What are the advantages of W10 Media Center?

Discussion of getting WMC to work on Windows 10 (unsupported)
User avatar
DavidinCT

Posts: 1556
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:45 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#41

Post by DavidinCT » Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:41 pm

Crash2009 wrote:
T-S found this AMM thing last week. I been playing with it since then. I actually got 2 RDP WMC running on a dual monitor setup with no mouse stealing.
I've been watching the thread, I might of missed it, do you have a link to it ?

Getting a true RDP running in full screen with Media Center will make me rethink my entire Extender setup (connect and open in full screen). Even the Xbox 360 has problems running some movies under the movie library but, if a TRUE video playing full screen Media Center would be epic, This would give me an ENTIRE reason to upgrade my HTPC to Windows 10 for WMC... As Video will play with the drivers/codecs that is installed in the dedicated machine and should have 0 problems playing anything the HTPC can... Never mind better dependablity and better performance over WI-FI...

Full screen requires DirecX, so I wonder if he got that working over RDP...
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

User avatar
Crash2009

Posts: 4357
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

HTPC Specs: Show details

#42

Post by Crash2009 » Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:49 pm

Post 33 just 8 back

AMM is all you need...plus all the hacks.

Here is a Win7 dual monitor setup. one full screen RDP on the right, 2 more not full screen on the left. In this test I have changed the properties of the video adapter in Win10 from native 1366 X 768 to 1280 X 720 and also re-run monitor setup in WMC to match the adjustment, this chopped off the top and bottom. Native settings on the video adapter give true Full Screen.


In a different test, I had 2 full screen RDP WMC's running at the same time. I was able to move the mouse across both screens.

One monitor is simple.
Attachments
Amm008.jpg

User avatar
DavidinCT

Posts: 1556
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:45 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#43

Post by DavidinCT » Fri Jun 24, 2016 2:22 pm

Crash2009 wrote:Post 33 just 8 back

AMM is all you need...plus all the hacks.

Here is a Win7 dual monitor setup. one full screen RDP on the right, 2 more not full screen on the left. In this test I have changed the properties of the video adapter in Win10 from native 1366 X 768 to 1280 X 720 and also re-run monitor setup in WMC to match the adjustment, this chopped off the top and bottom. Native settings on the video adapter give true Full Screen.


In a different test, I had 2 full screen RDP WMC's running at the same time. I was able to move the mouse across both screens.

One monitor is simple.
Maybe I am looking for something different. I want to connect to RDP full screen, WMC open and have WMC scale to the res of the display. I wanted to set up a 2nd account on my HTPC to use for a few computers (that I will never be on 2 of them at the same time). Problem is one is 720, the other is 1080p and the other is 1440 X ( I forget a custom res)

Setting the res manually before connecting does not fit what I need.
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

User avatar
Crash2009

Posts: 4357
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

HTPC Specs: Show details

#44

Post by Crash2009 » Fri Jun 24, 2016 2:46 pm

You don't need to change the resolution. Leave the server at native. The clients go full screen by themselves.

I am only testing different resolutions to make the Virtual Monitors go full screen. Actual Monitors go full screen without any help.

AMM has a Divider Feature (Virtual Monitors) where you can split one screen into 4 (maybe more) Start reading from the beginning. This thread is only 3 pages.

User avatar
DavidinCT

Posts: 1556
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:45 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#45

Post by DavidinCT » Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:00 pm

Crash2009 wrote:You don't need to change the resolution. Leave the server at native. The clients go full screen by themselves.

I am only testing different resolutions to make the Virtual Monitors go full screen. Actual Monitors go full screen without any help.

AMM has a Divider Feature (Virtual Monitors) where you can split one screen into 4 (maybe more) Start reading from the beginning. This thread is only 3 pages.
This is where I am trying to go with this.... I am really trying to avoid installing 3rd party apps as it could cause problems with the console profile (that will run WMC as a dediated HTPC).

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thread ... ost1241126

I guess I will take my HTPC this weekend (that is on Windows 7 and dual booting with 8.1 WMC) and I'll back up my 8.1 partition, install Windows 7 home premium or Ultimate (I have a few spare liceneces for it), and upgrade it to Windows 10 to do some testing to see if what I am looking for is even possable...

