Windows XP Media Center Edition, July 20, 2006
Chat Topic: Windows XP Media Center Edition
Date: Thursday, July 20, 2006
Please Note: Portions of this Chat have been edited for clarity.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Windows XP Media Center Edition chat!
Today we are answering your questions about Windows XP Media Center Edition.
Now, I'll have our hosts for the chat today introduce themselves:
Introductions
AndyVa (Expert):
Hi, everyone! I'm Andy Vanosdale, an SDET working at Microsoft.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Hi; my name is Todd. I’m a program manager working on Media Center Extender technology.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Hi, I’m Mark Pendergrast, and I’m a Program Manager on the eHome Devices team, responsible for the Media Center Extender technologies and products.
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Hi, I'm Bryan Socha MVP for Media Center. Better known as Accident on thegreenbutton.com
Aaron Stebner [MSFT] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Aaron Stebner, and I'm a Program Manager working on the Windows Media Center platform and SDK team.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
I'm Tyler Welch, and I'm the MVP Lead for Windows XP Media Center Edition, and the moderator for this chat.
Go ahead and begin sending us your questions, and we'll get the chat underway.
Start of Chat
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: Is it correct that media center is fully built on xp pro?
A: All the Windows XP code is built upon the same code base. Media Center Edition 2005 has some of the features found in XP Pro, such as IIS and Remote Desktop, but not others, such as domain joining and credentials manager.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: how can i change a password on a password protected username
A: If you have general Windows XP-related questions - rather than ones about our chat topic, Windows XP Media Center Edition - you can ask them in 1 hour when our current chat is over. Thanks!
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: I am having an audio problem with XP media center. I have been through all troubleshooters without any results. Each time I turn on windows I have to reinstall my audio driver. The driver is in my system files and hardware proflies. Please help.
A: What kind of audio device/board are you using? Is it fully supported by Windows XP? I agree this must be pretty frustrating.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: I have MCE2005 and able to use messenger from it ok, but trying to use it through my xbox360 is a nightmare as all i keep getting is that im using an invalid passport, i am able to download from marketplace and stream etc fine, but not using the messenger,
A: This would require more in-depth technical assistance than what this chat is geared towards. I would recommend you ask this question in the Microsoft public newsgroups for Windows XP Media Center Edition (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter).
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: All of my songs show up in WMP and on my Xbox media center but on in my Xbox dashboard. How can I fix that? I have removed and re-added the Xbox as an extender and still no luck.
A: Do you have Windows Media Connect (WMC) enabled on your host PC? For it to show up in the Xbox dashboard, you need WMC installed and turned on. Go to the Xbox website (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/pcsetup) for additional details
Mark_S (Expert):
Q: Will Xbox 360 be supported as a Media Center extender in Vista?
A: Yes. Beta 2 of Vista will already work with Xbox 360 in North America/Canada with the new UI and more locations in later builds.
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: it is a sigmatel hd device that worked fine before i had to repair the mce install
A: It sounds like you forgot to install the drivers for the device after the repair.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Re: Q3, How does that affect peer to peer or domain server networking. I work in computer retail. If I sell a media center machine, will user have trouble getting on school network with multiple users?
A: Media Center fully supports usage on home networks, including file and printer sharing between PCs. That said, because Media Center is a home-focused offering, it does not support domain join (a business-centric feature). If you are interested in using PCs on a domain-based network, Windows XP Pro is the best choice.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Are there any plans for native DirecTV support in MCE?
A: MS and Direct TV announced a joint development effort at the Consumer Electronics Show last January pertaining to Media Center, but we didn't talk about a specific timeframe for supporting Direct TV. All I can say is stay tuned for more news!
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: how can i get onto a user name that is password protected
A: If you have general Windows XP-related questions - rather than ones about our chat topic, Windows XP Media Center Edition - you can ask them in 1 hour when our current chat is over. Thanks!
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: re Q: 6 - yes I have WMC installed. My Xbox shows up correctly.
