Windows 7 Media Center Online Resources

Here are a few of the sites that I go to for information regarding Windows 7 Media Center

ONLINE RESOURCES

• sevenforums.com
• hack7mc.com
• thegreenbutton.com
• http://www.theme7mc.com/
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11232-media-center-setup-movie-library.html - Tutorial on adding cover art to DVDs
• http://mcezone.com/home.php (Software for MCE)

Windows 7 Media Center Configuration Tweaks

Over the past 4 months I have assembled a list of Windows 7 and Windows 7 MCE configuration changes that have worked to enhance my installation and create a more stable environment. I am currently running Windows 7 64bit, but most if not all of these tweaks will work fine with Windows 7 32 bit.

MEDIA CENTER CONFIGURATION CHANGES

Disable Autorun DVD/Bluray in Windows Control Panel

Disable Autorun Media in PowerDVD

Add /nostartupanimation to ehshell.exe to bypass startup screen for MCE

• http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3831&Itemid=1

Clear MCE art cache (will only clear movie cache if using default Movies MCE application)

• C:\Users\USERNAME\local\Microsoft\ehome and there should be a folder named Art Cache
• Right click this folder and select the delete option.

Movie Artwork - manually adding movie covers when using default MCE Movies application

• Search for & download a file for the movie you would like as a poster and save it in the movie folder (created by file2folder.zip) and name it folder.jpg
• Do this for each movie.

To Allow for recorder to sleep when idle and wake and record shows

• Disable 'password on wake' in power settings (control panel)
• Clear the password for default logon account
• Set 'Sleep After 2 hours' in Win7 Power Settings
• Set MCE to start automatically on system boot (in MCE Setup)
• Set 'Boot on power - (or equiv) in system bios so when power fails and UPS shuts system down, and power is restored, windows will boot and MCE will load and scheduled recordings will continue
• Run gpedit from cmd prompt and go to: Computer Config, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, Accounts: Limit Local Account use of blank pws (change to disabled) - This allows Remote Desktop to Media Center with no passwords, since the password had to be blanked for un-attanded entrance into Media Center from sleep.
• Make sure that there is no media playing when you are not around; in order for the computer to sleep in 2 hours

Random wake problem - I wrestled with this problem for a log time until I finally found the secret!

• Disable WOL in Net driver and in bios due to random startup while in 'Hybrid Sleep'
• Configured power button to sleep unless pressed for 5 seconds
• Configured 'sleep button = sleep' in power settings
• Reference - shown below: http://www.michaelaulia.com/blogs/fix-windows-vista7-sleep-mode-from-waking-up-by-itself.html

What woke up your PC?
To find out what event/device woke up your Windows from its sleep state:

• Go to command prompt (type cmd on the Run/Search box and press ENTER), then type this: powercfg – lastwake
• To get the most detailed info (and probably easiest) on the device that wakes your Windows up during the sleep, type: powercfg –devicequery wake_armed

Now fix your waking problem
Open Run command and type in:services.msc click [Ok] - Locate the service for Windows Media Sharing and Disable it - or disable from services utility

Do the following tasks to disable the wake on mcupdate service

• Control Panel
• System and Security
• Scheduled Tasks
• Expand tasks to Microsoft>Windows>MediaCenter
• Find mcupdate_scheduled and right click on it
• Choose Properties
• Click Conditions Tab
• Uncheck Wake the computer to run this task

Change the following parameters for your NIC

• Right click on your “My Computer” then select Properties.
• Click Device Manager on the left side of the Properties window.
• Check your Network card on the Network Adapters (Click on the + sign to expand).
• Right click on your network card and select properties.
• Go to the Power Management tab and untick the option there to prevent your network card from ever waking up your Windows.

A few other parameters to check

• Check out your Power Management Options on your Control Panel (Start, Control Panel, Power Settings, Change plan settings, Change advanced power settings).
• “Multimedia settings” option, “When sharing media.” ->”Allow the computer to sleep.
• Check other options one by one while you’re at it.
• Disable WAKE-ON functions in BIOS
• Device manager - properties on Keyboard and Mouse - turn off 'wake on lan'

To Remote Desktop into Media Center do the following

Make sure the following have been done

• You must first make sure that the logon password is cleared. Make sure the policy is changed to allow no password for remote desktop - see above
• Make sure that MCE is set to auto start within the MCE settings screen

Remote Desktop Procedure

• Remote desktop to the Media Center Computer
• Restart media center as instructed (current recordings will continue at this point)
• When done with remote desktop, go to CMD prompt and type shutdown /r (this will reboot machine and start Media Center over - current recordings will be stopped)

Software for Windows 7 Media Center - the Ultimate but Affordable Installation

Here is the software that I have installed on my Media Center PC thus far. I am constantly testing software and I am finding that about 50 percent of all the software that I have tested is too buggy to run. This list of software seems to be very stable and dramatically enhances the look at functionality of Windows 7 Media Center. I will update this list as I test new software.

