Media Center Server Setup

I dont know what forum this should go in, since it uses a lot of different macs, but i'll try here
What kind of external RAID storage would you recommend if I need about 8-10 GB of storage. i need it to appear on one volume, preferrably coming in as a hardware RAID from the enclosure. i dont need it to be redundant, as I can back up the contents separately.
I will be setting up a media system as follows:
Server with lots of storage, probably my current mac pro, or an older G5. if it can handle it a G4 (my quicksilver), but I dont know if it can. I will have the RAID array coming into this computer. It could even be 2 smaller 4-5 GB RAIDs which I could then software RAID on the "server". I dont want these RAIDs to connect with USB. I dont know if Firewire would work, but i think the best choice would be firewire 800. this server will also run itunes to stream music, and video if itunes can lay surround sound. i'm not sure if it can though, does anyone know?
the reason I need so much storage is because I will be storing HD video from blu ray, and hopefully later on from HD DVDs too.
the other computers will access the server though the network
My desktop (a new mac pro when it is released), which will access the drives on the server for storage. apps and the like will obviously be stored on the desktop computer, but all the media will be streamed from the server. any files and the like will also be backed up to the server, and disk images and the like will be stored and accessed straight from the server.
2 televisions each with their own mac mini as a media player. i would keep my apple tv, but it wont do surround sound, and the mac mini will. both of these also accessing the server for everything. sharing music through itunes and hopefully video too. if itunes wont do surround sound, then I would need other software (any recommendations?)
mobile computers: my two laptops, and guests laptops. my two would also store practically everything on the server
iMac: a secondary desktop, functioning just like my main one
a third television running my apple tv. it will be in the second bedroom, and will not need surround sound. also, it will not be capable of playing 1080p, but will play all the other content and music.
the questions I have are:
-what enclosures would you recommend?
-is there any way to set this up so I can watch HD video on both mac minis at once, or would there only be sufficient bandwidth for one? maybe setting up 2 networks, one for each mini?
-could I stream 50 mbps video over apples airport extreme,or would I need to use a wired network?
-what computer should I use for a server? how much ram and what other upgrades?
-will the low end mac mini play 1080p video or would I need the higher end one?
-how much RAM should i have in the mac minis?
-should I share the internet connection through the server, or plug the server into the internet connections network? it will be a connection of at least 6 mbps, but hopefully more along the lines of 12-16 mbps
also, if anyone has any advice as to how to improve my planned setup, please let me know. I will barely be furnishing my new home, so I havent bought most of this yet
Thanks in advance

I'll only speak to the storage issue. I assume you are meaning 8-10Terabytes of storage. I'd start at http://www.amug.org and look at enclosures. A pair of 5 bay port multiplier esata enclosures with a matching pci card controller would be just the ticket to create a 10 disk array. I don't see how you can reasonably backup the contents separately. If you raid this into a single 10tb array that you actually need are you saying you'll back it up with stacks of blue ray disks? Good luck with that, but I guess it's not impossible if in fact these drives are actually backup for blue ray disks you will be accumulating. But if that was the case I don't know why it would be important to make it into one big array.
I'd stick with 1tb drives. It would be no cheaper to go with more 750's since you'd need more enclosures to do it.

Similar Messages

Can't get Xbox 360 Media Center Extender to work

I am using Windows 7 Ultimate x64. This is a retail copy. I had previously set up Windows Media Center and successfully set up my Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender.
After a long hiatus of using Windows Media Center, I went to watch a movie in my media library through my Xbox 360. It would appear to initially connect and then show the Windows Media Center loading screen and say "Contacting..." After about 30 seconds, it would display an error asking me to make sure my Windows Media Center PC is turned on (it is). I ran the Windows Media Center network test in the Xbox 360 and it tested fine.
I attempted to delete the Media Center Extender in WMC and set it up again, but it always fails with an error "An error was encountered while configuring your computer for use with this Extender" at the part where it says "Configuring your Extender".
I looked in the Event Viewer under the Media Center section and found event ID 543:
Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          3/3/2010 10:13:20 PM
Event ID:      543
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Error
Keywords:
User:          WILL7\swsander
Computer:      WILL7
Description:
Media Center Extender Setup failed to create the PnP device with ID: uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-00125AC6E86F (timed out after 120000ms).
Error: Element not found.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>543</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-03-04T03:13:20.805493500Z" />
    <EventRecordID>333</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="9408" ThreadID="9760" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>WILL7</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-2626302321-2836749625-3976135476-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
    <Data Name="ID">uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-00125AC6E86F</Data>
    <Data Name="Timeout">120000</Data>
    <Data Name="Error">-2147023728</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
I also tried turning off the Windows firewall on the Windows Media Center PC, but this had no effect on the outcome. I also tried deleting the Microsoft Windows Media Center Extender Host certificate and restarting the Network List Service, but these steps to did nothing to fix the issue.
I am using the same computer with the same NIC with the same Ethernet cable with the same SOHO router (Linksys WRT54GL) with the same Xbox 360. Any advice would be welcome at this point.

Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          12/10/2010 9:51:55 PM
Event ID:      592
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Warning
Keywords:
User:          Eric-PC\Eric
Computer:      Eric-PC
Description:
Your Media Center Extender was set up successfully, but failed to connect (timed out after 180000ms).
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>592</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>3</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-12-11T02:51:55.176149000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>428</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="16004" ThreadID="15676" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>Eric-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-3026407376-1936420717-4019103078-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
    <Data Name="Timeout">180000</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          12/10/2010 9:48:54 PM
Event ID:      506
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Information
Keywords:
User:          Eric-PC\Eric
Computer:      Eric-PC
Description:
Media Center Extender account Mcx1-ERIC-PC has been created for the Extender with ID: uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-001DD847D7F4.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>506</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-12-11T02:48:54.615896200Z" />
    <EventRecordID>427</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="16004" ThreadID="9024" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>Eric-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-3026407376-1936420717-4019103078-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
    <Data Name="User">Mcx1-ERIC-PC</Data>
    <Data Name="ID">uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-001DD847D7F4</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          12/10/2010 9:48:49 PM
Event ID:      500
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Information
Keywords:
User:          Eric-PC\Eric
Computer:      Eric-PC
Description:
Media Center Extender Xbox 360 Media Center Extender 'uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-001DD847D7F4' discovered at address 192.168.1.2.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>500</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-12-11T02:48:49.155888500Z" />
    <EventRecordID>426</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="16004" ThreadID="9024" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>Eric-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-3026407376-1936420717-4019103078-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
    <Data Name="DeviceName">Xbox 360 Media Center Extender</Data>
    <Data Name="ID">uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-001DD847D7F4</Data>
    <Data Name="Address">192.168.1.2</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          12/10/2010 9:48:36 PM
Event ID:      573
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Information
Keywords:
User:          Eric-PC\Eric
Computer:      Eric-PC
Description:
Media Center Extender found:
ID: uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-001DD847D7F4
IP Address: 192.168.1.2
Interface GUID: {d8f53a92-8e85-4d1e-bde0-ba30d9b14449}
NHED type: X02
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>573</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-12-11T02:48:36.095870300Z" />
    <EventRecordID>425</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="16004" ThreadID="15608" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>Eric-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-3026407376-1936420717-4019103078-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
    <Data Name="ID">uuid:10000000-0000-0000-0200-001DD847D7F4</Data>
    <Data Name="Address">192.168.1.2</Data>
    <Data Name="GUID">{d8f53a92-8e85-4d1e-bde0-ba30d9b14449}</Data>
    <Data Name="NhedType">X02</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          12/10/2010 9:48:35 PM
Event ID:      581
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Information
Keywords:
User:          Eric-PC\Eric
Computer:      Eric-PC
Description:
Media Center Extender Setup has determined that the Windows Firewall is enabled in the Home profile.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>581</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-12-11T02:48:35.555869500Z" />
    <EventRecordID>424</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="16004" ThreadID="14828" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>Eric-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-3026407376-1936420717-4019103078-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
</EventData>
</Event>
Log Name:      Media Center
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender
Date:          12/10/2010 9:48:35 PM
Event ID:      575
Task Category: Configuration
Level:         Information
Keywords:
User:          Eric-PC\Eric
Computer:      Eric-PC
Description:
Media Center Extender Setup started with the following settings:
Affiliation code: 159
Username: Eric
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Media Center Extender" Guid="{7B7838A3-6562-4269-BB7A-97B0D9593882}" />
    <EventID>575</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>4</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2010-12-11T02:48:35.485869400Z" />
    <EventRecordID>423</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="16004" ThreadID="14828" />
    <Channel>Media Center</Channel>
    <Computer>Eric-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-3026407376-1936420717-4019103078-1001" />
</System>
<EventData>
    <Data Name="AffCode">159</Data>
    <Data Name="User">Eric</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

Elements 7 on Vista Media Center

Hi,
I am running Photoshop Elements 7 on Vista Media Center and am unable to get the Media Center add-in to work properly.
If I open the Elements catalog from photoshop it displays all the thumbnails correctly (some are stored on a local hard drive and some are on a network drive).
In the Media Center plugin it only displays thumbnails of images located on the local hard drive. No thumbnails of any images on the network drives are displayed.
This cannot be a permissions issue since Photoshop Elements Organiser can access all of the images on the network drives and so can Media Center's photo viewer.
Is Photoshop Elements not capable of accessing images stored on a network drive?
thanks,
warren.

To rule out obscure problems with permissions, I suggest setting the permissions of the catalog folder and its contents and your picture folders and their contents to Allow Full Control for Everyone.
Also, see this section from the PSE 7 Readme:
HOME NETWORKING TROUBLESHOOTING
PROBLEM: Photos and videos appear as black thumbnails on Media Center Edition (MCE) Extenders.
ANSWER 1: This problem occurs when the Photoshop Elements Digital Home feature does not have permission to view the files in your user account. To learn more about security and permission issues with MCE Extenders, check the documentation that came with your device. To fix this problem, if your photos and videos are stored in your My Documents folder, you can use the Media Center Extender Manager to grant access to your My Documents folder to the MCE Extender
Launch the Media Center Extender Manager by going to Start > Accessories >Media Center >Media Center Extender Manager
Choose File > Settings. This will launch the Media Center Extender Setup program, showing you the Content Settings page.
Make sure the Make all My Documents Folders Available setting is checked. Continue to the end of the setup program by clicking Next at each page.
Click Finish when the last page loads. After running these steps, your photos and videos should display on your MCE extender.
ANSWER 2: Shared folders: An alternative resolution is to make the folder(s) your photos and videos are in, as shared folders on your machine. This will allow access to those photos on remote devices, including MCE Extenders. IMPORTANT: this will also allow access to your photos and videos from other computers on your network. Make sure you understand the security risks of shared folders before using this option.

