Peter's Blog - Media Center

ATI DCT Firmware Released - Install not so obvious

Peter — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:39:33 GMT

Thanks to EngadgetHD, I've been made aware that the ATI DCT (Digital Cable Tuner) update has finally been released.
We're now up to 1.19.12

Did this on Windows7x64

1) Installing via Windows Update. Not available directly from AMD/ATI

2. Curious. Says it is installed, but it didn't update my firmeware. Guess I'll aimlessly restart the computer before I start getting too upset

3. Upon reboot, it automatically starts updating both of my DCTs. I can hear it restart each tuner after it flashes each

4. Confirmed on device homepage

5. Confirmed by recording a show. Family Guy was before the update. You can see it is DRM protected. You should be able to record a show after the update with no DRM

CableCard tuners to work on ANY PC! - SDV Support

Peter — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:56:40 GMT

Our man Ben @ EngadgetHD has been live blogging from CEDIA

He has brought us OFFICIAL great news!

Media Center will officially support SDV for CableCard Tuners
CableCard tuners will work on ANY PC! No longer has to be an OEM machine! (I had to use a refurbed Sony VGX-XL3)

Source: EngadgetHD

To the enthusiasts out there that are familiar with this, you're probably freaking out at the possibilities. As for the rest of you who think I'm a nutter, I'll translate. Media Center lately has had an uncertain fate. No one knew what the future for Media Center held since manufactures were ceasing production of extenders and CableCard DRM made life so horrible, that only the enthusiasts knew how to use it.

With DRM being relaxed, any consumer can add a CableCard tuner, and extending the product life of current CableCard tuners with the newly added SDV support -> a spark of life has been put back into Media Center! It means MS really hasn't forgot about us at TGB.

I'm sure there will be more information to come. But as there is a new hope for Media Center, they still have a lot of work to do to expand their audience beyond the enthusiasts.

ATI Digital Cable Tuners will support SDV !!!

Peter — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:31:02 GMT

Happy Tuesday! Chris Lanier is a great source for Media Center information. He posted this last week http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2009/09/03/1720490.aspx

I've been so busy that I almost missed it!

I've complained in the past about CableCards and the DRM that ensues: http://www.peterf.net/blog/2008/10/10/WhyIsCableCardDRMBad.aspx

Chris's information comes in two flavors:
A: Next firmware will support SDV (switched digital video)
B: Next firmware will support relaxed DRM on specific channels

Now while nothing is final until I see it on my tuners and working, this is a bright ray of sunshine coming for those of us in this deep hole. By "us", I mean the early adopters that knew they could get screwed at any moment since there was no public roadmap on how to handle different cable TV specifications.

What does this mean?

Current ATI DCT owners will not get left behind as their Cable Operator moves to SDV
Many current owners will be able to get the same channels as their Tivo/Cable operator box
All recordings will no longer be laced with DRM (only recordings that are requested to have DRM will be laced)
Opens a window for DCT users to watch TV episodes on other computers since the extender model was the only way to watch DCT DRM laced shows previously. You will be able to watch DRM-less recordings on other computers

I expect all of this to be Windows 7 only. Always good to support Vista, but I won't complain.

Windows 7: First 24 Hours with Peter

Peter — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:37:06 GMT

This is by no means a full review of Windows 7. I was beta testing for a while, and now I have my hands on the RTM (release to manufacturing). Naturally, I find a few more bugs in the release. They'll all be submitted soon via MS Connect.

First off, my install went smoothly. The hardware is around 1.5 years old with a new graphics card and hard drive. On first boot, my HomeGroup was found from my laptop running build 7100. Very impressive.

My raid array was found with no issues. I actually felt that I did not need to install any drivers to boost obvious performance. But being the nerd I am, I naturally hit the graphics driver first from Nvidia.

My only issues with tools like Nvidia's control panel are that Microsoft should be stepping up to the plate and integrating these kind of tools. It will be much easier for debugging when people are running raw drivers and no extra tools. I bet support staff would love that also. Bravo Nvidia for giving me an easy way to check my HDCP link!

