Media Center iMac?

One of the bigger negative aspects of the iMac for me personally, is that if I switched I would lose my Media Center capabilities as far as recording tv and watching it on my computer. Is there a similar tivo/media cetner pc program for iMACs? Do I need a tv tuner card any info much appriciated...

But, if you don't want to research, you can just buy an aftermarket device like eyetv. It connects to your iMac via usb2.0 and I believe they have a firewire version also. But it will allow you to record live tv to your iMac. It has a built in turner. I think I just saw recently where they released a version that can record either analog or digita broadcasts.
Glor

Similar Messages

IMac as Media Center

Good evening,
I've got a late model MacBook Pro and an 800mhz PowerBook at present. The PowerBook hosts my iTunes library, ipods (got a few), and SlimServer for my SqueezeBox (slimdevices.com). I'm rather peeved that Leopard will not support the PowerBook as Time Machine and screen sharing seemed like a brilliant way to keep that little bugger alive. Doubly annoyed as I replaced the hard drive and had to buy Tiger (lost originals) to bring it back on line a few months ago.
Anyway, I just ordered a 42" LCD TV and was thinking a Mac Mini would be a great replacement for the PowerBook as a media center for my downloaded videos, etc. But, by the time I buy a Mini, drop a bigger hard drive in, buy a wireless keyboard and mouse, I've spent as much as I would on a 17" refurb imac.
What is the village consensus on using the imac as a media center? What challenges are expected (versus a Mini)?
Any thoughts are appreciated.
-P.

Hello,
I would just use the program to enable Windows to read the OS X partition. Get a good Anti-Virus and FireWall installed for Windows. And, keep it updated (as well as keeping Windows updated).
The potential problem you mention would be true of any external drive if the Windows installation was able to read / write it. So, it really makes no difference there.
The only file system that both OS X and Windows can read and write to is FAT32. And OS X's PKG files (downloaded programs, installed programs, and system updates) cannot be written to a FAT32 volume. So, you would still prefer to have that external drive formatted as a Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) volume.
So, I'd just go with a program like MacDrive:
http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive6/
It has a trial version (limited by number of days it will work) that you can use to see if you like it. I've used it before, and it worked great.
I hope this helps.

Will Windows Media Center boot on iMac? (apparently has EFI)

Will Windows Media Center boot on new Intel iMac? (apparently has EFI)
http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?s=1bb30b5a80e6971d414d1113cb265cd5&showt opic=6700&st=80
It seems that Gateway says they use EFI on one of their Windows MCE desktops.
So if any of you lucky new Intel owners who also have the disks try loading it.
As the first person to load Windows on a Mac will be famous ( and maybe a criminal- although Apple said they won't press charges )

Not to be mean or anything but why do all these
people want to have windows xp on a Mac OS X built
computer? If you want media center buy a windows pc
not an apple pc.
Because I have a couple of programs that run only on wintel. If I can get them to run on the intel iMac, I can get rid of the other computer completely.
Glor

WIndows XP Media Center did not install totally

Hey guys and gals,
I had a new WinXP Media Center disc set to install into my Boot Camp. But, when installing into my new iMac flat screen all alum. computer, there is no way to eject the CD 'during' the installation of WinXP. Thus it only uses disc one for the install of XP.
One 'can' eject the CD by rebooting the computer (hold down the off switch in back) and when the screen color appears, hold down the left mouse click button. But, the Installation process 'restarts'. Thus getting 'disc two' to be installed isnt possible. (During the installation, Windows stops and says 'please install disc two and press enter when its ready, which you cannot do, so its stuck there. I finally found that hitting 'Escape' key 'continues' the process of loading WindowsXP).
So.. My question is, can Windows XP Media Center be loaded still? Or is it not possible.
By the way, I am loving this iMac. Never had one before. This is AWESOME!!! Very impressed with Leopard. Very impressed.
Bill

Hi Bill,
lionheart_001 wrote:
Hey Stefan,
I have already done alot of setting up of Windows XP. I didnt want to wipe it all out. Would I need to backup all my files in XP to do the OS repair?
So you already have a Windows XP on your Mac, right ?
To my knowledge the MCE version has no update mechanism included for such a scenario.
But I might be wrong.
What happens when you you run Windows and insert the MCE CD ?
Are you prompted with a possibility to update ?
If not, then my first assumption is correct and a complete reinstallation is your only choice.
Have a look at WinClone for a backup of your current XP installation.
Thats what I am afraid of.
Hope not...
Cheers,
Bill
Regards
Stefan

