Ian Dixon's Blog - All Comments

re: No Freeview HD tuners for Windows Media Center until after the world cup?

gadget — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:54:15 GMT

that is bad news , such a shame DVB2 has taken so long to get here and then misses out on a huge event

i bought my HD TV for the last world cup but HD never happened , 4 years later and apart from the satellite option the Uk continues to be starved of free HD content

extremely disapointing

Mike

windows7intouch.com

re: inControl – iPhone Remote control for Windows Media Center

Seel — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:54:16 GMT

inControl Server v1.0.6 additionally adds support for Vista TV Pack 2008 and can be downloaded here:

www.incontrol.byethost7.com/index.php

This means that inControl now supports Windows Media Center in

- Windows Vista

- Windows Vista TV Pack 2008

- Windows 7

re: GoogleReader for Windows Media Center

halcion1 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:14:33 GMT

I figured out an easy way to add nearly any web app to Windows Media Center 7...in about 5 mins...

I have a tutorial on YouTube that I just uploaded today. Funny, in the example I actually used Google Reader Play!

I have found that this way is super-easy with Media Center Studio.

Here:

www.youtube.com/watch

re: Microsoft Courier pictures and update

Mark Williamson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:43:09 GMT

This is exactly what I have been waiting for. Tablets are juts too bulky for in meeting note taking. The ipad concept had potential but with no inking it falls way short . I've looked at the pen digitiser products but this assuming it integrates nicely with outlook etc on you main PC is perfect. It nice to see Microsoft leading for a change

Cant wait

re: HP release more videos of the Slate

JohnCz — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:55:09 GMT

Without a doubt MS Courier if it comes to market. I love how different it is from anything else and feel it would best compliment my laptop/desktop computing experience as opposed to being just a bigger screen version of portable media player. I really hate how the iPad device & UI looks.

re: Microsoft Courier pictures and update

simonster — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:00:32 GMT

This looks mega....I'm not sure I'll be getting an iPad if this comes to fruition

re: TDL Mobile Edition

simonster — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:56:09 GMT

Ian, it's really cool well done....I might be picking your brain on this soon.... :)

re: Big Screen EPG ‘by Remote’ (Silverlight Web Access for Windows 7 Media Center)

Garry [WMA] — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:28:04 GMT

wow - combine with DVBLink and this is pretty close to softsled.

re: February 2010 Windows Media Center Cumulative Update for Windows 7

peterfnet — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:45:06 GMT

I'm not the only one with this problem.

I'm participating in this TGB thread. it has already got MS attention

thegreenbutton.com/.../86200.aspx

re: February 2010 Windows Media Center Cumulative Update for Windows 7

peterfnet — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:31:14 GMT

It jacked with my DCTs. Still researching.

re: Podcast: The Media Center Show #245 – Networked Tuners

cw-kid — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:43:22 GMT

Great timing I'm going to be trying this on our WHS soon!

re: Octava HDMI Cat5 Extender

Joe Fernand — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:07:55 GMT

Just a quick note to say the Octava HDMICAT-UK has been updated - the New HDOCAT-UK supports HDMI + Optical (ideal for SKY + HD) plus an IR return channel; all over the dual CAT5e or CAT6 cables.

Let me know if its OK to post a link.

Joe

(Octava Inc. UK Distributor/Tech Support)

(Octava UK distributor)

re: inControl – iPhone Remote control for Windows Media Center

Seel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:45:59 GMT

inControl now also has support for Windows 7!

Full support for Windows 7 has been added in inControl Server v1.0.5 which is now available for download here:

www.incontrol.byethost7.com/index.php

It requires the program information to be manually configured and detailed instructions can be found here:

www.incontrol.byethost7.com/index.php

re: Control Media Center from an iPhone with Intelliremote

Seel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:45:12 GMT

inControl, mentioned above, now also has support for Windows 7!

