SH1FT Setup

vischo

Gawd
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
854








HTPC Build
AMD Athlon X2 4800+ 939 Processor
2GB OCZ Value RAM DDR400
EVGA NForce 4 Motherboard
EVGA NVidia GeForce 7800GT PCIe Video Card
EVGA 7Pin HDTV Cable
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=601-EV-1024-S1&family=820
Headphone to Mono Coaxial Cable Adapter
Ahanix D.Vine 5 HTPC Case
http://www.ahanix.com/products/mce/mce_d5.php
WinTV PVR150 Tuners
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvr150.html

SERVER Build
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
2GB DDR400 RAM
Windows Server 2008 RC0 x64
(3) Seagate 400GB SATAII HDD
(6) Seagate 500GB SATAII HDD
(2) Rosewill Silicon Image PCI 4 SATA ports Controller Card

TV Tuning
For the time being, I am using Comcast (IL) basic cable input into (2) two PVR150 tuner cards. AFAIK, there is no way for me to receive HD broadcasts into Media Center without CableCARD. So for now, I'm content. When everything settles down with HD television I will up the ante. I've been eyeing those quad CableCARD systems from Niveus Media ;) Right now, this works sufficiently well.

Now that I have been really using this as a DVR; I've been watching hard drive space disappear. At BEST quality Media Center uses 3GB / hour of SD recording. I may need to look at conversion/storage options.

Video Setup
Using an NVidia graphics card with their 7 pin dongles you can output HD over component video. Use the latest drivers and setup. I am outputting 720p over component to receiver.

Audio Setup
Digital Output (3.5mm headphone jack) on Sound Blaster Live 5.1 Card to Coaxial IN on receiver. Must use a headphone to mono coaxial adapter (Radio Shack). Setup digital output only in Vista.


A/V Electronic Gear
Harmon Kardon AVR-247 7.1 Ch 600W HDMI Reciever
http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?cat=REC&prod=AVR 247
I am really happy with this reciever, it was an upgrade from an older Denon AVR-588S Reciever. First, it looks amazing; the blue LEDs really stand out. You can customize each input on so many levels, through an on-screen display (yes it has an OSD that comes up on your display), and then rename the titles. HDMI. Plenty of inputs/outputs. Upconverts everything up to 720p over HDMI or component. Less than $500.

Optoma HD70 720p 1000 Lumens 4000:1 Projector
http://www.optomausa.com/product_detail.asp?product_id=294
Another amazing unit. 720p DLP display with every input, including HDMI. Picture is great, and very easy to customize/tweak. Optoma had a rebate program for a little while so these could be found for about $800.

Polk CS1 Center Channel
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/center/cs1/
These Polk speakers are a great value. Sound quality is wonderful and they easily fit into a $500 budget.

Polk M20 Front/Right Channel
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/floorstanding/m20/

Polk M10 Surround Channels
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/floorstanding/m10/

MTX 12" 100W Powered Subwoofer
http://www.mtxhome.com/p/subs/sw2.aspx
Great value again, about $100. Powered, has line inputs, level control, auto on/off. Crank it up and you'll rumble the house.

Logitech Harmony 520 Remote
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4302606
Yes, its another great value. $75 gets you a remote that will control everything but your girlfriend. The software is so easy to use. Buy this and throw all of your 15 other remotes away.

XBOX360 Premium Edition
http://www.xbox.com/
HD gaming, XBOX Live; 'nuff said.


HTPC and SERVER Setup
Windows Vista Home Premium x64 w/ Media Center
http://www.microsoft.com/windows
No, it might not do everything that some of the other software apps do; but its too damn easy. And because its a Microsoft product, it works well with every other Microsoft product you own or will own.

DVD Library Registry Edit
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930526
Couldn't be easier, follow the directions and Media Center will recognize your VIDEO_TS folders either on your local drive or on a network drive. Others might argue the "My Movies" plugin; yes its great too. However, it has gotten kind of bulky and complicated, IMO. Right now, it is not built for x64 nor is it built for Vista Media Center (its not a native MCML application). I don't necessarily need all the extras, I just want to watch a movie.