Media Center vs. Front Row

I hate to say, I just watched the keynote, and Steve made a really thoughtless comment that got the crowd cheering.
He had a comparison of the iMac remote, and 2 different Windows XP Media Center remotes from HP and Gateway. He pointed out that the MC remotes had around 50 buttons, and the iMac remote had 6. This is an absurd comparison.
The Media Center remotes allow you to pause, play, record, rewind, and fastforward TV. They also have, EQ controls, volume, audio switching, video input, and many other useful controls.
There's no surround sound with an iMac. There's no hi-def inputs with an iMac. There's just volume, play, rewind, fastforward. (with the remote).
And yes, I own a Media Center PC, and such a copy Front Row is. He's bragging about it like it's new technology, when the Media Center has been around for 4 years or so. He even copied the in-menu interface (once you choose music or video, etc.).
Vikram

Vikram's point was that Media Center has been out first for 4 years and Apple just NOW came out with it. And copied parts of it besides. By the way, other things, like Widgets, has been out for PC's a while before they were included in Tiger. Apple is not as great as they, and Steve Jobs, think they are. And everything Apple is still overpriced compared to PC's.

Bootcamp and Media Center 2005

I have a full version of media center intended for any pc and whenever i try to install it on my macbook pro via leopard, the entire install process will go through, but after install i boot to windows and i get a disk error. Any ideas. I was able to install this exact same OS via the bootcamp beta, and even after the upgrade to leopard, the MCE 2005 os worked. But after i did a comlete os install of leopard, i can no longer use leopards boot camp to install this os successfully. Any ideas, or where can i get a old copy of bootcamp beta?

I just installed Windows w/Media Center 2005 on my iMac core2duo 2GHz 2GB ram with Leopard two nights ago. I received the same issue on my first install attempt. Boot camp creates a Fat32 partition, so I used the convert to NTFS when I installed Media Center. I thought it worked until the restart. I had to reformat the partition NTFS and install again. This time with no problems.

Home Sharing from two different Macs to a Media Center

I am using an old G5 iMac as a Media Center in my basement. I have Home Sharing setup on my daughter's Macbook so that when she buys new music, movies or TV shows they automatically transfer to the Media Center iTunes Library. Is it possible to get my iMac iTunes to do the same thing at the same time? It seems like the Media Center will only Home Share with my daughter's Library and will not let me Home Share my Library. Can anyone tell if it it's possible to have two different accounts / libraries Home Sharing to a central iTunes Library?

The simplest way is for you to select the entire listing in iTunes and drag all the songs out to a folder. This will copy them, not remove them from iTunes. Do the same on the other iTunes.
Transfer the folder over to the new Mac, over a network, or burn them to a DVD.
Now duplicate one of the folders (for safety reasons before proceeding).
Open this duplicate folder. Open the other folder. Select all the tracks in this other folder and drag them to the new folder: When asked if you want to overwrite files of the same name choose 'Skip' and check 'Apply to all'.
This will then move all files over except where there is already a file with that song title. If you have recordings of the same song by more than one artist you will have to sort that out manually.
This done, open iTunes on the new computer, select all the files in the merged folder and drag them to the Music list.

Noob/PC Convert/MS Media Center

I just bought my first Mac last night to replace my PC that I've been having problems with. I also bought it with the understanding that it could pretty much do whatever my PC could do. I primarily used the PC for internet and watching/recording live tv shows. On my PC, I had my HD cable box connected to the PC, the Microsoft Media Center would communicate to the media extender, which is my XBOX 360, and I could watch live or recorded shows on my TV. Very easy.
Before I bought the iMac, I told the Apple rep my configuration and she said, although Apple doesnt have an equivalent to the MS Media Center, I could get the Pinnacle Mac HD Stick (eyeTV lite), download XMBC, and I'd be good to go. Unfortunately, that is not the case and I'm considering returning the Mac for a PC.
Has anyone set up their Mac to do what I'm looking to do and how did you do it. The Pinnacle support is no help and neither is the Apple rep.
Any help and advice is greatly appreciated. I like the Mac but I NEED my TV.