A: OK, good. Do any songs show up at all via the dashboard? Or are some just missing?
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Why is there no upgrade to media center?
A: Media Center is currently offered as an OEM-only operating system for inclusion on new PCs. Because OEMs only perform full installs, there is no need for an upgrade version. We are however aware that consumers are interested in directly getting their hands on Media Center, so we are including Media Center technology in the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Windows Vista, both of which will be sold in retail/full packaged product form.
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: The drivers are where they should be. Is there any way to fix it so that I don't have to reinstall the drivers every time i reboot?
A: Perhaps there are other drivers and updates your missing, but this might be a larger issue and I recommend contacting the store you purchased your media center machine from.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: If I have MCE would I gain anything by adding a 2 tuner tv card when I only have 1 satellite connection?
A: If you only have one satellite connection, you would not gain any advantages to having a second tuner card. If you later purchased a second satellite connection (most satellite companies have deals where you can get a second connection at a much reduced cost), then a second tuner would give you plenty of advantages such as recording one show while watching another.
Aaron Stebner [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: everytime I start my computer and have it on or open windows media player, a message pops up about installing PhotoGallery (Installation package .msi) but i dont have the disk to install it .. is there any way to just get rid of this message?
A: If you have general Windows XP-related questions - rather than ones about our chat topic, Windows XP Media Center Edition - you can ask them in 1 hour when our current chat is over. Thanks!
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: What are the video card requirements for media center to work best? Not the minimums.
A: I personally look for ones with good hardware decoding of many different video formats. This will reduce the cpu demand to allow media center to run better on lower end hardware. The ATI x1000 and NVidia 7000 series are excellent choices. The mid and lower end cards are better designed for media center. if you play a lot of first person shooter games, the higher end models work better. (x1300, x1600), (7300 and 7600)
Mark_S (Expert):
Q: What are the video card requirements for media center to work best? Not the minimums.
A: RE: The Geforce series cards do have differing abilities with regard to their hardware video decoding, so have a look for the ones you'd want to use http://www.nvidia.co.uk/page/purevideo_support.html
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: re Q13: yes, the default songs that are in the default locations show up. however, all of my other songs are on a media and file server that I connect to automatically when windows starts up using a logon script.
A: OK, thanks. Well, this scenario is definitely supported by WMC, so I'm unsure why songs on your network share aren't showing up. Here's a link that has more info on this (a blog) http://blogs.msdn.com/alan_ludwig/archive/2006/02/02/523185.aspx
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: re Q7: It seems to me that it is very likely that people are increasingly going to have domains set up for home use? With the home becoming more connected all the time (and MS obviously encouraging this), don't you believe that will be the case?
A: There certainly are some home users who have domains in their homes; these users can use Media Center PCs in their home network environment, just not with all of the benefits of domain membership. Looking to the future, we’ve listened to the feedback we’ve received from these users and are including Media Center technology in Windows Vista Ultimate, which supports domain joining.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: Re q3 (again) So a media student can not put an MCE machine on a campus network? Are you aware of a work around where schools can have multiple MCE machines on a network?
A: You can have many Media Center machines on a network. I do at home. :)
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Feature request: make a simple way to have Andy Vanosdale's MCX logon script be a part of Media Center. A lot of us have domains at home.
A: Duly noted. Andy's tool is clearly is adding lots of value! :)
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Right now I have the media center pc plugged into a normal monitor, how do I switch it to use a normal TV?
A: Pretty easy. A lot will depend on what kind of AV connections your TV and your PC graphics card have. Take a look at both. Very likely the most common connections that work for PC to TV scenarios are: s video - for standard def TVs and DVI or even VGA for HD TVs.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: I get the error message "The Media Center Extender for Xbox has unexpectedly disconnected". I have a wired 10/100 ethernet network to the extender and followed the knowledge base Article ID: 896677. I also disabled my McAfee Pricavy Service. What do I do
A: The kb article located at <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911123/en-us> may help you resolve this. If it doesn’t, I suggest posting a message in the Media Center public newsgroup (Microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter) for further troubleshooting assistance.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: re Q 26: what about screen size resolution settings for the TV? I tried once before and completely screwed it up by getting the resolutions wrong.