Here is the kicker. I installed the Nvidia driver and it didn't require a reboot!?!?!?!??!! That shocked me something fierce.

Nothing really new here in the Performance control panel. Just higher numbers are possible.

Since Windows XP, I have always moved my personal documents to a separate HDD. It makes OS reinstalls a piece of cake. Things get a little more interesting by having setup. But I have all my data in a folder structure I've had in place for a while, so no biggie there for me.

MMmmm. Media Center.The main reason for this install. Nice marketing info there MS.... We continue...

I naturally go for the custom setup.

I'm not going to bore you with too many aimless screen shots. Here I am entering TV setup
For those familiar with TVPack and it's issues, you will love this. It is automatically installing PlayReady for you.

My CableCards are found (2x). Nothing new

Guide setup. Nothing new.

Display setup offers nothing new: just the same old confusion. If I select TV, I will fall victim to the interface "underzooming" to prepare for the overscan that doesn't exist on my TV. I can go on for a while on this topic.

Here is the new guide. Nothing too new. Nice options for "right clicking" and being able to change channel info. This was first introduced in Vista's TV Pack

This is the new "Start" screen. It is organized a little better. Movies is something I plan on playing with more. I think there is a lot of wasted space on the today screen. I wouldn't mind seeing some things moved around. If I scroll all the way up to the top, I can only see one item. Huge space waste. Take a hint from the new home screen on Windows Mobile 6.5.

I tried searching for showings, but whoops! No guide to search from? But I just looked at the guide. Was it not downloaded all the way? I went down to the Media Center tray icon to see what info is available. Under TV Pack (and possibly non-TV Pack), I could see what percentage of the guide was downloaded.

At this point, since I couldn't do anything useful, I shut down. The next day I turned it on, came back a while later, and the search worked. I'd love to see some more robust error messages here with some user options to intervene.

Here I am setting up my series to record. Unfortunately, the search offers nothing new except in the program data.
But in the screenshot listed above, there is a neat little window that explains what tv show I searched for. Ohh... look at that. Why are there HD and non-HD versions listed? This is due to my cable company having duplicate channels. I will later have to go through and delete these duplicate analog stations.

I would really appreciate a built in tool, possibly automatic when the guide is getting setup, to automatically swap and delete channels. Example: I want my channel 2 to be HD

Also, this screen's 'tabs' at the top are confusing. The screenshot above shows the default view. If I didn't see those arrows hiding in the corner, I would have never known that there was additional information available.

I had to fish around in the menus to find the options for series recording. A step back there. But the same options when I found them.

Bug: Here comes a bug. I wanted to search for "Law & Order". Searching for "Law" gets me where I need, but I decided to type "&" to refine my search results.

Boom, no results. I would qualify this as a bug. Without understanding how they're searching, I'll throw out a guess that & is jacking with their search parameters.

I decided to play with Internet TV again. After this step, I had multiple Internet TVs listed on the Start page. One listed as beta, one not.

Sweet Arrested Development! Wait.... I'm searching for series, but why am I getting individual seasons? I'd like to see all Arrested Development seasons listed under a single show name.

As I was getting ready to lay down and watch an episode of Arrested Development, I was met with "Acts". Not quite sure what I'm expected to do with them. They're all out of order anyway! I left, and have not returned yet to TV Series

What I really did enjoy was the Viral videos! This is such a great way to waste time. I did this until I fell asleep.

Bug: Every time I put in a USB flash drive or SD card, Windows pop up always shows up behind other windows. Rather annoying. Don't pop anything up if I can't use it. I'd rather go hunt through "computer" if I have to click extra times.

IE8- Someone needs to put their foot down and redo the version system. Here is my recommendation
IE6= IE6
IE6.1= IE7
IE6.2= IE8

So, IE6.2 is a good upgrade from 6.1. It adds a few new features, but overall gives me nothing too new. Read more on what my thoughts are on IE8 .

Bug: Every time I restore or maximize Media Center, my cursor gets centered on the screen. This is rather annoying when my cursor goes flying across the screen and I have to hunt it down again.

