I will periodically move posts to the main post so others will not have to "wade" through the thread to get to the good stuff. Please include any pit-falls and or warnings if needed.
Contribute what you have learned!
Updated: 11/1/2013
TunerSalad now supports 32 tuners per tuner type! See below in Software Add-ons for details.
Resetting DRM (Digital Rights Management)
If you change hardware, specifically, your graphics card, CPU, motherboard, or other major component of your system, you will need to reset DRM and re-run the Media Center setup! The error message looks something like this...
"The video playback device does not support playback of protected content"
Please see the following link for details on resetting DRM...
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... b599b31bf5
NOTE:
When DRM is reset, please note your previously recorded programs will no longer be playable under certain copy protection schemes.
Erroneous "Weak TV Signal" Message (see Note: below before making this change!)
SiliconDust FAQ: http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/viewt ... 43&t=13482
My thanks to rpoitras for this suggestion.
If you get "Weak TV Signal" error displayed by WMC often then try this registry hack. This fix raises the threshold to detect a weak signal from 10% (default) to 50% by adding a registry key. The article can be found at the following link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2708283
You can use the "Fix It" link on the Microsoft site to automatically make the changes to the registry for you if you like. I would actually suggest using the "Fix It" so you can then restore your system using the "System Restore" function in case it does not work out (like me!).
NOTE:
Try this at your own risk! I tried it and actually got random freeze-ups. I reversed the registry setting and did much better
Location to Download the Latest HDHomeRun Prime Firmware and Drivers
First and foremost, make sure you have installed the latest firmware and drivers for your HDHomeRun Prime.
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhomerun/downloads/ <-- Production
If you want the very latest firmware and drivers, the beta's are located here...
http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2484 <-- Test/Beta
NOTE:
Please note that you cannot "downgrade" or "rollback" the firmware on the HDHomeRun units! Once you are on a specific version, you have to go to the next "higher" version for an upgrade. This is a CableLabs rule and out of Silicon Dust's control.
To Access Your HDHomeRun Prime Menus
To access your HDHomeRun Prime menu system please enter the following address in your web browser:
Code: Select all
http://{the ip of your HDHomeRun Prime here}
For example: http://192.168.1.101
If you have some repeated troubles with error messages and such I would recommend making the IP addresses of your SD units static. Do this by setting up static IP's on your router. You will need to know how to do this of course but before starting, make sure you have the MAC address of your SD units as well as knowing what IP's you want to assign. See the documentation that came with your router or search the net for instructions specific to the make/model of your router to get this done.
To Check Communication With SD Units
My thanks to Nick of SiliconDust for this trick.
- o Run the DOS-Prompt as Administrator
o Type in the following command:
Code: Select all
c:\windows\ehome\ehprivjob.exe /OCURDiscovery
Shortcut to Completely Reset Media Center
Sometimes, especially when lots of problems show up, it is easier to reset Media Center and start over to make sure everything is working in concert together. To do a Media Center reset, perform the following:
- 1. Please close WMC and open Task Scheduler (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Task Scheduler
2. Expand Task Scheduler Library, the Microsoft, and click on Media Center
3. Right click on MediaCenterRecoveryTask and choose Run. You will not get any indication of anything happening.
4. Open WMC. It will tell you that a serious error occurred, and take you to the initial setup screen
5. Go through the TV setup wizard to set up your tuners, channel lineup, etc.
Running the MediaCenterRecoveryTask will set Media Center back to its default state. YOU WILL LOOSE ALL RECORDING TIMES, GUIDES, ETC. that you have set up.
Shortcut to Reset PlayReady Only
If you need to reset PlayReady, you can do the below to speed up the process (no uninstall of the PlayReady software). This just resets the data to the default state (read: empty).
- 1. Close Media Center
2. Open CMD prompt as Admin (click on the start manu, type cmd, right click on the exe and select "Start as admin"
3. Type “net stop ehrecvr”
4. Type “cd %programdata%\Microsoft\PlayReady”
5. Type “del *.hds”
6. Type “rmdir /s Cache”
7. Type “cd %programdata%\Microsoft\ehome”
8. Type “del *.hds”
9. Type “rmdir /s Cache”
10. Type “net start ehrecvr”
11. Launch Media Center
12. Go to Tasks->Settings->TV->Update PlayReady
I have done the above several times. I would not use a batch file unless you place the proper sleep/waits in the code as the services need time to stop and that can vary. I ended up just executing the commands one at a time by placing a PAUSE in the batch file after each command so I could ensure they executed completely before moving on.
