I'm editing and maintaining this FAQ as I have time and I'm trying to keep it clean and organized. Please keep this an FAQ Q&A - If you have questions that aren't answered by this FAQ, please ask them in the appropriate forum.

Q: I can't get Divx/Xvid Movies to play on my Vista x64 build
A: You need the 64-bit codecs since MCE is a 64-bit app. Get ffdshow here http://ffdshow.faireal.net/ and make sure to go to Configuration, and enable the codecs you wish to use.

Q: Will my V1 Extender work on Vista?
A: No

Q: Why does my online media look different from pictures in websites?  I'm running vista x64
A: The pictures you saw are from the x86 version of vista.  It has the  full online media.  There is a known issue in x64 that microsoft is aware of and working on a fix that will come over windows update when finished.

Q: How do I connect my directv/cable/dish HD set top box up to media center.
A: Your only option is an analog tuner.  You will not get HD quality.  The only supported HD quality connections to media center are the digital cable tuner (only sold with a certified digital cable media center computer) and an HDTV/ATSC tuner which only connects to an ANTENNA.

Q: How to I connect my HDTV/ATSC tuner to my cable.
A: If you tried it already and nothing worked, you can't.  the cable signal is different than the antenna signal.  (exception korea whose cable system uses the same format).  Same cities have matching formats so its worth trying once to see if you luck out.

Q: I need help setting up a set top box, it doesn't work, change channels etc.
A: Please check out Accident's Guide to Set Top Boxes. Some of the screens have changed but the information is still accurate for vista.

Q: Whenever I try to setup tv, it just stops at the part to download the regional options or connecting to internet.
A: Vista has an updated networking engine that makes use of newer networking standards.  Some networking device makers aren't as compatible as vista is now.  Try to look for an updated firmware for your networking equipment/router.   If you have more than 1 Network port on your computer, try to use the other one.  If its still not working, go into the advanced properties for your networking hardware and enable flow control if that is an option.   If all of that fails, you may need to replace your networking gear and you should contact the manufacturer of the device your computer is connected to for help determining that (and a chance to yell at them if they say yes).

Q: When I use a 360 as an extender, the CPU of the computer maxes out and its hard to do anything/doesn't work right.
A: see above network engine information for some possible fix.

Q: Vista seems slower than mce2005.
A: The default power option has a cpu limit of 50%.  START->CONTROL PANEL->POWER OPTIONS and change from balanced to high performance.

Q: How can I make My Movies work with Vista?
A: There is a beta version of my movies for vista x86 available at www.mymovies.name

Q: Can I watch recorded tv shows on another Media Center that was recorded via a cablecard?
A: No, but you can via an extender.

Q: How can I get the non cablecard recorded tv to show up under the recorded tv section of another media center?
A: http://thegreenbutton.com/blogs/mike/archive/2007/01/12/158079.aspx

Q: How can I enable more than the default 2 standard tuners on my MCE?
A: Download & run teh MCE Tuner Extender App, found here: http://mce.ramonvanbruggen.nl/

Q: How can I add an Xbox360 Extender with Media Center running OneCare?
A: For some odd reason, OneCare interferes with the ability to add an XBox360 Extender in Media Center on Windows Vista. You may get the following error while trying to add your XBox360 Extender:

Configuration Error
An error was encountered while configuring your computer for use with this 
extender.

To successfully add your XBox360 Extender in Vista, you need to uninstall OneCare.

-Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Programs & Files -> Windows OneCare and choose the Uninstall option.

Once OneCare is unstalled, you can go back into Media Center and add your XBox360 Extender. After the extender is added, you can reinstall OneCare and it will not conflict with Media Center. *Note: You may need to go into OneCare Firewall Advanced Settings and add Protocol 6 & Protocol 17 (both directions) to the exclusions list to get your internet working after reinstalling OneCare.

Q: I have heard that HD content cannot be shown on extenders, but must be watched from the PC. Is this true? Can you watch HDTV content on an extender?
A: Not at all - All recorded content can be shown on Extenders.

Q: Can I enable Concurrent Sessions in Vista?
A: Yes, you can! Simply download the patched termsrv.dll from here:

• 32bit
  • http://demayo.hopto.org/downloads/termsrv_new.dll
• 64bit
  • http://demayo.hopto.org/downloads/termsrv64.dll

And follow the guide over at missingremote.com to enable concurrent sessions (if you use the download links there, be sure to check the comments for the most recent versions)! Note: this will only work with Vista Ultimate, Vista Home Premium does not have remote desktop capabilities, and Vista Business does not have VMC.

