Media PC / Windows media center

Does anyone know of a player similar to the windows media center edition. When I say similar I am looking for something that is easy to run with a remote, has large fonts and icons so it looks good on a tv, and takes over the pc.

I looked at some of the media center pc's and it works amazingly well (I was suprised anyway it is windows after all) it is really fast but it doesn't have insert and append (at least that I can find correct me if I am wrong) I didn't try the PVR part though.

I have tried to use moviX but I can't get it to run also I don't think it supports a remote.

The Xbox media player looks cool but because it's not really legal you almost have to be a programmer to install it they don't offer it compiled. Also I'm not sure if it has the all important insert and append features.

I should just buy a central but now I am kinda thinking it would be nice to just have a entire pc so I could view photos and the internet on the TV. Plus spending 1149 on it when the company just died it kinda scarey too (although I should know better about that )

SnapStream is one. I tried another one a while back that was also pretty decent, but unfortunatly I can't find it again. If I rediscover it, I'll make sure to post it here. (I abandoned running it at the time due to lack of a decent remote control, not due to faults with the software.)

Thanks I never saw that one after searching for a week. I wonder what some of these websites use for meta data.

Do you remember if it does audio ? It looks like it only does video.

I've got a buddy who just got MythTv runnin. It seems Awesome.
For example I noticed the local news was down at my friends firepit on the local river; I was able to login to his Myth and start recording.
I'm looking for a suitable machine and vidcard to set this up instead of buyin a tivo.

After the announcement of Microsoft's new encoding for HiDef DVDs I too have been looking into getting a Media Center style PC set up. I really like some of the specs on the Alienware Navigator. I priced out everything except the OS and I can get the same hardware PLUS a HD-recording Hauppauge card for $300 less at NewEgg.

That's the kicker... you cannot buy WinXp Media Center Edition without a pre-built machine. I've also checked out the MythTV stuff. Very impressive, but it looks extremely complex to set up. That and I fear Linux... I am but a dumb artist. I like my clicky-boxes and hate dual booting.

I'd be very interested in hearing what you guys end up doing... My friend has the new TiVo media stuff and it seems pretty cool, but I want the versatility of a PC.

The biggest feature I want is to be able to build a playlist on the fly like on the empeg and I have found that the media center pc's won't let you do that with the media center interface anyway so that's out.

The other thing that turns me off to the media center pc's is like you said you can't buy the os seperate and the systems consist of off the shelf parts. At least they could use a custom case that would blend in with a home entertainment system. Most of them are using a mini tower or a shutte barebones.

I checked the tivo stuff and it has the same problem it will only play playlists that have been previously created on you pc.

The two linux options look pretty green and I don't think I could get them to run. I would be using a seperate pc so dual booting wouldn't be a issue.

I think the empeg guys are the only ones that thing being able to change the playlist on the fly is a good idea even the all mighty ipod dosen't have this feature.

After reading your post I decided to see how long it would take to setup a box here with MythTV. It took me roughly an hour to recompile the kernel, put in the WinTV card, install all the prerequisites, install MythTV itself, and run through the MythTV setup.

Very nice so far, and I like that the backend and frontend can be two separate machines. Now I just need to move some things around and find the rest of the cables that goto the WinTV card so I can actually hook it up to the TV, record some shows, and see how the menus work.

It took me roughly an hour to recompile the kernel, put in the WinTV card, install all the prerequisites, install MythTV itself, and run through the MythTV setup.


Heh... Fine. You can come to my house and do all that for me. Recompile the kernel? I haven't the foggiest idea how to do that... I know it's fairly straight forward, and it's a requirement if I want to play in the world of cutting edge free software. I just don't have the time or stress level necessary to research all that. Pity as I think it would be a fun process and MythTV seems to make the menu art very easily accessible. Myth TV doesn't seem to support the Hauppauge card I want either yet... but is sounds like he's looking into it. Any idea if MythTV cares if the signal is HD or not?

msaeger, I hadn't noticed the on the fly playlist creation didn't work. That is disappointing...

Any idea if MythTV cares if the signal is HD or not?

I have been eyeing MythTV for a few months now. The second I hear that HD cards are supported, I will be building a box to replace my TiVo.

