In attempting to resolve a “Copying Prohibited” issue in Media Center, which I will post about next, for the first time I restored a backup of my 7MC via WHS.  Go figure that doing a simple restore wasn’t cut and dry.

When restoring a PC from WHS, the PC’s NIC drivers must be loaded in order for it to see the WHS over the network.  As outlined these procedures, I booted off the WHS restore disk, inserted the USB stick which had the NIC drivers, and clicked “Install Drivers” and Scan buttons to load up the NIC drivers.  Instead of loading up the drivers, the “Install Drivers” window just sat there.  After waiting 30 minutes, I went on to Plan B, which thankfully worked.

Here’s what I had to do (thanks to allaboutbalance.com for the info):

1. Download the Realtek RTL 8168/8111 Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0) Vista 32/64 Auto Installation Program (SID:1412122) and store it on a USB Stick
2. Boot off of WHS Restore CD
3. At the “Install Drivers” window, clicked the help hyperlink (I forget the text, but it’s the only hyperlink in the window).  A help webpage appeared.  In that webpage, right click on it and select “View Source”.  This opens Notepad.  In Notepad, click File=>Open, browse to the NIC’s Setup.exe, right-click on it and select “Run as Administrator”.  Go through the NIC Install windows (i.e. Next, Next, Finish).
4. Go through the rest of the restore process (e.g. entering WHS password, selecting backup, selecting drive to restore to, etc.)
5. Success!

The 7MC PC internal 1.5TB Seagate HDD allocated only for Recorded TV is almost full, so I figured it’s now time to use my WHS 8.25TB of storage for, and commercial removing / .dvr-ms editing software on, recordings I plan on keeping for a long time like my family’s favorite movies, which are all of course in HD (The Matrix, Horton Hears a Who, etc.).

At first, as I previously blogged about, I tried the latest versions of DVRMSToolbox / ShowAnalyzer, and with my first three attempts (on three different .dvr-ms recordings), the resulting recordings all had issues:

• Did not remove one commercial from The Matrix (recorded from AMCHD)
• Cut the end of a scene prior to commercial 5 seconds too early twice in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Chicken Little (both recorded from DISNHD)
• Removed the intro title scene including the beginning of the actual movie in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (recorded from AMCHD)

Here was my process: In DVRMSToolbox DVRMStoMPEGGui, in Input File text box double-click and select .dvr-ms file, in Output File double-click and navigate to \\WHS\Recorded TV then type recording name and select Save as Type of .dvr-ms, select Profile “Cut Commercials out of a DVR-MS file and output DVR-MS”, then click the Run button.

I’m pretty bummed about this because from the MissingRemote detailed article, EngadgetHD detailed article, and all the reading on TheGreenButton and DVRMSToolbox forums, I really thought DVRMSToolbox / ShowAnalyzer would have been much more accurate and effective in commercial removal / not removing desired content.

So, I went back to an “old faithful” piece of software called VideoReDo.  This software, that I know of, does not support unattended/automated commercial removal, but with limited interaction, produces a perfect commercial-free, audio/video in-sync throughout, metadata left in tact, high definition.dvr-ms recording.

Here’s my current 3-step process (NOTE: The E: and M: drives are internal to the Media Center PC, so VideoReDo is much more responsive when manipulating .dvr-ms files stored there):

1. Convert .wtv to .dvr-ms: In Command Prompt, run: C:\Windows\ehome\WTVConverter.exe “M:\Recorded TV\<file>.wtv” “E:\<file_preQSF>.dvr-ms”  /ShowUI
2. For non DISNHD recordings, in VideoReDo, click Tools=>Quickstream Fix.  Select Input File E:\<file_preQSF>.dvr-ms, Check Enable Filter (in pop-up showing resolution, click OK), Select Output File M:\<file_postQSF>.dvr-ms, and click OK.  Note, in the forums, Quickstream Fix = QSF.
3. In VideoReDo, open M:\<file_postQSF>.dvr-ms.  Cut very beginning and very end of recording, removing show aired before, and show aired after recording.  Click timeline right before 1st commercial and run “Start Ad-Detective Scan”.  Once scan completed, Hit F5/F6 keys to jump backward/forward to each marker where Ad Detective marked beginning and end of commercials, verifying accuracy and adjusting if necessary.  Click Save As button, navigate to \\WHS\Recorded TV folder, select Type of .dvr-ms and type in recording name and click OK.  Once completed, the final commercial-free .dvr-ms recording will be on WHS accessible from the Media Center PC and any extenders Movie Library section!