Media center setup

Hi,
I am a long time linux user as a server platform but just recently started building a media center for me and I am not quite sure where to start to do what I want.
I have an archlinux install with HDMI output and sound (using ALSA), I currently configured kodi to run on boot with an automatic login to lightdm and this works fine but what I want to achieve is to have the choice to run something else besides Kodi, here is how I see this:
- system boots and display a choice of applications to run
- I choose the application
- it runs an associated script to setup the X session and run the application needed
I already know how to write/use different xsessions from the commandline ( lightdm -d -c <config> ) but the piece I am mising is how I can give a choice to select from, can I do it with lightdm ? I am not particulary attached to it if something else can do it.
Any hint/pointer will be greatly appreciated, once I have an idea of where to go and what to use I am confident I can find how to configure the different parts.

I find a setup that mostly works for me: I used lxdm as display manager, created one user for each application I want to run, removed the "!" in place of the password in /etc/shadow to allow passwordless login and added a .dmrc in each of the user's home folder to launch the window manager as well as the application itself which looks like this:
#!/bin/sh
i3 &
stepmania
Now I just need to make the selection screen look a little more sexy, maybe another display manager can do help with that but some of them look awfully complex to configure for what they do.
Ideally what I want to achieve is multiple large "blocks" side by side horizontally with a picture/icon inside instead of the current user selection.
If anyone can suggest a good option for the display manager it would be nice, there are a fair number of them and I found very little information on how they actually look or how they could look.

Mac mini server and media center

I recently purchased a Mac Mini Server for a few reasons. One being to put all my music, video and photos on it and play it on my TV via the HDMI cable. I also want to share that music, video and photos with my wife and my daughters over the network.
So mainly one video, music and image library shared with a MBP an 3 MB's on my network.
Also most if my video is from our iPhones.
I'd also like to put all my home movie DVDs onto the server as well.
Ideally all the data on the server can be played on the TV and all 4 Macs at the same time and it will be organized and easy to access.
Any ideas of what I should do? I know iPhoto won't let more then 1 user at a time have access so that's out.
If you have any ideas that would be great.
Thanks,
Darren

iPhoto should really just be for still images. I don't think the automatic media scanner expects to see videos there. (This would be true of most 3rd party media center applications).
For further assistance, you might wish to consult on the Plex Forums on their website. I'm sure your feedback there would be appreciated.

WRT610N, WET610N, XBOX, Windows Media Center Setup

I've searched the heck out of these forums and others. Most of the posts regarding connection problems between the Xbox and Windows Media Center using the WRT610N are fairly old and seem unresolved. I fear the people that had the problem have either solved it, and didn't return to post the solution or worse, gave up and returned their router.
I have the WRT610N V2 and I'd like to know if I can reliably use it with my xbox before the opportunity to exchange it ends. I've always been a fan of Linksys. But I am not inclined to suffer this degraded performance.  Is there a recommended WRT610N setup for reliable performance with the Xbox?
Yes, this is the second time I've asked the question here. But I got nothing on my first and suspected the subject didn't draw enough or the right attention. Please help. I really don't want to give up on Linksys.