K-Lite Codec Pack x64
http://www.codecguide.com/klcp_64bit.htm
Works perfectly, I am able to watch every downloaded/ripped/etc type of movie/show/video I own.

Lifextender
http://www.lifextender.com/
Commercial editing program. Couldn't be easier, download, install, watch TV without commercials. No other program works better or easier.

DVDxml.com
http://www.dvdxml.com/
To get a bit of data in the DVD Library section of Media Center (length, synopsis), add the movie's dvdxml file from this site into your movie's folder. There is some work to be done here, but again this is quick and easy.

DVD Library Manager
http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/7/245700/ShowThread.aspx
Allows you to control/edit/fix the DVDxml data from above. Awesome. After using, I now have crisp clean meta data and good looking (locally hosted) cover art.

MP3Tag
http://www.mp3tag.de/en/
If you catalogue your own music, or you want to touch up the tags on your library from a service; get this program. Excellent.

WebGuide
http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/
I have only seen this in use. However, it has a lot of great features. Now that Microsoft hired the developer, its free; and I imagine we will see the features released officially in a Media Center update (Fiji anyone?). Live streaming across the internet, guide/scheduling from the web (Tivo2Go), transcoding.

DVD Storage
My DVD's are fully backed up into VIDEO_TS folders on multiple HDD's. Those HDD's are in the server being shared out across the home network. Each drive is labeled/shared as MOVIES1, MOVIES2, MOVIES3 etc. \\SERVER\MOVIES1\Bourne Identity\VIDEO_TS, \\SERVER\MOVIES2\The Godfather\VIDEO_TS, \\SERVER\MOVIES3\Superbad\VIDEO_TS etc. There is no RAID setup, just independent disks. You can fit about 50-75 DVD's on 400-500GB drives. Each of the shares are then added to Media Center's video section (\\SERVER\MOVIES1\, \\SERVER\MOVIES2\ etc).

Music Storage
Music is stored in MP3 format anally tagged with MP3Tag. All music is stored on a single hard drive (I may RAID 0 this) in an extensive folder structure. MUSIC\F\Foo Fighters\2007 - Echoes Silence Patience And Grace\ . Each album folder has a folder.jpg file (the album art is also embedded in the tag). Shared out as \\SERVER\Music\ for all PCs to access.

To Do List
HD TV Tuners (probably CableCARD; maybe IPTV if Microsoft/Comcast get to it)
HD DVD Drive (once its integrated with Media Center and Blu Ray goes away :D)
Rackmount server/equipment (RagE's rackmount setup is killer, I'd like it all in a closet)
Home Automation (lights, blinds, hvac, etc)
 
Moar pics! :p

Looks very nice so far. Thanks for taking the time to type out everything you have.
 
So that Registry edit enables Vista to see the VOBs and then display as this?

dsc1260rd8.jpg


When you click on a cover what application is launched?
 
Correct. Mine are VIDEO_TS folders with 1:1 DVD rips. No program launched, there is a Meta Data screen then Play option; Vista Media Center can display DVD content out of the box. This feature was cooked in for DVD changers like the Sony DVP-CX777ES 400 Disc. The reg edit brings it to life in a new way.
 
Cool. I may upgrade the OS on my HTPC.

How is Vista Media Center for features? I use the pan and scan feature of PowerDVD a lot to get the ratios correct.
 
It does have the typical zoom settings. The one I use is to get SD TV into widescreen. Works well.

Vista Media Center : I like it a lot. Some may say that the other offerings are better.

It manages TV, music, videos, pictures and DVD's. And it does it well. Works great with a remote, most people wouldn't even know its a PC. Microsoft has been adding a lot of free online content as well, "Internet TV Beta". Some of the content is even HD.

