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nuttall_chris
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 832
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Jester wrote: | I use WMC7 and the my movies plug in with a few other supporting programs. It plays anything img, video ts folders,iso, etc. it mounts and dis-mounts automatically. I have a $100 hauppage dvr tuner and it all runs really more stable and quicker than my Comcast STB ever did. Plus i love the FREE OTA HD, instead of paying extra for it. The my movies addin i use for my Windows Home Server (where all the data is stored ,6 TB ) is awesome, I Rip on a separate PC then transfer to the server, while it is still transferring to the server my movies will have found the move and retrieved all the pertinent data. (its about 80% accurate) The cool thing about my movies is that it gets the info based on the folder name, not contents. So you could create 10 movie named empty folders and it would populate the info based on that. Plus its free.
One of these days I need to setup a website detailing my whole house setup, that I put together. |
What other supporting software are you using? You say it will mount/dismount iso files automatically, how do you get it to do that?
I have 10TB of iso bluray images on my server, and would like a better way to play than what I am doing now. I use VirtualClone Drive to mount/dismount images and in have it set to autoplay with PowerDVD. So far it's flawless but I would like to put a nice front end on it to manage the collection of movies.
Does WMC7 play the img files nativly or does it open an external program to play them?
Chris.
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Jester
Joined: 27 Jan 2008
Posts: 90
Location: Villa Park Ilinois
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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Well i run the following software list:
WMC/ windows 7
My Movies add-in on Windows Home Server ($100) That is on my movie server. What OS do you run?
Anydvd HD ($80)
ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre Platinum ($90)
Daemon Tools light (free)
I just saw on another pc i have virtual clone drive( so it doesn't seem to matter which mounting program)
That's it I also have the mkv codec.
It will play any movie format (mkv, iso, video_ folder, etc) and mount if needed, it will ask if you want to have ATMT play or play it in media center. If you pick ATMT it opens that program inside media center. its a bit slow ( 20 seconds from click to movie). But as for ALL other formats you cant even tell its on a seperate machine, browse the movie cover,s select and enjoy instantly.
It probably will do more ( there is a hack/add-on to get FF and Rewind to work on MKV) but it works so i haven't touched it.
Any thing else just ask I am glad to help.
Jester
Scott
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Mark_A_W
Joined: 15 Mar 2006
Posts: 3068
Location: Sunny Melbourne Australia
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| nuttall_chris wrote: |
I have 10TB of iso bluray images on my server, and would like a better way to play than what I am doing now. I use VirtualClone Drive to mount/dismount images and in have it set to autoplay with PowerDVD. So far it's flawless but I would like to put a nice front end on it to manage the collection of movies.
Does WMC7 play the img files nativly or does it open an external program to play them?
Chris. |
Why would you keep them as ISOs? You'd only need half that space if you'd converted them to an mkv with FLAC audio, and almost any player can play them then.
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Jester
Joined: 27 Jan 2008
Posts: 90
Location: Villa Park Ilinois
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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I do it that way because its easy, load disk, click make iso in AnyDvd and copy to server. I have no wish to learn how to rip and do the audio separate. plus all the extras and director commentary are there. so you never lose anything you might want in the future. As far as space, 1.5 TB seagate is $70 so whats a few gigs between friends 
Jester
Scott
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Mark_A_W
Joined: 15 Mar 2006
Posts: 3068
Location: Sunny Melbourne Australia
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| Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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Well, yes you ge the extras (do you ever watch them?), but you also have to battle through the menu.
MikeyEby has written an all in one app to convert to mkv with flac. Once setup, it's no harder than ripping an iso.
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nuttall_chris
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 832
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:07 am Post subject: |
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| Mark_A_W wrote: | | nuttall_chris wrote: |
I have 10TB of iso bluray images on my server, and would like a better way to play than what I am doing now. I use VirtualClone Drive to mount/dismount images and in have it set to autoplay with PowerDVD. So far it's flawless but I would like to put a nice front end on it to manage the collection of movies.
Does WMC7 play the img files nativly or does it open an external program to play them?
