Should I start a WMC system in 2017?

sgbroimp

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#21

Post by sgbroimp » Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:11 pm

DaveInPa wrote:The Comcast h.264 cable has a variety of results. Some, as mentioned, have difficulty with premium and switching between codecs.

I have none of those problems. My only issue with Comcast cable is fast forward/skip forward/rewind/skip backwards. If I push buttons too fast on h.264, it will freeze up, hang WMC and I am forced to restart the program (windows 7, 64 bit). This happens on live TV and on recorded TV.
If I am slow and pause 1-2 seconds between skipping around, everything is fine.

I can switch between HD and SD, h.264 and mpeg2, and even ESPN without issues. I do not use extenders.

@OP: To answer your original question... I'm not sure you should start fresh with a WMC setup. It will likely have issues which may be minor to major. It's a risk.
Are you running a video card by any chance? Not Intel Integrated Graphics probably, right?

stuartm

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#22

Post by stuartm » Wed Oct 11, 2017 11:55 pm

DaveInPa wrote:The Comcast h.264 cable has a variety of results. Some, as mentioned, have difficulty with premium and switching between codecs.

I have none of those problems. My only issue with Comcast cable is fast forward/skip forward/rewind/skip backwards. If I push buttons too fast on h.264, it will freeze up, hang WMC and I am forced to restart the program (windows 7, 64 bit). This happens on live TV and on recorded TV.
If I am slow and pause 1-2 seconds between skipping around, everything is fine.

I can switch between HD and SD, h.264 and mpeg2, and even ESPN without issues. I do not use extenders.
Interesting, I have the switch codec problem on my Comcast but I don't see any skipping freeze problems. (Maybe I am just naturally a slow skip button user)
I never skip around on live TV only on recorded, then it's almost always skip forward over commercials. With a bit of back skip or rewind if I got too aggressive on skip forward. :)

I don't get any premiums. but a couple of my non-premiums are copy protected so I use a lower end Nvidia card to avoid the problem that Intel GPU's have with copy protected h.264.

Frankly I am still extremely happy with WMC, it is still the best DVR as far as I am concerned and will keep using it as long as possible. I would recommend using it if you can live with the potential pitfalls outlined in these posts and your requirements don't conflict with the existing shortcomings/workarounds.

Ken H

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#23

Post by Ken H » Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:22 am

stuartm wrote:I have to disagree here.
Well, I have to severely disagree with you.

The fact if the matter is just because you have minor problems and can find work-a-rounds, does not mean other users have much more serious problems and further, are not willing to compromise with work-a-rounds.

There are simply too many documented Comcast/WMC users with real problems to recommend switching at this time. Please reconsider your advice.

stuartm

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#24

Post by stuartm » Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:48 am

No I will not reconsider my advice. As I stated it will depend on the OP's goals as far as what content he watches and records and if he is willing to live with workarounds for the potential problems.
You are free to advise differently and then it is up to him to decide whether it is worth doing.

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#25

Post by jachin99 » Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:39 pm

If WMC totally fails your only other option for DRM will be HD Homerun View on either Windows or Xbox one so either way you might as well give it a try. I haven't read up on this option too much because I don't have comcast but maybe you could convert your recordings as well?

sgbroimp

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#26

Post by sgbroimp » Thu Oct 12, 2017 7:01 pm

stuartm wrote:
DaveInPa wrote:The Comcast h.264 cable has a variety of results. Some, as mentioned, have difficulty with premium and switching between codecs.

I have none of those problems. My only issue with Comcast cable is fast forward/skip forward/rewind/skip backwards. If I push buttons too fast on h.264, it will freeze up, hang WMC and I am forced to restart the program (windows 7, 64 bit). This happens on live TV and on recorded TV.
If I am slow and pause 1-2 seconds between skipping around, everything is fine.