Follow up to the situation.
Keep in mind that most of the suggestions regarding the 610n and the Xbox 360 problems are pretty old and I believe related to V1 of the router. The lack of response I've gotten lead me to believe these suggestions were not applicable to V2. But rest assured, I'm not imagining this problem.  The connection from the Xbox and WMC is inconsistent at startup, halts occasionally, and hiccups in streaming music pretty regularly.
I have really only tested in the few hours I have available on weeknights. I don't have the time to completely rearrange the network configuration every evening to try all of the suggestions I've read. Especially since I can't change much on the adapter remotely. I have to pull out my equipment rack, pull the power plug out of the surge protector to bring it into the office where the desktop computer is to reconfigure it. Because of this, I have been hesitant to make a lot of changes hoping that someone would post the "no shyt solution".
What's really got me is that since buying this router just this past weekend (at BestBuy by the way) I've had such varying results with little configuration change.  Sunday I got everything up just fine, but had hiccups in the streaming music. Monday I had to power down everything to get the xbox to connect to WMC and I switched to static IPs at that time. Once connected, I had the hiccups in the streaming music using WMC and LastFM. Then on Tuesday evening, I still had the hiccups. Then on Wednesday night, everything worked perfectly (both WMC and LastFM). But I hadn't changed anything since the hiccups on Tuesday night. I thought maybe the router needed time to settle in? Yeah, pretty crazy notion given we're talking about networking. If it's going to work, you'd think it would work right off the bat or not work.  So Thursday night, last night, the hiccups were back (both WMC and LastFM). And they seemed worse than ever before.
I would like to note that I have frequently tested the alternative method of streaming music with the xbox that uses the Windows Media Player vice Windows Media Center. That capability has had no problem at any time.  The WMC is a more pleasant and richer interface but I didn't have a WMC capable computer before. So in a pinch, I can continue using the WMP interface if I'm entertaining and haven't gotten this WMC thing worked out. But I had the WMP interface with my old Linksys G equipment. I just spent a fair dollar to gain N and WMC, I feel I have wasted my money if I have to drop back to the WMP interface.
Anyway, back to results... I'm off today and figured I'll try some of the suggestions. This morning initially, the xbox will connect with WMC, but won't maintain the connection. This is before I even fire up any music. So, here I am again scanning the Linksys forum for the suggestions. I figure I'll try the recommendations that don't require me to pull the WET610N into my office for reconfiguration. Ok, so a few easy recommendations (mind you, these were all provided for the V1, I haven't read anything particular to the V2), is to change the Beacon Interval to 50, Fragmentation and RTS Thresholds to 2306 and 2307 respectively. So far, that's all I've done, and of course powered the router and adapter down.
Everything is working perfectly. Am I convinced I have a solution? No. As I've read and in my own experience, things in this router change day to day. What works today might not work tomorrow.
So if there is anyone out there that is familiar with this problem, your insight would be invaluable to me!

Win7 media center streaming video

Hi, not too sure if this is the right area but the closest i could locate. First off, except for what I'm trying to do, every thing appears to be working fine.
I'll give the hardware 1st-i have a WET610N hooked up to a HD/DVR (directv) the VOD works fine.
A dell XPS400 hard wired to a WRT400N. The wireless computers (both G and N) connect and work fine and connects with ATT DSL fine.
I set up the 610N using the CD and following directions(hardwired to router 1st then connected to the HD/DVR.
All currently used computers are using Win7 (and so far working fine)
What I'm trying to do is watch the recorded programs on the DVR on the computer(XPS400). When I run media center it locates the DVR and even lists the recorded programs but they all have zero times listed. If I click on one the computer appears to be downloading them, then I get a wrong file format error. Is this saying directv stores their files in a funky format and media center can not play them? Is there a fix for this or a different way besides media center to play them. Haven't tried going from the computer to the tv yet but I have a feeling it'll work-I looked over (quickly) directv's media share in the HD/DVR and looks like if i have the files in the correct dir that the dvr will find them.
Hopefully I explained what I'm trying to do-watch recorded programs from the HD/DVR on the computer.
thanks

as far as i know i'm up to date on the codecs. i've beel looking and also have win updates set.
i loaded that program and it finds and works with the other networked computers but it does not list the directv (media center) or list any of the computers as a media server (like win media center does)
i saw there was a network setup in the program but have no idea what to put in the blanks. it looks like it's more for use with the internet although it might be able to use on a personal network but i have no idea how to go about setting it up.
i did check to see if the directv media server will work with the computers and it does(atleast the music on my desktop)
there is a program out there from directv called directv2pc but it checks the computer and on the dell xps400 or the hp g60-441 neither passed their test(video, although they passed the requirements for win7 -- i did have to update a video crd in a different desktop) and i have the most current drivers on both of them. seems like they require top of the line equiptment although these computers seem to work for other video streaming and as far as i can tell it doesn't load anything if it doesn't pass.
i know i can't be the only one that wants to stream from the dvr to the computers and there has to be a way to do it.

Zen X-Fi Streaming Music from a media center Help Please

Hi,
I just opened brand new Zen X-Fi 6GB checked out it's playback installed Creative Centrale and was ready to test media streaming. Here it is where my frustration started and I hope somebody can help me.
The system:
Windows XP Pro SP3
Antivirus Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 (tried switching off during tests as well);
Windows Firewall switched off;
PC Connected through cable to wireless router Linksys WRT54GX-v2
MAC filtering is off in router
X-Fi obviously connected via wireless. Sofware version on X-Fi: .03.0 ( I know there is newer version, haven't tried that one yet)
Media Server is enabled in Creative Centrale, name to server is given. Instructions on http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowA...aspx sid=52949 have been read, everything seems to be set according to description.
Zen X-Fi finds my Wireless network and connected after I initially entered wireless password. When searching for Media Server, only Creative MediaBox comes up. This proves that Zen X-Fi is able to connect to router and that it talks to media server on internet. However, it does not see my Media Center provided by Centrale. I have also J.Ri'ver Media Center running on another PC at home that also has UPnP server running ( which I tried to switch off and on during tests). Not sure if this inmpact Centrale MEdia Server in any way. I have also found UPnP Enable/Disable option in my router setup, again traid enabling and disabling it, not sure what should be the set up.
I have probably tried to start server 25 times. There were four possible outcomes:
. Finds only Creative Media Box. Happened mostly
2. Gets stuck while searching, nothing happens. Basically have to soft reset to start it again. On/Off does not work. This happened probably 2 times during my test.
3. Once I go back from list of media servers (with only Creti've MediaBox in a list) , and try to hit Media Server again, player freezes. I get almost black screen with little backlight, which can only be seen in dark environment. Again, no other option than to soft reset. This happened 5 times
4 It found Media Server from Centrale as well as my Media Center from J.Ri'ver MEdia Center. This happened once... during my tests. Almost felt like I won lottery... Kaspesky was on during this test, by the way. Connected to Centrale and heard music, it was fine. Could not connect to J.Ri'ver media center, but that is another topic probably.
To summarize. This is not acceptable if I have to try 25 times, with 7 soft resets and hope for one succesfull connection. Certainly there is something wrong and I can't figure it out. Can you please help me