CrAzY - Moderator:

Q: How do I connect my directv/cable/dish HD set top box up to media center.
A: Your only option is an analog tuner.  You will not get HD quality.  The only supported HD quality connections to media center are the digital cable tuner (only sold with a certified digital cable media center computer) and an HDTV/ATSC tuner which only connects to an ANTENNA.

 

Actually, I have my Motorola digital cable box working well with fireSTB for both channel changing and recording HD. LiveTV, however, still requires a tuner and analog connection.

ASW

let's keep this as an FAQ Q&A. If you have individual questions you do NOT know the answer to, please post in the appropriate forum. I don't want to see this become a 1000 page thread with people's questions. Hope that makes sense.

Q: I can't get Divx/Xvid Movies to play on my Vista x64 build
A: You need the 64-bit codecs since MCE is a 64-bit app. Get ffdshow here http://ffdshow.faireal.net/ and make sure to go to Configuration, and enable the codecs you wish to use.

This is not true. I am running Vista x64 using the Divx 6.5 codec from www.divx.com I am able to watch all my Divx and Xvid content. Vista 64bit is capable of running 32bit apps along side 64bit apps (much like how 16bit apps could run along side 32bit apps in Windows 95/98.)

but are you doing this INSIDE media center.   mce is a 64 bit app thus requiring 64 bit codecs. 

Updated the FAQ with recent posts ... Keep them coming =)

The information on Remote Desktop is no longer true. You now can have Vista HP act as a client or as a server for RDP. :)

How is this possible? I thought only Ulitmate had RDP?

I don't know, but I can confirm it works, see the thread for details ...http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/156341.aspx

Q.  Is there any good way to play your iTunes music in vista mce?  i.e. m4a's and/or id3 tags?  w/ album art?

You can record unencrypted QAM in Vista MCE with the HDHomeRun.

Q: How can I get the non cablecard recorded tv to show up under the recorded tv section of another media center?
A: http://thegreenbutton.com/blogs/mike/archive/2007/01/12/158079.aspx

 

Has anyone actually got this to work on anything other than Vista Ultimate? I have been trying for a couple of days now with no luck at all....its crazy that this is not a simple operation. As far as I know gpedit.msc will not work on antything other than Vista Ultimate and who on earth buys thic to create a media centre?!!! I can find no workaround to allow changes to the local computer policy settings on a Vista Home Pro computer.This is crazy. I could do it all in XP with no problems. I can also access all of my Tv from within explorer but accessing it from within MCE Vista or Xp is just not happening so far. How on earth can this be done?

Try this:

1. Click start button, type 'mmc', right-click it, then click 'Run as Administrator'
2. Click 'File' then 'Add/Remove Snap-in...'
3. Scroll down the 'Available Snap-ins:' box until you see 'Security Templates', double click it to add it to the mmc panel, then hit 'Ok'
4. Double-click on 'Security Templates' underneath of 'Console Root'
5. Right-click on the folder there, and choose 'New Template...'
6. Give the template some name, and a description if you like, then it will show up under the folder; Double-click it and you should see all of the gpedit stuff to change, make all of the appropriate changes...
7. Click 'File' the 'Add/Remove Snap-in...'
8. Add 'Security Configuration and Analysis', hit ok
9. Right-click 'Security Configuration and Analysis', choose 'Open Database'
10. Type a name for the database (this will create a new database) then click open
11. Navigate to the directory '[My Documents]\Security\Templates' then choose the security template you just created.
12. Right-click 'Security Configuration and Analysis', choose 'Configure Computer Now...'
13. Hit ok, for the error log file path (or change it if you like)
14. Right-click 'Security Configuration and Analysis', choose 'Analyze Computer Now...'
15. Enter the location of your log file, hit ok.
16. Configure further as needed.

This should be all you need...when you close mmc, save the console as 'gpedit' and then you can simply click on the 'Start' button, and type 'gpedit.msc' into the search box and hit enter and the console will come back up.

Can Vista MCE resume playback from the previous position in videos under the "My Videos" as it does for the playback of recorded TV under "My TV"?

accident:

but are you doing this INSIDE media center.   mce is a 64 bit app thus requiring 64 bit codecs. 

Here' the link for everyone else. (64bit codec package add on)

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?s=c871496b46a99953c158835e73e9573f&showtopic=66826&view=findpost&p=459562

see "Post#2"
"Vista Codec x64 Components"