It doesn't do anything special with TV, its only a standard-definition easy to use DVR. Unless, you go CableCARD. (AFAIK, some have talked about QAM)
It doesn't do HD-DVD's natively yet. (Dumb choice by Microsoft; some of the vendors have software, CyberDVD)
 
Cool. I may upgrade the OS on my HTPC.

How is Vista Media Center for features? I use the pan and scan feature of PowerDVD a lot to get the ratios correct.

Just so you know the reg tweak also works with MCE2k5.
 
Dude, you are my hero.

I stole a few of your links to use in my HTPC quest and will hopefully have mine up and about by mid Jan.

Just a single question though. Are you going to be playing any HD format DVDs from your HTPC?
 
Dude, you are my hero.

I stole a few of your links to use in my HTPC quest and will hopefully have mine up and about by mid Jan.

Just a single question though. Are you going to be playing any HD format DVDs from your HTPC?

Thanks, good luck. You should be happy with your efforts soon enough.

Yes, I've witnessed first hand the XBox360 HD-DVD add on. Yes, HD movies are amazing. My plan is to wait a bit longer however as I would like to see HD-DVD integrated directly into Media Center; right now it works only by launching external programs like CyberDVD. I will also need to have about (3) three 750GB-1TB drives ready to go for ripping the discs to. (Yes, AnyDVD can.)
 
I have been looking for a stand alone optical drive that plays HD DVD and have been stuck in my search.

I see Blu-Ray optical drives but no sign of HD DVD.

I wanted it to be internal but if thats not that case I guess I am just going to have to buy the 360 Add-on.
 
DVDXML and Lifeextender are working awesome on my setup now. Thanks for posting the links..etc!;)
 
nice setup man,

i also use dvdxml and to great success. though a pain to implement in a collection of 114 dvd if i knew of dvdxml while i was ripping i would have nothing to complain about. when i get my new hdd's back to hours sitting on my couch looking for dvdxml files.
 
I have been looking for a stand alone optical drive that plays HD DVD and have been stuck in my search.

I see Blu-Ray optical drives but no sign of HD DVD.

I wanted it to be internal but if thats not that case I guess I am just going to have to buy the 360 Add-on.

Vidabox carries HD DVD internal ROM drives in their HTPC parts section. That's where I got mine for around $220. Works great and it is a reliable company. I think they are out of stock right now, but they get new stock in like every week.
 
HTPC and SERVER Setup
Windows Vista Home Premium x64 w/ Media Center
http://www.microsoft.com/windows
No, it might not do everything that some of the other software apps do; but its too damn easy. And because its a Microsoft product, it works well with every other Microsoft product you own or will own.

DVD Library Registry Edit
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930526
Couldn't be easier, follow the directions and Media Center will recognize your VIDEO_TS folders either on your local drive or on a network drive. Others might argue the "My Movies" plugin; yes its great too. However, it has gotten kind of bulky and complicated, IMO. Right now, it is not built for x64 nor is it built for Vista Media Center (its not a native MCML application). I don't necessarily need all the extras, I just want to watch a movie.

K-Lite Codec Pack x64
http://www.codecguide.com/klcp_64bit.htm
Works perfectly, I am able to watch every downloaded/ripped/etc type of movie/show/video I own.

Lifextender
http://www.lifextender.com/
Commercial editing program. Couldn't be easier, download, install, watch TV without commercials. No other program works better or easier.

DVDxml.com
http://www.dvdxml.com/
To get a bit of data in the DVD Library section of Media Center (length, synopsis), add the movie's dvdxml file from this site into your movie's folder. There is some work to be done here, but again this is quick and easy.

MP3Tag
http://www.mp3tag.de/en/
If you catalogue your own music, or you want to touch up the tags on your library from a service; get this program. Excellent.

WebGuide
http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/
I have only seen this in use. However, it has a lot of great features. Now that Microsoft hired the developer, its free; and I imagine we will see the features released officially in a Media Center update (Fiji anyone?). Live streaming across the internet, guide/scheduling from the web (Tivo2Go), transcoding.

