Microsoft Monday We’ve been using the as our primary way to record shows for about a year now, and our experience has been really good. It’s a lot like, but one thing that really makes me love the Vista Media Center is its extensibility. Yes, third-party developers can create awesome apps that leverage off of your Media Center’s capabilities.
A few months back we wrote about the that also ties into Media Center. With it you could remotely stream, schedule, and manage shows all through your browser. When you combine that with the program we’re about to show you I think you’ll be impressed with what the Media Center computer is capable of doing. –Introduction– The application is called, and it is a completely free program that is well updated. It’s kind of like the new program that has been buzzing around the Internet, except DVRMSToolbox is a well-polished app that has been around for a while. It’s offered for both XP Media Center and Vista Media Center, so anyone can benefit from what DVRMSToolbox has to offer. DVRMSToolbox is setup to automatically scan for new television shows as they are recorded, and commercials will immediately be “removed” from them.
In DVRMSToolbox commercials are never actually removed from the recorded shows, instead the positions of them are tagged. When you’re watching a show the commercial will instantaneously fast forward past the commercial (you’ll be notified) so that it’s like the commercial is never there. This is actually what sets DVRMSToolbox apart from Lifextender, which actually modifies the recorded media and removes the commercials.
Personally I would never like to have a commercial skipping application that modified the media. I’ve come across several instances where the program skips past part of a show’s main content, and with Lifextender you wouldn’t be able to recover what was just skipped.
With DVRMSToolbox it’s as simple as hitting the back button. –Commercial Detection– There are two different commercial detection methods available to use with DVRMSToolbox, both of which are included in the download. The main one that many applications use is called. It’s completely free, and that’s the reason most people choose to use it.
The other alternative is which costs $19.95 for a license. I purchased a license for this shortly after I started using DVRMSToolbox simply because the commercial detection is way better. With Comskip I would say that it correctly detected about 90% to 95% of the commercials in a show, while ShowAnalyzer is closer to 99%. If your Media Center computer is hooked up to your primary TV I would recommend splurging on the $20 license for ShowAnalyzer. If you only use Media Center for watching shows here and there I would say to just stick with Comskip.
Note: DVRMSToolbox will automatically detect and use ShowAnalyzer if it is available. –Settings– Power users will feel at home with all of the settings available in DVRMSToolbox, half of which I’m still not sure what they do. This explains some of the different features available, and below you’ll find screenshots of the various items available to configure. All of the screenshots that I’ve taken are from my DVRMSToolbox setup on my Vista Media Center. I’ve played with most of the settings to see what they do, and have spent a lot of time getting things just right. Here’s an outline of features I’ve changed:.
On the DVRMSToolbox tab I set the default priority to AboveNormal to ensure that commercial skipping is given a high priority than other applications on my computer. On the Commercial Skip tab you’ll see an option dedicated to the “Skip Display Type.” This refers to how you want to be notified that Media Center just skipped past a commercial. I prefer the SkipBar because you can see how many minutes were skipped as a result of commercials, and you can also see how long is left in the show. On the Commercial Skip tab you can set what key(s) turn the commercial skip on and off.
It’s important that you know what keys are used to do this in case there is a particular show that doesn’t play too nice with the app. And here are screenshots of all my settings, most of which I’ve left at the default configuration: (Click to Enlarge) Generally setting up DVRMSToolbox can be a quick process that is if you’re not tempted to fool around with the plethora of options available.
If you’re using Media Center (Vista or XP) to record your shows I highly recommend installing this!
![Media Media](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123760551/854352807.png)
My Vista PC keeps forgetting settings upon shutdown. I have 2 HDs and I wanted to put all the recorded tv shows on the second hard drive. I told media center to record to that drive and moved all of the previously recorded shows over to the second drive. I told VMCE to watch the new location instead of the old one. This worked at first, but when I restart it just says 'No Recorded Shows' in Recorded TV. If I go to Add Recording or View Scheduled, and then go back, they 'magically' reappear.
I've also had problems with random freezing. I just added the second hard drive. I just installed it and then found it in disk manager and formatted it. I couldn't find a 'master'/'slave' switch, but I have no problems with booting or accessing either hard drive. However, if I boot to the Vista CD and try to do a repair, it can't find the OS. It could before though.
Vista Media Center Waukegan Il
Aside from that, I installed two programs: DVD Shrink 3.2 and DVD Fab 5. If I need to make a second thread for the second problem, that is understandable, but I think they may be related because they began at the same time.
![Vista Media Center Settings Vista Media Center Settings](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123760551/768351329.png)
Here are the instructions for resetting Windows Media Center. This will clear out all settings and take you back to defaults. Go to Control Panel.
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Select System and Security. Select Administrative Tools.
