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Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide - Page 329

post #9841 of 15479
1/22/12 at 7:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpeisher View Post

I tried handbrake on a couple of my older rips that were having problems in Media Center. The two i have done so far converted them to mkv files, and then also fixed the out of sync audio i would get when i was able to actually play the files on another PC. Thanks for the help.


I am still unable to get netflix working. See post #9830



This is very important for me as my kids watch a LOT of Diego and i am going to be in the dog house with my wife if i can't get Netflix running


What else can i do to get Netflix to work in Media Center?

Do you have DirectX installed?
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=35

Here is something else I found:
Quote:


OK, got an answer on Windows Experts community that works for me.... reset IE9 to defaults including personal settings. WMC7 Netflix asks for re-login then can play items.

Here is another (LINK)
Quote:


Re: Netflix in Windows 7 Media Center

\\I was looking for hours for a solution and this worked perfect on 2 of my computers. I have been having this issue in the past day after I reinstalled my Windows 7 on my laptop. I have been scouring through links to fix this and none of them worked until I came across this awesome info that fixed my problem. The link is here:

http://thegreenbutton.com/blogs/barb...tv-on-wmc.aspx

And here are the instructions that are listed there:

How to Fix Missing Netflix and Internet TV on WMC (Revised, new DNS server sources)
You may have the issue that surfaced recently (December 2010-January 2011) that the standard FAQ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977116 steps will not fix.

First, you will need to change yours DNS servers to resolve the issue. The theory is that somewhere along the line, caching DNS/proxy servers have corrupt/bad information that impacts some users and/or that MS has some bad servers on their server farm).
Go to http://www.dnsserverlist.org/ which will automatically determine the best DNS servers based on your IP address. Pick two and carefully get the IP addresses. <- Apparently not available as of 3/28/2011.

Here are some sources for alternative DNS servers. Please note, I have not tested these.
http://theos.in/windows-xp/free-fast...s-server-list/
http://www.tech-faq.com/public-dns-servers.html

Next, you will need to change your network settings on your Windows Media Center PC(s) to use these. This will override any settings on your router and/or the DNS settings provided by your ISP via DHCP:
1. Start Menu, Control Panel
2. Select "Network And Internet"
3. Select "Network and Sharing Center"
4. Select "Change adapter settings" on the left side of the screen
5. Right-click your network adapter and then select properties from the menu. (For example: "Wireless Network Connection" or "Local Area Connection")
6. On the Networking tab, double-click "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"
7. Check "Use the following DNS server addresses"
8. Carefully type in the DNS Server IPs you want to use.
9. Click Ok and Ok again to exit.

After doing the above, open an administrative command prompt
1. Select start Menu, then Programs, then Accessories

2. Right click "command prompt" and select Run as Administrator
3. Type into the command window

ipconfig /flushdns

and then press [enter].
4. then type in:

cd \\ [enter]

cd c:\\Windows\\ehome [enter]

start /wait mcupdate -uf [enter]
Wait a bit and Netflix and Internet TV menus should appear when you open Windows Media Center
If the above does not work, please post to http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/97522.aspx?
I suggest you watch this thread/subscribe to it via email in case a permanent solution is found so that you can revert your DNS to normal settings.

Published Mar 28 2011, 01:57 AM by barb

Here's another link:
http://experts.windows.com/frms/wind...4/t/88219.aspx
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #9842 of 15479
1/22/12 at 8:25pm
Thread Starter 
Here is another thread right here at AVS on your issue:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post20346807
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post #9843 of 15479
1/23/12 at 5:07am
Hi Assassin

Great new guide on the Harmony - it never occurred to me to create a 'Mouse' activity. Genius!

Incidentally you can easily modify the downloaded Harmony icons and import them into WMC using My Channel Logos. I used on old copy of ArcSoft Photostudio (any photoshop editor should work) to resize the logos to 42 pixels high x 96 pixels long, saved the result as .png and now the icons on my remote match those in WMC.

Worth pointing out this Harmony 'mouse' guide will only work with a Windows remote and not with the generic ones like the Ortek.
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post #9844 of 15479
1/23/12 at 5:28am
1.) Suggestions on how to best handle power management? My HTPC is also my backup/media server for the main desktop in my house (photos, music, etc) and I like to run automatic weekly backups. I notice by default that the HTPC is going into some low power sleep mode that doesn't leave it visible on the network.

Any recommendations on a balance between power usage and accessibility?