DVD Storage
My DVD's are fully backed up into VIDEO_TS folders on multiple HDD's. Those HDD's are in the server being shared out across the home network. Each drive is labeled/shared as MOVIES1, MOVIES2, MOVIES3 etc. \\SERVER\MOVIES1\Bourne Identity\VIDEO_TS, \\SERVER\MOVIES2\The Godfather\VIDEO_TS, \\SERVER\MOVIES3\Superbad\VIDEO_TS etc. There is no RAID setup, just independent disks. You can fit about 50-75 DVD's on 400-500GB drives. Each of the shares are then added to Media Center's video section (\\SERVER\MOVIES1\, \\SERVER\MOVIES2\ etc).

Music Storage
Music is stored in MP3 format anally tagged with MP3Tag. All music is stored on a single hard drive (I may RAID 0 this) in an extensive folder structure. MUSIC\F\Foo Fighters\2007 - Echoes Silence Patience And Grace\ . Each album folder has a folder.jpg file (the album art is also embedded in the tag). Shared out as \\SERVER\Music\ for all PCs to access.

To Do List
HD TV Tuners (probably CableCARD)
HD DVD Drive (once its integrated with Media Center and Blu Ray goes away :D)
Rackmount server/equipment (RagE's rackmount setup is killer, I'd like it all in a closet)
Home Automation (lights, blinds, hvac, etc)

Nice Post.

Answers some questions I had about getting my DVDs onto the Computer.

thx.
 
So I did that registry edit and I downloaded the codec pack linked above, but MCE won't recognize any of my VIDEO_TS folder. What's going on?
 
on mine i had to make a folder with the title then place the .vob in that folder. doing this shows the title as a directory then when i choose the thumbnail it loads the dvd. you don't need the video ts folder just the files in it rename the folder when rip the dvd. if i leave the folder name as video_ts it does not even show in mce. for the cover art and overview stuff i paste the dvdxml into that folder as well.
 
So I did that registry edit and I downloaded the codec pack linked above, but MCE won't recognize any of my VIDEO_TS folder. What's going on?

Restart after registry edit? Add folder to "VIDEOS" section of Media Center?
Vista or MCE2005?
 
I am using the DVD regedit as well. I have it setup off of my WHS box in a folder called DVD MOVIES, then under that there are folders labeled with each movie and within the movie folder is the video_ts folder. I put the xml file into the move folder and everything works great and is recognized by VMC.
 
Ok I've tried every way possible and Vista MCE will NOT recognize any of my backed up movies. I rip the DVDs with DVD Shrink, go into MCE, Settings, Library Setup, choose my folders and nothing shows up under Video Library or DVD Library. What am I doing wrong?
 
Ok I've tried every way possible and Vista MCE will NOT recognize any of my backed up movies. I rip the DVDs with DVD Shrink, go into MCE, Settings, Library Setup, choose my folders and nothing shows up under Video Library or DVD Library. What am I doing wrong?

I'm not mocking you, just checking everything:

Registry edit took, is DVD Library an option from the MCE main menu?
Restarted since registry edit?
DVDs ripped straight up, VIDEO_TS folders with VOB's IFO's BUP's etc (around 4-7GBs)?
DVD > Movie Name > VIDEO_TS > VOB's IFO's BUP's
DVD > Movie Name > dvdxml + folder.jpg
Add DVD folder to Video Library
 
I'm not mocking you, just checking everything:

Registry edit took, is DVD Library an option from the MCE main menu?
Restarted since registry edit?
DVDs ripped straight up, VIDEO_TS folders with VOB's IFO's BUP's etc (around 4-7GBs)?
DVD > Movie Name > VIDEO_TS > VOB's IFO's BUP's
DVD > Movie Name > dvdxml + folder.jpg
Add DVD folder to Video Library

I did the registry edit so that "DVD Library" would show up on the MCE main menu and I restarted the computer. I ripped the DVD both with and without the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders via DVDShrink. And yes, they included the VOBs and stuff. Here is what the file destination looks like:

G:/Incubus/MorningViewSessions/VIDEO_TS
G:/Incubus/MorningViewSessions/AUDIO_TS

I go into MCE, Settings, and I added the G:/Incubus folder and all subfolders to MCE but it doesn't add anything. Do I NEED to use dvdxml for it to be recognized?
 