Then..
1. Install Windows 10 Media Center v12.
2. Run a multi session RDP crack
3. Run the WMC RDP crack
4. Setup WMC/Codecs/folders, etc...
5. Attempt to try it with RemoteApp (RDP sessoion that can only run one app)

What I mean..
http://geekswithblogs.net/twickers/arch ... 37048.aspx

I hope this works, as this would be the ULTIMATE Home theater PC, with small PC's for Exenters that can play all content, I just need to setup another account for each Extender/PC...
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

User avatar
Crash2009

Posts: 4357
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

HTPC Specs: Show details

#46

Post by Crash2009 » Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:14 pm

DavidinCT wrote:
Crash2009 wrote:You don't need to change the resolution. Leave the server at native. The clients go full screen by themselves.

I am only testing different resolutions to make the Virtual Monitors go full screen. Actual Monitors go full screen without any help.

AMM has a Divider Feature (Virtual Monitors) where you can split one screen into 4 (maybe more) Start reading from the beginning. This thread is only 3 pages.
This is where I am trying to go with this.... I am really trying to avoid installing 3rd party apps as it could cause problems with the console profile (that will run WMC as a dediated HTPC).

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thread ... ost1241126

I guess I will take my HTPC this weekend (that is on Windows 7 and dual booting with 8.1 WMC) and I'll back up my 8.1 partition, install Windows 7 home premium or Ultimate (I have a few spare liceneces for it), and upgrade it to Windows 10 to do some testing to see if what I am looking for is even possable...

Then..
1. Install Windows 10 Media Center v12.
2. Run a multi session RDP crack
3. Run the WMC RDP crack
4. Setup WMC/Codecs/folders, etc...
5. Attempt to try it with RemoteApp (RDP sessoion that can only run one app)

I hope this works, as this would be the ULTIMATE Home theater PC, with small PC's for Exenters that can play all content, I just need to setup another account for each Extender/PC...
FYI, you don't need another account for each extender/pc. I log in to the same account 5 times from 5 different devices without interrupting the Server. Server can be playing its own copy of WMC.

This is not like TeamViewer. TeamViewer only mirrors the servers desktop, if the client changes the channel, the channel changes on the server.

With the MDL RDP you can be watching a live channel on the server and also watching live channels on the other 5 pc's. It appears to me that the primary account on the server is cloned in each RDP Session. I don't know what the max is but I have had 5 different WMC's running. I only have 3 tuners on my experimentation subnet. I was playing 3 live and 2 recorded. 2-3 sessions worked great on the little Dell Inspiron....I3...4 GB ram...100mbps NIC. 5 sessions made the I3 puke. The I3 would be more suited as a player rather than a server.

User avatar
DavidinCT

Posts: 1556
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:45 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#47

Post by DavidinCT » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:44 pm

Crash2009 wrote:
FYI, you don't need another account for each extender/PC. I log in to the same account 5 times from 5 different devices without interrupting the Server. Server can be playing its own copy of WMC.

This is not like TeamViewer. TeamViewer only mirrors the servers desktop, if the client changes the channel, the channel changes on the server.

With the MDL RDP you can be watching a live channel on the server and also watching live channels on the other 5 PC's. It appears to me that the primary account on the server is cloned in each RDP Session. I don't know what the max is but I have had 5 different WMC's running. I only have 3 tuners on my experimentation subnet. I was playing 3 live and 2 recorded. 2-3 sessions worked great on the little Dell Inspiron....I3...4 GB ram...100mbps NIC. 5 sessions made the I3 puke. The I3 would be more suited as a player rather than a server.
I use teamviewer to get to my home computer from work, My machine is a last year's Intel i5 quad core with 16gb of DDR3 memory with the OS on a 480gb SSD. So the machine should be able to handle multiple session with out a sweat. It's kind of overkill for a HTPC but, as I want to be ready for 4K video, I wanted to beef it up from the last config.

I want to see if it's possible to force it to run full screen with out needing a 3rd party app. I don't want anything to happen on the console of the machine.

I guess I will have to play if I get time this weekend... Who knows... I am sure I have 40 other projects for the weekend.
-Dave
Twitter @TheCoolDave

Windows Media Center certified and WMC MVP 2010 - 2012

john321

Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 9:53 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#48

Post by john321 » Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:19 am

eeprom wrote:But the HDHomeRun DVR pitch has my interest anyway.
How's the HDHomeRun DVR thing going lately? I donated, but I haven't been following it for a couple of months. Last time I checked, it sucked.

Don't get me wrong, I have zero respect for Ceton after the Echo debacle. It just seems that SiliconDust is taking far too long to release a working, acceptable alternative to WMC.

But, again... I haven't been following it for the past 2-3 months.