Full support for Windows 7 has been added in inControl Server v1.0.5 which is now available for download here:

www.incontrol.byethost7.com/index.php

It requires the program information to be manually configured and detailed instructions can be found here:

www.incontrol.byethost7.com/index.php

re: EngadgetHD speculate on the future of Extenders

Mark Williamson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:41:44 GMT

I think Ben has a very good point however I think there is a thrird option in the wings. With the new home server due later this year we might find the ability to have tuners on this with a shared guide. In fact we almost have this with DVB link now the only thing missing is indication of if another pc has requested a recording.

re: Video: First look at Avermedia’s AverTV Volar USB Video Capture

clowg — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:34:27 GMT

Is it possible to set up the AV input as a tuner in Media Centre so that you can record a set-top box with Media Centre?

re: Introducing mcBackup 3.0 Beta (at last!)

rhemsley — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:19:36 GMT

Could not initially find this page for your new version of the app, as the previous one was called something subtley different, mceBackup, with an e! Adding this comment so others can potentially find it through a search.

re: The Media Center Show #244 – 40TB Home Server

Da1ek — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:54:15 GMT

However NTFS is 'theortically' capable of 256TB. there are some side affects of the large drive pool however, in particular the length of time demigrator spends gurggling away in the back ground on each scan.

This thread : thegreenbutton.com/.../381224.aspx on GB covers most of what i have found so far.

re: The Media Center Show #244 – 40TB Home Server

Da1ek — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:46:10 GMT

Hey CW-Kid,

Dunno , When I hit it , i'll tell you ...

Dale

re: The Media Center Show #244 – 40TB Home Server

cw-kid — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:22:45 GMT

What's the maximum size of the WHS drive pool ?

I've looked on Google but can't find a certain answer.

re: TVCatchup plugin for Microsoft Media Center

cw-kid — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:19:51 GMT

This is extremely cool, its the most like watching live TV experience out of all the MCE TV add-ins, you press channel up on the remote and it moves to the next channel, mini guide etc, looks very promising indeed!

re: The Media Center Show #244 – 40TB Home Server

ac_simps — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:35:03 GMT

Hi Ian

Great podcast as always

take a look at this link, it should do what you want regarding distribution of TV Signal, whether it be Sat, Freeview or both

www.satellitesuperstore.com/multiswitch.htm

I used to use 1 to send Sat & Freeview to each media centre around the house, now it supplies 1 DVB-Link / Media Server and 1 master media centre in the front room.

re: Is today Windows Phone 7 day?

chrisoldroyd — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:30:48 GMT

Looking forward to this

re: XStreamHD ready for pre-order

cskenney — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:27:58 GMT

Broadband delivery systems might be fine at the connection speeds available in the cities and suburbs, but rural areas in the US struggle to find cost effective service providers for broadband.

I live in a rural area but have a wireless broadband provider. My average connection speed is barely able to maintain 1.0 Mbps download so HD content thru the internet is not feasible.

Satellite delivery service then becomes the only real option for rural residents. However, I am not convinced that XStreamHD has the appropriate solution either. I don't need another satellite dish on my house and it isn't clear to me on the total cost.

re: Podcast: The Media Center Show #243 – TDL Awards

cw-kid — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:07:25 GMT

Oh those were the videos you were referring too! We might have a work around:

I tried the suggestion made by jaggedaz turning off Media Sharing and also disabling the "Maintain my star ratings as global ratings in files" setting in WMP12. I did that remotely on all the 7MC clients at one of these sites. Went there this afternoon and now none of them are showing this behaviour of the Music Library rebuilding. I rebooted the 7MC PC's tried going in and out of the Music Library several times and they all worked perfectly. I can't say for sure this issue has been fully resolved by this work around but it does certainly seemed to have improved things from what I've seen today.

