need help! windows media center where do I get it?

[djjf0606]

Im about to get my smt5600. I heard windows media center edition can convert videos straight to the phone. I do not have the software for windows media center. Where can I get it? Is it difficult to convert videos for use on the phone? I want to watch recorded tv on the phone. Thanks for your help.

-Jon

[spokrie]

Jon,

Media Center isn't like purchasing XP. You can only get it as a PC bundle, or some web site will sell it with a piece of hardware. It is a complete OS.

As far as converting the video, there are some third party add-ons to convert to WMV, and you can use Windows Encoder from there.

Scott

[Sven Johannsen]

You don't need Media Center Edition, just Windows Media Player 10 for your PC. Hard to believe you have resisted MSs attempts to force it on you ;)

All you have to do is connect the SMT5600 via AS and open the sync tab in MP10 on the desktop. It should find the mini-SD card (you do plan to get a mini-SD card right?), and then you can select things to sync. The conversion will happen during the transfer. You'll like it.

The MCE piece would let you record TV shows and the MP10 conversion would handle those as well. There are other ways to get record TV though. MCE is typically purchased on an OEM box, though it is possible to acquire a copy and build your own. I've done it, driver hell, not recommended.

[djjf0606]

thanks guys for the help. Does media player 10 play mpeg 2 files? Also whats can I do to convert my video files to wmv. I just want to watch my recorded tv. Thanks for the help in advance. I'm a smt5600 newbie.

[Mike Temporale]

What format is your recorded TV in? What program are you using to record it with?

[spokrie]

What format is your recorded TV in? What program are you using to record it with?

Mike,

It depends... if you use MCE2005 TV gets recorded to DVR-MS file type. There is a patch to let Media Player play the file on a non MCE2005 machine, but I could not use it in my normal editing programs. A freeware software added to my MCE2005 remasters the file to WMV, then I am good to go.

With my other TV card, it would wirte to AVI or mpeg. It's a no brainer from there.

Scott

[Sven Johannsen]

I think Mike was asking djjf0606, specifically, so he could make recomendations. djjf0606, if you can view what you record in WMP9, you should be able to view it in MP10. I would suggest that if you can view it in MP10, it will convert it for you if you use the sync feature in MP10 to move it to your Smartphone.

[Mike Temporale]

:oops: Sorry Spokrie, As Sven mentioned, I meant the question for djjf0606.

I have yet to tackle this with my MCE yet. Maybe sometime when I get a free minute or two, I'll try to transfer something to my phone. :lol: Free minute.... :lol: :lol:

[Rocco Augusto]

i personally convert all my media files to divx/xvid and play them through betaplayer. i heard with wmp10 on a smartphone though it forces more colors on your display, if your display supports it, from 65K to 256K so movies don't look all weird. dunno if this is true or not, if not im sticking with betaplayer since i kinda got use to it. right now im only watching cartoons on my smartphone anyways and they look fine at 65k colors

-opti-

p.s - if youre interested in painless way to convert your media to divx/xvid let me know and ill write up a quick tutorial that will point you to everything you need, which just happens to be free. :)

[Sven Johannsen]

The neat thing about MP10 sync is that it does the conversion for you, based on what it is converting to. That's why you have to do it with the PPC/Smartphone attached via USB. It recogizes the target player's device and transcodes accordingly. Unfortunately that is also why you can't put a CF or miniSD in a reader and have it convert to that media. There is no feature to tell it what you are going to put the media into, so it just does a straight copy, not a transcode. Incidentally, you do have to use AS to connect, but it can be as a guest.

Don't know if it creates the best result, but it is dead simple.

The next neat part is if you use the automatic playlists and sync those, there are some like latest recording not yet watched. That would take the TV show you recodred last night and automatically sync it to the PPC whn it was attached. It would replace older shows on the PPC that you have viewed. This feature is obviously more beneficial if you have a 20G Portable Media Center, but the concept works on MP10 equipped WM devices. Same thing goes for music. You can set up to sync 'favorites', 'recently added' or 'listen to at night' playlists, and as those change dynamically on your PC, they update on your PPC.

[ifonline]

Jon,

Media Center isn't like purchasing XP. You can only get it as a PC bundle, or some web site will sell it with a piece of hardware. It is a complete OS.