Digital Cable Advisor (DCA) Override
For hardware (systems) that cannot pass DCA for one reason or another, you can force the system to pass the DCA test. Please note that this does not mean you do not need the DCA software on your system because you do. This only forces the system to pass DCA. Systems that do not normally pass DCA and are forced sometimes can have playback performance problems (i.e.: not enough horsepower!).
The override can be downloaded from this site at http://www.missingremote.com/guide/over ... a-center-7.
Windows Media Center "Debug" Mode
If you want to check the particular channel you are on in WMC, perform the following:
- o Enter 411 for the channel
o Press Ctrl-D
o Use the right-arrow key to toggle through the screens
o Change channels to exit
My thanks to rtbond for reminding me of a major annoyance...
To avoid WMC changing to channel "411" while trying to invoke the Debug Mode you must enter CTRL-D quickly after typing "411" (else WMC will try to tune to channel #411 rather than invoking the Debug Mode on the current channel).
Network Throughput Optimization - General
Making sure your connection is optimized for WMC is very important. Visit http://www.speedguide.net to test your connection and make sure it is running at its best.
While on the speedguide.net site, hover over "Broadband", then from the fly-out menu, select "Broadband Tools", then "SG TCP/IP Analyzer".
Once you see what attention your computer needs from the analyzer, you can then download the TCP/IP Optimizer from speedguide.net to "fix" any settings without having to make registry changes directly.
The online resources like speedguide.net are a good indicator of your web throughput and also your internal intranet (home network). That being said, you CAN have issues that are internal to your intranet (not the INTERnet) and other networking tools and techniques may be needed to diagnose those problems. The speedguide.net site is a good place to start though.
Other sources for line testing:
Network Throughput Optimization - Wireless
If you want to use a wireless connection but are not getting the throughput sufficient for WMC, it might be that you are not alone in the RF spectrum . I suggest Inssider to see what other wireless access points/routers are around you within range:
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
NOTE:
I do not want to turn this thread into a network tuning thread. If you need help with your specific network connection wireless or otherwise, you would be better suited to visiting forums specific to the topic. Manufacturers generally have support forums for such uses. Please see your documentation that came with your system/NIC/access point/router for more details.
HDHomeRun Prime Soft Reboot
My thanks to shortcut3d for this trick.
If you ever have the need, you can schedule a reboot of your Prime by using the following command:
Code: Select all
"C:\Program Files\Silicondust\HDHomeRun\hdhomerun_config.exe" {substitute your prime id here} set /sys/restart self
Adding an IP Camera to Windows Media Center
Want to add an IP camera to your Media Center experience? Check out:
http://digitalmediaphile.com/index.php/ ... ia-center/
For more details. This can get fiddly with XML and such but it looks simple enough for the average geek .
Weak Signal From Cable Company
I was getting a consistant weak signal from Time Warner Cable. My signals were in the 70% range, the highest in the low 80%'s. I was getting the "Weak Signal" (among other errors) in MC so I ended up purchasing an 8-port Channel Master in-line amplifier. This pushed all my signals to really good levels. My weakest station (frequency) is now in the low 90%'s with most channels pegged at 100%. I still get pop-ups of course, but not nearly as many and at acceptable levels.
Vendors for amplifiers include:
http://www.channelmasterstore.com/TV_Di ... s_s/40.htm
http://www.smarthome.com/7749/Cable-Sig ... ier/p.aspx
http://www.pacificcable.com/More_Pages/ ... ifier.html
NOTE:
Your signal quality reading in the HDHomeRun menus should be at 100% (or close to it). If it is not, the amplifier will just amplify a bad signal. If this is the case, a call to your cable company, or you yourself looking into cable run troubles, etc is in order. Amplifiers are great for those getting weak but good/great quality signals.
History of Hardware Releases From SiliconDust
- HDHR-US (rev1): 1010-1012 device IDs, 2 tuners, 2 inputs, ATSC/QAM, released 2007
HDHR-US (rev2): 1013+ device IDs, 2 tuners, 2 inputs, ATSC/QAM, released 2/2008
HDHR-T1-US: 102 device IDs, 1 tuner, 1 input, ATSC/QAM, released 10/2009
HDHR3-US: 103 device IDs, 2 tuners, 1 input, ATSC/QAM, released 3/2011
TECH-US: 1001 device IDs, 2 tuners, 2 inputs, ATSC/QAM, released ???
