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Windows 7 Media Center : Setup Guide, Knowledge Base & Support - Page 132

post #3931 of 4562
10/20/11 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 
Small Update : Due to increased reports (and testing on my machines) i`ve come acrosss the fact that the stable/official release of MPC-HC doesn`t work well with LAV, sometimes the filters just don`t kick in. Updating my machines to the latest MPC-HC noghtly builds fixed that, so i`m linking the xvid.ru nighly builds in the guide as of today
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post #3932 of 4562
10/20/11 at 9:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sebberry View Post

What sort of PC are you using?

In most PCs you can go into the BIOS and change a setting, usually something like "AC Power Loss". There should be a few settings: OFF means the PC will remain off after the power is back on, "Memory/Previous/Last/etc" will mean if the PC was on when the power went out then it will start back up again when the power is restored and ON will turn the PC on when power is restored regardless of it's last power state.

Then all you have to do is make sure WMC is in your startup folder so when the PC boots up again it starts WMC automatically.

Lol, forgot about that. I just proposed the guy to build a small device that jump-starts the PC after a power loss, good thing you posted that, saved me some electronic schematic building time, haha
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post #3933 of 4562
10/20/11 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmmeli View Post

Ok Shark. I have got FFDshow for WVC1 set. I did not realize that the 64 bit settings affected WMC. I just changed those and it worked! Thanks.

Another question. I see the audio and video out of sync on a lot of my movies and tv shows. Is there something I can do to alter this?

If you are using ffdshow and not ffdshow DXVA than make sure you have a powerful enough CPU (i3 for ex). Software decoding without DXVA or any other for of GPU offloading is intensive.

PS: That file you posted, the m2ts media info, shows that the first track is AC3, the second is the TrueHD one. ffdshow is probably reading only the first audio track, that`s why you get on AC-3 (or Dolby Digital). If you gonna remux, might as well get rid of the rest of the tracks, leave only the TrueHD one
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post #3934 of 4562
10/21/11 at 12:41pm
Actually, I decided to go with MPC-HC launched from Media Browser as it provides a lot more user control.
I have that working now but I have a problem with exiting MPC-HC with my Harmony remote. I see other people have had problems with iMON, which is what I have. MPC-HC is running but 7MC has the focus so when I click my Exit button all that happens is that the focus goes back to 7MC and MPC-HC is still running in another window. I know that the remote is set up correctly. If I start MPC-HC outside 7MC and then click my Exit button, MPC-HC ends.
Anyone have any ideas how to fix this issue?
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post #3935 of 4562
10/21/11 at 12:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmmeli View Post

Actually, I decided to go with MPC-HC

I also decided to go with MPC-HC, until I had the same issue. After playing with it for a while unsuccessfully, I decided NOT to go with MPC-HC.
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post #3936 of 4562
10/21/11 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmmeli View Post

Actually, I decided to go with MPC-HC launched from Media Browser as it provides a lot more user control.
I have that working now but I have a problem with exiting MPC-HC with my Harmony remote. I see other people have had problems with iMON, which is what I have. MPC-HC is running but 7MC has the focus so when I click my Exit button all that happens is that the focus goes back to 7MC and MPC-HC is still running in another window. I know that the remote is set up correctly. If I start MPC-HC outside 7MC and then click my Exit button, MPC-HC ends.
Anyone have any ideas how to fix this issue?


I use my harmony w/ MB, MPC-HC, and Imon, and never have any problems exiting MPC-HC. I actually

1) mapped the 'Media_Stop' button to alt-x in mpc-hc, and,

2) under iMon utilities, I scrolled to mpc-hc under program commands, and mapped the 'Stop' button to mpc-hc's 'Exit' command along with the 'alt x' shortcut

Everything works great.
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post #3937 of 4562
10/22/11 at 8:12am
What kind of network settings should I be using to open and play MKV files stored on a 2008 R2 server over the network through WMC?

Server: Server 2008 R2 2600k processor, 8GB of RAM SSD RAID 0 (Movies stored on secondary PCIe x16 RAID card in a RAID 5)
HTPC: Win 7 Ultimate 64bit 8GB RAM 2600k processor Single SSD

Gigabit NIC adapters, all wired connections using a Cisco E3200 gigabit router and a Cisco SE2800 Switch.

Using cat 5e cables, the MKV files aren't even playable. The speed is so slow that you're lucky to see the screen or audio move every 10 seconds....

If I move the MKV file to the local HTPC it plays fine. I also experience this kind of performance when trying to play it on my gaming machine directly from a UNC path to the server share.