re: Podcast: The Media Center Show #243 – TDL Awards

cw-kid — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:06:35 GMT

Oh those were the videos you were referring too! We might have a work around:

re: Podcast: The Media Center Show #243 – TDL Awards

cw-kid — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:47:51 GMT

Ian I've also got two new videos up on You Tube showing this problem with the Music Library freaking out! See here:

thegreenbutton.com/.../430303.aspx

re: The Digital Lifestyle.com Award winners

cw-kid — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:43:22 GMT

Well done to Martin for TunerFree MCE winning! Niall's Big Screen EPG is also a very cool application. My Movies 3 was bound to win and I could never see why people liked mControl we bought an mPanel which was just a waste of money as it does not work. Well done to MS they have actually won something with PP3!

re: Diamond 0.3 Beta theme for Media Browser

mmillmor — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:26:45 GMT

Nice "wall" of images on the second screenshot. That can't have been easy to code!

re: Windows Phone 7 Zune-like UI, no multitasking?

JohnCz — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:54:34 GMT

The UI sounds promising. Re:Multitasking, pausing the background application seems fine in the vast majority of cases. I hope to learn more about that notification service.

re: Big Screen EPG now natively supported by Remote Potato

rspeed — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:04:32 GMT

I may be missing something here, but could this be the final piece of the post-extender jigsaw? I have been looking for a way of centralising the EPG and this tool looks like its almost there. If this could eventually slot into the Media Center UI it would provide a way for a satellite PC to control a central EPG in a similar way to how an extender works now. Thus my extenders could be replaced with more functional SFF PCs and still keep the central EPG. Me? Excited? Just a little!

re: Windows Phone 7 Zune-like UI, no multitasking?

Da1ek — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:38:42 GMT

Hmmm , no multi-tasking ? Seems a backward step somehow. Surely a smarter scheduler is the way to go ?

Sometimes i wish these guys would go dig out their old Amiga A1000's and see how it can be done in a light weight enviroment.

re: Sky Player on Windows 7 Now Available in Ireland

riccol1966 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:18:28 GMT

yup, indeed it is available. Makes sense for those who dont put SKY though media center. Simple interface, and also allows those without SKY to pay-per-view. Nice Win7 MCE integration.

re: Windows 7 on a Samsung Q1

vlaw — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:16:20 GMT

Hello, I made the windows 7 on Q1 too. But I wondered is it bettter to upgrade the memory to 2GB. Can anybody comment? Thanks.

re: Auto Rip n Compress for Windows Media Center

Mark Williamson — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:08:48 GMT

This looks really cool and I see you can also save in a ipod compatible format.

The 10 ft app that I would really like is on a TV recording is to bring up the i menu and compress to ipod. This would then convert and put the file in the location of your choiice for syncing with the iphone.

re: ExoPC Slate is a slate I could use

JayC — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:16:31 GMT

While tablets aren't for me, although I'm open to being sent one to change that view (haha), I think that having them available at netbook prices is excellent news. The fact it comes with a capacative screen, as someone who has the HTC HD2, is amazing (I couldn't go back to a resistive touch screen again).

I run Windows 7 on my netbook and while video playback can stutter performance is the same as it was with XP. I do feel thought that the dual-core Atom should be the standard these days. Not only would it give a performance boost it also opens up the possibility of running a 64-bit OS.

re: BBC to restrict Freeview HD with DRM?

gadget — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:05:44 GMT

This will only encorage people to find a way around the BBC`s DRM if imposed

The BBC are trying to hold onto something that is like a handful of sand and it is seeping through there fingers faster and faster, why ! because they are a corporation and they only listen to corporate speak from corporate advisors which in todays world is a very dangerous thing to do. Old attitudes and outdated ideas will see the BBC sink very fast

Good work BBC thanks for the programing ... whats on the other channels - CLICK

re: Podcast: The Media Center Show #241 – Remote Potato

Garry [WMA] — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:52:30 GMT

Great interview and a fantastic app

re: Introducing mcBackup 3.0 Beta (at last!)

LDJ — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:38:57 GMT

What does the "appy" button do?

I think you need to employ a decent tester there. That databasejase is rubbish! ;)

re: Zune software hints and Zune Phones and international roll out

peterfnet — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:48:16 GMT

This is what I've been waiting for... don't disappoint me Microsoft!