Run 7MC in a Hyper-V Virtual Machine?

[Skybolt]

I have seen alot of posts regarding how people run 7MC in a VM, some hyper-v.
I have 7MC in a vm now but getting everything functional is a real bear.
I am using an HDHR Prime as my tv source, I can watch copyonce stuff on a 360 extender.
I can't watch any ripped material due to video constraints.
I think my biggest issue right now sems to be adding the needed 3D FX support.

I am using an i5 661 processor which supports EPT (SLAT), the requierment for runnig the 3D FX adapter.
And an ASUS P7Q57 MB w/16gb Ram, which also support Hyper-v in every way.
But no luck, I have scoured the net and can't seem to find a work around for th einsuficiant resource issue.

I was hopping that someone reading this may have been more sucessful then myself.
Or possibly know of a guide which might help out.

Thanks,
Skybolt

[barnabas1969]

I haven't tried it, but from everything I've read... you won't be able to get a program to work correctly if it needs exclusive access to the display adapter. Many full-screen video applications (like Media Center) need exclusive access of the display adapter. In a virtual machine, this is not possible.

[Skybolt]

Thanks for the reply, I also thought that at one point. but post's like these lead me to believe it does work:

http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows ... 01836.aspx

-Skybolt

[barnabas1969]

None of those people are trying to connect the TV to the PC's display adapter. They are all using an extender. One refers playing content directly from the Media Center machine instead of from Windows Home Server. He is referring to the location of the disc file, not the connection of the video monitor.

You should be able to run Media Center in a virtual machine... but you will only be able to view TV on an extender.

[Skybolt]

None of those people are trying to connect the TV to the PC's display adapter. They are all using an extender. ... ... but you will only be able to view TV on an extender.

Sorry, I should have been more clear, I also only want to use extenders as well. I am not really sure how or why you would want a server where you watch TV.

My graphics errors are from the extender stating the MCE box's drivers are configured right. Not from tryimg to view or watch from with in a VM.

My Idea is to run a 7MC VM on a server and only connect with extenders, hopefully with the Echo when it's released.
I am currently running SageTv and have been since I converted from WMC 2005.
I am trying to gain more functionality this way. Which I can do if I can get over this hurdel.

Thanks,
Skybolt

[barnabas1969]

So, what you are saying is that TV shows (WTV files) work fine on your extender, but "ripped content" does not? That may not be a VM problem. What kind of ripped content are you trying to watch?

And... when i ask "What kind", I mean:

1) What container (MKV, MP4, etc)?
2) What video encoding (mpeg, H.264, etc)?
3) What audio encoding (AC3, etc)?

Have you tried playing the same content on an extender, from a Media Center machine that is not running in a VM?

[Skybolt]

So, what you are saying is that TV shows (WTV files) work fine on your extender, but "ripped content" does not? That may not be a VM problem. What kind of ripped content are you trying to watch?

And... when i ask "What kind", I mean:

1) What container (MKV, MP4, etc)?
2) What video encoding (mpeg, H.264, etc)?
3) What audio encoding (AC3, etc)?

Have you tried playing the same content on an extender, from a Media Center machine that is not running in a VM?

yeah, I think your right, last night I got standard .avi, .mpg files to work but I read that Video_TS (.VOB) file need to be converted to play on the 360 extender. They work fine on a regular non-VM 7MC box. I haven't even tackled audio yet.

I am also stuck on the DRM side of things, i am using a cable card setup and CopyFreely shows work fine but I get a few errors when trying to watch CopyOnce content like HBO etc.

This may very well be a futile effort, meaning I won't have very much of 7MC when I get done. Haveing to convert .vob files is pretty much a show stopper for me. I have wat too many DVD/BDs to convert them. I guess I will wait and what the Ceton Echo will bring us ...

Thanks,
Skybolt

[barnabas1969]

There are others here who have managed to get ripped file to work on extenders. I recommend that you start a new topic asking about the best ways to accomplish this. I don't have much experience with doing so.

As for your DRM issues... I'm not sure why that would have anything to do with a VM, as long as you're using an extender to view the content.

[barnabas1969]

Oh... and by the way, if you have VOB files that were copied from a DVD, it's easy to get them to play on extenders. All you have to do is append all the VOB's for one movie together, and name the file with a MP4 extension. You can append them with a binary copy (in DOS, that's "copy /b"). It's quick and easy. I've done it. It works well, but you don't get any subtitles.

[Skybolt]

Thanks for all of your replys, I will have to look into this further.

-Skybolt

[barnabas1969]

Actually, that needs to be MPG, not MP4. Here's how:

1) Open a command prompt
2) Navigate to the directory where your movie VOB files are located.
3) Identify which ones belong to the main movie.
4) copy/append them together. You can use wild cards, or individual file names here's how:

Code: Select all

copy /b VTS_01_1.VOB+VTS_01_2.VOB+VTS_01_3.VOB newfilename.mpg

OR

Code: Select all

copy /b VTS_01*.VOB newfilename.mpg

5) Done!

EDIT: It will work even faster if the source file(s) and target file are on two different drives.