Conclusion:
Very exciting. I love the new desktop experience. I skipped over many things like this because they've been covered in great detail by others

When I began writing this blog post, I wasn't expecting to finish with 3 bugs and a few annoying rants about issues. But unfortunately, that's how I roll.

This was written to specifically lay out my first RTM impressions, more to come soon!

Peter

Windows 7 RTM

Peter — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:10:15 GMT

Well, we've reached that time where we no longer have to hear about leaked betas, release candidates, or early fake RTMs of Windows 7.

It is done, completed, and been shipped to manufacturers (and people who have better connections than me). At this point, they're making images and testing the final version on their machines. And yes, we can all look forward to lots of crapware being installed on it: "Windows has a wireless manager, try the Dell wireless manager!" "You didn't want to use Windows power management, here is our custom tool" "You wanted to be reminded every boot about hp's printer driver update, right?"

We've all been hearing plenty about Windows 7.

"It's Vista with less suck"
"It's the Vista we should've had"

Okay, I said most of those things. I wasn't a Vista hater, but it would've been nice to get some of those features earlier on. I'm personally looking forward to it for all my uses.

1) Laptop:Will run smoother, new window management make touch pad usage easier
2) Media Center: The features I gained in Vista's Media Center TV Pack will be integrated into Windows 7. (Not looking forward to having to reset my DRM on my CableCard recordings)
3) Vehicle: I've been running XP due to its low resources and not wanting to bet on drivers for Vista. It's been misbehaving lately and could use a more modern OS. I'm ready to make the jump there

Yes, I'm saying XP is not modern. It's OLD: 2002 if my my memory serves me right. Honestly, it was beefed up Windows 2000 to support graphics and a better GUI.

We're 3 months away from when it will hit the shelves. It's a little too long for me! I miss my MSDN account......

TV Provider Companies Need to Take a Long Hard Look at Themselves

Peter — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:34:20 GMT

We've all been bit by the Cable Companies at one point or another. Lately, it seems to revolve around DRM, TV over Internet, etc. I'm no fool, I understand everything they're doing, yet I do not agree.

They used to have the only major pipeline for TV into people's home. This is changing:

Now people are receiving HD broadcasts over the air (cables' customers who tune into only primetime shows, this is a threat)
People are using the internet connection through the Cable Company to obtain LEGAL internet TV. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube all provide fantastic and easy resources to bypass live TV

Somewhat recently, Comcast put a 250GB monthly cap on internet connections. Why would they do this? Naturally for reason #2 listed above. This is still opinion and speculation on my part. Many others agree, others have alternative ideas (mostly revolving around the companies beening ran by zombie devils or something). It comes down them not wanting to change, and force customers down a certain path. this lack of innovation will be their doom.

TV Studios created sites like Hulu and their corp sites to host shows. WHOA! That is a huge sidestep to cable companies! So now the customers and tv companies are both upset with cable companies? Instead of innovating and finding alternative solutions, companies like Comcast are sticking to their positions and solidifying by imposing limits on how much you can download. I've never hit the 250 GB limit, but someday I might with the way things are going!

Comcast said they imposed the limit to stop the few from abusing the service. This is BS. If you were getting so overloaded, why was it that months later you double all of our internet speeds and now offer up to 50mbps? Guess you have the capacity to handle it all, don't you?

Most customers will pass this off as "the limit will not affect me" and "well, whatever, now my speeds are faster!!!". Screw that, they jacked the speeds up ONLY after they were getting speed competition from Verizon FIOS and AT&T U-Verse. This was done to keep their current customers and to keep the eyes of their customers covered.

I'm sounding like a ranting liberal who hates "the man", but I hate being treated like a moron. I am not. I do not know everything, but I damn well know when I'm being played.

