Windows Media Center 2005

[12/13/06] OK, I tried to set up my WMC computer again because my neighbor June wanted to borrow a computer and I remembered to try the fix that Vern emailed to me. And it worked.

In case the fix disappears from the web, here it is:

You may access the system registry by running the Registry Editor. To do that, simply go Start>Run and type "regedit" in the Run dialog box.

Once you are in the registry editor, you can navigate through the registry as you would for a regular windows directory.

To access the two specified keys, click on the following folders situated on the left hand side, in the specified order.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SYSTEM
CurrentControlSet
Control
Class
{4D36E965-E325 -11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Once you have opened the last folder, you should see two keys on the right hand side ("Upperfilters" and "Lowerfilters") which you may select and then delete by right clicking and selecting "Delete".

Alternatively, you could search for these keys instead of manually navigating to their locations. To do so, go Edit>Find and type either "Upperfilters" or "Lowerfilters" in the search field.

If you are unable to find these registry keys, it may be that they do not exist on your system. In such a case, this fix will probably not work for you.

[9/15/05] Maybe I should just build my own PVR [lifehacker link from Tricks and Trinkets]

[8/15/05] No, my WMC still ain't working right. When I tried to check the link to restore my DVD/CD drives, I see the link isn't active any more. I'm using it to try to try to troubleshoot my screwy DSL connection and I notice I don't see any network connections anywhere. Even after running the networking wizard, no My Network Connections (or whatever it is) appears. I think my best best is to try to get the DVD/CD drive working and restore the whole thing.

Maybe it's something like this problem mentioned at LockerGnome.

[5/2/05] The WinXPNews guys try out Windows Media Center 2005.

* * *

[10/19/04] So a few months after I get my Media Center and after weeks of frustration (the thing still ain't working right), Microsoft comes out with a 2005 edition (I got the review site from WinXPNews.)

It supports two things I missed in the 2004 version: the ability to save shows to DVD and support for watching one channel while recording another. I would have expected it to be in the beginning, since that's what a VCR does.

It states that HP will support the upgrade. I'll have to go look. But first I want to get my current one working.

How is it worked out so far? Not as well as I had hoped.

The first thing is the picture was very harsh. The tuner card puts out a overly bright picture that is harsh to the eyes. The harsh effect may be made worse by a slow frame rate.

Secondly, as mentioned above, it doesn't natively burn to DVD. There was an application that is supposed to do it, but it kept locking up while trying to edit the video. I finally was able to burn a DVD of a volleyball game. The picture looked OK, but the frame rate was annoyingly choppy.

After searching the internet, I plunked down $80 for CyberMedia Power Director which is supposed to import the propriety ms-dvr format and burn to DVD. But the thing wouldn't install.

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&th=543170ce65235f18&rnum=5

After much mucking around, I got it to install by uninstalling that first application. Power Director would still seem to lock up but not as badly as the first app. So I finally was able to edit a video, but when I tried to burn the DVD, the DVD drive was missing on the system!

I think the DVD (and CD) drive was affecting by the uninstalling of the first program. I was able to get it recognized by deleting a couple of items from the registry, but then it disappeared again when I ran Power Director.

Ugh.

I think I'm going to try to partition the drive and install WMC from scratch. But first I have to create the install CDs since the system doesn't come with any.

Stay tuned.

* * *

11/28/04

I'm going to try to get the DVD drive working again. Except I don't remember exactly what I did to get it working the last time.

Looking on google again, I seem to recall it involved editing the lower filter on some registry key.

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&selm=058801c32e74%24916debd0%24a601280a%40phx.gbl

http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport/ccsearch/getdoc?doc=bph07162

See in particular step 8. I think I'll try that and see if the DVD drive reappears. Once I get to to reappear I will try to create the system restore CD drives. Then I will try partition the drive and install a fresh system to experiment on.