Window Media Center (February 15, 2007)
Chat Topic: Window Media Center
Date: Thursday, February 15, 2007
Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity.
Tyler Welch [MSFT] (Moderator):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Windows XP Media Center Expert Zone 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:
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.
Introductions
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Hi, my name is Todd; I am a program manager working on Media Center Extender technology.
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Owen. I'm the SDET lead for Media Center Extender AV features.
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Hi, I'm Jessica. I work on TV in Media Center.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Hi, my name is Joe McClanahan. I'm a development lead on the Media Center TV team.
Nick [MSFT] (Expert):
Hi, all, I'm Nick, a developer on the Media Center Extender team.
Start of Chat
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Any information on V2 Extender availability?
A: We are actively working with multiple partners to bring new Extender devices to market this year across a variety of form factors.
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Will there be any further development on enhancing MCE 2005 for Windows XP e.g. Have MCE Music folders look like they do in Windows Media Player 11 or is all future MCE development focused on Vista
A: Future MCE development will be focused on Vista, although we'll continue to service XP-based Media Center for however long the servicing is for XP - I think it was just extended to like 2012 or something. But that's primarily any security issues or other must-fix problems; not new feature development.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Hi there, I have MCE 2005, recently i have experienced the following trying to stream music/vids to my xbo360. I get 'unable to validate security of extender, therefore cannot view protected media. I have xpsp2, wired xbox360, MacAfee security center, wep r
A: This behavior is typically due to a firewall on the PC blocking traffic necessary for playback of protected content. Information regarding how to configure McAfee’s firewall for use with Extender can be found on the following page: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/extender/setup/firewall/mcafee.mspx
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: I have MCE 2002 installed on my machine, and my company has an enterprise license for MCE 2004. When I try the update it says that I cannot run it. Is there any way around this?
A: Hmm...I'm not aware of an 'enterprise' license for MCE 2004. Can you elaborate?
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Good morning. When watching TV through my computer it looks fine but when I watch through the XBox360 media extender the aspect ratio is not correct. It looks a little squashed. Any suggestions?
A: Your problem could be in multiple places, so you need to check a few things: Make sure that your TV is not enabling any zoom modes (usually a zoom or aspect button on the TV remote). Check the settings in your Xbox dashboard (under System->Display) Make sure the screen format matches your TV. Finally, check that the MCX is not trying to zoom the video: During video playback, press More Info (or X on the gamepad) and select zoom. Each time you press zoom, it will cycle through different zoom modes. Zoom mode 1 should result in non-squished video.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Can you give more details re: v2 Extenders - like vendors/dates/fom-factors????
A: Our partners have not yet announced details regarding their specific product plans. Speaking generally however, we expect to see partners ship Extender technology in a variety of form factors such as networked DVD players, digital media receivers, and digital TVs.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: I added two USB Hard drives to my Media Center PC. I managed to add one to "My Videos" and it added the other to "My TV" How do I get the one in My Videos over to My TV?
A: Can I presume that you *don't* want to have any of your USB HDs linked to 'My Videos'? Also - are you on Vista or on MCE 2005?
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Todd .. beside working with partners to bring "new" extenders to the market is any work being done to get updates out to those of us who have V1 extenders from HP & Linksys. If not I hope there will be a good upgrade incentive for early adopters
A: V1 Extenders will not be supported on Windows Vista. Additional details regarding this topic can be found on the Windows Vista blog: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/10/26/windows-media-center-and-extender-media-all-over.aspx
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: i have checked this all through with MacAfee, also disabling firewall makes no difference, windows firewall is disabled. The normal media files can play, the DRM did, i updated media to 11 then reverted back due to conflict sonic since then problem?
A: A couple things you can try to help narrow it down: Does the same DRM'd content play on the PC? Does the content play using Windows Media Player Network sharing? (Media blade -> Music). If you wire the Xbox directly to the PC, does the content play? If you uninstall MacAfee completely (but temporarily - some firewalls don't stop filtering, even when disabled), does it play?
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: hello, I have connected my vista pc to my 360 and i can see the video files in my media center, but when try to stream up the videos it says "cannot be played, the file type is not recognized and cannot be played. it needs a codec, file is .avi divx
A: Yes this codec is not support on MCX. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/mediacenter/extenderfaq.mspx
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: hello, i have connected my vista pc to my 360 and i can see the video files in my media counter, but when try to stream up the videos it says "cannot be played, the file type is not recognized and cannot be played. it needs a codec, file is .avi divx
A: However, there is a way to get this working through transcoding: http://www.runtime360.com/transcode/ I use this on my home machine and it works quite well.
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Hi!, I’m from Monterrey Mexico and the TV guide for some channels (Like discovery channel) is not correct, where can I report this or what can I do to fix this?