O.S.
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 or 64 bit (both tested) - currently using 64 bit (I highly recommend due to its ability to rip and stream at the same time. Windows 7 32bit did not perform as well while doing multiple tasks within MCE)

MUST HAVE SOFTWARE:

shark007 codecs: x32 and x64 (free)

• http://shark007.net
• (adds support for many audio and video formats within Windows Media and MCE)
• Install the registry hack to allow MCE 7 to play mkv files (supported by Shark007): http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/01/playing-mkvs-in-media-center.html
• Must install Windows 7 codecs and then the X64 Components using the website above
  

PowerDVD Version 9 (Pay)

• Install this if you wish to play Blu-ray discs or Blu-ray .iso files
  
• http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd/overview_en_US.html
• This or a similar player is required to play Blu-ray movies within MCE. There is currently no support within MCE for Blu-ray, which uses Windows Media Player

Radiotime plugin (free)

• A must have. Thousands of radio stations, talk radio and police, fire etc.
  
• http://radiotime.com/
• You must install the plugin for MCE: http://radiotime.com/partners/mediacenter.aspx
  

Hulu Desktop from hulu.com (free)

• Thousands of free movies and TV - another must have for MCE
  
• http://www.hulu.com/labs/hulu-desktop
• You must install the plug-in for MCE: http://secondrun.tv/

Anydvd (pay)

• I purchased a lifetime subscription. Great price for what you get.
• Integrates with Mymovies, which is another must have for MCE
  
• The best solution to rip DVDs and Blu-ray discs (I will discuss my ripping methodology in a later post)
  
• http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html
  

'Virtual Clone Drive' (free)

• http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html
• Mounts DVD/blu-ray as virtual drive
• If Mymovies is used, this is required to mount .ISO image files for DVD or Blu-ray playback
  
• If native Movies is used, will interface with the MountImage plugin

MountImage Plugin (free) (only if using native MCE Movies application. Do not use with MyMovies)

• Mounts DVDs and bluray within MCE's native Movie application
• Requires Virtual Clone drive to be installed
  
• http://www.mikinho.com/wmc/mountimage/MountImageSetup.msi
• MountImage Plugin information - http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/09/mounting-isos-in-the-native-movie-library.html (information on MountImage plugin)

YAMMM (free) (only if using native MCE Movies application. Do not use with MyMovies)

• Adds cover art and metadata to ripped movie images - use with native MCE Movies application
• http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/06/yet-another-media-meta-manager-from-mikinhosoft.html
• YAMMM info - http://mikinhosoft.blogspot.com/2009/05/yammm-yet-another-media-meta-manager.html
• YAMMM info - http://www.mikinho.com/wmc/yammmsetup.msi

file2folder.zip (free)

• Used to move DVD isos to their own folders to prepare for integration with MCE Movies or MyMovies
  
• http://www.sevenforums.com/attachments/tutorials/12135d1243394321-media-center-setup-movie-library-file2folder.zip

Weather Plugin (free)

• A must have weather plugin
• http://www.vista4cast.co.uk - (must login to forum to download)

Homeworld theme (free)

• An awesome theme. Works flawlessly in Win7 MCE 32 and 64bit
• http://www.theme7mc.com/

MyMovies (free)

• A must have replacement for the built-in Movies MCE application
• 'Once installed, use Media Center Studio' to remove the built-in menu strip for Movies and re-arrange your menu strips.
• http://mymovies.dk

Media Center Studio (free)

• Customize menu strips
• http://adventmediacenter.com
• Media Center Studio Docs - http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/community/media-center-studio/

TESTED SOFTWARE - DOES NOT WORK WELL IN MCE - OR NOT AT ALL

deamon tools Pro Standard (pay)

• mount iso images to be played with powerdvd Worked great but no mounting within MCE!
• http://disc-soft.com

Heatwave weather plugin (free)

• Im not even going to give you the URL
• DOES NOT WORK in Windows 7 MCE at the time of my test

media browser

• www.mediabrowser.tv
• Complicated
• did not work on MCE7

OTHER NON-MCE SOFTWARE INSTALLED

• VLC Media Player - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
  
• AVG Anti-virus (disable auto scanning) - http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage
  
• CCLEANER - http://www.ccleaner.com
• Firefox - http://www.firefox.com

HW Parts List for The Ultimate (and affordable) Windows 7 Media Center

I have compiled a list of HW that seems to work well with Windows 7 MCE. This is the hardware that currently makes up my MCE installation. I purchased most of these parts from the Micro Center in Marietta, GA.


Motherboard:
Gigabyte EP45-UD3P

Memory - 4GB

Video Card:
PNY Nvidia GeForce 9800GT (do not buy an ATI card)
(S/PDIF out header on MB into video card)

BDROM:
Pioneer BDC2202 (BDROM/DVD Writer)

KB/Mouse:
Logitech wireless KB and Mouse

UPS:
Cyberpower with Windows Vista/7 Client (2 minute shutdown)

TV/TUNER/HVR/FM Radio Card:
Hauppauge! WinTV-HVR 2250 (Dual Tuner)

• Note: Install Card, Download and install MCE kit and drivers from Hauppauge website (install drivers, then kit). Run MCE Setup, Settings, TV Signal, Set up TV signal (to enable Radio and TV catalog)
• Note: Comes with IR to control Cable/Sat box. Also comes with MCE remote but I prefer the Mediagate remote

Media Remote Control:
Inland (u-Jam Vista Remote Control) - 'Mediagate' - stock# 881250