TECH3-US: 1002 device IDs: 2 tuners, 1 input, ATSC/QAM, released 2011
TECH3-8US-2x4: 1003 device IDs, 8 tuners, 4 inputs, ATSC/QAM, released 2012
HDHR3-CC: 131 device IDs, 3 tuners, 1 input, 1 CC, OCUR/QAM, released 7/2011
HDHR3-6CC: 132 device IDs, 6 tuners, 2 inputs, 2CC, OCUR/QAM, released 7/2011
TECH3-6CC-3x2: 130 device IDs, 6 tuners, 2 inputs, 2CC, OCUR/QAM, released 2012
HDHR-EU: 121 device IDs, 2 tuners, 2 inputs, DVB-T/DVB-C, released 2/2009
HDHR3-DT: 111 device IDs, 2 tuners, 1 input, DVB-T, released 3/2011
HDHR3-EU: 122 device IDs, 2 tuners, 1 input, DVB-T/DVB-C, released 3/2011
TECH3-EU: 1201 device IDs: 2 tuners, 1 input, DVB-T/DVB-C, released 2012
TECH3-8EU-2x4: 1202 device IDs, 8 tuners, 4 inputs, DVB-T/DVB-C, released 2012
Software Add-ons to Windows Media Center
My Channel Logos
This is essential software to any Media Center install. My Channel Logos applies graphical channel logos to the Media Center TV Guide making it easier to read and makes it, well, pretty lol. I purchased the software by making a $5 donation to support the author.
Vist http://www.mychannellogos.com for more information. Once you use this utility, you will agree about its importance. I have the software and thanks to themachine for reminding me to include a software add-on section.
Tuner Salad
Want to add a 6CC to your home network or add another 3CC to your setup? Read on...
While on the My Channel Logos site, check out the other offering called Tuner Salad. Natively, Windows Media Center will recognize four tuners per tuner type. Tuner Salad increases this limitation to 32 per tuner type. Visit http://www.mychannellogos.com/tunersalad-dl for more information. This software is well worth the $10 donation I made to the author to support his efforts.
MCEBuddy
MCEBuddy copies .WTV, DVR-MS, TS, MPEG, among other formats and compresses them. Removes commercials and converts recordings into other formats that can be used on other systems and portable devices.
- o Converts from WTV, DVR-MS, TS, MPEG and many other formats
o Converts to MP4 , AVI, portable devices and others
o Removes commercials
o Converts in the background at scheduled times
I have tried MCEBuddy but have since gone to my own scripts using RoboCopy. If you don't want to get into scripts and just want a solution with minimum fuss, visit http://mcebuddy.com for more details.
Guide Tool
Guide Tool is a Windows Media Center guide management solution. Some of the features of Guide Tool are:
- o Local and remote guide management
o Lineup customization backup and restore
o Channel name and number edition
o Restoration of previously edited channel names and numbers
o Modification of channels’ visibility
o Automated subscribing to guide services (manually, by number or by call-sign)
o Tuner merge (by channel number, by call-sign or by guide service)
o DVBLink sources synchronization
o Listing of tuners providing channel’s sources
o Generation of lean MXF file (mostly for debugging purpose)
my thanks to Mediaman for these tips for Guide Tool...
Guide to Guide Tool -
Guide tool is a very simple program that allows you to easily customize and consolidate guide listings [from multiple tuners] within WMC and [with a donation of $5] create a back up copy that can be used on other computers. You can download it for free at http://1geek1tool.com/guidetool
WMC should be open before you start Guide Tool. When you open guide tool you will be asked to name the file, default is localhost and works fine for a general save. Next you will see a two sectioned window. The window on the left will list all the tuners that the programs see’s as available and all the channels on each tuner that are seen [scroll left to right and top to bottom in that section]. You can make adjustments to the channel list in the left section by checking or un-checking [you can switch whole sections of items by highlighting and pressing the space bar]. The right section has the channel lineup. Above it on the task bar is an option called lineup click on the arrow on the right of an entry window and select the proper channel lineup for your area. This should display the complete list of channels for your SP, if your OTA there should be a terrestrial list option.
By clicking on the check mark button on the tool bar it will list all the channels in the left window that are enabled so it is best to make sure the channels you want are checked first and then click the check mark on the tool bar. Now you can uncheck those you do not want and click the check button again. If you have different types of tuners available you may find they give different channel numbers for the same channel.