Chris. |
Why would you keep them as ISOs? You'd only need half that space if you'd converted them to an mkv with FLAC audio, and almost any player can play them then. |
I only keep the main movie within the ISO, I strip the rest out, so no menus to wade through. I use ClownBD so it's a one step process as well. I've thought about converting everythink to mkv/flac but with almost 400 movies that would take a while....
I looked at the program written by MikeyEby but it didn`t seem to work properly on some of my files that I tested it on. I`ve thought about writing my own front end software to handle sorting my collection and playback but have been to busy with other projects and work...
Chris.
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greg_mitch
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 5320
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:22 am Post subject: |
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| Mark_A_W wrote: | Well, yes you ge the extras (do you ever watch them?), but you also have to battle through the menu.
MikeyEby has written an all in one app to convert to mkv with flac. Once setup, it's no harder than ripping an iso. |
I would agree here for a fresh install. I never got it working on my old Vista install likely due to various version discrepancies.
My new 7MC install works without a hitch...tell the program the file name and where to save it and come back in 45 minutes to MKV file with just movie and audio you want. Pretty slick actually.
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Mark_A_W
Joined: 15 Mar 2006
Posts: 3068
Location: Sunny Melbourne Australia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:02 am Post subject: |
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| nuttall_chris wrote: | | Mark_A_W wrote: | | nuttall_chris wrote: |
I have 10TB of iso bluray images on my server, and would like a better way to play than what I am doing now. I use VirtualClone Drive to mount/dismount images and in have it set to autoplay with PowerDVD. So far it's flawless but I would like to put a nice front end on it to manage the collection of movies.
Does WMC7 play the img files nativly or does it open an external program to play them?
Chris. |
Why would you keep them as ISOs? You'd only need half that space if you'd converted them to an mkv with FLAC audio, and almost any player can play them then. |
I only keep the main movie within the ISO, I strip the rest out, so no menus to wade through. I use ClownBD so it's a one step process as well. I've thought about converting everythink to mkv/flac but with almost 400 movies that would take a while....
I looked at the program written by MikeyEby but it didn`t seem to work properly on some of my files that I tested it on. I`ve thought about writing my own front end software to handle sorting my collection and playback but have been to busy with other projects and work...
Chris. |
Ah. Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I just found FLAC easier to decode at full res (no DRM issues), but if you have your setup sorted, don't change it.
The size of an mkv with flac is the same as a movie-only iso with DTS-MA/TrueHD.
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Jester
Joined: 27 Jan 2008
Posts: 90
Location: Villa Park Ilinois
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:56 am Post subject: |
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I know it sounds strange but I like the "just put the disk in feel" trailers menus etc. I actually will watch the extras and such. i will have to check out clown BD Ill goggle it now. I don't need the extras for ALL the movies
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CxTurbo
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
Posts: 425
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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| akajester wrote: | | Zebu Fellenz wrote: | | akajester wrote: | | I heard that meedios was bought out and isn't free anymore. |
MeediOS is an opensource project. |
Sorry, Meedio was bought out by Yahoo and turned into gotv or something goofy like that. Thanks. |
Correct. Meedio was bought out by Yahoo. MeediOS is an open source project like Mediaportal maintained by fans of the original project.
xxx.meedios.com is where it is at.
I have used both but Mediaportal is more polished I find.
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emdawgz1
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 7949
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Jester wrote: | Well i run the following software list:
WMC/ windows 7
My Movies add-in on Windows Home Server ($100) That is on my movie server. What OS do you run?
Anydvd HD ($80)
ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre Platinum ($90)
Daemon Tools light (free)
I just saw on another pc i have virtual clone drive( so it doesn't seem to matter which mounting program)
That's it I also have the mkv codec.
It will play any movie format (mkv, iso, video_ folder, etc) and mount if needed, it will ask if you want to have ATMT play or play it in media center. If you pick ATMT it opens that program inside media center. its a bit slow ( 20 seconds from click to movie). But as for ALL other formats you cant even tell its on a seperate machine, browse the movie cover,s select and enjoy instantly.