Select Task Scheduler. Expand Task Scheduler Library. Expand Microsoft. Expand Windows. Then Select 'Media Center'. In the middle of the screen under 'Name' look for the entry for 'MediaCenterRecoveryTask', right click on it and select 'Run' from the menu that comes up (You may have to expand the 'name' column to the right to see this entry in its entirety).
Start Media Center and run through the setup wizard again Please Note: The following message will be displayed: 'Windows Media Center experienced a serious problem. Before you can use Windows Media Center, you must run the Windows Media Center Setup again.' Select OK, then select Continue, and then select 'Express'. You can then continue setting up from step 2 in our guide to setting up Media Center at, You can skip step 3 as IceTV Interactive would already be installed.
By You can set up the Windows Media Center to enjoy your favorite photos, music, TV, and videos by using just your PC. Viewing stuff on your PC is pretty easy if you don’t want to hassle with configuring Windows Media Center in Windows 7 to work with your home entertainment system. Click the Start button on your remote (if your TV is set up) or choose Start→All Programs→Windows Media Center.
If this is your first time in the Media Center, you see a splash screen assuring you that WMC is “The best way to experience TV on your PC.” If you’ve already completed the setup and you want to change the settings, scroll to Tasks and choose Settings→General→Windows Media Center Setup→Run Setup Again. Click Continue. You see the Get Started screen. To protect your privacy, don’t take the Express setup option. Click Custom. Click Next to continue to the Setup screens. WMC asks whether you want to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).
The Customer Experience Improvement Program claims to maintain your confidentiality, but, through your Internet connection, Microsoft can collect your IP address, along with detailed information about everything you do and watch with Media Center. Select No Thank You and click Next.
WMC asks whether it’s okay to connect to the Internet to find cover art for albums, music and movie information, and TV program guide listings. Choose Yes (this one is fairly harmless) and click Next. WMC advises that you have completed everything you need for enhanced playback (whatever that might be), and asks whether you want to configure its Optional Setup, which helps Media Center configure your TV tuner. Choose I Have Finished and click Next. Media Center shows you a You Are Done!
Vista Media Center
Media Center is usually able to configure the TV tuner on its own, but if you’re worried about it getting things right, you can choose to work through the optional screens. You can always go back to the set up settings and correct any problems later. Click Finish. While you’re thinking about it, take a second to double-check your main privacy settings. Scroll to the Tasks menu and choose Settings→General→Privacy→Privacy Settings. From this dialog box you can turn on or off the two privacy settings.
Use the Guide and Send Anonymous Information: Allows Microsoft collects information about how you use the guide. It can use this information to make the guide more accurate. Microsoft isn’t clear about whether they’ll tracking what you watch, so you should expect that they will. Turn Off the Most Viewed Filter in the Guide: Media Center keeps track of the shows you watch the most so that it can present the Most Viewed list as one of the categories in the guide. This will narrow the list of TV stations displayed, but Microsoft could also use the information for marketing purposes.
Choose the options you’re comfortable with and click Save. Your Media Center is ready for you to take the reigns and start watching. Setting up Windows Media Center with an entire home entertainment center combines all the frustrations of assembling a complicated PC with the joys of figuring out how to attach your satellite box, where to hook up the speakers, which stack of books to stick under the TV, how to keep all the wires from pulling each other out, and what to do with the subwoofer. In fact, one of the very best reasons for buying a WMC component system from a local store is that you can hire the company that sold you the unit to put it together for you.
I am having trouble with my IR configuration at some point. My IR Blaster is built in to the tower, HP Pavillion Elite m9040n, and works. After I go into initial TV setup everthing will work fine and when I change the channel it sends the signal out to the cable box via IR Blaster as it should and the channel changes.
If I put the computer to sleep or restart it and go back into Media Center and try to change the channel nothing happens. The signal is there and the tuner is working (Hauppagge 1800). I have to go back and redo the TV Setup. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Hello zenbyte, Thanks for using the Microsoft Answers Forum.
You might try the suggestions found in the article below that was written by MSDN’s Aaron Stebner. He goes over some simple instructions of how to repair some of the files regarding Media Center. I am also including some of the content below to get you started.
Vista Media Center
How to repair Media Center files and registry entries on Windows Vista Windows Vista Media Center files and registry information are protected by in Windows Vista. This means that only the OS installer service (named TrustedInstaller) has permission to modify/remove these files or registry keys unless you specifically take ownership of the files/keys and add additional user accounts to the access permission list (which you should not need to do except in extraordinary circumstances). If you run into problems while using Windows Vista Media Center and you suspect that files or registry entries that are a part of the Media Center feature are corrupt, you can use the instructions listed below to attempt to repair them. Let us know if this helps resolve your problem. Judd Microsoft Answers Support Engineer Visit our and let us know what you think.