To save the channel lineup and tuner order to WMC you need to enter the Merge function. Press Merge on the tool bar and you will open a window that lists the tuners. You can arrange the tuners in a preferred order for access here by highlighting a tuner and using the green arrow on the right to move a channel up or down the list. Now you are ready to merge the channels so the guide only has a single reference to a channel number, name or guide service or select none and just set a tuner order. You are now ready to save the list for future re-install by clicking on file and saving provided you add the option with a donation.
Other buttons are available to change names or numbers and other things. Two that can be dangerous are delete and split [they are also dangerous in WMC]. Deleting I feel is never a good idea as restoring can mean a reload of WMC, at the least a rescan of channels. Splitting can severe a tuner from a particular computer.
Tweak MC
TweakMC is a set of useful commands for Media Center Edition, adding additional flexibility to various areas of Media Center.
The source code is included and can be used to compile an instance of the application. To compile TweakMC, download a free copy of Visual Studio 2008 from http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/ . Visit http://archive.msdn.microsoft.com/tweakmc for details. There are so many added options with this Microsoft add-on the Media Center to list but the high-lights are:
- • Display Wireless Passwords: When joining a wireless network, do you want to read the password as you enter it or do you want it to be hidden?
• Overscan Adjustment Settings
- Enable Overscan: Some televisions do not display the full Media Center user experience. Do you want Media Center to pull in critical UI elements?
Bottom Margin: How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the bottom of the screen?
Top Margin: How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the top of the screen?
Right Margin: How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the right of the screen?
Left Margin: How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the left of the screen?
• Override the Current Screen Resolution: Media Center displays a warning if the current screen resolution will not run at an acceptable level based on your current video card. You should note that this determination is an estimate based on the information Media Center can gather about your video card. To prevent warnings from repeatedly displaying, enter your screen resolution(for example, 1920x1200 or 1024x768).
• Toolbars Settings
Display Navigation Buttons: Do you want to display navigation buttons in different Media Center galleries and the Start screen when a toolbar for the two-foot experience is displayed? - Enable Overscan: Some televisions do not display the full Media Center user experience. Do you want Media Center to pull in critical UI elements?
Does that whet your appitite? It should . Give this add-on a try!
RoboCopy
RoboCopy, or "Robust File Copy", is a command-line directory replication command. It has been available as part of the Windows Resource Kit starting with Windows NT 4.0, and was introduced as a standard feature of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008.
Robocopy is notable for capabilities above and beyond the built-in Windows copy and xcopy commands, including the following:
- • Ability to tolerate network interruptions and resume copying. (incomplete files are marked with a date stamp of 1980-01-01 and contain a recovery record so Robocopy knows where to continue from)
• Ability to skip Junction Points which can cause to fail copying in an infinite loop (/XJ)
• Ability to copy file data and attributes correctly, and to preserve original timestamps, as well as NTFS ACLs, owner information, and audit information using command line switches. (/COPYALL or /COPY:) Copying folder timestamps is also possible in later versions (/DCOPY:T).
• Ability to assert the Windows NT "backup right" (/B) so an administrator may copy an entire directory, including files denied readability to the administrator.
• Persistence by default, with a programmable number of automatic retries if a file cannot be opened.
• A "mirror" mode, which keeps trees in sync by optionally deleting files out of the destination that are no longer present in the source.
• Ability to skip files that already appear in the destination folder with identical size and timestamp.
• A continuously-updated command-line progress indicator.
• Ability to copy file and folder names exceeding 256 characters — up to a theoretical limit of 32,000 characters — without errors.
• Multithreaded copying. (Windows 7 only)
• Return code on program termination for batch file usage.
Command-line Switches and Options Oh My!
It can be intimidating when viewing the documentation for RoboCopy. So many options, switches, network latency options...where to begin? If all you are interested in is getting the .wtv files to another system, I have found the following switches and options to work great:
- /mov
/np
/log:\\{computer name}\{drive}$\{folder for log}\{log file name.txt}
/xa:sh
/R:2
/W:2
Code: Select all
@echo off
echo ### Copy all recorded tv to media...
robocopy "\\Television\recorded_tv" "\\media\recorded_tv" /mov /np /log:\\media\g$\production_batch_files\logs\TV_Last_Recorded_TV_Move.txt /xa:sh /R:2 /W:2
::The pause below is used for debugging. Remove the :: to debug. Put them back when done.