NOTE: I had to do the Quickstream Fix prior to the Ad scan on non DISNHD recordings because the other channels recordings actually have multiple resolutions thanks to some commercials being in a different resolution than the show/movie.  This was causing the pop-up error “TN Video Thread: Video Dimensions changed” to appear, requiring a restart of VideoReDo.  More details here.

For reference, software versions:

• DVRMSToolbox 1.2.2.1 R4
• ShowAnalyzer 1.0.59.783
• VideoReDo 3.1.4.549

With PlayOn 2.59.3730.72 and vmcPlayIt 1.5.0, I’m now enjoying Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, March Madness On Demand and more in Media Center on my extenders: Linksys DMA-2200 and Xbox 360.

I purchased the PlayOn software for $20 a few months ago, and when I’ve had the time, I’ve tried to use vmcPlayIt on my DMA-2200, but was unfortunately unstable.  With the current versions of both software, the stability has dramatically improved.  The one thing you have to be is somewhat patient when the vmcPlayIt sub-menus load.  They come up, but it’ll take 2-5 seconds sometimes.

In Media Center, in Extras Library, after selecting vmcPlayIt, it does take 10-15 seconds to connect to PlayOn (running on my Media Center PC) and then display all the “Channels” (i.e. Hulu, Youtube) logos.  Once the logos display, vmcPlayIt is ready to go.  Whether it’s recent Family Guy episodes from Hulu, entire seasons of The Office from Netflix, or music/viral/whatever videos from Youtube, you can watch/listen to that and more from vmcPlayIt.

A huge plus for both software is the tech support.  The vmcPlayIt developer, EricL, and the PlayOn team are responsive and helpful.

Also, there are at least three websites where Plug-Ins for additional feeds (MTV, South Park, SyFy, etc.) can be downloaded.  I plan on checking these out next.

Besides wait times, the only other strong negative is PlayOn doesn’t stream in HD.  PlayOn stated they’re working on it.  * Crossing fingers *

But all-in-all, vmcPlayIt + PlayOn is a solid solution for viewing/listening to streaming Internet content in Media Center on extenders.

UPDATE: As I’ve been enjoying Pandora on my DMA-2200, I noticed I couldn’t thumbs up/down or skip tracks.  This is unfortunately a limitation with the DLNA technology according to PlayOn.  I’m still happy that I can at least play/pause music from Pandora.  But, it is a little frustrating because of all the devices out there (WD TV Live, etc.) that have a thorough interface with Pandora…sadly, not with Windows Media Center.

Using the following old (with some new) gear, I finally started my first WHS build:

• Motherboard: ECS NF650iSLIT-A (V1.0) LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel
• CPU: Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache
• RAM: Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300)
• Video Card: PNY Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT
• Hard Drives: Two Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA HDDs and six Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA HDDs
• Other: SANS DIGITAL TR4M 4 Bay SATA to eSATA (Port Multiplier) JBOD Enclosure, which will contain four of the six Seagate HDDs mentioned above

Trying to get WHS to install on my OS drives in RAID 1 (Mirror) proved to be more difficult than I thought.  At the beginning of the Windows Setup portion of the WHS install, l kept getting the BSOD with Error Code 0×0000007B.  Thanks to this post on Microsoft’s WHS Forum, for my MCP51 (nForce 430) chipset, I copied the contents from the sata_ide and sataraid folders from Fernando’s ‘”NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpacks” for XP (32/64bit)’ onto the root of a floppy disk (NOTE: the same idecoi.dll file is in both folders, only copy one of them over), plugged in an old Floppy Disk Drive to the WHS mobo, and when Windows Setup appeared, hit F6 and loaded the SATA Controller drivers.  WHS loaded as advertised from this point on!

As of tonight, all of the drivers are updated, including Fernando’s better performing ‘”Special WHQL Performance Packs” for XP (32/64bit)’ NVIDIA nForce drivers (located in same link as above) and I’m running Windows Updates (from the WHS Console)!  UPDATE: In the WHS Console, I could not add the hard drives to the Storage Pool.  I upgrading the SATA controller drivers with the official NVIDIA nForce 15.26 drivers, and then I could add the hard drives to the Storage Pool.

Following this article, next up is to install the WHS Connector software, but before I do that I need to upgrade all my PCs to Windows 7.  Fun, fun!

UPDATE: Upgraded first Media Center PC to Windows 7 Professional, installed latest WHS Connector software on it and captured my first backup on WHS.