Scott

Just wanted to clarify this statement a little more... Windows Media Center 2005 is Windows XP Professional with additional software, and it is now available as a stand-alone purchase. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832102311 for an example. This is an OEM sale, true, but you can now buy MCE2005 just like you would any other version of the Windows XP OS.

[Sven Johannsen]

Jon,

Media Center isn't like purchasing XP. You can only get it as a PC bundle, or some web site will sell it with a piece of hardware. It is a complete OS.

Scott

Just wanted to clarify this statement a little more... Windows Media Center 2005 is Windows XP Professional with additional software, and it is now available as a stand-alone purchase. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832102311 for an example. This is an OEM sale, true, but you can now buy MCE2005 just like you would any other version of the Windows XP OS.

Well, not quite like any OS. This is intended for system builders, not general consumers. MS recognized that there was a need for third party system builders to be able to offer MCE machines. You still won't find it on the shelf at CompUSA or Best Buy. The OS has also become a bit more forgiving than the original release. The original was extremely picky about the hardware and drivers it supported. There was a high probability of frustration if you somehow got a MCE copy and tried to slap it on an average PC. It still isn't as foolproof as loading a fresh copy of XP.

If you are intent on building a Media Center, I would google for some info and pay close attention to video cards and tuners that are known to work. Don't forget you'll want a remote as well. Newegg sells those as well.

You might want to take a look at http://www.snapstream.com/ for Beyond TV & Beyond Media. MS MCE is a very nicely put together system if you get it on a commercial system. It's like any other PC, you get it out of the box, hook it up and pretty much, it works. If you are going to go through the effort of building your own, look around. Mostly these things just provide a nice homogenous interface to stuff you can already do. MCE isn't the only option.

[ifonline]

You made some good points... True, you can't buy it at BestBuy, etc., but it is available. As an OS, it is compatable with any hardware compatable with Windows XP, considering that it is just Windows XP Professional with additional software. However, you're right that you need to find specific hardware when making a Media Center PC.

I made one just recently, and didn't have any difficulty, but then, like you suggested, I researched for the right hardware (video, audio, capture card, etc.) before making the purchases. All in all, though, it worked well the first time, and hasn't given me any trouble. It's been an interesting experience too! I, however, would suggest that someone interested in MCE build their own system instead of buying a pre-built one. That way, you can add what you want to instead of what the manufacturer wants. More options. For example, I am going to add a true HD capture card with optical S/PDIF audio input. That way, I can capture true HD TV through component inputs with digital audio, something the pre-built systems won't let you do. And because many of them use custom enclosures, you can't easily add your own hardware to them (I'm talking about home theater enclosures, not tower MCE systems).

By the way, I looked at Meedio and BeyondMedia, and wasn't too impressed, but that's just a matter of personal interests and opinion. I used MCE because I had a copy of MCE2005 in my ActionPack subscription just sitting around begging to be installed.

[Sven Johannsen]

I used MCE because I had a copy of MCE2005 in my ActionPack subscription just sitting around begging to be installed.

Aha. I'll bet you didn't get the Action Pack with MCE in mind, so you could almost say it was a 'free bonus' ;)

I agree that anyone who has built their own PC, probably wouldn't have much of an issue building an MCE one. I built one when it first came out, using an MSDN copy. That was a pain in the rear. Went through three video cards before one worked and had to use special drivers for the TV card. I enjoyed it enough, that I actually bought an HP MCE tower. I started adding up what it came with, and it would have cost me about 75% of it's price to duplicate it. Keeping in mind you want to put a little extra effort int 'quiet'. Wasn't worth the effort to me. My only regret is that HP wasn't making the horizontal style at the time which would fit better with the stereo stuff. E-Cost has some refurbished ones of these at great prices. I just haven't convinced the better half that it is a need, rather than just a want.

[ifonline]

You're right about the Action Pack and MCE... I didn't know at the time that it would be shipping. I remember opening the quarterly update and seeing (in impossible to read holographics) Windows Media Center Edition 2005. Woah! And then I put it on the shelf with the hundreds of other Action Pack discs until I decided to build my own MCE horizontal system.

All in all, my system wasn't cheap, but I got just what I wanted in an ultra-quiet horizontal stereo receiver looking case with VFD.