Same problem on my laptop at work, at home it just hangs looking for media server. The media server name shows up in my network devices. I turned off my firewall, etc.
I can't believe there's no response yet, I just emailed customer support.

Windows XP Media Center Edition FAQ

What is a Media Center PC?
It is basically a regular PC, but designed to fit into your home entertainment system to replace your DVD player, Hi-Fi, TV set-top box, as well as allowing other functions as email, web browsing and more, all from the comfort of your armchair, or elsewhere
Many new Media Center PCs (MCPCs or Home Theatre PCs - HTPCs) are styled like hi-fi components to blend in under your TV, while many are regular PCs with extra multimedia functions.
What is Windows XP Media Center Edition?
Windows XP Media Center Edition (or XP MCE for short) is basically Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2) without advanced networking support (but including Remote Desktop Connection) and extra applications to turn your PC into a fully fledged Home Theatre PC (HTPC). The main Microsoft Media Center appplication allows a full screen interface suitable for viewing on TVs (pictured below left) and controlled by an easy to use Microsoft remote control device (below right), so you can watch and record TV, view DVDs and listen to audio CDs and digital music files.
How do I get WinXP MCE?
At the time of writing, XP MCE is only available as an OEM pack which you can purchase from your nearest dealer or online reseller, or if pre-installed on a purchased system. MCE is currently only available as a 32bit (x86) version, but works on 64bit systems.
The Media Center application is also included with the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.
How do I install WinXP MCE?
MCE installs the same way as any other version of Windows XP. However it cannot be installed as an upgrade, you must do a clean install. MCE comes on two disks; a WinXP XP SP2 disc, and the MCE extras disc. Boot from CD1 as you would normally when installing Windows. The setup screens will indicate Windows XP Professional, this is normal. During the graphic part of the install process, you will be prompted to insert CD2. This is obviously the second CD of the set which you should insert, as it contains the necessary extra Media Center enhancements. When it is done, Setup will ask you for the "Windows XP SP2 CD". It is actually just asking for the first disc again, so reinsert it and let it continue.
When install is complete, the system will reboot, and you will see the normal Windows XP desktop, though with a slightly different theme. To begin using the Media Center program straight away, click on Media Center in the Start Menu to begin the Media Center Setup wizard.
What graphics hardware is required for MCE to work correctly?
MCE works with DirectX 9.0c, so ideally your hardware at a minimum needs to be DirectX 9.0 compatible.
MCE requires a minimum of 64mb video RAM (shared or dedicated), 128mb recommended for the full visual "eye-candy" interface effects.
For Nvidia GPU chipsets, MCE drivers can be found here: nVidia Drivers. You'll need at least a Geforce FX5200 for MCE to work (however I have it running on an integrated Geforce 4 MX with no problems).
For ATI GPU chipsets, drivers for MCE can be found here: ATi Drivers. You'll need at least a 9250 for MCE to work, but I understand that the 9200 may also suffice.
Unfortunately, I understand that SiS and Via (S3) chipsets (as found on many mobos with integrated VGA) are NOT MCE compatible. Some Intel integrated VGA chipsets will work now, you should refer to Intel's website for updated drivers. I also understand that Via have introduced MCE compatible drivers for their Epia SP13000 ITX board, again refer to Via's website for correct drivers. However, it is recommended to use an add-in VGA card for best results, unless you have a new board which has integrated Geforce 6100 or ATI Xpress chipsets
What TV hardware works with MCE?
In order to display TV output, MCE requires an MPEG2 stream to display. It cannot encode this itself, so requires a hardware based TV tuner / capture card, such as the Hauppage PVR MCE series, or the MSI Theater 550PRO (above left). The card receives analog video through the aerial connection, or svideo / composite inputs, encodes it into MPEG2 format, which MCE can display.
This type of analog card is required to connect a cable or satellite box (eg Telewest, NTL or Sky in UK). Using the Microsoft remote receiver, two supplied IR blasters affix to the set-top box, so MCE can automatically change channels when needed.
For best picture quality on digital TV though, you can use a software-based DVB-T card, such as the Hauppauge Nova-T or the Black Gold DVB-T (above right). Using a regular aerial, these receive high quality digital terrestrial (OTA) signals (eg the Freeview service in UK), which are broadcast in MPEG2 format, and therefore no encoding is required. In the USA, ATSC is the digital terrestrial standard used, as DVB is not available there.
Unfortunately UK users of DVB-T cards will currently not be able to make use of DVB subtitles, interactive text-based services such as Teletext and BBCi, or listen to the Digital Radio services available on Freeview. UK DVB Digital Audio services are now available with MCE Rollup 2.
Unlike with VGA cards, MCE requires that your TV hardware has special BDA (Broadcast Driver Architecture) drivers which are MCE compatible. Check your hardware manufacturers website for compatible drivers.
Unfortunately, analogue TV hardware that is software-driven (such as MSI TV@nywhere and Vox) won't work in MCE.
Windows Vista Media Center will introduce support for cable (DVB-C) and satellite (DVB-S)tuner cards
Do I need any other software to make MCE work?
As MCE is essentially based around Windows Media Player 10, you will be aware that WMP cannot play DVDs until you install a suitable DVD codec. This is also the case with MCE, as until you install this MPEG2 codec, MCE won't play ANY video (including TV). So you will also need to purchase additional MCE compatible DVD player software, such as Cyberlink PowerDVD 6, Intervideo WinDVD 6, or Nvidia's DVD Decoder MPEG codec. Results can be varied using different codecs, so it is best to try a trial version of such software to see which gives you the best results before purchasing. You may find that suitable DVD software may already be supplied with some VGA or TV tuner cards.
Anything else I need?
You will also require an internet connection (not imperative, but certainly very useful) in order for MCE to access the internet in order to find and download TV guide listings, and album and artist information when playing CDs, MP3s and WMAs.
Without guide information, you will have to manually schedule TV recordings, and no programme information will be available.
If you are planning on having your Media Center in your living room, the Microsoft Remote Controller will allow you to control all aspects of the MCE interface without the need for a keyboard or mouse connected.
If you are connecting your Media Center to your TV, then your video display device will need TV-out capabilities (S-Video or Composite). S-Video offers better picture quality over composite video, but you will need to ensure your TV supports S-Video input, otherwise you will just see black and white video.
If your TV supports RGB inputs, then you may be able to obtain a VGA > RGB adaptor, which offers even better picture quality (search with Google, there are lots of sites about this). Many modern LCD and plasma TVs also support direct VGA / DVI inputs. VGA > RGB/SCART is only compatible with ATI Radeon VGA cards.
Can I watch one channel while recording another?
Yes, but you will need two identical TV devices, eg 2x DVB-T cards. You cannot have one analogue card, and one digital, as MCE presumes both hardware devices receive same channels, and can pick and choose between them. (However in the USA, you may have two analogue tuners, and one HDTV tuner)
This is straightforward when using two identical DVB-T cards. MCE has a channel list and guide data, so for example you are watching BBC1 on one tuner, MCE uses the other tuner to record the other programme on ITV2. Both cards are receiving the same input.
It gets a little more complicated if you want to do the same with a paid subscription service, such as NTL Cable or Sky Satellite in UK. As well as having two matching tuners (although I understand that some companies, including Hauppage, are releasing "dual-tuner" cards) you will also require two set-top boxes, with a subscription for each, as MCE needs to be able to change the channel on each set-top box seperately.
Good links....
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 homepage
The Green Button - very good MCE community forum
MCESoft - for all sorts of plug-ins and extras for MCE
XPMCE.com - Windows Media Center forums
ukShazam.com - Media Center help & more
Note: MSI is not responsible for the content of external links[/b]
Look out for me in the XPMCE forums if you need further help!
That's about it for now, hope you find it useful. As I think of (meaning "remember" ) other stuff I'll add it above. If you know something that I've missed out, please post below with as much info as you can, and I'll add it to the guide, with a credit to you!
If you need help to solve a problem or want to ask a question, then START your own thread, with as much info as you can, please do NOT post in this thread, this thread is only for tricks,tips and useful reference info.