It probably will do more ( there is a hack/add-on to get FF and Rewind to work on MKV) but it works so i haven't touched it.
Any thing else just ask I am glad to help.
Jester
Scott |
So, Is Windows Home server difficult to run?
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Jester
Joined: 27 Jan 2008
Posts: 90
Location: Villa Park Ilinois
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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Actually its quite easy to setup WHS.I spent 1 Saturday installing it and copying everything from all the computers (9 of them around the house) to the appropriate folders on the server ( software, backup, share for every computer, photos) Then started ripping disks. it runs itself like a server should. I only look at it when it updates itself. You can run it with out a monitor and log into the console from any machine on the network.
It has one problem that I have found, two services, indexing and demitagator.exe will run at the most inopportune times, like streaming a blu ray with 7 friends over to watch. This causes high disk usage and stutters the movie. I have disabled them both and don't have a problem at all. I do re-enable the demitagator when I am not using it for a while or when I add a lot of new content, just to be sure.
I do like the fact that it creates back ups of all the PCs and updates it regularly. No worries of a failure.
Jester
Scott
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LOTREE
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 401
Location: Paradise, Newfoundland
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:01 pm Post subject: HELP! |
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Okay, so I've been using the Alpha version of MeediOS and the latest XBMC and I still can't figure out how to display a 16:9 image without having either run in Windowed mode and I'm left seeing the desktop.
So, how do all you HTPC/MediaCenter owners turn on your computer and only see 16:9 the whole time?
As is if left fullscreen the image is projected beyond the screen and on the wall. 
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Zenith Pro 1200x | Electrohome ECP 4500 | Yamaha HTR-5740 | HTPC & Speaker build to follow
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MikeEby
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Posts: 5237
Location: Osceola, Indiana
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Jester wrote: | It has one problem that I have found, two services, indexing and demitagator.exe will run at the most inopportune times, like streaming a blu ray with 7 friends over to watch. This causes high disk usage and stutters the movie. I have disabled them both and don't have a problem at all. I do re-enable the demitagator when I am not using it for a while or when I add a lot of new content, just to be sure.
I do like the fact that it creates back ups of all the PCs and updates it regularly. No worries of a failure.
Jester
Scott |
I use a Win 7 machine as my media server and rip on the same box. It has the same problem with indexing. I shut it off and it seems to work fine. Totally glitch free playback on MKV's 1:1 BD rip playback, even with my old 10/100 network switches.
I'm also able to rip and playback at the same time with no issues. A few weeks ago I got Lost Season 5 Blu-rays. I cued up the 1st disk in batch mode with my GUI for 5 episodes on the disk. I then waited about 10 minutes for the first episode to finish. Started watching it while the other 4 episodes were still being process. By the time the first Episode was done the other 4 were completed. Todays hardware is pretty amazing how much throughput you can get.
Mike
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Jester
Joined: 27 Jan 2008
Posts: 90
Location: Villa Park Ilinois
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| Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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I do agree about the hardware, while streaming 4 different bluray movies across the house and serving music to another, it doesn't use 5% of the gigabit network or half the cpu.
As far as the 16x9, I use power strip to shape the picture them use the controls on the PJ to finish it off nice. I have had to play with font sizes and such to get it right. I just thought about it i do get black bars on some movies, I figured they were 2.35-1 or something like that.
Jester
Scott
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LOTREE
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 401
Location: Paradise, Newfoundland
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| Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 1:08 am Post subject: |
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I just changed it to 1280x720 and it looks fine, fits the screen great, but I was hoping closer to 1080i/p especially when I upgrade to a BR player. Anyone have an idea how to squeeze a higher res into 16:9 like 1680x1050 but with a max 1600x1200?
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Ironman1965
Joined: 28 Jun 2007
Posts: 98
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| Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 6:11 am Post subject: |
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MeediOS is the Uber frontend with pretty much any feature you could imagine. I'm a true power user and demand the most from the programs I use. I've found that MS's concept of we know what's best for you tends to leave their software bloated and for the most part un-configurable. I've sunk my teeth into Xlobby free, XBMC (Win & Lin), Media Portal, WMC, Meedio, MeediOS, MythTV, and a host of others. The recommendations I'd make are...