EDIT: When I posted this, I didn't realize that the thread had gone so far off-topic. I didn't even realize that it had gone to a 2nd ... and 3rd page. I haven't been doing much of anything but working for the past couple of months, so I would still appreciate an update about the HDHR DVR. At least the HDHR DVR is (somewhat) on-topic, as it is supposedly designed to run on W10.

bob_p

Posts: 268
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:47 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#49

Post by bob_p » Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:26 pm

The SD team is continuing to push forward - though progress is much slower than anyone expected when the Kickstarter campaign was launched over a year ago.

It appears Android may be the first platform that will support the DVR with DRM support. Windows support for DVR/DRM may have hit some unexpected obstacles - they are focusing on a "universal" app that will run on Windows 10 and Xbox One - the future for supporting the DVR/DRM software on earlier versions of Windows isn't yet clear.

SD has made some design decision which may be showstoppers for long-time WMC users. They don't support a program guide grid - so browsing of programs on in the next few hours is more challenging - and much more difficult when looking for than a few hours ahead. They've implemented a cloud server-based architecture that requires accessing their cloud server to do anything related to the guide data or recordings; recently our Internet was out but TV was working - and I couldn't even get the HDHR app to start up, though WMC was working without any problems). And they may or may not have "tuner sharing" when multiple clients/apps are accessing the same live TV channel (which means if you have 6 "extenders" watching the same Super Bowl - they could consume 6 tuners - on WMC, that would be one tuner).

And SD's decision to support multiple platforms for the first release may have slowed them down - especially with the decision to first target Windows Universal apps - instead of an app that would run on Windows 7, 8.x and 10.

For us, as long as WMC continues to work - we'll likely stick with that, at least for now. Going to SD will require buying more hardware - and we won't make that switch unless we have something that is close enough to providing WMC functionality to be acceptable to family members. And it doesn't look like they'll hit that mark (at least for us) with the initial release.

User avatar
Crash2009

Posts: 4357
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

HTPC Specs: Show details

#50

Post by Crash2009 » Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:47 pm

john321 wrote:At least the HDHR DVR is (somewhat) on-topic, as it is supposedly designed to run on W10.
Board Index\\WindowsMediaCenterSoftware\\Window 10 Media Center\\What are the advantages of W10 Media Center?

and then we have your original question from Post 1 "Can you please tell me the advantages of running Media Center on Win10?"
I took that as.... What are the advantages of using Win10 WMCv12. Is that not what you were asking?

User avatar
Crash2009

Posts: 4357
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

HTPC Specs: Show details

#51

Post by Crash2009 » Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:25 pm

Admittedly, we took a bit of a side trip, exploring one or more of the advantages. I think we mostly stayed on subject. Sorry if we strayed too far.

glugglug

Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:34 am
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#52

Post by glugglug » Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:51 pm

Does DRM work in the RDP sessions?

User avatar
Crash2009

Posts: 4357
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

HTPC Specs: Show details

#53

Post by Crash2009 » Fri Jul 15, 2016 1:32 am

glugglug wrote:Does DRM work in the RDP sessions?
DRM live or recorded only works for 4 seconds, then display driver error.

TeamViewer plays drm indefinitely.

Did you check out that link I gave you in the other post....the one where you suggested something about binaries?

Coincidental that you should pop up at this minute, I was just reading one of your posts.

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thread ... ost1153382

glugglug

Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:34 am
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#54

Post by glugglug » Fri Jul 15, 2016 3:55 am

yes... read a lot of it, but 547 pages is a lot to sift through.

john321

Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 9:53 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#55

Post by john321 » Wed Jan 18, 2017 2:28 am

Crash2009 wrote:
john321 wrote:At least the HDHR DVR is (somewhat) on-topic, as it is supposedly designed to run on W10.
Board Index\\WindowsMediaCenterSoftware\\Window 10 Media Center\\What are the advantages of W10 Media Center?

and then we have your original question from Post 1 "Can you please tell me the advantages of running Media Center on Win10?"
I took that as.... What are the advantages of using Win10 WMCv12. Is that not what you were asking?
Yes, that's what I was asking. However, it seems that WMC on Win10 isn't a viable solution. So... how's it going with Silcondust?

bobstr

Posts: 30
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 3:03 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#56

Post by bobstr » Wed Jan 18, 2017 6:04 pm

How's it going at SiliconDust?

I haven't tried their DVR yet (will be soon), but it's still in beta. Overall, with the exception of DRM (protected content), it's my understanding it's going well for a beta.

About a week ago they came out saying that they should have a release candidate (without DRM) within a couple of weeks. They also said that the ability to deal with DRM (protected content) should follow along shortly after that.

Post Reply