Guide for HTPC
- Thread starter photoshop
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Soldato
Yeah probably will stick with MediaPortal (just use the codecs of PowerDvD etc), was just wondering whether to get Vista or not - can't see the benefits really.
Then what do you run?
Soldato
For now (due to costs) going with XP and Media Portal with PowerDVD
See how I get on with that lot and go from there really. Got a NetFlix subscription with Blu-Ray so should be cool
mediaportal wee wee's on Media centre. Media portal has grown so much last 2 years I have had my HTPC.
Go for it, you wont be dissappointed
MediaPortal should tick all the boxes.
However, i would avoid using the built in player. I have found it to be not as good as other players such as KMPlayer and WMP Classic/11.
I realized this by watching a divx first on MP and then on KMPlayer. The difference i found was that in MP i was getting some light overlay which wasn't present in KMP or WMPC.
I played a "007 The World is Not Enough" divx. At the beginning when the film starts you get the MGM logo with the lion roaring against a black backdrop. In MP i could see where the top and bottom bars were (as it was in WS) and the image appeared lighter but in KMP/WMPC i couldn't see the bars and the colours were more richer. As the MGM feature is shot against a black backdrop the top and bottom bars should not be seen!. At least on a properly setup TV you shouldn't!
Some of you might think that there is some post processing taking place in MP but no post processing features are enabled. Further more i am using the default system codecs in MP (which are FFDShow for DivX/XviD/AVI, CoreAVC for h.264, AC3 for audio) and these are the same codecs which are being used by KMP and WMPC (as i have turned off all internal codecs in these two).
I wasn't aware of this till recently. I now use KMPlayer within MP but as of yet havent figured out how to gain remote control over it using my MCE Remote/Harmony 1000.
Just something to bear in mind for you guys.......
However, i would avoid using the built in player. I have found it to be not as good as other players such as KMPlayer and WMP Classic/11.
I realized this by watching a divx first on MP and then on KMPlayer. The difference i found was that in MP i was getting some light overlay which wasn't present in KMP or WMPC.
I played a "007 The World is Not Enough" divx. At the beginning when the film starts you get the MGM logo with the lion roaring against a black backdrop. In MP i could see where the top and bottom bars were (as it was in WS) and the image appeared lighter but in KMP/WMPC i couldn't see the bars and the colours were more richer. As the MGM feature is shot against a black backdrop the top and bottom bars should not be seen!. At least on a properly setup TV you shouldn't!
Some of you might think that there is some post processing taking place in MP but no post processing features are enabled. Further more i am using the default system codecs in MP (which are FFDShow for DivX/XviD/AVI, CoreAVC for h.264, AC3 for audio) and these are the same codecs which are being used by KMP and WMPC (as i have turned off all internal codecs in these two).
I wasn't aware of this till recently. I now use KMPlayer within MP but as of yet havent figured out how to gain remote control over it using my MCE Remote/Harmony 1000.
Just something to bear in mind for you guys.......
Soldato
you can simply adjust the levels in ffdshow.
Im actually interested in getting kmplayer to work properly. How do I get the keys mapped to my MCE remote? How did you get it to close and go back to MP when playback finished?
Soldato
well google was my friend and the answer was on avforums to get it to auto close when its finished playback!!
http://www.avforums.com/forums/7111923-post3.html
Still need to get all the keys mapped to mce remote
http://www.avforums.com/forums/7111923-post3.html
Still need to get all the keys mapped to mce remote
I hear what your saying but FFDShow is on default settings. I use ffdshow as my divx/xvid system default codec. In KMPlayer and in WMPC i have turned off all internal filters/codecs and have forced them to use the system default codecs and it turns out they use ffdshow for divx/xvid material.
Now in KMPlayer and WMPC i don't have the problems that i do in MP. That would suggest that if ffdshow works fine in KMP and WMPC then it should work likewise in MP. There should be no need to adjust levels.
And if i adjust levels in ffdshow then this will affect the PQ in KMP and WMPC.
The point im trying to make is that ffdshow is on default settings which would mean that its using global settings on each player that uses it to decode material which should mean that the PQ should be the same in each player.
I have a feeling it could be something to do with the rendering mode MP is using. KMP and WMPC use the system default VMR mode (i dont know which one that is) but MP uses VMR9 and that cant be changed.
I am too interested in some how mapping keys for KMPlayer to MCE remote as i find KMPlayer to be superior but as of yet i am no closer to achieving that goal
And for this reason i like to use MP's own built in player
Soldato
I know this thread is about MediaPortal, but I'm super serial, XBMC is where it's at.
I used to use MP, and loved it, but I've never particularly liked any of the skins (they're clear and functional, but don't really seem that polished) and it's never been 100% stable.
XBMC on the other hand is the ****.
All setup is done from inside the app, rather than a separate configurator as with MP. Not a huge thing, but it's nice being able to quickly change a setting with the remote, instead of having to close it, grab a KB + mouse, open a separate app, make a change, then relaunch it.
All videos are played with the built in FFmpeg codec, which has flawlessly played everything I've tried so far, even 720p MKV files on an E2140. So there's no messing around with any of that - it's even got an option to upscale! ISOs can be played straight from the file, so you don't need to have DaemonTools installed as with MP.
Skins are really slick. It can automatically grab TV, film and music covers, posters and info, providing your files are named properly.
The only thing I've had a problem with is my remote. It isn't supported by default, but all you need to do is get a (free) app called EventGhost, and map the remote commands to the built in XBMC plugin. There's even a setting file on the forum so you can just copy that over (I didn't find that until I'd gone through mapping it all manually though...).