I was also looking into the Hauppauge HDTV card since it has component video out. However, TechTV blasted it. I would assume that the hardware is fine, it's just the software they didn't like. Does anyone have that card?

I was referring to the windows xp media center and the tivo home media option not mythTV I know almost nothing about mythtv.

I did find this program http://www.musicex.com/mediacenter/
it has insert and append and it offers a full screen interface that would work good with a tv and a remote. The full screen interface is kinda crappy right now but it is xml so I could potentially make my own (I think I would have a better shot at that then getting mythtv to work anyway)

Have you looked at Show Shifter?
http://www.showshifter.com
I have it running on an XP box.

Aha, Show Shifter, thats the program I tried in the past, and liked for the most part. Now that I have the RF ATI Remote Control, I need to look at it again.

Nope never heard of that one I will check it out

thanks

How's the ATI remote I was looking at that one. I was also thinking or just getting an IR port and one of the harmony remotes.

I absolutely love the ATI remote! I've got it programmed to control most multimedia aspects of my PC. If you get it, the first thing you should do is toss the included software (sorry, Bruno, it's just terrible), and download Girder. You can do almost anything with that combo. Now I can finally control my PC through walls and view the A/V signal I have going from my AIW card through a wireless video sender.

Here's another one
http://www.myhtpc.net/download/

Like the look of the interface of this one it has que but not insert (that I can find anyway)

I found this and kept getting it mixed up with MythTV

..... in the same vane as "myhtpc" you might want to check out some of the links here.... http://www.btinternet.com/~firepepper/nerdherd/links.htm

Most have free downloads, nay, most are FREE

Cheers, Sim

Here's another one

Hey! That one seems pretty cool... Does it use visuals while listening to music? In my cursory glance it seems to make use of WinAmp for playing music. That would be very cool if it could use WinAmp visuals...

The software to use for the ATI remote is uICE. Yes, ATI's included PC remote software is basic, but I really can't stand Girder.

Mediatexx makes uICE and though the interface is a slightly awkward at first, it's a lot more intuitive than Girder. I also found Girder lacked some pretty basic functionality when I tested it: namely different profiles per application.

You'll have to check out the Mac version of the Remote Wonder soon. And then again when we update the software (first version is a much scaled down implementaton of my full design).

Bruno

I don't think it has visuals yet but I think it is pretty new because there are alot of missing features but the interface is nice so hopefully he will keep working on it.

I didn't mean to insult any work you might have done Sorry!

I agree, Girder is definitely NOT intuitive. I set it up a long time ago, and if I had to make any changes, I'd have to go back and relearn how. My main complaint with the ATI software was that if controlled a limited amount of things, and nobody had made any profiles for it. If I wanted to control anything other than ATI's software or Winamp, I had no ability to. Also, I was unable to target anything. I had to be controlling whatever had the current focus.

Lastly, there were no states. With Girder, I can open Winamp, control it no matter what I'm focusing on, and without even focusing on it, I can use the same button to close only Winamp. That, to me, is great. I use this with Winamp, WMP6, OE, IE, and several folders with multimedia files.

There were other limitations that I just couldn't live with, but mainly it was that I couldn't control WMP6.4 and a few other things, so I went with Girder.

I look forward to looking at your program, though! I hope it can do what I want with it.

I was also thinking or just getting an IR port and one of the harmony remotes.

Don't. Get something that is RF based. My attempt at an IR setup is why I dumped Show Shifter a while back, I couldn't stand navigating the interface when a remote pointed right at the IR receiver.

Well, I guess I should throw the CarPlayer SP software in the mix. You may remember www.carplayer.com sold a few hundred EMPEG's, I am now working on some nice software/hardware for car PC's as well as home PC's. Take a look for the latest info.

Jeremy Briggs
www.carplayer.com

That remote seems to also be OEM'd by X10. BTW, what did Apple say when you showed them your Carplayer interface using their (copyrighted) icons?

Bruno

OK the heck with it I bought the rio central. Thanks for all the program suggestions but I couldn't find one that had all the features I want. If I would have went with the pc route knowing me I would have probably spent more time messing with it than using it anyway.