I can switch between HD and SD, h.264 and mpeg2, and even ESPN without issues. I do not use extenders.
Interesting, I have the switch codec problem on my Comcast but I don't see any skipping freeze problems. (Maybe I am just naturally a slow skip button user)
I never skip around on live TV only on recorded, then it's almost always skip forward over commercials. With a bit of back skip or rewind if I got too aggressive on skip forward. :)

I don't get any premiums. but a couple of my non-premiums are copy protected so I use a lower end Nvidia card to avoid the problem that Intel GPU's have with copy protected h.264.
Frankly I am still extremely happy with WMC, it is still the best DVR as far as I am concerned and will keep using it as long as possible. I would recommend using it if you can live with the potential pitfalls outlined in these posts and your requirements don't conflict with the existing shortcomings/workarounds.
This would be my opinion as well.

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#27

Post by DaveInPa » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:40 am

sgbroimp wrote:
DaveInPa wrote:The Comcast h.264 cable has a variety of results. Some, as mentioned, have difficulty with premium and switching between codecs.

I have none of those problems. My only issue with Comcast cable is fast forward/skip forward/rewind/skip backwards. If I push buttons too fast on h.264, it will freeze up, hang WMC and I am forced to restart the program (windows 7, 64 bit). This happens on live TV and on recorded TV.
If I am slow and pause 1-2 seconds between skipping around, everything is fine.

I can switch between HD and SD, h.264 and mpeg2, and even ESPN without issues. I do not use extenders.

@OP: To answer your original question... I'm not sure you should start fresh with a WMC setup. It will likely have issues which may be minor to major. It's a risk.
Are you running a video card by any chance? Not Intel Integrated Graphics probably, right?

I'm using integrated AMD graphics.

sgbroimp

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#28

Post by sgbroimp » Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:56 pm

Most interesting. That would seem to suggest that the AMD chip does not have the same bug the Intel's does. Mine is a Core i3, 1155 set, HD Graphics 2000 in an AsRock H67M board. I wonder if there is an AMD that I can simply swap in against mine without causing all kinds of collateral goofiness.

stuartm

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#29

Post by stuartm » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:12 pm

The Intel bug (unable to play protected h.264 content) is a known long standing problem. I don't believe there are problems with any other GPUs in playing protected h.264 on
either discrete video boards or embedded (AMD). Unfortunately, you can't swap AMD CPU's into an Intel motherboard (and vice versa) the AMD and Intel CPUs require a motherboard that matches their CPU pinout and they are not interchangeable between the two manufacturers.

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#30

Post by Ken H » Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:37 pm

The comments here about possible hardware that works do not reflect known information previously discussed in these forums on this subject. There is no known combination of hardware that consistently works.

I've got two Dell Optiplex 740's, both with AMD Phenom II X4 CPU PC's, one with nVidia GT 730 GPU, one with AMD Radeon R240 GPU, and a laptop with an Intel Pentium dual core and integrated Intel Mobile Series 4 graphics. All of them have the same issues with the Comcast iteration of H.264.

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#31

Post by stuartm » Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:46 pm

Really? Your systems that use non-Intel graphics get a black screen when trying to play protected h.264 just like Intel GPU's do? This is contrary to my experience where my Nvidia GT630's play protected h.264 flawlessly.

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#32

Post by Ken H » Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:28 am

stuartm wrote:Really? Your systems that use non-Intel graphics get a black screen when trying to play protected h.264 just like Intel GPU's do?
Yes really. Sometimes after the black screen the audio also stops, and sometimes after black screen and no sound I can't tune to a non-H.264 channel - the tuner is locked up. Then you have to close and restart WMC to view live TV.
This is contrary to my experience where my Nvidia GT630's play protected h.264 flawlessly.
This is the point. There is no reliable way to know what will work and what will not. This is why I took the issue to Comcast, and am still waiting for an answer. I'm not hopeful for a suitable answer at this point.

Which is why no one in good faith should recommend a Comcast sub to switch to WMC at this time.