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
http://www.elgato.com/ has a much friendlier Mac support staff for this kind of configuration and a better guide as to what devices work.

XBox and Media Center on Boot Camp

My PC just died so I installed Windows 7 on one of my macs and really all I use it for it Windows Media Center to stream movies to my XBox 360. I went through the windows 7 install and all was good. When I tried to get my XBox to see the media center, it would not see it. Is this just not compatable?
Thanks,
Andrew

I tried doing a search and found nothing. The link you gave does not help either. I know how to set up the xbox as an extender. Was working fine when I connected it to a Dell with windows 7. Now that the dell died I moved windows 7 to my iMac with boot camp. Now it will not connect. I try to connect but I am never given a code. Its like the xbox doesnt see the computer. Is there something extra I need to do being that this is on mac hardware? Is it just not compatible?

Can I stream AirTunes to my Airport Express and my windows media center?

Hello all, I am just about to install a windows media center in my lounge room and I would like to know how I can stream from my office mac to not only my airport express in the dining room, but my new windows box in the lounge.
I have iTunes installed and a wireless card on the PC and speakers attached, so just wondering how I can stream from the iMac in the office to both devices? Any advice and tips? I love streaming from my iMac to the dining room, just want to be able to get the media center in on the action now
Surely this is possible?
Thanks,
Matt

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't an easy way to stream iTunes from a Mac to a PC in the manner you desire, with the PC essentially emulating an Airport Express.
What you want to do is supported by the third party utility Airfoil (see http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac/ ) if the sending and receiving computers are both Macs, but I don't think the Windows version of this utility supports this feature.
I suppose you could use third party software to set up your Mac so that it streams music over your network, in a manner that your PC and (for example) Windows media player could receive - but that is a solution beyond the scope of this discussion forum.

1.83 Mac mini as media center?

Does the 1.83 Ghz Mac mini have enough juice as a media center? My iMac works great at this, but I want to move it to another room and replace it with a Mac mini. I tried my Powerbook, but it was not nearly powerful enough to push the content, particularly the HD content.
Thanks,
Ed.

You can't really equate the performance of your PB and the mini, because despite the PB's dedicated video card and VRAM, it is limited by the processor. The mini on the other hand can amply handle HD resolutions, and the processor is significantly more capable - not just because of the added speed, but also the dual core architecture.
I'd be surprised if you didn't find comments here regarding the current mini's capabilities in this regard if you search back through prior threads on the subject.
Do you think that Apple will come out with a mini after Macworld that has the video upgrade in the new Macbooks?
No-one really knows - and speculative thoughts on what may or may not happen are not permitted. However, it would seem to me that if you were in a position of deciding whether to buy a mini or wait, with this particular function in mind, it would make sense to wait the few remaining days to see if a new model was forthcoming and if so, whether it's capabilities for HD work were more clearly defined.

