full screen from Media Center compared to Picture viewer in Windows?
A: Media Center uses a different rendering engine than Windows.

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Q: Is there anything that can change this?
A: No, this cannot be changed.

Dave_MS (Expert):
Q: My MCE2005 box is perfectly stable, I can burn DVD's etc. It all works. I only have regular TV not HDTV. Is there anything to be gained by going to Rollup 2? Can I uninstall it if I have problems. I'll create a system checkpoint beforehand.
A: Rollup 2 enables Xbox 360 support, adds support for DVD changers, adds stability improvements such as third party applications won't crash media center, enables a bunch of new countries, new zoom mode, 2 ATSC tuners supported at the same time, and fixed several known issues.

Todd_MS (Moderator):
This concludes our Media Center chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!

Todd_MS (Moderator):
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Media Center or other Windows topics.

Nathan_MS (Expert):
Alright everyone. It's been a pleasure and thanks for coming. Hope to see you all next chat!

Ed Rich_MS (Expert):
Thanks to everyone for your questions. See you in a future chat.

AndyVanosdale (Expert):
Thanks everyone! Xbox 360 is out on November 22!!!!!!

Robert Schlabbach (Expert):
See you next time!

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