Here is what Comcast and others should do to innovate:

They support different channel packages via CableCard. If you pay for HBO, "zap" and now you have HBO. Stop paying your bill "zap!!", all premium channels are gone. I should be able to go through a checklist and be able to add/remove any channel that I want to. I'd love to get rid of Oxygen and replace it with ESPN7. This offers a fantastic option to customers with a system you already have in place
You need to go all in on this CableCard fiasco. You're really starting to piss off your average joe of a customer. Why should your Motorola Comcast box with a CableCard get all the channels and On-Demand while my Tivo/Vista Media Center with a Cable Card can only get most channels and no On-Demand? Don't tell me that it's hard to innovate. You need to kick your CableLabs in the butt and have it be much more helpful to 3rd party OEMs. I'm still waiting for my freaking SDV adapter for my ATI Digital Tuners. It is certainly an issue that needs to be worked on by Microsoft/ATI in addition to CableLabs, but don't you think it would go much more smoothly if CableLabs was actively assisting and cared? It has been deemed illegal to force people to use your cable boxes. You're working on borrowed time while Tru2Way is deployed. You'd better be more freaking friendly before everyone has an easy option to ditch your box.
Some cable companies are offering video on demand watch shows. But once again, I need your box to get that! But all in all, it's still not ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX,etc's raw show programming offerings. You're offering yet again another proprietary system to add another ball an chain to your customers. Make a system similar to Netflix that allows your TV customers to access it. Maybe even sell the internet only version to people! I'm already paying for netflix to watch TV and movies, why would I be opposed to paying for it?

Windows 7 - The Media Center Dilemma

Peter — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:06:47 GMT

This will be short and sweet. I have a CableCard Media Center I've blogged in anger on PeterF.net before about CableCard DRM. Windows Vista and 7 use OS specific DRM. This means I cannot share my recorded TV shows between the two operating systems, eventhough they're on the same harddrive on the same computer. Just to clarify, we're talking about 1 TB of TV. Watching live TV is reserved for football/baseball games only.

Windows 7 is so amazing that I'm using it on my laptop as my primary operating system. I don't even have a problem with data migration. So thanks MS for making me (and many others) love your new product, but screw you for accepting horrendous DRM that makes me wait for the final release to make the jump on my Media Center.

I'm going to lose tv when Windows 7 comes out. Also, I do not believe an upgrade install willl work. Typically the DRM is broken and killed when you run the media center setup. Especially on a new OS. I just don't plan on testing that!

DirecTV for PC future is dead

Peter — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:39:56 GMT

Long story short: DirecTV is bitch slapping Microsoft for not integrating Satellite TV into the Media Center TV Pack 2008 release. Since it was not integrated, the feature would have to wait until Windows 7. As much as MS is shooting for next year, DirecTV knows better.

It is still very depressing that DirecTV isn't going to stick it out. VMC won my heart when it could integrate many different sources into one UI creating a true 'set-top box experience' through a PC. Integrating Satellite TV would be one more way to corner the market and provide something NOONE else can.

http://www.gearlog.com/2008/12/its_official_the_directv_hdpc2.php from http://thedigitallifestyle.com/cs/blogs/ian/archive/2008/12/09/no-directv-for-media-center.aspx

Windows 7 looks promising

Peter — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:40:36 GMT

Two fantastic links below. Looks like Windows 7 might actually have some promise. They actually showed it running on a mobile netbook with a 1 Ghz processor and 1 GB of RAM (only using 50%). In order to get that today, you'll need to go find an XP disk..

They also discarded the sidebar and moved all the gadgets to the desktop. A very good call, why be limit the real estate?

MEDIA CENTER.. OMFG. A supported platform that includes extra features we've been waiting for? Seems like they're actually willing to expand the interface and use more of the screen. It seemed like they were timid originally with xp and vista. It's not the end all yet, but throw in native BD playback and you'll have happy customers.

Overall, they seem to understand the UI needed a revamp. They address some of the frustrating window movements to allow quick and easy organizing. They tried to get fancy in vista with the preview from the taskbar and Flip3d. But it was a weak attempt. Seeing these ideas pop up in a pre-beta is pretty neat. This means there is more to come (I hope). I did slip into a mild depression after they announced that the Vista betas were feature complete and they were only bug fixing.