::pause
set errorcode=0
I created network shares for each system in question. For example, \\Television\recorded_tv and \\Television_II\recorded_tv for the TV's and on my media server, I have shares for each TV set up where the .wtv files are copied to. Then if you like, you can add these shares to your setup in the Media Center library for recorded-tv. If you do use a log file, I created the path for the log file first before executing the batch file to avoid initial errors in RoboCopy.
The default location of recorded tv in Windows Media Center: C:\Users\Public\Public Recorded TV
You will notice that RoboCopy will copy recordings currently in progress! This is a very nice side-effect of using RoboCopy. You will know when RoboCopy has copied a file being recorded because in the log file, it shows that the file could not be deleted on the source system, only copied.
For complete documentation on RoboCopy, please visit:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 33145.aspx
To get an idea on copy times/speed, here are the "Totals" of two log files. Please note these were running concurrently and with two tuners being used as well on HD
Code: Select all
Total Copied Skipped Mismatch FAILED Extras
Dirs : 1 0 1 0 0 0
Files : 6 4 2 0 0 43
Bytes : 9.619 g 9.619 g 40.5 k 0 0 134.673 g
Times : 0:14:42 0:14:42 0:00:00 0:00:00
Speed : 11703297 Bytes/sec.
Speed : 669.668 MegaBytes/min.
Code: Select all
Total Copied Skipped Mismatch FAILED Extras
Dirs : 1 0 1 0 0 0
Files : 4 2 2 0 0 28
Bytes : 9.853 g 9.853 g 28.0 k 0 0 95.953 g
Times : 0:15:23 0:15:23 0:00:00 0:00:00
Speed : 11459376 Bytes/sec.
Speed : 655.710 MegaBytes/min.
Code: Select all
Total Copied Skipped Mismatch FAILED Extras
Dirs : 1 0 1 0 0 0
Files : 3 1 2 0 0 40
Bytes : 5.914 g 5.914 g 28.0 k 0 0 139.192 g
Times : 0:05:05 0:05:05 0:00:00 0:00:00
Speed : 20821109 Bytes/sec.
Speed : 1191.393 MegaBytes/min.
Code: Select all
Newer 2.9 g Chopped_FOODHD_2012_02_21_20_58_01.wtv
2012/02/21 21:32:28 ERROR 32 (0x00000020) Deleting Source File \\Television\recorded_tv\Chopped_FOODHD_2012_02_21_20_58_01.wtv
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Copied Skipped Mismatch FAILED Extras
Dirs : 1 0 1 0 0 0
Files : 3 1 2 0 0 47
Bytes : 2.991 g 2.991 g 28.0 k 0 0 121.742 g
Times : 0:02:27 0:02:27 0:00:00 0:00:00
Speed : 21761725 Bytes/sec.
Speed : 1245.215 MegaBytes/min.
Ended : Tue Feb 21 21:32:28 2012
W7CallerID
My thanks to ckendalls on the heads-up to this handy add-on to WMC!
This will let you see who is calling in Media Center. Some of the neat features of this add-on are:
- o Lets you know who is calling before you pick up the phone even if you are watching TV while sitting on the couch.
o Logs incoming calls
o Multiple modem support
o Up to three remote computers and/or Media Centers can receive caller information
o Each instance of the Media Center can support up to three Media Center Extenders (ie. XBOX 360)
o Incoming calls that you do not wish to pick up can be dropped using a ‘Drop’ button from both your PC and Media Center
o Blocks unwanted numbers
o Sends E-mail notification about calls to multiple E-Mail addresses.
You need a modem installed and connected to your phone line for this add-on to work.
Please visit http://w7callerid.com/ for more information.
Watching UK TV in Media Centerl
I found a nice plug-in so you can watch UK TV programming in Media Center called TunerFreeMCE by MillieSoft.
TunerFreeMCE is a Windows Media Center add-in for watching streaming internet TV programs on your PC and Media Center Extender. For UK users, it has support for live TV and catch up programs from the UK's main TV providers (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five), as well as all of the BBC Radio stations. It also has support for the recently launched MSN Video Player in the UK. For US users, it has support for the full Hulu catalogue of TV programs, all through an easy to use Media Center interface.
I loaded this one and it is full of programming from the UK . It is a nice addition to your Media Center expierience and is absolutely FREE to use.
TunerFreeMCE can be downloaded from...
http://www.milliesoft.co.uk/index.php?o ... &Itemid=11
As they say in the UK, give it a go!