Q. Why doesn't Windows 7 Media Center support BBC, BBC ONE HD, ITV HD & 4HD out-the-box?A. It does, all you need is a DVB-S (S2 for 4HD on Freesat) satellite tuner or a DVB-T2 terrestrial tuner.
Q. Will this enabled me to watch BBC HD and ITV HD on my extenders?A. If you are using an X-Box 360 as your extender then yes, other Extenders will not work.
Q. What tuners do I need to get BBC HD, BBC ONE, ITV HD & 4HD over DVB-S (S2)?A. Most tuners that support DVB-S will work. Here is a list of confirmed tuners that work: Blackgold BGT3540, Compro VideoMate S-350, Hauppauge Nova-HD-S2(This tuner is patched for 4HD on DVB-S2), Pinnacle PCTV4000i, Pinnacle 7010i, TBS 6920 PCI-e DVB-S2 (please post any tuners that you've got to work)
Q. What tuners do I need to get BBC HD, BBC1 HD, ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD over DVB-T2 ? A. The BlackGold BGT3620 (internal dual-tuner PCIe) and the PCTV Nanostick 290e (internal single-tuner USB) are both reported to work.
Q. What other hardware do I need to get BBC HD and ITV HD?A. The software to do this makes use of DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) and therefore it really helps if your graphics card supports this. Most ATI 3000 and NVidia 8000 series cards or above should support this with the latest drivers. For ATI cards you should ensure you are using Catalyst 10.2 or later to avoid "blocking" issues.Core i3 intel Graphics and above are also suitable.
Q. What software do I need to get BBC HD and ITV HD?A. Just Windows 7 Media Center itself!
Q. Can I get BBC HD and ITV HD on 64 bit Windows 7?A. Yes, it works fully under both 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows 7.
Q. Do I need to do a fresh install of Windows 7?A. No, you can't just add in your DVB-S/S2 or DVB-t" tuner and go!
Q. How do I get the HD channels to appear in my guide?A. Simply go through the satellite or terrestrial tuner setup! Any Channels you cannot match can usually be added by this great tool. http://1geek1tool.com/guidetool
Q. What else do I need to do to get BBC HD and ITV HD working?A. BBC HD & BBC ONE HD are on frequency 10847 22000 V as is ITV HD(London).Granada,Central West and STV ITV1 HD can be found on 10936 22000V. 4HD is on frequency 12607 27500 V. These can be applied / found under Settings/TV/TV Signal/Satellite Transponder Scan.
Q. Why doesn't Vista Media Center support BBC HD and ITV HD out-the-box?A. Firstly by default Vista Media Center does not support DVB-S. Secondly the decoder for Media Center TV (MSDTVVDEC.DLL) does not support the H.264 codec used by BBC and ITV HD.
Q. How is it possible then to get BBC HD and ITV HD in Vista Media Center?A. Microsoft have released a TV Pack update which supports DVB-S but does not support H.264. However, a version of MSDTVVDEC.DLL has been modified by users of TheGreenButton to enable H.264. By combining these two features it is possible to use BBC HD and ITV HD.
Q. Will this enabled me to watch BBC HD and ITV HD on my extenders?A. Unfortunately not, all extenders so far have not worked using this method.
Q. What tuners do I need to get BBC HD and ITV HD over DVB-S?A. Most tuners that support DVB-S will work. Here is a list of confirmed tuners that work: Blackgold BGT3540, Compro VideoMate S-350, Hauppauge Nova-HD-S2, Pinnacle PCTV4000i, Pinnacle 7010i (please post any tuners that you've got to work)
Q. What other hardware do I need to get BBC HD and ITV HD?A. The software to do this makes use of DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) and therefore it really helps if your graphics card supports this. Most ATI 3000 and NVidia 8000 series cards or above should support this with the latest drivers. For ATI cards you should ensure you are using Catalyst 10.2 or later to avoid "blocking" issues.
Q. What software do I need to get BBC HD and ITV HD?A. Obviously Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate which have Media Center. Home Premium will allow 2 DVB-S tuners whereas Ultimate will allow 4. In addition you will need the TV Pack and a modified version of MSDTVVDEC.DLL that supports H.264.
Q. Can I get BBC HD and ITV HD on 64 bit Windows Vista?A. No, as the modified MSDTVVDEC.DLL is only currently available in a 32 bit version. This may change in the future but don't hold your breath.
Q. Do I need to do a fresh install of Vista?A. For the TV pack you officially need to reinstall Vista. However, a number of people have done upgrades on their systems without any problems. It is still recommended you do a clean install however.
Q. How do I get the TV Pack?A. This is an OEM-only release from Microsoft and is not generally available for download. You can still find this if you look hard enough. Google may help...
Q. How do I get the MSDTVVDEC.DLL that supports H.264?A. You can download this from here: http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/288601.aspx
Q. My AV software is telling me that MSDTVVDEC.DLL is a virus, what's going on?A. The modified DLL uses some tricks that make it look similar to a virus. It is not a virus. If you still don't believe this, then please read the entire thread here (long read): http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/288601.aspx
Q. How do I install the TV Pack?A. Follow the instructions here: http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/283511.aspx
Q. How do I install the MSDTVVDEC.DLL that supports H.264?A. Take ownership of the existing file MSDTVVDEC.DLL in Windows/System32 (File -> Properties -> Security -> Advanced -> Owner -> Edit) then select yourself. Give yourself full control over the file (File -> Properties -> Security -> Edit) then select Users and check the box for Full Control. Run Command Prompt as administrator. Then type "regsvr32 -u msdtvvdec.dll" and hit Enter. Rename MSDTVVDEC.DLL to MSDTVVDEC.DLL.BAK. Copy Beta DLL to the system32 folder and type "regsvr32 msdtvvdec.dll" in Command Prompt and hit Enter.
Q. What else do I need to do to get BBC HD and ITV HD working?A. BBC HD will work with no changes but if you want ITV HD then you need to do more. You need to do a manual satellite scan. This is under TV Settings. Enter these values: 10832, 22000, H. Two new channels should be found: 10000 and 10001. These both appear to be ITV HD.
Q. How do I rename channel 10000/10001 to ITV HD?A. Go to the guide and highlight the 10000/10001 channel name before using "More Info" to edit the channel. You can then use the rename channel option to set it to be ITV HD.Q. How do I rename channel 10510 to ITV HD?
Q. I have everything working but I seem to lose some scheduled recordings - how can I fix this?A. Microsoft have released a fix for TV Pack which you can get more information about here: http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/permalink/318570/314300/ShowThread.aspx#314300