These announcements were enough to catch my attention and get me a bit excited. Just don't mess it up.

http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2008/10/28/windows-7-media-center-revealed/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/28/windows-7-details-galore-interface-tweaks-netbook-builds-medi/
>

Why is CableCard DRM bad?

Peter — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:10:36 GMT

So glad you asked. I'm going to give this to you in a story (then a rant), but we'll start with some background.

An ATI Digital CableCard tuner will encrypt ALL shows recorded, period. Some have noted that this may change to only encrypt shows that request it, but this doesn't solve the overall problem. This DRM chain is built off of many items: (i don't remember the exact ones, but this is a good start) GPU, Processor, Motherboard. Note: you can only buy your initial pc from an OEM so you have a secondary product code purely for the cablecard setup

Once you start recording shows, if you change a single item of hardware: BOOM, you can NEVER watch your recorded shows. This happens because the hardware change caused a break in the DRM chain. You will have to erase all of your shows, and start from scratch.

OK, story time....

Bought a refurbished MediaCenter, Sony Vaio VGX-XL3. I doubled up the RAM, bought a new GPU, and added an additional tuner card. Everything works GREAT, except that the ATI GPU is not compatible with the new Media Center TV Pack 2008. Now, first off, I'm no fool. This was a leaked update, and it was my own risk. I totally understand this, so I'm only willing to put the blame on Microsoft in the fact that they went along with this DRM scheme for 1 reason. I will have put my old GPU (nvidia 7000 series)in the computer, I will want to put the new one in once ATI updates their drivers. "Wait... didn't we just talk about that?" It will destory my DRM chain and create a new one. "But Peter, why won't you just use the non-TV pack version?" I'm spoiled by the new features? It handles multiple TV sources MUCH better than the previous release and it handles HD much better in the guide. Plus, even if I were to leave the ATI GPU in and run the orginal Vista Media Center, I'd still lose my DRM chain by upgrading to the TV pack! I might as well keep the TV pack and deal with the older GPU. Note: the reason I'm freaking out is due to the fact that Comcast is coming tomorrow to install my CableCards.

So if you followed me through the this rant, hopefully you'll come to my same conclusion... DRM sucks. It's pointless and extreme overkill. CableLabs, Microsoft, Comcast, NBC, FOX, FCC, whoever is willing to listen. GO LOOK at the torrent sites out there. All of your shows are out there, they will continue to be out there, and you usually release your shows on your website anyway!!!!! (I hate the "who cares because it's going to happen anyway arguement, but honestly, they'll never be 100% protected" for whoever's diety's sake, they were happy Batman: Dark Knight was only leaked hours after the movie was released??? ) So why would a typical CableCard PC owner have to pay over $1000 to get screwed from so many angles? This is all done for one purpose: so you cannot copy a tv episode file from your PC to a different PC. Lame!

I call BS, someone needs to stand up and try using some common sense. I'm sure most of this started with CableLabs and everyone just caved to them since CableLabs dragged their feet releasing the CableCards in the first place and everyone was happy when it finally came out. Also, how was it that there was a specification to for 2-way communication for Cable Co's to use on their DVR boxes, but it JUST WASN'T possible to put the 2-way communication in the first CableCard release? This makes me cringe EVERY time I talk to Comcast about CableCards,"But sir, if you use a CableCard, you won't be able to get On-Demand content. Which DVR box would you like?". It takes every bit of energy for me to hold back and not go ballistic. I usually come up with something clever,"It keeps me from giving your more money".

Image 1 Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Img_5022.jpg
Image 2 Credit: me!

ClearQAM with HVR-1800 on VMC -TGB

Peter — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:42:25 GMT

Thanks to an ~~*official*~~ ~~*unofficial*~~, who gives a **** , a simple registry key will unlock most of the WinTV lineup from Hauppauge in Vista Media Center

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/permalink/293058/292728/ShowThread.aspx#292728

Photo taken with HTC Tilt by PeterFnet

Just make sure you try it with the latest drivers that are public, and you'll be in the clear. I did not even have to update my drivers. Works great! I don't have as many channels as I had in OTA, but this could be all that Comcast provides to me over Clear QAM. I'll see what the WinTV app finds for QAM channels and compare. Once they get it working for the true dual tuner (HVR-2250), I'll be purchasing that!