How do I get fios to work with my new desktop w/ Windows Media Center

Can someone please help me I have "fios".TV and internet 1HDSTB + 1HDDVR with multi room dvr Home media mgr.how do I get fios to work with my new desktop HP Pavillion m9715f**(specs below)**w/ Windows Media Center or did I just throw away my money?
also equipted is 47" Samsung 850series 1080p 120hertz HD LCD TV + 36" Samsung 560series 1080p 60hertz HD LCD TV and 19"Samsung 950b LCD Monitor
** computer specs**
Product number NZ017AA
Introduction date 30-Jun-2009
Country/region sold in: United States,Canada
Hardware Base processor
Phenom-9650 (A) 2.3 GHz (95W) 3600 MHz HyperTransport 3.0 Socket, AM2+
Chipset AMD 780G
Motherboard Manufacturer: MSI Motherboard Name: MS-7548 HP/Compaq motherboard name: Aspen-GL8E
Power supply 300W
Memory
Component Attributes Memory Installed 8 GB Maximum allowed 16 GB (4 x 4 GB) (64-bit OS)
4 GB* (4 x 1 GB) (32-bit OS)
*Actual available memory may be less Speed supported PC2-6400 MB/sec Type 240 pin, DDR2
Hard drive750 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)7200 rpm
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe Technology drive
This Blu-Ray Disc DVD drive introduces a player that reads Blu-ray Disc format enabling you to watch high-definition Blu-ray Disc movies. NOTE: This drive does not include high-definition write capability.
Formats/Disc types Write speeds Read speeds Storage capacity Blu-ray Disc BD-ROM SL NA up to 6X up to 25 GB BD-ROM DL NA up to 4.8X up to 50 GB BD-R SL not supported up to 6X up to 25 GB BD-R DL not supported up to 4.8X up to 50 GB BD-RE SL not supported up to 2.3X up to 25 GB BD-RE DL not supported up to 2X up to 50 GB HD DVD not supported DVD DVD-ROM SL NA up to 16X up to 4.7 GB DVD-ROM DL NA up to 8X up to 8.5 GB DVD+R SL up to 16X up to 12X up to 4.7 GB DVD+R DL up to 4X up to 8X up to 8.5 GB DVD+RW SL up to 8X up to 10X up to 4.7 GB DVD+RW DL not supported DVD-R SL up to 16X up to 12X up to 4.7 GB DVD-R DL up to 4X up to 8X up to 8.5 GB DVD-RW SL up to 6X up to 10X up to 4.7 GB DVD-RW DL not supported DVD-RAM up to 5X up to 5X up to 4.7 GB CD CDROM NA up to 40X up to 700 MB CDR up to 40X up to 40X up to 700 MB CDRW up to 24X up to 40X up to 700 MB CD-DA NA up to 32X up to 700 MB Video CD NA up to 10X up to 700 MB
Wireless Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g
Video Graphics Radeon HD4350
512 MB DDR2 memory
I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, single-link DVI
Television Hauppauge ATSC/NTSC TV tuner card with FM tuner
Sound/Audio High Definition 8-channel audio
ALC 888S chipset
Network (LAN) Integrated 10/100/1000 Base-T networking interface
Memory card reader
Contains an Infrared receiver for remote control
Supports the following cards:
Compact Flash I
Compact Flash II
IBM Microdrive
Secure Digital (SD)
mini-SD
MultiMediaCard (MMC)
Reduced size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC)
MultiMediaCard Plus (MMC plus)
MultiMediaCard Mobile (MMC mobile)
Memory Stick
Memory Stick Pro
Memory Stick Duo
Memory Stick Pro Duo
SmartMedia
xD Picture Card (xD = extreme digital)
External I/O ports
I/O ports on the front panel
Port type Quantity 15-in-1 (4 slot) with IR Receiver One USB Two Headphone One Microphone One Audio L-R One S-video in One Composite video in One
I/O ports on the back panel
Port type Quantity PS/2 (keyboard, mouse) Two S/PDIF out (coaxial) One VGA One (disabled due to the installation of a graphics card) DVI-D One USB Four 1394a One LAN One Audio (side speaker out, rear speaker out, center/subwoofer-out , line-in, line-out, microphone) One Each
Expansion slots
Slot type Quantity PCI Express x16 One (None available) PCI Express x1 Three (Two available)
Drive bays
Bay type Quantity 5.25" Two (One available) 3.5" Two (One available) Personal Media Drive One (One available) Pocket Media Drive One (One available)
Keyboard and mouse HP multimedia keyboard HP PS/2 optical mouse
Remote Control USB infrared remote control,Remote control expansion card with IR ports,IR emitter cable to transmit codes to a set top box

Based on what you've posted, your computer does not have the right tuner. You need a QAM tuner to record locals from FiOS, or a CableCard tuner to record all local and cable channels from FiOS.
QAM tuners to record local channels only
This requires Windows Vista or Windows 7
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250
SiliconDust HDHomeRun (info on a sale)
CableCard tuner to record local and cable channels
This requires Windows 7 + one CableCard from Verizon for $3.99/mo
ATI TV Wonder Digital PC CableCard Tuner (records one channel at a time) -- $200-$250 on ebay
Ceton MOCUR tuner (records four channels at a time) -- coming in early 2010 for $400-$600
Make sure your computer has Windows 7 Home Premium (or better) installed. That's necessary to support CableCard tuners.
If you are the original poster (OP) and your issue is solved, please remember to click the "Solution?" button so that others can more easily find it.