A: Usually, the screen resolution should be 640x480 or 800x600.
Mark_S (Expert):
Q: hi ! my PC is normal one .P4 256 MB RAM 80 GB SATA and 2.66 GHZ. can i change my PC to media center PC. and after doing this can i do my normal PC as i did in XP. can i have both XP and MCE working good in my memory? or any upgrade needed? if so suggest me
A: It is possible to buy Media Center 2005 OEM and load it on a system such as that, you don’t mention what kind of video card you have though. Depending what that is you might require an upgrade. If your video card was good enough and you were going to use it as a TV PVR I’d recommend getting a larger hard disk and a compatible TV tuner. Memory wise it would probably be a good idea to upgrade to at least 512Mb if you were planning to use the machine for other purposes at the same time. Use for High Definition TV increases the requirements further.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: re: Q 19 - Wouldn't the fact that the songs show up in Media Center on the Xbox indicate that the network settings are correct? What does the Xbox dashboard do differently that the Media Center on the Xbox?
A: Good question. Without getting too much into specifics, suffice it to say that WMC (ie. within the Xbox dashboard) and Media Center (Extender) do operate differently with regards to network sharing. They both share the same core WMP library but handle the sharing aspects differently.
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: As a UK transplant to the US, I'd like to ask if you're aware of any good PAL-to-NTSC converters that can be controlled through media centre (the wife is irritated any time she has to swap cables, or press buttons)?
A: What are you trying to convert? you may not need them.
Mark_S (Expert):
Q: Are you doing this chat again? I didn't see anything but IE in the list.
A: This chat happens each month on the 3rd Thursday
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: How can I play my Xbox 360 on Media Center? This would save me lots of connections!
A: In order to support the ability to pause live TV, all video input to Media Center needs to be buffered before it is played. This introduces a slight lag between the TV input and TV playback, which makes it hard to play games that require fast input. Some OEMs have offered a “game mode” option that effectively bypasses buffering (and the resultant ability to pause/record TV), so you could look for this when looking for a PC. An alternative option (the one I use) is to put the Media Center PC and Xbox 360 in two different rooms and then use the Media Center Extender technology built into Xbox 360 to deliver the Media Center experience to your Xbox 360. This way you have the benefits of Media Center in two places and the ability to play games on the Xbox 360 without switching TV inputs.
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: Alun asks a good question, Other than dvd recordings do PAL NTSC issues come up anywhere? If i buy a dvd in one country and the machins is built or sold in a country with the oppisite standard will it play?
A: Depends on the region coded into the DVD. If you’re in the US with a drive set to region 1, region 2 disks (UK) will not play. You can change regions a max of 5 times on a drive (if they allow it). But a PAL DVD will play on a US computer just fine if it’s encoded as no region.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: Re [30] - getting the resolution back after screwing it up has to be made easier in future than it is at present.
A: We are making sure this scenario works as intended. In Windows XP and Vista, you will receive a dialog box asking if the resolution you set works. If you do not click Yes after 15 seconds, we revert back to the original screen resolution. If this is not working as intended, please let us know in the newsgroups (or through mswish@microsoft.com).
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Experts, I appreciate your time and I'm sure that my sound issue is getting old but I am 99% it is MCE issue and sound is very important in MCE.
A: Unfortunately, none of our Experts here today have seen this issue. You may wish to post this question to the Windows Media Center newsgroup. A list of all Microsoft-hosted support newsgroups is here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/default.asp
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: RE :Q[28] : i am using on board shared memory. from 256 MB total RAM 32 MB dedicated to video card.suggest me a good video card or else can i have a more shared memory onboard itself. which is good and less expensive? also suggest me a good tv tuner card ?