Thanks to mjp14 for posting it!

REGEDIT4
;
; NOTE: this file should ONLY be used to enable Clear QAM support on Fiji
; (ie, "Windows Vista Media Center Feature Pack 2008")
;
; Using this file WILL break applications that only support the legacy "ATSC Network Provider"
; Apps must be recompiled to use the newer "MS Network Provider" if this file is used
;
; These keys control exposing support of Fiji compatible QAM for various ATSC products
; (of course, the HW products must be physically capable of supportting QAM!!!)
;
; You MUST restart you system after this file is installed for the changes to take effect
;
; HVR-1250, HVR-1290, HVR-1500q, HVR-1800, HVR-1850
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW85BDA\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-1600 (only some models support QAM; should list them here)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW18BDA\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-USB2, HVR-1950
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW73BDA\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-950q
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HCW72DTV\Parameters]
"AllowQAM_PowerToy"=dword:00000001

; HVR-2250 (not yet supporrted)

Long nerdy projects actually coming to an end. Ha! Proved you wrong!

Peter — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:49:41 GMT

Those who know me know I have a severely high level of nerdiness that probably borders on some form of a disorder. My two largest projects recently involved my Vehicle and my Media Center PC. A very detailed write-up on each project will be posted in the future.

Each project involved a very large amount of time, but wasn't too horrible on the budget at the same time. This was pretty important since I was in college for most of it!

1. My 1996 ford explorer: On-Board x86 Computer Windows XP SP3, runs StreetDeck mobile software, GPS, touchscreen embedded in dashboard with custom bezel, MTX sound system, plenty of emergency lighting (not gaudy), and a 2-way VHF radio for ham/government

2. Media Center: Hauppauge HVR-1800 Cable Tuner with Digital OTA, 2 GB RAM, HD-DVD drive, Blu-Ray drive, ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre, and VMC Netflix.

Native QAM in Media Center Might Be Almost Upon Us

Peter — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:33:56 GMT

This popped up on EngadgetHD and I'm very excited. Naturally, it's unofficial, but this would stop me from being very cranky. Native QAM support in Media Center would mean a much wider audience of Media Center. Mom and Pop could go to the store, pick up their Media Center, and get high def right off the bat. Naturally, this means if this turns out to be false, I will slip into a deeper nerd depression

Update: Patch released to OEM

Another dead Hauppauge card

Peter — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:28:50 GMT

Two Hauppauge cards(HVR-1600 and HVR-1800) that will not tune QAM or OTA Digital. Now, the chances would seem to be slim, but what else could it be? When I take the coax from my tv (that tunes clear QAM), and plug it into my Hauppauge card, it fails. It was also a clean install of Vista. So now I RMA it again, at least they'll cover the shipping for an additional RMA

QAM in Media Center - Painful

Peter — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:22:35 GMT

I've always been a fan of Media Center, even in its infancy. But with ways to integrate Blu-ray, HD-dvd, Netflix, into a networked DVR on steroids, it makes Media Center a great choice for an all-in-one solution.

Fantastics aside, it's still plagued with problems that it should not have. In order to get most of these features, you need to have t3h nerd skills which brings me to QAM.

Sweet (biblical reference), clear QAM support should be in Media Center!!!! Most cards support QAM now, but you need to use their application to tune it to QAM channels.

Many card manufacturers like Hauppauge,WinTV products, have taken to the task of creating ways to trick media center into tuning QAM. The Beta driver has you setup an OTA as if you're using an antenna. Then you launch a separate application to map those channels to actual QAM channels from your cable service.
Put simply, it's a good thing they call it beta, so no hard feelings. They were driven to this horrid option. Even talking to an employee of Hauppauge, he/she was not able to get it to work. In addition to that, there was a report that after installation, it hosed *something* and QAM wouldn't even work in the WinTV app. Eeeek!

Nevertheless, I'm doing a clean install of Vista, prepping a disk image, and will be reporting back some findings!

Edit: go see a newer post of mine