Can any one help me with CD/Audio disc playback problem on media center m8200n running Windows Vista

I have HP Media Center m8200n Dest top running WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM 32 BIT edition.It has MEDIA CENTER and MEDIA PLAYER. I experience problems with the computer being able to play CD music discs. What happens is that the Disc will play only for 63 seconds exactly and then stop playing the track, the player will then skip tracks, settle on another one, play it for a few moments and then skip to the end and then play nothing. It gives me an error message that it cannot read the disc. This happens with any and every standard store bought CD new or used. These CDs also do play on my laptop running basically same operating system. This happens whether I trying to Play a disc or burn the disc to the hard drive. The drives work great though as they do play DATA discs all the way through. MP3 discs play fine. It also plays the DVD movies with no problem. Windows media player doesn't make it work, also installed VLC player and REALPLAYER to try some other players and they also don't work for music, only DVDs. They all only produce 63 seconds of music play back from a disc. I've already tried Changing ENHANCEMENTS, UPDATING DRIVERS, UNINSTALLING THE DISC DRIVE and then re-installing back into WINDOWS but none of that helped. SYSTEM came with the integrated REALTEK HIGH DEFINITION AUDIO on the mother boad for multi channel playback options and I've downloaded those updated drivers again but that doesn't do anything. Thinking it might be a hardware drive problem I purchased a new LG BLU-RAY DRIVE/BURNER super multi drive which plays fantastic for any video format from Blu-Ray to regular DVD format with the Power DVD software but the machine is causing even this new drive to have the same problem with the audio and it cuts out playing the audio disc within the same 63 seconds running audio disc. . There seems to be a software glitch and I'm wondering if you can help. Also the sound card seems to work perfectly fine. I downloaded I-Tunes and copied over audio files to the computer via my flash drive and when I play those files from the hard drive, or even the sample windows media files which reside on the hard drive in MY MUSIC, all files play through perfectly, fully, and with great sound. Audio out jacks in back of computer work fine as also does the front head phone jacks upfront. Something in the software when playing a audio disc/file through the dic drives???? I've got hundreds of CD and it's a bummer not beng able to lay them through the system. Does anyone think moving from VISTA PREMIUM to a upgraded version like ULTIMATE or even going up to Windows 7 might solve problem??? What about the 32 bit verses 64 bit editions??? My system should be able to run in the 64 bit frame work also. THANK YOU in advance!!!

Hi,
All dimms work individually? Did you run a bootable memory diagnostic to determine the reliability? Did you run a diagnostic on the hard drive? I believe that your PC came with PC Doctor and that you can create a bootable diagnostic disk. Did you create that disk? Be sure to purchase memory dimms from a manufacturer that will stand behind their product with a guarantee such as Crucial, Corsair or Kingston. Buy directly from the manufacturer and they will stand behind the guarantee. Be sure that all of the dimms are identical. Use CPU-Z to determine that the specifications are indeed identical.
You have some options to consider once you can stablize your PC for updating the BIOS.
Locate a hard drive and use the HP external recovery media to build a VISTA system. -- safest method
Use a VISTA repair disk and at the command prompt try executing the HP BIOS update (Admin). -- safe
Try a bootable BIOS update process as suggested at this site. -- less safe but doable
HP DV9700, t9300, Nvidia 8600, 4GB, Crucial C300 128GB SSD
HP Photosmart Premium C309G, HP Photosmart 6520
HP Touchpad, HP Chromebook 11
Custom i7-4770k,Z-87, 8GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650,GTX 760
Custom i7-4790k,Z-97, 16GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Plextor M.2 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650, GTX 660TI
Windows 7/8 UEFI/Legacy mode, MBR/GPT

How to get back to windows 8.1 from windows 8.1 with media center

Hello,
Good Day
I upgraded to windows 8.1 pro preview with media center to windows 8.1 pro with media center via windows store of windows 8.1 pro preview with media center. So, my question is how to remove media center and take only windows 8.1.Can anybody help me please
help me.
Than you
Best Regards,
Kaf

You would need to perform a "clean install" of Windows 8.
Carey Frisch

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 iMac?

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