I'll have to change my signature when I get it

"OK the heck with it I bought the rio central."

Damnit... That's not what I want to hear. I was hoping you would take the plunge before I did so I might learn from your mistakes.

It appears that there is absolutely no way to get Windows Home Media Edition without buying a pre-made box. Even my inside sources cannot get their hands on it. I really don't want to go that route, but I fear the alternative software is too "garage" for my needs.

I don't get it... shouldn't WHME be a module to XP, such as the Plus Pack and the DVD stuff?

Very good feedback... It looks like the graphics guy I hired for the icons and background needs to be talked to, thanks so much. Expect a new skin up on the main page shortly.

Jeremy Briggs
www.carplayer.com

The only way I found to get Home Media Edition is if you have a microsoft developers network subscription you can buy it.
Or buy downloading a WaReZ copy. After playing with it for a while I can tell you it, isn't worth the trouble any of the programs linked in the thread are just as good it is missing too many features I come to expect after using my empeg.

I agree it should just be a plus pack microsoft must be getting more money this way or else they would just sell it seperatly.

Have you found this site
http://www.thegreenbutton.com/


I fear the alternative software is too "garage" for my needs.


Thats why I just spent the 1200 dollars. The central doesn't have everything I want

internet radio
empeg sync
video output

but I know it will work as good as the empeg does for playing music.

I am guessing that there will be some good programs available but I don't want to wait anymore.

I would keep watching the myHTPC one that looks about the best for playing music and it sounds like he has only been working on it for a coulple of months I'm not sure if you are looking for the tivo features or not I doubt any of the programs will surpass the tivo for that.

Thanks for the green button link. I had not seen that one...

I mainly want one of these for the music, but I was interested in checking out the PVR stuff.

I have a TiVo, but I've been loosing patience with it as of late. TiVo Inc. has all but told me my series one is discontined... Lifetime Membership and all. They could take a serious lesson from Empeg on how to treat their early adopters. As i now have a HD capable TV I've been looking for a HD PVR. The Tivo branded hardware won't be out until the end of the year. Hauppauge has an HD tuner card with recording capabilities right now.

I'm going to keep watching the myHTPC site. He was looking into support for those cards.

That's why I will never buy a "lifetime" subscription. I bought a series 2 when I got my 40xbr800 I just had the 20 hour tivo and basic looked fine on my 20" tv but it was crap on the 40".
So I just bought a new one instead of upgrading the HDD.

I don't care to much about HDTV I watch mostly old stuff anyway.

TiVo Inc. has all but told me my series one is discontined... Lifetime Membership and all.

How so? I've got a series one w/ lifetime and it still works like a champ. I've also gotten no notification from them about impending discontinuation.

Well I opted for the Lifetime since I got a very good deal on the unit, plus the then Sony $100 rebate. The Lifetime subscription has paid for itself already...

And by "discontinuing" I mean the complete lack of updates as opposed to the Series2. See, the Series2 is currently getting a software update for simple things like show groupings in "Now Playing", serial control of the cable box and "Soft Padding" (which I think means you can pad one show to run overtime, and it will still record then next scheduled recording). TiVo Representatives have claimed they never promised to continue support for the Series1, leaving a lot of people debating the meaning of "Lifetime Subscription". I don't think they are going to drop scheduling information, but then I hadn't foreseen them dropping software updates either.

That, and the highly paranoid realization that my Tivo started acting up at the exact time they announced the Series1 -> Series2 upgrade offer, has left me rather non plused.

TiVo does look really crappy on my 57-KV700... I want to see what HD looks like on it since DVDs look so nice. I could spend money on putting a new hard drive in the TiVo and wait for the HD version, or just concentrate my finances on a nice HTPC with HD support right now and easy hard drive upgrades...

Plus, you can't play video games on the TiVo series1, or music, or photos, or web browse...
(heh... I used to sing the praises of TiVo. Now I feel like a jilted lover...)

What do you mean show groupings in now playing ?

I must not have gotten that update yet.

I don't think you are missing much with the serial control I think it works for about one cable box unless they are changing something.

See, the Series2 is currently getting a software update for simple things like show groupings in "Now Playing", serial control of the cable box and "Soft Padding" (which I think means you can pad one show to run overtime, and it will still record then next scheduled recording).