For some reason when using the "certified" MCE version of the Forceware drivers, after a short while all the buttons in the menus become "corrupted"
The simple solution: use regular XP/2000 version of Forceware drivers. They still work perfectly in MCE2005, and the graphical corruption doesn't appear.
nVidia Drivers
EDIT: this problem appears to have been corrected in the recent Rollup 2 Update

Media Center on Standard Def TV with 2009 Mini

Hi all,
I'm recently married and since my wife the chef got every pot and pan she could ever hope for as wedding gifts, I get to treat myself to a Mac Mini media center. I'm hoping someone out there can give me their opinion on resolution quality.
Here's my current setup. I have a five year old 27 inch Sony Trinitron Wega 27FS120 which is limited to 480i. I have a first generation Macbook Pro and currently use a DVI to cable adapter to connect by composite when we want to stream Netflix, Hulu or use Boxee. The quality of streaming Netflix is acceptable for us, and while Hulu is a bit washed out it's still acceptable. The text on Boxee can be difficult to read at times, but we can live with it. iTunes standard definition downloads are great, and the HD obviously doesn't come across on the TV but we're very pleased with iTunes video.
From everything I've read, in order to make this work, I would need to use the mini-dvi or mini-displayport on the Mini to connect to a VGA converter to connect to composite video to make the transition to Mac Mini. My #1 concern is that video quality will deterioriate as a result of the conversion/additional adapter and I'm not going to be satisfied with the quality. We're drive-it-into-the-ground people and shudder at the thought of replacing a perfectly good TV if we can get the same quality out of the VGA-hooked media center as we're used to for a couple of more years. However, if there's going to be a noticable dropoff, with Black Friday coming, we'll bite the bullet.
Can anyone comment on what I might expect the dropoff in video quality to be considering what I'm currently using?
Thank you!
Ryan

My opinion is you won't be seeing much difference between what you have now with the MacBook Pro and the new mini. Whether the video signal translation takes place in the root device or in an external device, the final on-screen quality difference should be negligible between the two because the primary limitations come from other points in your configuration, not the point of translation.
Is S-Video use an option with your TV? You might realize at least a slight improvement over what you see now with composite video.