2.) It looks like Windows stored all the OS updates/patches on my 2TB HDD rather than on the SSD where my OS resides. Any idea why, and can I delete those files (are they just temp update files)?
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post #9845 of 15479
1/23/12 at 9:31am
Just wanted to thank you again for this thread and your guide. I just purchased your paid guides and I'm going to start purchasing everything I need this week. (Gotta love tax time, if you're getting money back that is) I'll post updates to my build once I finally decide on exactly what I'm going with. My main problem is trying to decide on which CPU to get. I don't play any games at the moment, kind of difficult with an 18 month old, but would kind of like to have that option going forward if it's in my price budget.

I can bundle this processor and motherboard locally at Micro Center for $235. Is that a good start for a decent gaming PC? I've been out of the gaming realm for awhile so just looking for some advice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128495
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post #9846 of 15479
1/23/12 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck Smith View Post

Just wanted to thank you again for this thread and your guide. I just purchased your paid guides and I'm going to start purchasing everything I need this week. (Gotta love tax time, if you're getting money back that is) I'll post updates to my build once I finally decide on exactly what I'm going with. My main problem is trying to decide on which CPU to get. I don't play any games at the moment, kind of difficult with an 18 month old, but would kind of like to have that option going forward if it's in my price budget.

I can bundle this processor and motherboard locally at Micro Center for $235. Is that a good start for a decent gaming PC? I've been out of the gaming realm for awhile so just looking for some advice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128495

That's a VERY decent bundle for gaming.
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post #9847 of 15479
1/23/12 at 9:50am
assassin,
Do your guides detail the best container to use for storing movies on my media server? Storage space is not a concern so I don't need compression but I do want to re-author my movies to only include the main movie. I haven't decided on a front end for my HTPC yet.
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post #9848 of 15479
1/23/12 at 9:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heuer View Post

Don't worry about the TV logos - they are all here: http://www.iconharmony.com/icons/home . I also used the same channel icons, suitably re-sized, in the WMC TV Guide.

Thanks for the link! I've been searching for icons for a while now. This saves me tons of time!
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post #9849 of 15479
1/23/12 at 9:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcravenufo View Post

assassin,
Do your guides detail the best container to use for storing movies on my media server? Storage space is not a concern so I don't need compression but I do want to re-author my movies to only include the main movie. I haven't decided on a front end for my HTPC yet.

If you just want the movie with chapter support then I recommend MKV. There are a few choices but MKV works really well for me.
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post #9850 of 15479
1/23/12 at 10:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by krooooog View Post

1.) Suggestions on how to best handle power management? My HTPC is also my backup/media server for the main desktop in my house (photos, music, etc) and I like to run automatic weekly backups. I notice by default that the HTPC is going into some low power sleep mode that doesn't leave it visible on the network.

Any recommendations on a balance between power usage and accessibility?

2.) It looks like Windows stored all the OS updates/patches on my 2TB HDD rather than on the SSD where my OS resides. Any idea why, and can I delete those files (are they just temp update files)?

I leave my server on 24-7 and don't let it sleep. I use a Sandy Bridge Pentium which is very low power.

Now sure about how to change the location of downloads. That has never happened to me. You can perform "disk cleanup" to see if there are some temporary files to delete.
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post #9851 of 15479
1/23/12 at 10:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heuer View Post

Hi Assassin

Great new guide on the Harmony - it never occurred to me to create a 'Mouse' activity. Genius!

Thanks! Glad you like it!
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post #9852 of 15479
1/23/12 at 10:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I am considering doing a VERY BASIC Harmony One remote control guide.

Let me know your interest level.

That would be awesome. I only have the Harmony 880, but I'd be able to tweak the Harmony One guide to work with my 880.

-Pak
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post #9853 of 15479
1/23/12 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pakaderm View Post

That would be awesome. I only have the Harmony 880, but I'd be able to tweak the Harmony One guide to work with my 880.

-Pak

Its done.

Guide #44 (the 67th guide in total): The Harmony One for the HTPC
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post #9854 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:09am
SSD question... I'm thinking about adding one to my HTPC (or using one in a second build). I found a deal for a Kingston V200 64GB SSD + notebook upgrade kit for about $80 after rebate. Apparently this is a SATA/600 drive with 260read/100write speed.
I don't know much about SSD's. But the size and price seem nice for a boot drive. Should I go for it, or stay away? I notice Kingston doesn't appear on the recommended list in the first post...
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post #9855 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:16am
Hey Assassin,

Once again, thanks for all of your fantastic work!!!

I was reading Guide 9 "Introduction To XBMC and Installation" and there are three options regarding bitstream hd audio. Option 3 makes reference to a guide 11 that I do not see anywhere on the website where you can configure XBMC to use MPC-HC as an external player and use madVR / LAV combination which I would love to do.

Is this still a work in progress? Any other additional information on how to set this up, issues, etc?

Thanks!
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post #9856 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by n3x6 View Post

Hey Assassin,

Once again, thanks for all of your fantastic work!!!

