AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Windows 7 Media Center : Setup Guide, Knowledge Base & Support
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Windows 7 Media Center : Setup Guide, Knowledge Base & Support - Page 138

post #4111 of 4573
1/3/12 at 9:25pm
Just got done switching over to LAV/Shark007s/MadVR. Also went from MPC-HC 64 bit down to 32 bit version so I could enable MadVR. System is running on a core i5 win 7 64 bit platform. Video card is AMD Radeon HD 6670. Latest CCC installed.

Marked improvement in color and still getting the HD audio bit streamed via hdmi so good there but the video will get really laggy/choppy (audio continues fine) for several seconds that then smooths back out with audio and video synced back up.

Sharky007s is current as is MadVR. MADVr is running from a SSD so should not be hardware related. Configuration setup per instructions page one. ffdshow x64 maybe dated (v1.3836) so I need to check on that.

I had used Shark007s in the past just not with the LAV/ MADVR options.

Suggestions?

thanks
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #4112 of 4573
1/3/12 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by torque911 View Post

Okay, so I have Windows Media center 7 installed on two computers here at the house. I am using an antennea to pick up the local HD stations here in Seattle. It's been working great on both computers for about a year.

Recently, on one of the computers, I have lost one of the channels (KOMO4.1).

It still shows up as 100 percent signal strength but the screen is black...the other computer still works fine.

I tried deleting all the channels and re-scanning, and have also tried editing the channel manually. When I look at the channel settings for it, they look the same as they do on the computer tha still gets the channel.

Any ideas on how to get it back? (short of a clean install of windows 7)

Are the two computers sharing one tuner? Or does each computer have its own tuner card? Is there one antenna or are there separate antennas for each tuner? If there is one antenna and two tuner cards, I would try a slight adjustment of the antenna in its direction or position. Multipath can change a bit with the season and you may have had a near problem and not known it. I also use an attic antenna. I lost one channel. Moved the antenna about 8 inches and changed its direction about 10 degrees. No problems since. Also, is there a splitter involved? If so a unity in and out amplified splitter is worth trying.

Good luck!
Reply
Reply
post #4113 of 4573
1/4/12 at 7:07am
I've added a second USB ATSC tuner to my system and am having problems with recording. I'd appriciate any suggestions of how to correct this problem.

The two tuners are identical each on its own USB port. With either of them connected by itself, live TV and recordings seem to work fine. With both connected, one will work, but, it seems to try tuner 1 first, then switch to tuner 2, and, a second program scheduled to record will fail. From 'History' last night:

Last Man Standing - Not Recorded: Tuner 1 6:56-6:57 - unexpected failure - Windows Media Center Receiver service stopped responding.
NCIS - Partial: Recorded: Tuner 2 6:56-6:57 - Recording began as scheduled and stopped early due to a schedule change.
NCIS - Not Recorded: Tuner 1 6:56-6:58 - unexpected failure - Windows Media Center Receiver service stopped responding.
NCIS - Not Recorded: not recorded due to a conflict with Last Man Standing
Last Man Standing - Recorded: Tuner 2 6:58-7:31 - started and stopped as scheduled.
Unforgettable - Not Recorded: Tuner 1 8:57-8:57 - there was no TV signal when the show was scheduled to record.
Unforgettable - Recorded: Tuner 2 8:57-10:01 - started and stopped as scheduled.

Any suggestions on how to resolve this?
Reply
Reply
post #4114 of 4573
1/4/12 at 7:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfox View Post

Are the two computers sharing one tuner? Or does each computer have its own tuner card? Is there one antenna or are there separate antennas for each tuner? If there is one antenna and two tuner cards, I would try a slight adjustment of the antenna in its direction or position. Multipath can change a bit with the season and you may have had a near problem and not known it. I also use an attic antenna. I lost one channel. Moved the antenna about 8 inches and changed its direction about 10 degrees. No problems since. Also, is there a splitter involved? If so a unity in and out amplified splitter is worth trying.

Good luck!

I will try moving the antennae I suppose...as a last resort. It is very puzzling.

To answer your question, it is one antenna, with two separate computers and their own tuner cards. I also have a LCD TV in a bedroom that is connected to the same antenna and uses it's built in tuner.