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#33

Post by stuartm » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:36 am

I have heard of many people that worked around the Intel protected content h.264 problem by adding a non-Intel GPU. You are the only one I have ever heard of who could not play h.264 protected content on a non-intel GPU. So I am still comfortable recommending someone try WMC as a DVR solution even if they have Comcast as long as they use a non-Intel GPU.

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#34

Post by sgbroimp » Mon Oct 16, 2017 5:51 pm

Ken H wrote:The comments here about possible hardware that works do not reflect known information previously discussed in these forums on this subject. There is no known combination of hardware that consistently works.

I've got two Dell Optiplex 740's, both with AMD Phenom II X4 CPU PC's, one with nVidia GT 730 GPU, one with AMD Radeon R240 GPU, and a laptop with an Intel Pentium dual core and integrated Intel Mobile Series 4 graphics. All of them have the same issues with the Comcast iteration of H.264.
Probably a silly question, (but at least not a thoughtless one) but here goes: You did have Comcast do a reset and you did reboots, ran the DCA, WinSat and WMC signal resets right? Tried resetting your cable card also?

I do applaud you submitting the issue to Comcast. Hopefully they are really looking into the matter

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#35

Post by Ken H » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:39 pm

stuartm wrote:I have heard of many people that worked around the Intel protected content h.264 problem by adding a non-Intel GPU. You are the only one I have ever heard of who could not play h.264 protected content on a non-intel GPU. So I am still comfortable recommending someone try WMC as a DVR solution even if they have Comcast as long as they use a non-Intel GPU.
If you read enough of the threads here and at DSLReports you'll fine lots of exceptions to what you currently think.

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#36

Post by Ken H » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:43 pm

sgbroimp wrote:Probably a silly question, (but at least not a thoughtless one) but here goes: You did have Comcast do a reset and you did reboots, ran the DCA, WinSat and WMC signal resets right? Tried resetting your cable card also?
Yes indeed, silly question. I've did all the above and more, including a fresh install of Windows 7. Nothing works.
I do applaud you submitting the issue to Comcast. Hopefully they are really looking into the matter
They say they are, and I believe them.

They told me over a month ago they would know something in a week, with no word yet. I take this as meaning they found the cause and no easy solution is in sight. If you read my post on page 1 of this thread, it sums up my thoughts on the subject.

But, one never knows. We shall see.

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mcewinter

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#37

Post by mcewinter » Fri Oct 20, 2017 2:15 pm

stuartm wrote:I have heard of many people that worked around the Intel protected content h.264 problem by adding a non-Intel GPU. You are the only one I have ever heard of who could not play h.264 protected content on a non-intel GPU. So I am still comfortable recommending someone try WMC as a DVR solution even if they have Comcast as long as they use a non-Intel GPU.
I can confirm the issue resides on AMD GPUs as well. I had two MC machines running AMD GPUs with identical results as the Intel Core i3 onboard video I was using prior. I can't speak for NVidia GPUs. I turned the page on MC after 10+ years.

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#38

Post by frostillicus » Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:14 pm

My Xbox 360 slim 4gb plays the Comcast h.264 files just fine. If you are just starting out and don't want to commit big money on multiple Xbox consoles or echos for extenders, you can get a pretty good experience using a cheaper Kodi box. You just need to run serverwmc on the win7 WMC pc and Kodi will connect to your source folder. The UI is different, but most necessary functionality is there. I have a Sony xbr-850d TV that runs android and I view my WMC recordings through Kodi 99% of the time even though I have an xbox360 connected.

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#39

Post by eviln3d » Thu Oct 26, 2017 7:06 pm

One suggestion if you go down the WMC road is that it works best if you dedicate a machine to it and don't do anything else with that machine beyond WMC. In the past I've had problem galore when someone in the family decided to use the HTPC to connect to the internet with Chrome... Best option is once you get your HTPC up and running you should delete all your browsers from the computer just to make sure no one decides to surf the web with the machine. Then you can eliminate the need of having any anti-virus software running on your HTPC which only slows things down.

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