A: I would recommend a video card that is DirectX 9 capable with at least 128 MB on-board RAM. Shared memory causes a bottleneck between the processor, Windows, and the video card.
Mark_S (Expert):
Q: RE :Q[28] : i am using on board shared memory.from 256 MB total RAM 32 MB dedicated to video card.suggest me a good video card orelse can i have a more shared memory onboard itself. which is good and less expensive? also suggest me a good tv tuner card ?
A: Following on from what Andy said, be sure to verify what expansion slots are available in your PC. Ones with shared video often do not feature AGP/PCIe slots which most of the cards are built to use. As for tuners that depends on the region and tv service you plan to use.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Hi all. We've got about 15 minutes left. Get those questions in!
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Does anyone know why my mouse pointer has been disappearing on my desktop? Its not due to malware because i've done many scans, anyone?
A: The current topic for this chat is Windows XP Media Center Edition, 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&displaylang=en
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: Maybe ot: How can see what regions the DVD player can manage?
A: You can see the region and change the setting from device manager under the properties for the drive. a new drive would have no region and the first region coded dvd inserted would be used to set the region the first time.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
We'll be ending the Windows XP Media Center Edition chat in 10 minutes.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: I recently was prevented from recording a movie on my MCE 2005 system (error message: "Recording of this movie has been prohibited by the content provider"). Have there been documented cases of problems with the DRM that would erroneously cause this?
A: I suggest reviewing the following knowledge base article to see if it applies to your situation: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913800/en-us
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: What is the best way to use MCE with a VCR to convert to DVD? - Best connection/software/additional hardware?
A: You can connect it to your TV tuner card via coax and set a manual recording. Then use the built-in DVD burner with Media Center to write the recorded TV show to DVD.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Another quick question. How would i go about setting up the Extender software for an Xbox360? Can i set it up without having an Xbox360 so its ready to go when i do get it?
A: Well, you need a 360 and a Media Center PC for this to work, but the good news is that once you have both set up and connected via a network, they should discover each other easily. Go here for more info on how to do this: http://www.xbox.com/pcsetup
Bryan Socha (Expert):
Q: Re [33]: I have PAL videos - on tape - that I'd like to transfer to other media. Is this possible with MCE?
A: There is nothing directly in MCE for this, but capturing and converting video is a common topic and searching the internet should bring up some common methods. I have not tried this myself but there’s a good chance your tuner will be able to handle the pal input and then any conversion to other formats and DVD’s will re-encode it non-pal.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: Occasionally when watching a recorded tv show the quality is not good (MCE set to record at best quality) and can be kind of jerky or stuttering. The PC has 1 gig of ram and I am already working on the video card and TV connections. Any other suggestions
A: I would suggest ensuring you have the latest DVD decoder installed. Also, make sure other programs aren't running in the background that would be stealing CPU time from Media Center and the decoders.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: MCE has a built in DVD burner? I tried and it didn't work.
A: Many of the Media Center PCs come with DVD burners (you will need to check the DVD drive to ensure this). If your PC came from an OEM, then they may have installed the Sonic encoders to allow this. Check with your OEM for details.
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: re Q 49: Yes the DVD drive is a Dual Layer DVD Burner. What are the Sonic Encoders?
A: If you built the PC yourself, you will need to contact Sonic about purchasing MyDVD. This is a great program that will burn your TV shows to DVD.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
Okay, we'll be ending the Windows XP Media Center Edition chat in 5 minutes. Last chance!
AndyVa (Expert):
Q: re Q 50: I have Nero 6. Will that work or is Sonic's MyDVD the way to go?
A: I don't believe Nero has the necessary encoders to convert the shows.
Tyler [MSFT] (Moderator):
This concludes our Windows XP Media Center Edition chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Please feel free to stay and continue to chat about Windows XP Media Center Edition or other Windows topics.
AndyVa (Expert):
Thanks for the great questions everyone! I hope everyone is looking forward to Windows Vista!
Mark_S (Expert):
Thanks Everyone, see you next time! :)