I noticed last night that the bedroom TV also gets the channel okay.
Reply
Reply
post #4115 of 4573
1/5/12 at 1:28pm
hey guys,

quick question: i have a list of music videos, how do i put this in a folder or library so that i can have 7MC play my entire collection, not just one video at a time. kinda like a playlist?

thanks much!
Reply
Reply
post #4116 of 4573
1/5/12 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by torque911 View Post

I will try moving the antennae I suppose...as a last resort. It is very puzzling.

To answer your question, it is one antenna, with two separate computers and their own tuner cards. I also have a LCD TV in a bedroom that is connected to the same antenna and uses it's built in tuner.

I noticed last night that the bedroom TV also gets the channel okay.

Are you using a splitter? Or worse two splitters splitting one leg twice serving the TV and the problem tuner card? If so an amplified splitter with unity in and out may restore signal level to the problem tuner.
Reply
Reply
post #4117 of 4573
1/5/12 at 6:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smokarz View Post

hey guys,

quick question: i have a list of music videos, how do i put this in a folder or library so that i can have 7MC play my entire collection, not just one video at a time. kinda like a playlist?

thanks much!

If you are using the Shark007 codecs, on the Misc TAB is a button to create/edit a playlist and then directly under that button is a chechbox to open that playlist with Media Center instead of WMP.
Reply
Reply
post #4118 of 4573
1/6/12 at 7:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark007 View Post

If you are using the Shark007 codecs, on the Misc TAB is a button to create/edit a playlist and then directly under that button is a chechbox to open that playlist with Media Center instead of WMP.

No, I do not have Shark codecs. Are there other ways of doing this?

Thanks,
Reply
Reply
post #4119 of 4573
1/6/12 at 8:02am
Settings for Shark007 and LVA that I found were under Blue Ray and MPC headings. I plan to only watch DVDs and TV recorded in WMC. Do I use same settings?

Bob
Reply
Reply
post #4120 of 4573
1/6/12 at 8:58am
I recently started ripping blu rays to the hard drive. Instead of converting HD audio to FLAC, I've started to rip the HD lossless audio as-is. I can play MKVs that contain DTS MA. However, MKVs with TrueHD will stop playing after 2 seconds.

I am using Shark (one version away from than the latest). I also use 7MC exclusively. FFDShow for Audio is configured to bitstream lossless compressed and lossy compressed (i.e. TrueHD, DTS HD/MA, Dolby Digital, etc). Not using LAV.

Any ideas before I post to the Shark forums? I figure someone here must be bitstreaming compressed HD Audio.

Thanks..
-T

Edit: I use my HTPC for live TV too, so any solution cannot break that function.
Reply
Reply
post #4121 of 4573
1/6/12 at 12:11pm
Thread Starter 
I`ve had issues with certain ATI driver revisions and TrueHD bitstreaming, are you using an ATI GPU? I suggest you also try LAV, i was going back and forth between LAV and ffdshow at some point (using MPC as an external player) due to those issues. ffdshow would bitstream fine with one revision, LAV would not, and vice-versa. All related to TrueHD, DTS-HD worked fine
Reply
Reply
post #4122 of 4573
1/6/12 at 4:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenEyez View Post

I`ve had issues with certain ATI driver revisions and TrueHD bitstreaming, are you using an ATI GPU? I suggest you also try LAV, i was going back and forth between LAV and ffdshow at some point (using MPC as an external player) due to those issues. ffdshow would bitstream fine with one revision, LAV would not, and vice-versa. All related to TrueHD, DTS-HD worked fine

Thanks for responding. I am using 1st gen Core i3 with onboard graphics. This CPU supports bitstreaming. I could give LAV a try.

-T
Reply
Reply
post #4123 of 4573
1/7/12 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by T-Bone View Post

Thanks for responding. I am using 1st gen Core i3 with onboard graphics. This CPU supports bitstreaming. I could give LAV a try.

-T

Nope. LAV did not help.

-T
Reply
Reply
post #4124 of 4573
1/8/12 at 7:07pm
My keyboard just crapped out (a few keys stuck). I have an MCE remote and also use a mouse, but sometimes like/need a keyboard. Searching for stuff for example. I also use a Harmony remote, so theoretically, I could just use the remote, although I'm really used to the mouse and keyboard.

Anyhow, wondering if someone could recommend a nice MCE keyboard or perhaps should I move up to a Harmony 1100 or something (if that will allow me to enter text). (I realize any keyboard would work, but sometimes it's nice just to push one button, Live TV, for example to do what you want).
Reply
Reply
post #4125 of 4573
1/9/12 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by T-Bone View Post

Nope. LAV did not help.