Installed WHS Disk Management and Advanced Admin Console Add-Ins.  In WHS Disk Management, created Wireframe for my Hard Drive physical layout in WHS PC and on top of PC in 4-bay external enclosure.

For antivirus, I’ll probably go with the free Avast Home Edition I have running on my other PCs.

I don’t normally just simply post another website’s link, but if you’re looking to integrate your Hauppage HD-PVR with Windows 7 Media Center, this Geektonic article is the one to read!

Also, 1geek1tool.com’s DVBLink for HDPVR Instructions were also recently updated.

Since my DIY Media Center Cablecard solution has been rock solid, I have put working on the HD-PVR Media Center integrated solution on the backburner.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3, which contains MUST HAVE capabilities for Windows 7 integration, will be available Tuesday, 24 November. I will finally do my 1st WHS build, installing it on a DIY PC with the Sans Digital TR4M-B 4-Bay SATA DAS Enclosure (with four 1.5TB Seagates), which WeGotServed wrote a Hands On article about a few months ago.

The Heatwave Media Center Plug-In now works with 7MC. It’s my favorite plug-in for viewing weather forecast information. More information and 32-bit / 64-bit download links are thegreenbutton.

A new plug-in called MadeForMediaCenter is out there and provides a capability that’s simple, but could be revolutionary. It’s basically a plug-in that will let you download/install plug-ins from within Media Center! Check out MissingRemote’s interview with Andrew Cherry, one of the developers, for more information.

Media Browser 2.1.3.0 (Phoenix) is released and can be downloaded from thehtpc.net. A full review of it is on mediasmartserver.net. This is one of those plug-ins I’ve been dieing to try out, but just haven’t had the time.

For those that need to remote access the Media Center PC while the family is watching TV on it, or whatever, MissingRemote has the script with instructions to enable Concurrent Remote Desktop sessions on Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate

Times are REAL good for Media Center enthusiasts!

The ATI DCT firmware update is available via Windows Update now.

A new “Digital Cable Advisor” is in the Media Center “Extras” gallery for “linking” the ATI CableCard Tuner/CableCard with Media Center…running on a DIY PC!!!

All the details at Engadget HD.

Hulu Desktop is the easiest, most powerful, way to watch Hulu videos on a Media Center PC.  Unfortunately, being a Flash based application, it doesn’t work on Extenders.  Use PlayOn / vmcPlayIt for Hulu on those!

Using Tecknoworks Hulu Desktop Integration 1.0, you can seemlessly launch Hulu Desktop from Media Center, and exit Hulu Desktop to go back to Media Center.

Check out this excellent demo video of Hulu Desktop.  The way the remote is used to watch videos and navigate the slick Hulu menu system is REALLY simple and impressive!

There’s pretty much four choices for home networks these days: Traditional Wired Cat-5e/6, Wireless G/N,  Powerline, and MoCA (Multimedia Over Coax Alliance).  I’ve been hunting for a solution that isn’t too expensive, which will allow for smooth streaming of HD video from my Media Center PCs to my extenders (Xbox 360 and two DMA-2200s).  Here’s my train of thought, and plan:

- Traditional wired Cat-5e/6 is way too expensive…too much time running cable, and too much money for drywall repair

- Wireless G doesn’t have the throughput to stream HD video with no artifacts like pixelation or stuttering

- Wireless N is too costly (I’d have to buy multiples and bridge them), and doesn’t guarantee smooth streaming HD video

- I cannot find where anyone has successfully streamed smooth .dvr-ms or .wtv HD video across the Netgear Powerline HD Adapters

So, by power of elimination, and from reading (and watching) many success stories, I’m going to give the MoCA network a shot.  Verizon FIOS is my ISP so I already have the MoCA capable Actiontec MI-424WR Rev E Router.  I just purchased two more MI-424WRs (Rev C), and will put one in the living room with the other in the master bedroom, then configure them as Bridges using xnappo’s instructions on AVSForum.  Click on the image thumbnail above for my planned MoCA network wiring diagram.

As always, I’ll report back with the results!

Lifehacker’s Adam Pash posted three great/informative articles on “new” capabilities in Windows 7 Media Center:

1) Internet TV: It’s a newer version of the native Internet TV, now providing CBS content

2) Native Netflix in Media Center: Can now stream Netflix programs more easily on the Media Center PC, but no HD streaming!

3) Hulu Desktop Integration Application: Launched from Media Center, it cleanly closes Media Center and opens Hulu Desktop…and vice versa when you’re done