I was reading Guide 9 "Introduction To XBMC and Installation" and there are three options regarding bitstream hd audio. Option 3 makes reference to a guide 11 that I do not see anywhere on the website where you can configure XBMC to use MPC-HC as an external player and use madVR / LAV combination which I would love to do.

Is this still a work in progress? Any other additional information on how to set this up, issues, etc?

Thanks!

Guide #11 is at the bottom of the "Paid Guide 9" page, or the same page you are already looking at.

-Pak
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post #9857 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrjinglesusa View Post

I will, thanks.

I posted on Crucial's forums as well not that that will help. If BIOS can't even see the drive is connected I don't have much hope there is anything that can be done to salvage the drive.

Hopefully, Crucial will replace it or I'll just return it directly to Amazon.

EDIT:

Well, I feel like a COMPLETE IDIOT. I could not be any more stupid. I went to Amazon to look at my orders and realized I ordered the drive from Newegg. Went there and pulled up my order. What's that? Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1. Yeah, I used the M4 firmware update on my C300 drive. Nice little $125 mistake. I guess I can laugh (or cry) now...

Sorry for the panic posts above. I'll leave them there for posterity. Lesson learnt.

I'm happy to report that Crucial is going to hook me up. I told them the truth about what happened and the tech support guy checked with his supervisor and said they were willing to do an RMA and send me a refurbished C300 drive.

That's great customer service. Thank you Crucial!!

For the record, he did confirm that my drive is hosed as there is no way to flash a different firmware on it. I suspect that THEY have a method to fix this and my old drive will end up as a refurbed C300 that will go to someone else.
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post #9858 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tlniec View Post

SSD question... I'm thinking about adding one to my HTPC (or using one in a second build). I found a deal for a Kingston V200 64GB SSD + notebook upgrade kit for about $80 after rebate. Apparently this is a SATA/600 drive with 260read/100write speed.
I don't know much about SSD's. But the size and price seem nice for a boot drive. Should I go for it, or stay away? I notice Kingston doesn't appear on the recommended list in the first post...

The Kingston drives are ok. They aren't as fast as some of the other drives but for HTPC it is enough. If you can get one for a great deal then its a good choice. If it close to the same price as one of the others then I would go with one of the others.
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post #9859 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pakaderm View Post

Guide #11 is at the bottom of the "Paid Guide 9" page, or the same page you are already looking at.

-Pak

Correct. Guide #11 in the Paid Guides 9 tab. I show you 2 different ways to bitstream HD Audio in XBMC.
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post #9860 of 15479
1/23/12 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrjinglesusa View Post

I'm happy to report that Crucial is going to hook me up. I told them the truth about what happened and the tech support guy checked with his supervisor and said they were willing to do an RMA and send me a refurbished C300 drive.

That's great customer service. Thank you Crucial!!

For the record, he did confirm that my drive is hosed as there is no way to flash a different firmware on it. I suspect that THEY have a method to fix this and my old drive will end up as a refurbed C300 that will go to someone else.

Great news. Crucial continues to be one of my favorite SSD companies for this reason and the fact that they just make good drives.
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post #9861 of 15479
1/23/12 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

If you just want the movie with chapter support then I recommend MKV. There are a few choices but MKV works really well for me.

I have a similar question. I want to rip all my DVD's to my HD without any compression. I don't want any of the extras, the only thing I want is the film and audio tracks (DD, DTS, Stereo). Are there settings in MKV or other programs that make this simple to do?
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post #9862 of 15479
1/23/12 at 1:10pm
Got a question for you all. Does any one notice that when playing movies from your HTPC some, most or all of the movies lack in sound? What I mean is for a good 75% or more of my movies I am pushing it beyound referance to lets say +5db and for the ones I do this to it sounds like a BD put in and played at -15db's.

Not sure why some movies burnt onto the HTPC would be like this. Bad thing is if I have to turn the volume up that high then I have to turn my subs down.

Hopefully some one has experianced this before and it would be a simple download to fix it.

I use MKV to burn my BD's. When burning them I usually keep checked the top 2 Audio selections (lossless and dolby) if the disc has it. The rest get unchecked along with the sub titles since I don't use them or any other language besides English.

System:
Sandy Bridge i3-2100 @ 3.10GHz
ASUS P8H67-M EVO
8 GIGs of memory
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
60 GIG M4 SSD for Operating system, etc.
4 2TB Samsung Green Drives
Lite-on N82E16827106346

^Has you can see it's pretty over kill

Thanks
Judd
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post #9863 of 15479
1/23/12 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krooooog View Post

I have a similar question. I want to rip all my DVD's to my HD without any compression. I don't want any of the extras, the only thing I want is the film and audio tracks (DD, DTS, Stereo). Are there settings in MKV or other programs that make this simple to do?