-T

Do you have the latest Intel Drivers for the GPU? I just installed XBMC DSPLayer with ffdshow for audio at somebody with a Core i3 -2100T and bitstreaming seemed to work fine, but i had a fresh install of the lateste drivers

Here`s the link : http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sear...10&FamilyId=39

Just select your OS.
Reply
Reply
post #4126 of 4573
1/10/12 at 6:31am
So I am confused, my Avermedia Duet does not pickup a couple of local channels (4.1abc, 11.1nbc) BUT it does pickup these channels in higher 104.X although not HD 720p quality. My Samsung TV's do pick these channels up fine on there built in tuner so I am confused why the WMC channel scan does not.

Adding the channels manually to MC does nothing, and when tuned just shows a black screen.

I have comcast, signal split 4x at the box, but like I said, my other TV's tune this in fine. Any ideas guys?

I would just use the higher channels as a workaround but they do not display guide info like lower channels and therefore I cannot schedule recordings.
Reply
Reply
post #4127 of 4573
1/10/12 at 12:08pm
Could be a different situation with our OTA tuners here in Australia, but I remember others reporting that PC tuners are less sensitive compared to the tuners found in TVs and set top boxes etc, and require a stronger signal. You could run a signal scan on your pc to determine what the signal strength of the various stations are. This would then show you how each of your stations perform. You may find that some channels are of a lower strength and if that is the case, it may explain why you are not picking up all of the channels you expect to. I can't remember where I read this info, but if you have trouble finding an app, let me know and I can look into it further for you.
Reply
Reply
post #4128 of 4573
1/10/12 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by korygrandy View Post

So I am confused, my Avermedia Duet does not pickup a couple of local channels (4.1abc, 11.1nbc) BUT it does pickup these channels in higher 104.X although not HD 720p quality. My Samsung TV's do pick these channels up fine on there built in tuner so I am confused why the WMC channel scan does not.

Adding the channels manually to MC does nothing, and when tuned just shows a black screen.

I have comcast, signal split 4x at the box, but like I said, my other TV's tune this in fine. Any ideas guys?

I would just use the higher channels as a workaround but they do not display guide info like lower channels and therefore I cannot schedule recordings.

You can map listings from a different channel to another channel in 7MC.
Go to the 'Guide', right mouse on the channel that you don't have listings for, select "Edit Channel", then select "Edit Listings" and you'll be able to select a different channel's listings to show for this channel.

Can't help you on the other question, my cheap USB ATSC tuner on my PC finds all the stations my Sharp 830 does.
Reply
Reply
post #4129 of 4573
1/10/12 at 4:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenEyez View Post

Do you have the latest Intel Drivers for the GPU? I just installed XBMC DSPLayer with ffdshow for audio at somebody with a Core i3 -2100T and bitstreaming seemed to work fine, but i had a fresh install of the lateste drivers

Here`s the link : http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sear...10&FamilyId=39

Just select your OS.

I may not have the latest drivers. I'll give that link a look. Thanks!

-T
Reply
Reply
post #4130 of 4573
1/11/12 at 9:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by korygrandy View Post

So I am confused, my Avermedia Duet does not pickup a couple of local channels (4.1abc, 11.1nbc) BUT it does pickup these channels in higher 104.X although not HD 720p quality. My Samsung TV's do pick these channels up fine on there built in tuner so I am confused why the WMC channel scan does not.

Adding the channels manually to MC does nothing, and when tuned just shows a black screen.

I have comcast, signal split 4x at the box, but like I said, my other TV's tune this in fine. Any ideas guys?

I would just use the higher channels as a workaround but they do not display guide info like lower channels and therefore I cannot schedule recordings.

1st question ... your cable company sends the signals out on different channels than over-the-air, BUT use PSIP which your TV displays ... SOME TVs will show the cable "channel", some won't. I downloaded the free TSReaderLite and found the "real" channels where things are.

When I installed 7MC and scanned, it found the HDs but said it didn't ... I'm not sure that http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/win7mcqamsetup.html is completely accurate with SP1 of Windows 7, but I was able to figure more out than before.

On your second question, there is an accurate answer before mine; just use the aid in the http://www.hdtvtunerinfo.com/win7mcqamsetup.html link to associate (in my case as an example, 114.3 with WSPA-DT ... whose PSIP 7.1 matches the real OTA 7.1.