I did the registry edit so that "DVD Library" would show up on the MCE main menu and I restarted the computer. I ripped the DVD both with and without the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders via DVDShrink. And yes, they included the VOBs and stuff. Here is what the file destination looks like:

G:/Incubus/MorningViewSessions/VIDEO_TS
G:/Incubus/MorningViewSessions/AUDIO_TS

I go into MCE, Settings, and I added the G:/Incubus folder and all subfolders to MCE but it doesn't add anything. Do I NEED to use dvdxml for it to be recognized?


I think the problem might be the folder you are adding. Try adding G:\ instead of the actual DVD folder. I added the \\SERVER\Movies folder not \\SERVER\Movies\Transformers\ Does this make sense?
 
I think the problem might be the folder you are adding. Try adding G:\ instead of the actual DVD folder. I added the \\SERVER\Movies folder not \\SERVER\Movies\Transformers\ Does this make sense?

Ok, I tried to add the entire partition but it's still a no go. Just FYI, I am using a trial version of Vista Ultimate because I haven't bought a key yet. I'm actually going to buy Vista HP for my HTPC though. Maybe that has something to do with it?
 
Ok, I tried to add the entire partition but it's still a no go. Just FYI, I am using a trial version of Vista Ultimate because I haven't bought a key yet. I'm actually going to buy Vista HP for my HTPC though. Maybe that has something to do with it?


Nope, thats definitely not it. Anyone else have any ideas?
 
Do you have a drive mapping from the HTPC to the Folder on the server where your DVD's are stored and if so, what permissions are you using...?
 
Do you have a drive mapping from the HTPC to the Folder on the server where your DVD's are stored and if so, what permissions are you using...?

Correct, your DVD folder needs to be shared out across the network. You can use read-only permissions for EVERYONE.
 
Do you have a drive mapping from the HTPC to the Folder on the server where your DVD's are stored and if so, what permissions are you using...?

Actually, I'm using my desktop right now to test some HTPC software. I'm waiting on two more parts to be able to build my HTPC but I wanted to do some research on Vista MCE, Mythbuntu and others before hand. So I'm just using one PC.
 
I killed this thread lol. I'm getting all of my parts for my HTPC tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have tons of questions.
 
I want to give you the thumbs up for the great detailed list with links!
Not many people do this, and it makes a huge difference!

Thanks!
AND NICE SET UP ;)
 
I want to give you the thumbs up for the great detailed list with links!
Not many people do this, and it makes a huge difference!

Thanks!
AND NICE SET UP ;)

Thanks. I hope a lot of people read up, should save them some time and energy.
 
Ok I've tried every way possible and Vista MCE will NOT recognize any of my backed up movies. I rip the DVDs with DVD Shrink, go into MCE, Settings, Library Setup, choose my folders and nothing shows up under Video Library or DVD Library. What am I doing wrong?

I'm having the same issue. Is the XML file required for this to work? Because that is the only thing I can think may be different from the others.
 
I'm having the same issue. Is the XML file required for this to work? Because that is the only thing I can think may be different from the others.

I have a feeling that you are going through Tasks->Settings to add it to WMC. What you should do is go into DVD Library, right click and say "Add Movies"

That should work
 
I have a feeling that you are going through Tasks->Settings to add it to WMC. What you should do is go into DVD Library, right click and say "Add Movies"

That should work

Yep, I was having a similar problem to others here and that worked like a charm for me!
 
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