Any ideas? File transfer rates seem normal (120MB/s ~ 960Mbps ish).
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post #3938 of 4562
10/22/11 at 8:13am
I am doing basically what you are doing but it does not work for me. I think I have the keys set up right because when I start MPC-HC outside of 7MC I can exit the program with a click on my remote. The problem is that 7MC still has the focus so iMON sends the command to it rather than MPC-HC. What command string are you using to start MPC-HC from MB?
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post #3939 of 4562
10/22/11 at 8:28am
If anyone has any ideas, that would be awesome. I've hit a wall trying to build my HTPC environment.

I have the following:

HTPC - Windows 7 64-bit ultimate, 8GB RAM, 2600K Processor, ATI HD6750 graphics and an Auzen X-Fi HometheaterHD Card. OS runs on an SSD

Server - Windows server 2008 R2, 8GB RAM, 2600k processor. OS runs on an SSD and data\\movies run on a PCIe x16 RAID controller in a RAID 5.

Gaming PC - 12GB Ram, Core i7 950, HD 5870 Graphics Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit


All machines are connected using CAT 5e cable using their onboard gigabit cards through a Cisco E3200 Gigabit Router and a Cisco SE2800 Gigabit Switch (tested without the switch already)

The HTPC and the Gaming PC use the DivX codec to play MKV files and AC3 Filter to get the audio to work with WMC. DivX alone will allow WMP 12 to play video and audio from MKV files, but WMC wont' play the audio part of the file without the AC3 Filter.

Here are my problems:

1) Neither the HTPC nor the Gaming PC can play MKV files stored on a share on the server using simple UNC paths or mapped drives. The file attempts to open and shows a few frames every 20 seconds or so with maybe 2 second of audio between each frame..

2) Transfer rates when copying the file from the server to my Gaming PC are perfect (120MB/s ~ 960Mbps). I can transfer an MKV file from the server to the gaming PC in about 25 seconds or so.

So I'm wondering what's causing this terrible performance trying to play MKV files directly from my server on my HTPC using WMC or WMP 12?

I can't imagine someone wanting to store their entire movie library and play them on a tiny HTPC box instead of a NAS or server...
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post #3940 of 4562
10/22/11 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmmeli View Post

I am doing basically what you are doing but it does not work for me. I think I have the keys set up right because when I start MPC-HC outside of 7MC I can exit the program with a click on my remote. The problem is that 7MC still has the focus so iMON sends the command to it rather than MPC-HC. What command string are you using to start MPC-HC from MB?

I don't have to map that, b/c I have Imon set up as a WMC remote. So, within MB when I press 'Play' or select the 'Play' option within MB, MPC-HC is launched AUTOMATICALLY by MediaBrowser.

Likewise, once I exit MPC-HC, WMC comes back up in the MB window from which the video was launched.

As long as you have MB configurator set up correctly, you should't need to map ANYTHING on your remote for launching MPC-HC. Of course, I'm saying that as someone who only uses MPC-HC when it is launched by MB.
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post #3941 of 4562
10/22/11 at 8:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirdecus View Post

Any ideas? File transfer rates seem normal (120MB/s ~ 960Mbps ish).

Try this: http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support...01+home_detect
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post #3942 of 4562
10/24/11 at 7:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirdecus View Post

If anyone has any ideas, that would be awesome. I've hit a wall trying to build my HTPC environment.

I have the following:

HTPC - Windows 7 64-bit ultimate, 8GB RAM, 2600K Processor, ATI HD6750 graphics and an Auzen X-Fi HometheaterHD Card. OS runs on an SSD

Server - Windows server 2008 R2, 8GB RAM, 2600k processor. OS runs on an SSD and data\\movies run on a PCIe x16 RAID controller in a RAID 5.

Gaming PC - 12GB Ram, Core i7 950, HD 5870 Graphics Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit


All machines are connected using CAT 5e cable using their onboard gigabit cards through a Cisco E3200 Gigabit Router and a Cisco SE2800 Gigabit Switch (tested without the switch already)

The HTPC and the Gaming PC use the DivX codec to play MKV files and AC3 Filter to get the audio to work with WMC. DivX alone will allow WMP 12 to play video and audio from MKV files, but WMC wont' play the audio part of the file without the AC3 Filter.

Here are my problems:

1) Neither the HTPC nor the Gaming PC can play MKV files stored on a share on the server using simple UNC paths or mapped drives. The file attempts to open and shows a few frames every 20 seconds or so with maybe 2 second of audio between each frame..

2) Transfer rates when copying the file from the server to my Gaming PC are perfect (120MB/s ~ 960Mbps). I can transfer an MKV file from the server to the gaming PC in about 25 seconds or so.

So I'm wondering what's causing this terrible performance trying to play MKV files directly from my server on my HTPC using WMC or WMP 12?

I can't imagine someone wanting to store their entire movie library and play them on a tiny HTPC box instead of a NAS or server...