Need advice on on a Mac Pro 1,1 Media Center

I currently have a 2009 Mac Mini running as my home media center, but I recently came by a FREE Mac Pro 1,1 and have decided to repurpose it as my media center so I can migrate my Mac Mini to my bedroom TV where it will live an easy life doing nothing but run Plex Home Theater, Netflix, and EyeTV. This machine falling into my lap was also quite timely because my 4-bay Drobo is running low on available expansion and another Drobo isn't in the budget at the moment.
This vintage mac pro is running Lion 10.7.5, has 1 old and crusty 500GB hardrive, dual x5160 processors, 4GB RAM (one stick i'm pretty sure is toast judging by the red light and the kernel panics), and the standard NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB graphics card. It will be used primarily for the following: network storage for iphoto and itunes libraries, streaming video, Plex Media Server & Plex Home Theater, and Handbrake encoding. I also have a goal of safety of data for my movies, photos and music as this machine will supplement my current Drobo storage.
My plans are for a 128GB SSD boot drive installed in one of the PCIe slots and then to load up all 4 of the 3.5" drive bays with WD Green hard drives. I have also ordered 4GB of replacement RAM, so upon removal of the faulty unit I will have 7GB.
Here is where I need advice because I am not very familiar with RAID and the differences between hardware or software raid. Am I better off getting four drives of the same size and setting them up as RAID 5 (I think) using Apple's RAID utility or should I throw in three 1TB drives and then install a fourth 3TB or 4TB drive as a Time Machine backup for the other three?
Should I upgrade the OSX to the technically unsupported latest version? Or is it not worth the trouble for this application?
Also, is there any benefit to upgrading the graphics card to the ATI Radeon 5770? Would this yield an improved image quality? I am outputting to a Denon AV Reciever and subsequently to a 100" projection screen, if that makes a difference. I also noticed the 5770 has an HDMI port, wich would be nice, but not necessary since I can use a DVI converter and woud still need to use the optical audio out anyway.
Much obliged for any input

My plans are for a 128GB SSD boot drive installed in one of the PCIe slots and then to load up all 4 of the 3.5" drive bays with WD Green hard drives. I have also ordered 4GB of replacement RAM, so upon removal of the faulty unit I will have 7GB.
PCIe cards that use or support SSD are not bootable until you get to 2008 (and that is limited too).
Green are not suited for any form of array unless say NAS and WD RED. Better option would be 3 x 2TB WD Blacks in a mirror, and too many people only use two drives, well 3 is much easier safer and works better. Might want to invest in www.SoftRAID.com product even.
Best price and quality, got my 1,1 with 8 x 2GB (ideal is 4 or 8 DIMMs)
2x2GB FBDIMM DDR2 667MHz @ $25
http://www.amazon.com/BUFFERED-PC2-5300-FB-DIMM-APPLE-Memory/dp/B002ORUUAC/
With price of 250GB SSD $155 I'd go with that or stick with $89 for 128GB .

How to share iPhoto library with Windows 7 Media Center?

Is there a way to share an iPhoto library over a local network with a Windows 7 Media Center PC? I have a Mac Pro that has my iPhoto library [about 9,500 pictures and about a hundred videos] which is about 70GB. I also have a Windows 7 PC connected to my plasma TV for media, most of which is drawn from a 5TB NAS. Ideally, I'd like a way for my Mac Pro to keep a copy of the photos and videos on the NAS [the original should stay on the Mac Pro] without requiring me to manually copy over the new photos.
My understanding is that iPhoto isn't designed to do any type of cross-platform sharing whatsoever, but hopefully I'm wrong. I would definitely appreciate any help; thank you!

Thanks for your input, Terence Devlin. At this point, I'm not even looking for a cross-platform media server application. I'm looking for (and wondering why iPhoto doesn't have) a way for us to use iPhoto in a way that it already functions.
What I mean by locking you in is that Apple is saying, if you do it our way, (iPhoto/iTunes/iPhone/iPod) you can get the functionality you want, but even within that ecosystem, it's inconsistent. Like I mentioned previously, syncing photos to your iPhone/iPod Touch through iTunes gets you all the photos organized by events. And clearly, iTunes/iPhoto is capable of reading the iPhoto database, and pulling out the photos and organizing them by events. Yet we can't do it from iPhoto itself. And that's not even getting into Apple saying Spotlight on the iPhone searches through everything...except photos...even though with iPhoto '09 they're encouraging us to tag faces and places...I just think it's odd/a shame that Apple is hiding existing functionality from its users.
At any rate, I will be giving that other application a try.
(p.s. you can't "aggregate out" something and get something smaller; aggregate as a verb means to gather together or sum up, and as a noun means the total or summation.)