I'm not sure I've helped ... ask additional questions after I finish confusing you.
Reply
Reply
post #4131 of 4573
1/12/12 at 6:40am
Ok, so this begins what is sure to be a lengthy post, sorry in advance.

I just built my first htpc, installed media browser, media master, shark's codecs, etc. I can play my list of about 100 blu ray rips from physical discs using MakeMKV in windows media player, but I cannot get ANY of my movies to play in media browser. Everytime I try and open a file (mkv/avi/mp4) this annoying error message pulls up and says:

We can not maximize the window! This is a known bug with Windows 7 and TV Pack, you will have to restart Media Browser!

Obviously I have restarted a million times but nothing seems to work. I just spent a boatload of money on this computer and nothing is working the way I had hoped. So, I need someones help.

From google I have found other people that say have had the same problem, but whatever solution they installed I was never able to replicate.

I'm really hoping that someone knows a simple fix that makes me look like an idiot because at this point I'm ready to launch this pc out the window.
Reply
Reply
post #4132 of 4573
1/14/12 at 2:26pm
Hey.

First of all, thanks for the guide. However I seem to be having a couple of problems.

1. When playing .avi files, the pictures is ever so slightly out of sync. It's barely noticeable but can be quite annoying. I some suggestions about changing settings in the sharks codec options, however this made the .avi unplayable. Anyone got any ideas on this? (I am playing from network storage btw)

2. When playing .mkv files, I have to crank the sound right up on my TV. If I play .avi files, it's completely fine, but .mkv files need the TV putting to the maximum volume. Anyone know why this would be? I have the shark codec packs installed.

3. My PS3 up scales content for my TV screen, however, when playing this same content on 7MC, the quality doesn't look anywhere near as good as the PS3. Anyone know why this is? Are there settings I should be doing to support up scaling (if possible)? I am using Media browser to browse to these files. The colours also don't look that great, is it possible it could be the HDMI cable (even though I thought HDMI quality didn't really matter too much). Could it also be an overscan issue?

It might also be worth noting that the colours aren't as vibrant as normal TV. Are there any settings I can try and modify to make the colours better?

4. Media Browser metadata has managed to recover metadata for all but two of my movies. I think the problem is that the proper movie titles have a : in them, and obviously you can't put these in a folder name. Is there anyway around this?

5. Media Browser has only been able to recover metadata for one of my TV shows. All of my other TV shows are structured the same way, but no metadata is recovered.

6. Is there anyway I can apply a view option to all of the screens in Media Broswer. For instance, when trying to decide the season of the program, can I set them all to look like the 'detail' option in the skin, or do I have to do each one manually?

Please note, I have my folder structured the way it was advised in the guide.

Any help would be appreciated.
Reply
Reply
post #4133 of 4573
1/14/12 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by walshbj19 View Post

We can not maximize the window! This is a known bug with Windows 7 and TV Pack, you will have to restart Media Browser.

You might have better luck in a Media Browser forum, but here is what I would try. On the bottom right of the media browser window, click on the wrench. Then on the bottom right of the Configuration page, click on Update Library. Also, exit WMC and enter Windows Media Player (you might need to reboot to get to it. I find that after running WMC for a while, WMP will not load.) When you have WMP running, click on Tools / Advanced / Restore media library.
Reply
Reply
post #4134 of 4573
1/14/12 at 6:40pm
Hey all... I am currently living overseas, have a great setup provided by assassin that is working wonders for me and the family in China on helping provide US content. My question, I am trying to watch some US sporting events and the best way is via P2P TV. I can run them in separate applications, but I was wondering if there are any WMC plugins for P2PTV? I can't seem to find any. (Maybe something based on PPStream, Sopcast, PPLive, etc...)

Thanks!
Reply
Reply
post #4135 of 4573
1/15/12 at 3:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xreyuk View Post

Hey.

First of all, thanks for the guide. However I seem to be having a couple of problems.

1. When playing .avi files, the pictures is ever so slightly out of sync. It's barely noticeable but can be quite annoying. I some suggestions about changing settings in the sharks codec options, however this made the .avi unplayable. Anyone got any ideas on this? (I am playing from network storage btw)

2. When playing .mkv files, I have to crank the sound right up on my TV. If I play .avi files, it's completely fine, but .mkv files need the TV putting to the maximum volume. Anyone know why this would be? I have the shark codec packs installed.