Ok, let`s start at the beginning. Can you please copy a movie to one of the HTPCs and try local playback from there, and see if it is choppy ?
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post #3943 of 4562
10/24/11 at 8:03pm
i recently set up WMC with Media Browser and set MPC-HC for my external viewer for .avi files. This worked great for 1-2 times but WMC would hang when the movie was done playing. I took off the "/lcose" flag for MPC-HC and just did alt-f4 manually when the video was done. This worked a couple times, but now when the movie is done I can't do anything to exit out. I have to hit ctrl-shift-esc to bring up task manager and end task on MPC-HC. Also, when I finally get task manager open, I can see the video as the background, including my start menu. When the video starts playing there is no navigation control to skip around or pause. Does anyone have an idea what is going on?
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post #3944 of 4562
10/24/11 at 8:27pm
I have just installed a Ceton InfiniTV USB in one of my Media PCs running Win7-32, and the latest Shark007 with an Nvidia card running the latest drivers. Good new is, it does an impressive job of recording up to four shows at once. Skeptical me is a bit surprised.

Now for the bad news. Stations that broadcast in 1080i look good. But a lot of stations (including ABC, FOX, etc.) broadcast their HD content in 720p. The Comcast DVR I've been using must do a damn good job of upscaling, because we've barely noticed the difference. But with WMC, it's obvious. Unfortunately, we have pretty good eyesight and real good televisions. The 720p stations look fuzzy. It's distracting, and it's not meeting WAF when she knows what the DVR can do. I'd like to get rid of the DVR (and its screwy interface and monthly fees) but I need to figure this out. So here's the question:

What is the best way to upscale 720p content to be displayed in 1080i? Do I need another video card? Can I tweak the one I have?
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post #3945 of 4562
10/25/11 at 11:49am
I had a similar problem when trying to play files from a network share. Same basic setup, gigabyte switch etc. Transfer rates when copying were fine, playing a file was not. After tons of research I came across this which fixed the problem http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ork-Throttling. Turns out the network was being throtteled by windows.
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post #3946 of 4562
10/26/11 at 9:20pm
I figured this thread was the best place to put this...

I decided to create a multiboot system using VHDs so that I could easily switch between HTPC use, development and testing. I used a 2TB drive as the host drive which would store all my VHDs with the free space acting as a secondary data drive. I learned a couple of things along the way and though I would post them in case someone else came across the issues:
  1. It's not possible to boot from a VHD if the host drive is GPT partitioned, even if the VHD itself is MBR partitioned. (I didn't expect this to work but I had to try it.)
  2. The Digital Cable Advisor will crash when booted from a VHD because the WEI cannot be calculated on a VHD.
Issue # 1 is of course fixed by setting up MBR partitioning on the host drive instead of GPT. To fix issue #2, do the following:
  1. Make sure you have downloaded and installed the Digital Cable Advisor (of course).
  2. Open the following file in notepad:
    Code:
    C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft\\DigitalCableAdvisor\\OcurConfig.xml
  3. Find the lines that say:
    Code:
    <</font>Name>WinSAT</</font>Name>
<</font>ExeName>WinSAT.exe</</font>ExeName>
<</font>Arguments>formal</</font>Arguments>
  4. Change the "" line to the following (where "D" is the drive letter of the host drive... the drive that holds your VHD files):
    Code:
    <</font>Arguments>formal -drive D</</font>Arguments>
  5. Start Media Center and re-run the Digital Cable Advisor.
This will allow the WEI assessment tool to work and the Digital Cable Advisor to complete and set up WMC for use with a CableCard.

You can also run the following command from a command prompt to get your Windows Experience Index to display:
Code:
WinSat.exe formal -restart clean -drive D
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post #3947 of 4562
10/27/11 at 5:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewOrlnsDukie View Post

I don't have to map that, b/c I have Imon set up as a WMC remote. So, within MB when I press 'Play' or select the 'Play' option within MB, MPC-HC is launched AUTOMATICALLY by MediaBrowser.

Likewise, once I exit MPC-HC, WMC comes back up in the MB window from which the video was launched.

As long as you have MB configurator set up correctly, you should't need to map ANYTHING on your remote for launching MPC-HC. Of course, I'm saying that as someone who only uses MPC-HC when it is launched by MB.