A700 blue screen of death when performing Live TV Search in Windows Media Center

I just got my new Lenovo IdeaCenter A700 today and have been busy setting it up. I was trying to set up the TV on it, and used Windows Media Center. I plugged the tv cable in to the back of the computer and selected "live tv setup". I then put in my zipcode and it was downloading some things and then came up with a blue screen. When the computer restarted the information below was the MS error message. I have attached the files mentioned in the log. This happened to me twice.
Hope you can help.
Please let me know if you need anymore information.
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name:   BlueScreen
OS Version:   6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID:   1033
Additional information about the problem:
BCCode:   4a
BCP1:   0000000076E5FF2A
BCP2:   0000000000000002
BCP3:   0000000000000000
BCP4:   FFFFF8800AADECA0
OS Version:   6_1_7600
Service Pack:   0_0
Product:   768_1
Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\102110-15849-01.dmp
C:\Users\fennis\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-36941-0.sysdata.xml
Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409
If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

Update Windows and all drivers, download newest video driver from AMD website, you have some software issue.

My media center M8000y no longer completes boot sequence...I turn on the desktop and sometimes the b

HP Media Center M800y, System # GG755AV#ABA, Windows Vista Ultimate, Desktop will not complete boot sequence as the Blue & white HP screen which doesn't always appear, will give options to either
a).Press F10 to enter setup or,
b). to press f11 to start recovery partition in hard drive that doesn't work when tried.
Can enter setup when blue & white HP screen appears but do not know what to look for when inside.
If I pick none of the 2 options, the screen just turns black with a horizontal line "-" blinking at the upper left hand corner of the screen. Sometimes the screen will not even show the blue & white HP screen and it just stays black.
I changed the CMOS battery and nothing happened except that now the blue & white HP screen with the 2 options appears even less when I attempt to start up... I also tried using the recovery disks to no avail...
A power surge knocked out the power in my building and the computer suddenly stopped working while streaming netflix video afterwards... Then when attempting to re-boot once power was restored, The screen showed some very wierd, almost alien fonts on the top of the black screen that almost resembled Chinese or hyrogliphics. Upon further attempts to re-boot to no avail, I'm at a loss in diagnosing the possible causes or failure modes... Can somebody help me in the right direction???
I'm leaning towards either a corrupted bios via virus, or a fried hard drive or both. If you think something else or this has happened before and anyone knows a fix, I would be eternally grateful for your guidance in resolving this problem I'm experiencing.
Respectfully,
Henry

I would lean more to a hard drive problem.
A quick test is to temporarily disconnect the hard drive - the system should quickly indicate it can't find the HDD, can't boot, etc. You should also have the option to press one of the function keys to enter system BIOS.
If when you hook the drive up again - it starts getting flaky/slow again to do anything - you've likely found your culprit.
-DM (a long-time HP employee)
-DM (HP Retiree)
NOTE: If this helps you or solved your problem - please say thanks by clicking the white kudos star on the left.
If you think this would also help others, please mark 'Accept as Solution' to help them find it easier.

NO profiles on Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center?

Hello,
We have one desktop and on laptop running windows 8.1. We purchased two copies of Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro Pack and upgraded them to Windows 8.1 Pro. After joining the domain, it seems to be working fine for one day. Over the weekend,
the user tried to log back on, it doesn't have any profiles. Do a Ctrl+Alt+Del, there is nothing to enter the username/password. It just have the left arrow. When clicking on the left arrow, it goes back to the screen that says "Press
Ctrl+Alt+Delete to sign in." We have run chkdsk /f and look at the profile list in the registry and they look correct. The only way to look in is using Safe Mode. We have disable all the non-MS services and startup items and
still have the same issue with NO profile and cannot log in.
Also, in Safe Mode, we were able to leave the domain but still have the same issue.
We have system image and try to restore it, it says something about not having an admin account. Seems very strange since there are two admin accounts.
We have other Windows 8.1 PRO (with NO media center) workstations joining the domain and do not have this issue. This seems to happen Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center upgraded from 8.1. We could reformat the drives and reinstall everything but
it happens twice on one computer an once on the laptop. It will probably happen again.
Created new admin accounts, and enable the default administrator account but still cannot see anything in normal mode.
Does anyone know how to fix this issue and know why this happened?
Thank you!

Hi,
Did you mean the sign in input box without problem under Safe Mode?
If yes, sign in with one administrator account to create a new administrator user in safe mode, and then boot into normal mode to check the result.
If it could sign in the new user without problem, follow this guide to fix your another user profile.
Fix a corrupted user profile
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/fix-corrupted-user-profile#1TC=windows-7
If you have no any administrator account, no method unless do an in-place upgrade installation to fix:
This article applied to Windows 7 is a reference for you:
How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 & Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2255099
Karen Hu
TechNet Community Support

Media Center Server Setup

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