A: You can use this page to report Guide problems: http://www.microsoft.com/mexico/windowsxp/mediacenter/reporting/epg.asp
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: is there a way to install MCE into flash cards
A: I'm not aware of any specific trick or limitation. If you have a USB flash card large enough to fit a Vista install, you should be good to go. If Vista install blocks installing to removable flash media, you may need to install to a hard disk and the copy everything over to the flash drive.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Will DIVX be supported on V2 Extenders or with the XBOX 360? And if not, what is wrong with DIVX?
A: Third-party Extender manufacturers can add support for additional media formats at their discretion, and we expect this to be one method by which partners differentiate their devices from competitive devices. In the case of the Xbox 360, there currently is not a parser/decoder that supports DivX content.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Hello I am new to this. I am hoping someone can help point me in the right direction. I am having a video card or driver issue. I just purchased a ATI All in wonder 9600xt card that is designed for MCE but when I launch the media center I get the error.
A: What error are you getting specifically? Have you updated the drivers for this card? You can do this via Device Manager (accessible when you right click when clicking on My Computer).
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: any ideas on the validation issue of security, would it be a router problem
A: It could be a router problem. Temporarily wiring directly to the PC could help eliminate that as a cause. Just use an Ethernet cable to connect the two directly.
Joe [MS] (Expert):Q: Anybody there?
A: Yes. 7 of us.
Nick [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Any update on PIKA PAK availability for Developers?
A: We're continuing to work on making new Extender technologies available for our partners. See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/partners/default.mspx for details on Media Center partnering opportunities.
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: it plays on the same pc fine, about network sharing, i have files shared in music/vid they play fine- do you mean this
A: I'm referring to the network sharing in Windows Media Player. Library -> Media Sharing. Configure your PC to share, then visit your 360 and attempt to stream the same DRM'd music from the Music player in the Xbox dashboard.
Mark [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: The only thing there is the USB HD which is full of Media Center TV files.
A: So are you asking how if you could use your USB HD as your primary place to record/store your TV recordings? If so (for MCE 2005) you'll need to go to Settings > TV > Recorder > Recorder storage > then you'll have a chance to adjust which drive to change your TV storage to
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Not sure if this is the right place - but Is there a way i can change the layout of vista media centre to resembe XP media centre?
A: No, sorry. You'll get used to it. :-)
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: how can the stream be enabled. i connected the two pc to xbox using an Ethernet cable, that’s my pc lan connection to xbox connection, then it tried to find a network link
A: Give the PC and Xbox several minutes to auto IP, at which time they should be able to connect and see each other.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: is there a definitive list of which processes are core to XP and definitions of each, such as svchost.exe? I can find this process individually as well as any others, but a centralized resource would be extremely helpful...
A: There are multiple such lists available on the web. I don’t have a recommended one though, so I suggest searching for “Windows XP process list” or similar in your favorite search engine.
Nick [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Rumors have it that MSFT has softsled working internally.. Can you say if it will make it to us external users?
A: We can't comment on rumors, but we do know that there is some user demand for this feature. We're continuing to evaluate the best ways for us to improve Extender functionality for future releases.
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: the answer is no, the media is already configured to share, the DRM does not work only the non DRM
A: Ok, if both Media Center AND the XBOX dashboard fail to play the music that makes it more likely to be a firewall issue. Temporarily turning off or disabling all you firewalls would be the best next step. Visit the Security Center to see if you have more than one firewall installed.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: D Are we still able to ask questions?
A: Yes
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Some cable channels have an incorrect frequency and the image is very bad and black and white how can I fix this?
A: Where are you located? I'm assuming not in the US?
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Thanks! Does windows MCE have a list of all compatible video and tuner cards supported and if so were can I get it..
A: If you run the Upgrade Advisor, you will know whether a particular card will work with Vista. Otherwise, I don't believe we've published a list (plus new ones become available periodically) - your best bet will probably be the Green Button forum or Microsoft's newsgroups for user feedback.
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: if the problem then is eradicated it’s a router issue, right? if still same and removing MacAfee firewall gives same problem then its not a firewall issue? right? then what? for the windows firewall, if its disabled then you state that it may still act in s
A: Yes - if direct connect fixes the problem, it's router related. If removing all firewalls (and disabling the windows firewall) fixes the problem, it's related to your firewalls. The windows firewall cannot be uninstalled, but disabling it is sufficient.
Nick [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Music management in MCE 2005 (specifically searching) with tons of music is painfully slow. Although the focus on future development will be on Vista, are their any plans to address the speed issue for MCE 2005?
A: Windows XP-based Media Center servicing will be limited primarily to any security issues or other must-fix problems; not new feature development or optimizations. Feature development moving forward is, as you say, focused on Windows Vista.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: I had a question about the code for the embedding a player I got the code from Microsofts page but it start automatically when the page opens is there a code ajustment to allow it to start only with the start botton?
A: Yes - you’ll want to set the autostart param to false; more info here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/howto/articles/htmlviewsupport.aspx
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: what happens if still same problem after trying these things?