I did not know that. That does piss me off. I'll have to look into it.

It just a simple folder system where you can opt for organizing shows in folders. So if you have a number of episodes of the Simpsons they will all be listed under the Simpsons group.It's nothing special, but they refuse to say whether the Series1 will ever see it.

One of the symptoms of my previously stated paranoia was the sudden channel changing screw ups. It happens all the time now. I've tried the "fort" and various other tricks to improve it, but it still records the wrong channel more often than not. I know my cable provider has the right box, I'd just have to ask for it.

...but that doesn't matter since the only way to get serial control would be to hack my TiVo. It appears the software is in there, they just refuse to "flip the bit" on the Series1. There is a way to do it on the Series1 if you hack it. Dumb...

Hmm, I hadn't heard about that either. Groupings is a pretty cool idea, although I like seeing clearly which shows are nearing deletion. But I suppose that with my recording of about 4 daily programs, it might help a bit.

SnapStream in USA Today on Tuesday:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2003-04-22-snapstream_x.htm

May be good to see a neophyte's view of installing SnapStream. I think he was a little hard on it. I don't read the paper, so I don't know if this guy is really a moron or not.

A little update...

I played with myHTPC a little last night and I am very impressed. It is quite simple, but it does what I want for the most part. I only tested the music and pictures aspect of it. It shows all my directories with their album covers by default. It also uses WMP9's visualizations which is okay... Winamp is supported too, but I couldn't seem to get it to work correctly. No fancy stuff like Empeg, but the new release today adds searching, ID3 support, and a Jukebox mode that could be promising for parties.

I think i am going to try and use this when I build my HTPC. Does anyone here know if hooking a DVI cable from PC to TV would work correctly? The menu font's look really nice on my monitor, but S-Video looks annoyingly fuzzy.

What version did you try I got a email today saying a new version was released (R20).

I have wondered about using the DVI input on my tv to connect to my computer too. The info I could find is that it is not supported by anyone. I have read of people doing it but you have to figure out the max resolution and refresh for your tv and they say if you use the wrong settings you can damage the tv.

It's good to know the svideo still is crappy looking I can just skip trying that. I have been thinking about getting an ATI card with a dvi out and using their DVI to component adaptor. I wonder how that looks.

I have a friend who has a friend that used that n his 65" wide-screen. Reports from the friend say that it is quite impressive (Unreal2 at 1900+rez!), yet suffers from overscan problems. I think that can be fixed by setting the resolution with powerstrip, but I haven't asked if he's tried that.

I have a Nvidia GeForce4 in this machine and it supposedly supports HD resolutions... with a DVI to component cable that is, to quote Nvidia, "rare and difficult to find". Great... I've seen some for Digital projectors, but always out of stock.

I'm using R20 and it's pretty cool. The new Music module has to be setup in the Configuration program. It is a little rough, but the author is taking feedback on how it works. the Jukebox mode, with some UI tweaks looks like fun. You can sort by Artist, Title, Album, or Genre and then do alpha searches within that grouping. I believe his plans are to combine the functions of the default Music module with this new one. My big excitement is it's use of the Artist and Album artwork I have already set up... very nice.

My plan is to find a way to get HiDef to my TV and make my decision from there. I haven't even played with the MAME and "myGames" aspect yet! I have all the WMP9 Hidef demo files in my Video folder and they play well from the interface. I have to get this all setup before my next Amazon order arrives...

... Bootsy Collins in High Definition... ooooh yeah.

I have a Nvidia GeForce4 in this machine and it supposedly supports HD resolutions... with a DVI to component cable that is, to quote Nvidia, "rare and difficult to find".

This isn't a problem if your TV supports RGBHV (five-plug) input. You don't need a DVI-to-component cable, just a VGA-to-RGBHV cable, which you can even make yourself with a little care and sweat (I did). Heck, some TVs even come with VGA inputs.

I'll have to double check, but I don't think it does have RGBHV. It has DVI, but it seems that is not the same as what is coming out of my videocard. Dumb...

Nope... no RGBHV.