You must be lucky. After some playing around I realized that iMON is sending the commands to 7MC although MPC-HC has the focus. I got around it by creating some custom commands in iMON that control MPC-HC. Seems to work.
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post #3948 of 4562
10/27/11 at 5:50am
I am trying to play a VC-1 encoded video in MPC-HC and I get some stuttering. I have a ATI Radeon 4670. I have everything in MPC-HC set as defaults apart from using the LAV audio. It is using the MPC-HC Video Decoder. Is there a different video decoder I should be using?
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post #3949 of 4562
10/27/11 at 6:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenEyez View Post

Small Update : Due to increased reports (and testing on my machines) i`ve come acrosss the fact that the stable/official release of MPC-HC doesn`t work well with LAV, sometimes the filters just don`t kick in. Updating my machines to the latest MPC-HC noghtly builds fixed that, so i`m linking the xvid.ru nighly builds in the guide as of today

You had any reports or noticed any issues with Auto Change Frequency in the latest build from xvid.ru. I just downloaded the latest version MPC-HomeCinema.1.5.3.3757.x86 and can't get it to move from the default screen setting of 60hz.
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post #3950 of 4562
10/27/11 at 6:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmmeli View Post

I am trying to play a VC-1 encoded video in MPC-HC and I get some stuttering. I have a ATI Radeon 4670. I have everything in MPC-HC set as defaults apart from using the LAV audio. It is using the MPC-HC Video Decoder. Is there a different video decoder I should be using?

Try LAV Video, I know others have had issues, but I have been successfully playing vc-1 files for some time with LAV Video (just make sure you uncheck the internal filters, otherwise you may get conflict.
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post #3951 of 4562
10/27/11 at 9:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by steelman1991 View Post

Try LAV Video, I know others have had issues, but I have been successfully playing vc-1 files for some time with LAV Video (just make sure you uncheck the internal filters, otherwise you may get conflict.

Thanks for that. It is a lot better but I get an occasional stutter now. Any other suggestions?
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post #3952 of 4562
10/30/11 at 3:03pm
Since Media Center Studio doesn't work anymore are there other ways to remove stuff from the menus? It seems every article on the internet only has instructions for MCS.

I want to get rid of "pictures" and "play favorites" from the pictures+video menu since I will never use those but will use video a lot and annoyingly thats the last option on there
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post #3953 of 4562
10/30/11 at 10:00pm
Just followed this guide tonight and played Captain America mkv in WMC. I pulled just the core DTS in MakeMKV since I'm currently using SPDIF to my receiver. My problem is that it only sends 2 channel stereo to my receiver. In the Shark007 settings should I check "set AC3filter to use SPDIF?" Sorry if this already covered, this is a big thread.
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post #3954 of 4562
10/31/11 at 9:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by augerpro View Post

Just followed this guide tonight and played Captain America mkv in WMC. I pulled just the core DTS in MakeMKV since I'm currently using SPDIF to my receiver. My problem is that it only sends 2 channel stereo to my receiver. In the Shark007 settings should I check "set AC3filter to use SPDIF?" Sorry if this already covered, this is a big thread.

Also tried HDMI and still 2 channel output, so I'm guessing that AC3filter option is not the solution.
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post #3955 of 4562
10/31/11 at 9:57am
On the Audio TAB, press the button [setup LAV audio]
select the bitstream options your AVR supports. (no HD)

also check Control Panel | Sound, to bitstream you often need to set the speaker count to 'stereo'
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post #3956 of 4562
10/31/11 at 10:30am
If you are running 64bit windows then you need to set it in both the 32bit control panel and the 64bit one to get Dolby in WMC, otherwise you will only get it in WMP.

I was only able to get Dolby working by selecting the SPDIF checkbox at the top even though the Sharky instructions tell you not to.
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post #3957 of 4562
10/31/11 at 5:36pm
Selected the AC3filter for SPDIF and still 2 channel...all my dvd rips are fine though, all pass DD. So it has to be tied to playing the mkv file.
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post #3958 of 4562
10/31/11 at 11:55pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys, sry for not being online this week, but the process of hardwiring my entire network with Cat5 Gigabit cable turned out a complete cluster**** when i accidentally drilled a hole in one of the heating pipes that go into the office/work room where i have a computer. I ended up spending an entire day just to fix that, had to call a handy man to help me fix it, since i didn`t have the tools + materials to patch up cooper pipes.

Anyway, back to the issues :
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post #3959 of 4562
10/31/11 at 11:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by augerpro View Post

Selected the AC3filter for SPDIF and still 2 channel...all my dvd rips are fine though, all pass DD. So it has to be tied to playing the mkv file.

Like Shark suggested, use the LAC audio decoder, not AC3 Filters. That`s old and hasn`t been updated for some time. ffdshow or LAV is what people use now for bitstreaming.
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post #3960 of 4562
10/31/11 at 11:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by steelman1991 View Post

You had any reports or noticed any issues with Auto Change Frequency in the latest build from xvid.ru. I just downloaded the latest version MPC-HomeCinema.1.5.3.3757.x86 and can't get it to move from the default screen setting of 60hz.

You mean the built in MPC-HC refresh rate switcher? . The strage thing is that, i`ve just reinstalled the software on my HTPC, and using the stable MPC-HC with LAV filters seems to be working fine now, so i`m left scratching my head wtf happen before
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