A: Well, it's possible (though unlikely) that it could be a hardware problem with the 360. Do you have a friend w/ a 360 OR a Media Center. You try his Xbox at your house OR your Xbox at his house. For additional follow up, you can find help in the newsgroups. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/default.asp
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: HDHomeRun allows us to get HD over QAM. Have they figured something out that MSFT can't or is MSFT not allowed to this due to legal concerns?
A: QAM is a feature we support through the OCUR (OpenCable Unidirectional Receiver) device OEMs will be selling to support digital cable. Whether we support QAM with another tuner type in the future is TBD. Thank you for your suggestion.
Tyler Welch [MSFT] (Moderator):
A list of the all the newsgroups can be found here http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Using MCE 2005. Computer will only boot to the BSOD. Even in safemode. Any suggestions?
A: This could be due to multiple reasons and could be either a software or hardware issue. I suggest starting by performing a repair install of Windows. If that doesn’t do the trick, I suggest visiting the Microsoft public newsgroups for additional troubleshooting help (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/default.asp).
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: Does Windows MCE have a list of all compatible video and tuner cards supported and if so were can I get it..
A: Information regarding tuners that carry the Designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition logo can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/partners/directory.mspx. For video cards, check the video card manufacturer’s website to see which of their products carry this logo.
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: On my MCE I have a mapped drive to videos and music, how do I get the XBox360 to see these folders?
A: There are two options here: 1) you can enable guest read access on the content share and then add that share from the Add Videos/Music wizard, and 2) you can use a login script in the Extender account to map a drive in a similar manner to what you’ve done for the desktop account
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: DIYers are probably the most responsible for getting the word out about MCE and supposedly we will not be able to get OCUR devices for DIY builds. Any plans to accommodate us? and not just CableLabs?
A: I know what you're saying. However, the devices themselves need to be certified by CableLabs, and then the entire PC needs to be certified as "Digital Cable Ready." That means the entire system - graphics cards, OCUR device, etc will support what's necessary for the Emergency Broadcast System, closed captioning, etc. It's possible that some companies will make and manufacture OCURs for sale without a new PC at some point, but we don't know of specific plans to do so.
O2 [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Will Vista allow my 360 to play audio files from my PC WHILE gaming, seems to not work with Media
A: This works with both XP and Vista, I use it frequently while gaming. If you have only setup Media Center Extender, that's not enough. You need to setup Media Sharing with Zune OR Windows Media Player: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/pcsetup/xpsp2.htm
Tyler Welch [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: If am transferring video from a DV digital camera to a movie maker i edit movie and i want to post this movie as streaming video en my server i split videos with ultra video splitter en three different splits 56k 450k 768k for some reason all the videos lost
A: Unfortunately, none of our Experts here today have seen this issue. You may wish to post this question to the Windows newsgroup. A list of all Microsoft-hosted support newsgroups is here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/default.asp
Tyler Welch [MSFT] (Moderator):
Okay, we'll be ending the Windows Media Center Expert Zone chat in 3 minutes. Last chance!
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: What is difference between XP Media Center vs XP Professional/Home?
A: Windows XP Media Center Edition is a superset of Windows XP Home and is the best version of Windows XP available for home use. Windows XP Professional is a business-focused offering that includes enterprise features such as domain join support. Additional information is available at the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/compare.mspx
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Is there an option to record radio in Vista MCE?
A: No, sorry. This is a feature we've thought about doing, but it hasn't met the bar yet.
Joe [MS] (Expert):
Q: I have xp media center and I try to configure Chinese input language from the Regional and Language and I don't see any Chinese Languages there for me to choose. Any idea?
A: You may want to try following the directions listed here: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/xpintlsupp.mspx#E4
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Hi there, can you tell me if there is a way to manually name the TV stations in MCE - also how to display 16:9 TV through my xbox 360 and MCE? Thanks
A: I can answer your first half, maybe: but I need more information. What location are you in, and what kind of TV signal do you receive?
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: how can you get Media Center to upscale video? I have a 480p mpeg and what to upscale the resolution for better viewing on a HDTV.
A: What type of video connection are you using between your PC and TV? S-video and composite only support 480i/576i, so Media Center will output at those resolutions. If you have component, VGA, DVI, or HDMI, you can output at higher resolutions (e.g. 720p, 1080i), for which Media Center will automatically upscale TV/video content (with the exception of DVDs).
Jessica Zahn [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: Will support for more than 2 analog tuners become a MSFT supported feature instead of a hack? I've had the 4 tuner hack working for over a year.
A: We're looking very seriously at this and it may be in a fairly near-future release. No promises, of course. :-)
Tyler Welch [MSFT] (Moderator):
This concludes our Windows Media Center Expert Zone chat for today. Thanks for coming, everyone!
Todd [MSFT] (Moderator):
Thanks everyone for joining in today.
Nick [MSFT] (Expert):
Thanks for coming, everybody, see you next month.