• Front A/V Input (1)
• Front S-Video Input (1)
• HD Component (Y,Pb,Pr) Video Inputs (2R)
• Composite Video Input (3R)
• S-Video Input (2R)
• RF Input (2R)
• Control-S In/Out

There are VGA to component converters
Link

Link

I don't know how well they work though.

I could have sworn that second one was the exact same one that was discussed in a previous thread. This was some time ago though, so I'm not sure where you'd find it. I'm pretty sure someone found something a lot cheaper. Not sure if it worked, though

Thanks... I have seen those, but was hoping there was a less expensive, easier way.

Damn, I was just about to give in and buy one, but it appears they require a power source. That seems odd to me. I have enough wall warts making a mess behind my TV as it is. Arg...

This is frustrating... especially because in a year this will probably be something you can pick up in the Fred Meyer camera department for $6.95...

How about a VGA to RGBS (4 RCAs or one SCART) converter? I'bve been looking for one of these for several weeks....

I dunno about that one. I don't know what RGBs is or what devices use it. A VGA plug uses two synchs: Horizontal and Vertical. A VGA-to-RGBHV plug is just a way of expanding the VGA connector into five RCA plugs for each of those five parts (three color guns and the two synchs). It doesn't have any electronics, just the right RCA wires connected to the right VGA pins. Would RGBs be the same thing but just use only one of the synch plugs?

I guess the both syncs are conbined into one signal. This is supposedly a standard for high-end TV's in Europe. Most DVD players sold in Europe output such a thing, which is connected to TV's using something called a SCART connector.

Electronics would definitely be invvolved in such an adapter.

Perhaps, but not much, probably. Older (1993 and prior, I'd guess) high-end monitors often had four BNC connectors -- RGB and combined sync. These cables had no obvious electronics in them. For all I know, you may just need to combine the signals directly, but there may be more to it, but if there is, it ain't much.

You are right! Its a simple matter of combining the H and V sync into a single cable. Theoretically you need to XOR both syncs, but just joining them works according to some web site I was able to locate.

Things are never easy, it turns out that VGAs use a higher horizontal scan rate than most RGBS devices (30 something kHz vs 15.75 khz). So most video boards have to be reprogrammed at the register level to do this, which might be a no-no in an op sys such as WinXP. I don't know why everything I want to do requires hacking

30 something kHz vs 15.75 khz

Aha. So RGBS is at the same horizontal scan rate as video game cabinets? (Ref: other threads on MAME cabinets...)

If you put a mod chip into an xbox and install xbox media player you get alot of the same functionality and look of home theather edition.

The TV tuner functionality obviously isn't there but it plays tunes, shows gifs/jpegs and plays divx and other movies. You can stream from another computer through the xbox as well as install a larger hard drive.

You are limited in what you can do but it's also alot cheaper than many other options. You can get a refurbed xbox for $150 plus $50 for a mod chip. All the software is "free" (since it's black-market type stuff).

I don't have any of it, I just know people who do.

I just got the update that has the show groupings and it is pretty nice. I record alot of shows that are on daily and I will let a bunch of them build up before I watch them. The grouping feature is nice because I don't have to scroll through 4 pages of shows to get to the one I want.

I can't remember, you have a series 2, right? I still hope this comes about for the series 1. Has anyone heard any news about that?

I have a series 2 I only found out about it because bootsy was mad that it isn't coming out for series one.

Has anyone found any new software that is like the Windows Media Center software since the last time someone posted on this thread?

so has anyone tried the real Windows Media Center?

My experiences with Windows Media Center (version 1), were rather poor. I played with a system my friend built, and even had the official remote for. And the remote was one of the worst ones I have seen. The ATI Remote Wonder has me sold on RF for computer control, not IR like the Media Center. Even the old Gateway Destinations had this right, in bundeling an RF keyboard and remote with the system.

Beyond that, the problems with the DVD player not outputting a digital surround signal even when the symbol was clearly on the screen was irritating. The need to actually quit the interface and run a normal DVD player was not good.

I never tried the PVR aspect, as the system was not set up to do so. My friend did not trust the software enough, and instead has a Dish Network PVR that works.

I'm using SageTV (http://www.sage.tv) right now and it's not too bad. They're coming out with a new version that has a better UI layout and some more features..