[werds]

Actually, that needs to be MPG, not MP4. Here's how:

1) Open a command prompt
2) Navigate to the directory where your movie VOB files are located.
3) Identify which ones belong to the main movie.
4) copy/append them together. You can use wild cards, or individual file names here's how:

Code: Select all

copy /b VTS_01_1.VOB+VTS_01_2.VOB+VTS_01_3.VOB newfilename.mpg

OR

Code: Select all

copy /b VTS_01*.VOB newfilename.mpg

5) Done!

EDIT: It will work even faster if the source file(s) and target file are on two different drives.

But you lose the DVD menu structure by doing this correct? I'm a little salty this evening as transcode 360 randomly decided to no longer transcode my kid's dvd library and so far all the alternatives lose the dvd menu structure,are time consuming, or make my hope the CetonEcho supports .vob and standard dvd structure rips!

But no seriously you do lose dvd menu structure in doing this right?

[barnabas1969]

Yes, you lose the menu and subtitles the way I described. You can also make an ISO image of your DVD, put the ISO file on your Media Center PC, and there is software out there that can "mount" an ISO... so it makes Media Center think that you've inserted the actual DVD. I've never used it, but others here have.

I did a quick Google search, and I found this how-to:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/11071/au ... ia-center/

EDIT: Be sure to read the comments on the how-to article, especially the one from Mikinho here.

[Venom51]

DVDFab and some network storage is the easiest. No need to make mpg files unless Vista has an issue playing the VOB's. All mine are still VOB's and play fine in media center. Also with DVD fab you get the option to just pull the main movie without all the fluff on the disc which is a space saver over the cource of 3 to 500 DVD's.

[Skybolt]

I thought I would update my progress on this:

I have 7MC running in a Hyper-V vm and can watch and record DRM bassed tv shows, while recording to a hard drive outside of the VM.
I am using the xbox 360 as a client to watch live tv and Netflix through the WMC GUI. I have not yet tackeled the ripped DVD issues yet, but I am able to watch .mkv file as well as the other standard format's like mpg and avi without an issue. Netflix is useing PlayOn and TubeCore plugins.

I tried recording to a network drive which worked but stutterd and the picture was pixelated at times ( I had to use symbolic links to accomplish this and change the WMC services to run under an admin account). Kind of strange since this worked fine with an Atom base 7MC unit, I figured the VM would be alot fater and would be able to handle the traffic, perhaps I need a VM certified nic? Anyway, So I decided to add a real HD to the VM, which is dedicated to the 7MC recordings, not stored media, that is a network share. This method seems to work real well so far. No big deal to dedicate a reording HD to 7MC, as I already do this with SageTv.

I didn't get RemoteFX working, and at this point I am not sure it is needed. Although it would give the VM's display the needed dedicated ram to be able to watch ripped content on the 360. In order for me to get RemoteFX working I need a new MB and CPU which supports SLAT/EPT correctly. As well as support Remote Desk top licenseing... Not sure I want to go there.

So now I going to work on my 500+ ripped dvd libary. I currently use DVDFab to rip new dvd's, the problem is I am switching to all Blu-Ray's. Not sure I want to ripp those, perhap's just convert them to mkv's and be done. But I still need to deal with my existing lib, which I don't want to convert, if I don't have to.

[Venom51]

The stuttering could be caused the by the software switch between the physical nic interface and the VM. If you are running just the Hypervisor on the base hardware than only the hypervisor has direct physical access to the NIC. Any VM that is built and connected to a virtual network is being packet switched at the software layer.

Hard drives are a little different. As you probalby already know you can present hard drive space to a VM as either a vhd file on a drive controlled by the hypervisor or offline that disk and pass it directly to the VM and give it dedicated control of that physical drive.

And I glossed over the fact you were using extenders. I guess my VOB files all work as each location is a PC and not an extender.

[Skybolt]

The stuttering could be caused the by the software switch between the physical nic interface and the VM. If you are running just the Hypervisor on the base hardware than only the hypervisor has direct physical access to the NIC. Any VM that is built and connected to a virtual network is being packet switched at the software layer.

Hard drives are a little different. As you probalby already know you can present hard drive space to a VM as either a vhd file on a drive controlled by the hypervisor or offline that disk and pass it directly to the VM and give it dedicated control of that physical drive.

And I glossed over the fact you were using extenders. I guess my VOB files all work as each location is a PC and not an extender.

Yeah, the extender thing is the big deal here. I am ultametly trying to make 7MC a "Server" and only use extenders, xbox 360 or Echo (When Released). Trying to mimic SageTv functionality. So running in a VM is key, running a stand alone box my ultimatly be needed. But placing PC's around the house is not really ideal ...

Thanks for your help.
-Skybolt

[barnabas1969]

Have either of you seen this thread?

[Skybolt]

Ahh - no, Thanks - Tried searching on this and returned nothing, so I posted. Thanks for pointing that out. Nice read, could have saved me alot of time.

[Venom51]

That's clever. He could also put his routes in with a -p to make them persistent or put them as part of the applied VPN settings to add those routes when it connects.