There are plugins for it, like Apple Trailers, which lets you browse and stream film trailers in whatever res you want, and an iPlayer plugin is currently being made.
I don't know if anyone used XBMC on the old Xbox (where is originally started, hence the name), but it was brilliant then, and it's even better now.
There's even a LiveCD if you want to try it without installing. Though I haven't tried this so can't say how good (or bad) it is.
All this is coming from someone who spent hours configuring MediaPortal to run perfectly, and thought it was the best media centre app. I'm not saying it's bad, it's still a great piece of software, but XBMC is so much better.
Edit: Christ, that was a long post!
I used to use MP, and loved it, but I've never particularly liked any of the skins (they're clear and functional, but don't really seem that polished) and it's never been 100% stable.
XBMC on the other hand is the ****.
All setup is done from inside the app, rather than a separate configurator as with MP. Not a huge thing, but it's nice being able to quickly change a setting with the remote, instead of having to close it, grab a KB + mouse, open a separate app, make a change, then relaunch it.
All videos are played with the built in FFmpeg codec, which has flawlessly played everything I've tried so far, even 720p MKV files on an E2140. So there's no messing around with any of that - it's even got an option to upscale! ISOs can be played straight from the file, so you don't need to have DaemonTools installed as with MP.
Skins are really slick. It can automatically grab TV, film and music covers, posters and info, providing your files are named properly.
The only thing I've had a problem with is my remote. It isn't supported by default, but all you need to do is get a (free) app called EventGhost, and map the remote commands to the built in XBMC plugin. There's even a setting file on the forum so you can just copy that over (I didn't find that until I'd gone through mapping it all manually though...).
There are plugins for it, like Apple Trailers, which lets you browse and stream film trailers in whatever res you want, and an iPlayer plugin is currently being made.
I don't know if anyone used XBMC on the old Xbox (where is originally started, hence the name), but it was brilliant then, and it's even better now.
There's even a LiveCD if you want to try it without installing. Though I haven't tried this so can't say how good (or bad) it is.
All this is coming from someone who spent hours configuring MediaPortal to run perfectly, and thought it was the best media centre app. I'm not saying it's bad, it's still a great piece of software, but XBMC is so much better.
Edit: Christ, that was a long post!
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XBMC looks interesting. Will have to have a look into it. Thanks
Soldato
I use XBMC on my Xbox, it is very good. What I am looking for on my HTPC build though is something with access to PVR functionality 'out of the box' so to speak.
Could I just access the PVR program from XBMC like I access xbox programs at the moment?
Could I just access the PVR program from XBMC like I access xbox programs at the moment?
Soldato
There isn't any PVR support (the one thing MP has over it), but there is an external app launcher plugin, so you should be able to add your PVR program to it.
Soldato
I hear what your saying but FFDShow is on default settings. I use ffdshow as my divx/xvid system default codec. In KMPlayer and in WMPC i have turned off all internal filters/codecs and have forced them to use the system default codecs and it turns out they use ffdshow for divx/xvid material.
Now in KMPlayer and WMPC i don't have the problems that i do in MP. That would suggest that if ffdshow works fine in KMP and WMPC then it should work likewise in MP. There should be no need to adjust levels.
And if i adjust levels in ffdshow then this will affect the PQ in KMP and WMPC.
The point im trying to make is that ffdshow is on default settings which would mean that its using global settings on each player that uses it to decode material which should mean that the PQ should be the same in each player.
I have a feeling it could be something to do with the rendering mode MP is using. KMP and WMPC use the system default VMR mode (i dont know which one that is) but MP uses VMR9 and that cant be changed.
I am too interested in some how mapping keys for KMPlayer to MCE remote as i find KMPlayer to be superior but as of yet i am no closer to achieving that goal
well I have dismantled my HTPC lol & am testing MP on my "gaming" rig. I will persiver (spelling lol) with kmplayer and mce remote support. Spent hours on it last night but my head hurt & i just went in circles.
Keep me informed!
Soldato
Well just had a go with girder 5, got it working with my mce remote!
Rather annoyingly though, it doesn't appear that you can map the main buttons on the mce remote, like the big fat play button at the top. I got keys 1-9 mapped at the bottom.
In all truth, it isn't worth the hassle, I have lost hours on hours trying to get mpc/kmplayer to work properly with the remote.
I'm just gonna stick with MP internal player and adjust any ffdshow settings if I feel I need too.
Rather annoyingly though, it doesn't appear that you can map the main buttons on the mce remote, like the big fat play button at the top. I got keys 1-9 mapped at the bottom.
In all truth, it isn't worth the hassle, I have lost hours on hours trying to get mpc/kmplayer to work properly with the remote.
I'm just gonna stick with MP internal player and adjust any ffdshow settings if I feel I need too.
Soldato
Now you know how i feel. Just cant get WMPC or KMP working with MCE remote. Thats why im sticking with MP's own player even though it sucks BIG time!
Works with my MCE remote flawlessly.
You got WMPC or KMPlayer working with it?
Soldato
just tried event ghost, its as easy as a cheap hooker!
Dingleberry can you send me your xml file file please, would be easier for me, my brain hurts so much today?
Would you mind e-mailing it to deanbeamish at googlemail com ????
I would love you long time if you did.
PS: photoshop - eventghost seems like the way forward! Here is a link to the guide im reading about it.
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38579&highlight=mce+remote+support
It has a media player classic plugin already built in!
Does it work with WMPC and Kmplayer with all the functions (Play/pause/ffd/rwd)?
Soldato
im trying to do it now! Its a lot easier than girder, just drag and drop commands over to another panel.