Yes.

Have you fired up makeMKV? It's simple. The biggest file is the main movie, usually title00. Deselect everything else, including subtitles and foreign languages/commentaries.

-Pak
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post #9864 of 15479
1/23/12 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrjinglesusa View Post

I'm happy to report that Crucial is going to hook me up. I told them the truth about what happened and the tech support guy checked with his supervisor and said they were willing to do an RMA and send me a refurbished C300 drive.

That's great customer service. Thank you Crucial!!

For the record, he did confirm that my drive is hosed as there is no way to flash a different firmware on it. I suspect that THEY have a method to fix this and my old drive will end up as a refurbed C300 that will go to someone else.


GREAT !!! Sure am glad it worked out for you
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post #9865 of 15479
1/23/12 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pakaderm View Post

Yes.

Have you fired up makeMKV? It's simple. The biggest file is the main movie, usually title00. Deselect everything else, including subtitles and foreign languages/commentaries.

-Pak

There is another free one called Blurip that I have been wanting to try out as well.
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post #9866 of 15479
1/23/12 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

That's a VERY decent bundle for gaming.

Thanks, good to know.

Started browsing through the paid guides today. Man, these are awesome. Already worth the money and I've only browsed through 2 of them.
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post #9867 of 15479
1/23/12 at 3:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

There is another free one called Blurip that I have been wanting to try out as well.

I have not tried that one yet either. Here is a guide on using it as well - http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010...v-with-blurip/
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post #9868 of 15479
1/23/12 at 3:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pakaderm View Post

Yes.

Have you fired up makeMKV? It's simple. The biggest file is the main movie, usually title00. Deselect everything else, including subtitles and foreign languages/commentaries.

-Pak

The other nice thing is Makemkv also keeps the Chapters. Not saying they are needed for skipping etc but just in case. I used DVDShrink in the past and that doesn't.
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post #9869 of 15479
1/23/12 at 5:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Here is another thread right here at AVS on your issue:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post20346807

I searched this thread, the HTPC thread and the whole avs forum and google for Windows Media Center and Netflix problems, "won't install" etc...and none of those results turned up those two posts you referenced. Clearly Assassin, your google skills far surpass those of mortal men

However, Success! Following the last post in the above thread did not exactly do the trick, but altering the instructions slightly DID get Netflix to work in Windows Media Center to work for me. Here is what i did:

1 - Upnplug the HTPC from the router and plug it directly into the Cable/DSL modem.

2 - Removed Media Center using: Control Panel>Programs and Features>Turn Windows Features on or off> Disable all features of Windows Media. Choose "restart later" if prompted.

3 - Start Menu, Control Panel, "Network And Internet", "Network and Sharing Center" "Change adapter settings" on the left side of the screen

4 - Right-click your network adapter and then select properties from the menu. (For example: "Wireless Network Connection" or "Local Area Connection")

5. On the Networking tab, double-click "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"

6. Check "Use the following DNS server addresses"

7. Carefully type in the Google DNS Server IPs 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

8. Click Ok and Ok again to exit.

After doing the above, open an administrative command prompt
1. Select start Menu, then Programs, then Accessories

2. Right click "command prompt" and select Run as Administrator
3. Type into the command window

ipconfig /flushdns

Now delete the contents of the ehome folder.
1 - go to c:\\windows\\Program Data\\Microsoft\\ehome

2 - select the entire contents of this folder and [shift]+delete

Restart your computer.

1. Re-enable Media Center using: Control Panel>Programs and Features>Turn Windows Features on or off> Enable all features of Windows Media. Choose "restart now"

2. Once restarted open windows media center, once it finishes initializing close it back down.

3. DO NOt CHOOSE UPDATE NOW from within Windows Media Center.

Restart Computer

1. Open another command prompt as ADMINISTRATOR.

2,
cd \\ [enter]

cd c:\\Windows\\ehome [enter]

start /wait mcupdate -uf [enter]

Wait a bit for the update complete message to appear.

Open Windows Media Center and Netflix and Internet TV and Sports menus should appear when you open Windows Media Center


There you go, now i have netflix and Diego working and happy kids learning spanish again
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post #9870 of 15479
1/23/12 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cburbs View Post

The other nice thing is Makemkv also keeps the Chapters. Not saying they are needed for skipping etc but just in case. I used DVDShrink in the past and that doesn't.

However, the nice thing about DVDShrink is that you can trim the back (or front) of the movie. So I would trim most of the credits off the end of the movie to save (up to) a hundred MBs or so. Then you can use makeMKV on the ISO that is already on the HD. That backs up in about 1-2 minutes.

-Pak
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