Media Center 2005: What hardware/software do I need to add?

[mithrandir2001]

I just bought a Dell XPS 410 system that has Media Center 2005 OS installed. The machine I bought does not have a TV tuner installed (it's a refurb unit through Dell Outlet so I couldn't config exactly). I want to use the machine as a PVR, maybe capture analog video and burn stuff to DVD.

Microsoft says "If your Media Center PC does not have a TV tuner or remote, you can add them to your PC at any time." So I can buy a TV tuner that says it supports MCE 2005 and simply install it? Like ATI's TV Wonder ELITE? Any suggestions? I don't THINK I would need multiple tuners but apparently there's value in having 2, 3 or more?

There's also some mention of a required DVD/MPEG-2 Decoder. Is this a software component? Can I assume Dell already installed it? It's a shame this stuff is vague; it sounds like they are trying to hide the technical aspects from the consumer/end-user.

 

[INM8]

You should look for a card with BDA drivers. Any card with BDA drivers will work in MCE. Most of the hauppauge cards seem to be supported in MCE, but they seem to be fairly pricey. I have only used MCE with Digital Tv (DVB-T), but I am pretty sure the same applies to all TV Tuner usage under MCE.

And no, dell probably didn't install the MPEG-2 decoder for you. It wont hurt to try though. Just put a DVD in and try to play it in Windows Media player.

Look here for more information: http://www.xpmce.com/

 

[loup garou]

I highly recommend the Hauppauge PVR 150 tuner, in either MCE or non MCE flavors for a single tuner. Folks say good things about the PVR 500 as a dual tuner card.

Did it come with a remote? If not, you can get the remote/IR blaster from Newegg for $30 or so.

You will also need an MPEG2 decoder, nVidia's PureVideo is the best I've used.

Originally posted by: mithrandir2001
It's a shame this stuff is vague; it sounds like they are trying to hide the technical aspects from the consumer/end-user.

Precisely what they're doing as MS intended MCE up to 2005 to be installed and configured by OEMs only.

 

[LouPoir]

Originally posted by: loup garou
I highly recommend the Hauppauge PVR 150 tuner, in either MCE or non MCE flavors for a single tuner. Folks say good things about the PVR 500 as a dual tuner card.

Did it come with a remote? If not, you can get the remote/IR blaster from Newegg for $30 or so.

You will also need an MPEG2 decoder, nVidia's PureVideo is the best I've used.

Originally posted by: mithrandir2001
It's a shame this stuff is vague; it sounds like they are trying to hide the technical aspects from the consumer/end-user.

Precisely what they're doing as MS intended MCE up to 2005 to be installed and configured by OEMs only.

Hauppauge PVR 150 tuner is a very nice card -

 

[Markbnj]

I'm a fan of the ATI 550- and 650-based cards, but I think most of the offerings out there work pretty well hardware-wise. It's often the software that makes a difference, and you'll be using MCE (I use Beyond TV 4.5).

The Firefly Remote from Snapstream is the best X10 remote I have used. It's responsive, has great range, an unobtrusive receiver, is easy on batteries, and has never even hicupped a little bit in the year I've been using it. By contrast the ATI remote that I had before it used to regularly crash, almost once per day.

 

[mithrandir2001]

Does it make sense to buy the Beyond TV 4 package, even though the PC already has MCE? SnapStream combines the PVR-150MCE with their Beyond TV software and the firefly remote for $99.95 shipped...not much more than the TV tuner itself. I understand that MCE is both an operating system AND an application and there is nothing to stop me from using a bundle like Beyond TV instead of the built-in MCE app..or maybe use both simultaneously for different purposes.

SnapStream's KB says this:

"Starting with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005, a process (ehrec.exe) runs at all times, monopolizing the tuner device on the system. This will prevent any program other than MCE, including Beyond TV, from using the tuner device, resulting in no picture or sound during the "Test" section of the Setup Wizard. The solution is to disable the service responsible for starting the "ehrec.exe" process. Note that this does not occur with versions of MCE prior to 2005."

So maybe I will buy Beyond TV with the PVR-150MCE.

 

[mithrandir2001]

I am a bit rusty on this stuff (haven't bought a new machine in over 5 years) but I think the PC I bought should have the software DVD decoder because it comes with both DVD burner and DVD-ROM drives. When I bought a DVD-ROM for my old PC it came with CyberLink PowerDVD so I figure that this is pretty much standard...but if I just got the DVD burner I might not get the decoder software.

I haven't gotten the machine yet which is why I am guessing what it has and am trying to determine what else I need to buy.

 

[Markbnj]

You probably don't have DVD decoder software unless it was specifically bundled with the system. You don't get it with a drive. Primary vendors are Intervideo and Cyberlink. As for using BeyondTV on MCE I'm pretty sure that's possible, but I would wonder what the benefit of MCE over Home is at that point. I've never used MCE, but I can tell you that BeyondTV 4.x rocks. It's one of the most stable applications I have ever used. Not a single hitch in over a year.

 

[mithrandir2001]

MCE has IIS and Remote Desktop Connection which XP Home does not have. MCE does not have domain joining and some other network features that are found with XP Pro. MCE is not simply XP Home + MCE app.

I checked the list of components that Dell is shipping with my Outlet PC. There's a line item called "Sonic Cineplayer" which is Roxio's decoding package. I should be covered then.

 

[bigdaddy51]

I ran PVR500 Hauppauge, along with BTV4 for a long time, without any problems ,except it takes BTV4 a long time to load and unload, resulting in slow start up/shutdowns. The $99 price tag from Snapstream is a good deal. I just sold my pc that had the card in it, and now I am thinking of buying another.

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: bigdaddy51
I ran PVR500 Hauppauge, along with BTV4 for a long time, without any problems ,except it takes BTV4 a long time to load and unload, resulting in slow start up/shutdowns. The $99 price tag from Snapstream is a good deal. I just sold my pc that had the card in it, and now I am thinking of buying another.

I don't see that at all, but it's probably a difference in systems. I have dual core and a 10k drive for my system files, and BTV loads quite quickly.

 

[dawks]

Originally posted by: Markbnj
I'm a fan of the ATI 550- and 650-based cards, but I think most of the offerings out there work pretty well hardware-wise. It's often the software that makes a difference, and you'll be using MCE (I use Beyond TV 4.5).

The Firefly Remote from Snapstream is the best X10 remote I have used. It's responsive, has great range, an unobtrusive receiver, is easy on batteries, and has never even hicupped a little bit in the year I've been using it. By contrast the ATI remote that I had before it used to regularly crash, almost once per day.

I'm running the ATI TV Wonder Elite with 550Pro, and its working good except for the occasional time when recorded shows pause for a few seconds and then skip a bit. happens at least once, usually twice per 1 hour long show. annoying but i deal with it. I think it might have to do with the fact I use windows power management to sleep my drives after 5 minutes when im AFK. you'd think it would try to write to the disk at least once in 5 minutes though.