Anyone running MCE or Girder or...

Posted by: hybrid8

Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 08/06/2007 16:44

I have yet to do a comprehensive search to see if anyone has mentioned running MCE full time, but one more off-topic post isn't going to hurt anyway.

I'd like to find two or three people running Windows Media Center Edition based on XP and/or Vista. On a related note if anyone is currently using Girder or HIP or another remote-control type program with support for MCE IR receivers also please let me know.

I have some free hardware to send around that I'd love to hear back about (if it works plug and play, etc..)
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 08/06/2007 16:55

Does it have to be a MCE installation that is currently being used in a home theater environment? I have it as my main desktop right now
Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 08/06/2007 16:58

It can be any installation. Basically I want to send out a few IR receivers to find out how they work on a few real systems and how close to plug and play they are.
Posted by: mlord

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 08/06/2007 18:22

I just finished installing XPMC onto an external USB drive for my main (Linux) notebook computer. I don't actually use XPMC for much (PhotoShop and DVDFabPlatinum), which is why I put it completely on an external hard drive, rather than waste space for it on the internal 160GB drive.

Apparently XPMC is XP-Pro + MediaCenter apps, but I wouldn't know much about that.
Bloody pain to install it, though -- took four hours to get it on, fixed, updated, and drivers located, downloaded, installed, garbage uninstalled, etc.. Still no apps on there yet. Blah.

Cheers
Posted by: matthew_k

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 08/06/2007 18:49

Quote:
XP-Pro + MediaCenter apps

That was the conventional wisdom, but I think that dates back to the days of only being able to get MCE with 3k+ microsoft certified media center computers. I can't imagine MCE can join a domain, which is the one valuable feature of XP Pro over home, and MCE doesn't usually carry the $100 premium.

Matthew
Posted by: mlord

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 08/06/2007 18:56

Quote:
Quote:
XP-Pro + MediaCenter apps

That was the conventional wisdom, but I think that dates back to the days of only being able to get MCE with 3k+ microsoft certified media center computers. I can't imagine MCE can join a domain, which is the one valuable feature of XP Pro over home, and MCE doesn't usually carry the $100 premium.



Well, it's really XP-Pro on the disc, plus a bunch of extra stuff for MC. If one uses a MC license key, then domain and group/policy support is omitted, but if one uses a Pro license key then that stuff is apparently installed. I don't need/care about either item, so no issue one way or the other.

Here's a nifty summary I found somewhere about it.

Posted by: Roger

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 09/06/2007 04:59

Quote:
Bloody pain to install it, though -- took four hours to get it on, fixed, updated, and drivers located, downloaded, installed, garbage uninstalled, etc..


Yeah, I think that's a common complaint. Vista's Media Center is apparently much easier to configure -- I've not attempted to connect a tuner card to mine yet, though -- I only use it for playing music at parties (most people find it easier to navigate than the empeg).
Posted by: mlord

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 09/06/2007 09:53

Quote:
Quote:
Bloody pain to install it, though -- took four hours to get it on, fixed, updated, and drivers located, downloaded, installed, garbage uninstalled, etc..


Yeah, I think that's a common complaint. Vista's Media Center is apparently much easier to configure


No, no.. this was just to get the software onto the hard disk, and all of the standard peripherals functional. I haven't actually run or configured any applications beyond IE6 and Firefox..

Cheers
Posted by: gbeer

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 11/06/2007 03:08

I have an HP m7580n desktop xp-mce rig with both std and HD tuner cards. Also I have an HP tx1119us laptop containing vista home premium. No tuner on that but a USB gadget could be added easily.
Posted by: burdell1

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 21/06/2007 18:33

do you still need any testers?
Posted by: Schido

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 22/06/2007 04:48

I'm not using MCE but Mediaportal on windows XP. With one dvb-c card, receiving encrypted digital cable (recently switched from technotrend to twinhan, had some problems with the technotrend)
Using this remote now: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Image:MCE-Remote-2.jpg
And it works well, plug and play in mediaportal
Posted by: Cris

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 22/06/2007 05:10

Quote:
I'd like to find two or three people running Windows Media Center Edition based on XP


Sorry for not reading this thread before. My main Windows box runs XP MCE.

I don't really use it too much for the MCE features, it's mainly used for Usenet purposes as I can't find an OS X client that's much cop (I use Agent!).

Drop me a PM if you still need people, but I am in the UK which may make if difficult, but the offer is there if you get short.

Cheers

Cris.
Posted by: Schido

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 22/06/2007 05:28

Quote:
it's mainly used for Usenet purposes as I can't find an OS X client that's much cop (I use Agent!)


for binaries?

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sabnzbd ?

It's a daemon for linux or windows that watches a folder for nzb files, automatically downloads and does the par checks, only downloads the pars it needs, automatically unpacks, and deletes the leftovers.
Can be controlled remotely by webpage, but there's even a build for osx: http://www.br41n.com/

Edit: found this too: http://www.tweako.com/how_to_install_sabnzbd_on_os_x
Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 22/06/2007 12:24


Do you have an MCE remote currently? Or a universal remote which can be set up with MCE codeset? Can you test a new receiver that should be compatible with he MCE remote?

Anyway, I want to find out how plug and play the receiver I am currently selling for Macs is in situations like this. It's an MCE 2005 receiver but might need an update from MS but we can figure that out after you first plug it in. If you can run the MCE software and test this out, send me your address and I'll get one off to you.

Bruno
Posted by: Cris

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 23/06/2007 07:16

I have an official MCE remote (I think the 2005 version?), a reciever and also the keyboard (the one with the backlit buttons on the sides).

More than willing to help out. PM sent.

Cheers

Cris.
Posted by: gbeer

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 24/06/2007 00:27

Quote:

Do you have an MCE remote currently? Or a universal remote which can be set up with MCE codeset? Can you test a new receiver that should be compatible with he MCE remote?

Anyway, I want to find out how plug and play the receiver I am currently selling for Macs is in situations like this. It's an MCE 2005 receiver but might need an update from MS but we can figure that out after you first plug it in. If you can run the MCE software and test this out, send me your address and I'll get one off to you.

Bruno


If you are still looking for additional testers? I did update my profile as I just now realized various items were way out of date.

Glenn
Posted by: Schido

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 13/07/2007 13:40

I tried to send you this in a pm too bruno. (but guess you're too busy or something )
I received the receiver a couple of weeks ago.
Unplugged the microsoft one and plugged in yours, and i get the 'found new hardware wizard' for ehome infrared transceiver. Which driver did you want me to try to install now?
Posted by: Cris

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 13/07/2007 14:23

Me too, I sent a PM.

I have the same hardware wizard.

BTW this looks like a really nice bit of kit, very well made!

Cheers

Cris.
Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Anyone running MCE or Girder or... - 13/07/2007 14:28

Sorry for not replying lately guys... Sometimes I don't notice the little flashing envelope icon, but recently I've been tied up. Had family here for two weeks from Portugal so I pretty much took two weeks off from computing (which was nice).

I'm getting some ducks in a row and will contact people via PM with some questions and instructions for a couple of really small experiments.

Thanks!