1st - MeediOS Unbeleivable flexibility, Growing Community, Active, Helpful community, Has the groundwork to kick all others asses. Large number of plugins and growing all the time. Only draw backs are Learning curve and development is still in the early stages, so not as smooth as XBMC, but just give it time. I've been following it from the beginning and the refinements it has seen in the last say, year, is amazing and huge.
2nd - XBMC Quite polished, Active community. Solid second place, but still no where in the same league as MeediOS. If you're looking for something more on the simpler side that performs and looks awesome, no need to go any further than XBMC.
Many people praise Mediaportal. It was my frontend of choice for some time and I liked it quite well. It's biggest failing for me was the database. As my media collection grew the media module became so slow it was absolutely frustrating so I gave it up never to go back. Setting up a HTPC is no small task and the Frontend is no exception. Putting so many hours into importing media and not being able to use the software over time is not something I ever want to experience again.
Here are some of the things I wanted from a frontend and have gotten from MeediOS.
Offline cataloging of all my videos. I have eSATA hotswap drive docs and just fill drive after drive. If I select a movie in MeediOS that is not currently inserted MeediOS pops up a message Please Insert Drive Labeled XXXX. XXXX being the Volume label of the HDD, to which I have a sticker affixed to the drive with the volume label printed on it. My Custom HTPC Cabinet has a drawer that has slots for HDD's and when you open the drawer you are faced with a rack of drives with Label stickers. Grab the corresponding drive. Power off either dock. Eject HDD and return to Drawer. Insert proper HDD. Power on the Dock. Wait a couple seconds. The prompt disappears and the movie begins to play. You can't get more idiot proof!
I can use virtually any media player ever made and even multiple players for different file types or formats or even individual files if I felt so inclined.
The configurability is outstanding which is why the learning curve is so much higher than the rest. That said though, the rewards are equally as outstanding. This software is still in it's infancy, so once it has reached the level of maturity of it's peers, I personally don't think any serious home theater enthusiast will consider any other system, as this one appears to be the only one that can be whatever the end user wants it to be. Making the HTPC, for lack of a better term, an extension of the person/personality of the user who configures it, which in turn makes each configuration/setup unique to it's creator.
Hope this "IMHO" helps someone.
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chadd
Joined: 09 Dec 2009
Posts: 46
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| Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 1:47 pm Post subject: |
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media center with media browser on my win7x64 machine.
rip all my blurays/dvds to mkv.
use shark007 codecs, plays every file i've ever thrown at it.
tuner seems to work fine for me. using an averTV duet card and i have to agree that free OTA HD rocks.
i have it set up to auto strip out all commercials and move/rename the recorded files so i can browse them all using media browser.
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akajester
Joined: 09 Jul 2008
Posts: 934
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Ironman1965 wrote: | | Many people praise Mediaportal. It was my frontend of choice for some time and I liked it quite well. It's biggest failing for me was the database. As my media collection grew the media module became so slow it was absolutely frustrating so I gave it up never to go back. Setting up a HTPC is no small task and the Frontend is no exception. Putting so many hours into importing media and not being able to use the software over time is not something I ever want to experience again. |
The Moving Pictures plugin for Media Portal is light years ahead of the default video database. Funny though, I have the same things to say about Media Portal as you do Meedios. I'll have to give it another look.
thanks for the info.
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Mark_A_W
Joined: 15 Mar 2006
Posts: 3068
Location: Sunny Melbourne Australia
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| Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 10:41 am Post subject: |
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I use XBMC on my TV HTPC, with an XBox remote.
The automatic refresh rate change (only works with a digital panel, it won't work with custom res style monitors like our CRTs) is just awesome.
Plays all my FLAC audio Bluray MKV files, recorded programs, and Youtube too.
Only thing it doesn't do is have tuner support. But the TV has a digital tuner inbuilt, so I don't need that anyway.
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