3. My PS3 up scales content for my TV screen, however, when playing this same content on 7MC, the quality doesn't look anywhere near as good as the PS3. Anyone know why this is? Are there settings I should be doing to support up scaling (if possible)? I am using Media browser to browse to these files. The colours also don't look that great, is it possible it could be the HDMI cable (even though I thought HDMI quality didn't really matter too much). Could it also be an overscan issue?

It might also be worth noting that the colours aren't as vibrant as normal TV. Are there any settings I can try and modify to make the colours better?

4. Media Browser metadata has managed to recover metadata for all but two of my movies. I think the problem is that the proper movie titles have a : in them, and obviously you can't put these in a folder name. Is there anyway around this?

5. Media Browser has only been able to recover metadata for one of my TV shows. All of my other TV shows are structured the same way, but no metadata is recovered.

6. Is there anyway I can apply a view option to all of the screens in Media Broswer. For instance, when trying to decide the season of the program, can I set them all to look like the 'detail' option in the skin, or do I have to do each one manually?

Please note, I have my folder structured the way it was advised in the guide.

Any help would be appreciated.

What GPU are you using? Ati for example has all sorts of "picture quality" andhancements turned on by default, which screw up to colors more than they help, and you need to turn them off

For upscaling, either ffdshow can be used, or madVR

For the movie names, puttin "-" or "," instead of "':" usually works fine.
Reply
Reply
post #4136 of 4573
1/15/12 at 4:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenEyez View Post

What GPU are you using? Ati for example has all sorts of "picture quality" andhancements turned on by default, which screw up to colors more than they help, and you need to turn them off

For upscaling, either ffdshow can be used, or madVR

For the movie names, puttin "-" or "," instead of "':" usually works fine.

Hey,

I am using the ATI HD5450 GPU, so do you know which settings I need to turn off?

How can I setup ffdshow for upscaling? (I have the shark codec pack installed). Would it be easier to use ffdshow or madVR? Would it involve using an external player for 7MC or can I use the normal player?

I'll try that with the folders.

Anyone got any other ideas about my other problems?

Thanks
Reply
Reply
post #4137 of 4573
1/15/12 at 7:52am
Thread Starter 
Under the ATI CCC Control Panel, under video, there should be a buttload off options, including Dynamic Contrast, De-Noise, Edge Enhancement and others. Turn everything off except "Automatic De-Interlancing" and Enforce Smooth playback. There is another setting called "Dynamic Range", depending on your TV, setting it to 16-235 or 0-255 should give you correct white and black levels.

ffdshow could be used with the internal 7MC player, madVR would need Media Player CLassic Home CInema as an external player. You better ask around the forum in regards to upscaling, all my content is 1080/720p so i don`t have much experience with upscaling SD content.

Can you give me an example of one of the TV Shows that MB is not picking up?
Reply
Reply
post #4138 of 4573
1/15/12 at 8:16am
I think I have managed to solve my media browser issues with TV and films.

As for ffdshow, will I need to uninstall the Shark007 codec pack, and just install ffdshow?

It appears that every solution I'm being given to my problems involves changing settings in ffdshow, and from what I've heard a lot of people don't have any issues playing stuff back just using ffdshow. The only problems I'm worried about it audio not playing correctly.

Is there a setup guide I need to follow to get ffdshow onto the best settings.

Thanks a lot for your help
Reply
Reply
post #4139 of 4573
1/15/12 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 
Nope, ffdshow is included in the Shark 007 Pack, my guide actually uses it for H.264/VC-1 decoding of Blu Ray content (ffdshow DXVA that is, the one with hardware acceleration). There is a guide to upscaling stuff with ffdshow as a sticky, but i think it`s kinda old. You may just be better off starting a new thread regarding upscaling on the forum and see what setting people use.
Reply
Reply
post #4140 of 4573
1/15/12 at 9:21am
Thanks.

I had a look under the CCC control panel, and all of those options you mentioned are already set like they should be. Although I can't change the dynamic range as it's grey'd out.

Is there anything else that could be messing up the colour, such as 7MC itself, or the fact it's a cheap HDMI cable?

The settings in the stickies didn't seem to make any changes whatsoever, don't know if I need to restart for them to take effect?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Home Theater Computers

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Windows 7 Media Center : Setup Guide, Knowledge Base & Support