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Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

  • 04/29/2006

There have been a couple of posts by myself and Matt Goyer listing some of the registry keys and values that TweakMce changes behind the scenes to configure advanced options within Windows Media Center.

I decided that it would be worthwhile to post all of the registry keys and values that can be changed via TweakMce in case you are running a beta build of Windows Vista and cannot install the current version of TweakMce, or if you would like to change these Media Center settings without needing to download and install TweakMce or resort to a registry monitoring tool such as RegMon to reverse engineer these settings yourself.

Skip Forward Interval - Enter the number of milliseconds you want to skip forward when you press the skip button. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings
  • Registry value - SkipAheadInterval
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Skip Back Interval - Enter the number of milliseconds you want to skip back when you press the replay button. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings
  • Registry value - InstantReplayInterval
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Storage Location For Recorded TV - Enter the path for the storage location for recorded TV.

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording
  • Registry value - RecordPath
  • Registry value data type - REG_SZ

Watched Folders For Recorded TV - If you have recorded TV stored in multiple locations enter the folder path below. You can enter one folder path for each line below. Example: C:\Recorded TV

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording
  • Registry value - WatchedFolders
  • Registry value data type - REG_MULTI_SZ

Notification Before A Recording Starts - When you are watching TV a notification appears before the channel is changed to start a new recording. Enter the number of milliseconds to show this notification before Media Center changes the channel to begin the recording. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - RecorderStartWarningTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

More Info Panel Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds to show the More Info panel while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - InfoBarTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Seek Bar Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds to show the paused seek bar while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - SeekBarTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Seek Bar Rewind and Fast Forward Timeout - While watching TV or DVD pressing REW/FWD displays the seek bar. Enter the number of milliseconds to show the seek bar when transitioning from REW or FWD to normal playback while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - SeekBarBriefTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Seek Bar Slow Motion Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds to show the seek bar when video is in slow motion playback while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - SeekBarSloMoTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Enable Overscan - Some televisions do not display the full Media Center user experience. Do you want Media Center to pull in critical UI elements?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginSaved
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = enable overscan; 0 = disable overscan

Bottom Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the bottom of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginBottom
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Top Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the top of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginTop
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Right Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the right side of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginRight
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Left Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the left side of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginLeft
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Enable My DVDs - Media Center has a new DVD gallery with cover art and descriptions called My DVDs. Do you want to enable My DVDs? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - ShowGallery
  • Registry value data type - REG_SZ
  • Registry value data - Gallery = enable My DVDs; Play = do not enable My DVDs

Autostart Enhanced DVD Content - Some DVDs include bonus content enhanced for Media Center. Do you want to automatically start the content?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\AutoScan
  • Registry value - _autoPlayMCLEnabled
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = automatically start; 0 = do not automatically start

DVD Notification Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds that you want to view the notification that a DVD has been inserted and is about to automatically start playing. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - DVDNotificationTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Search Depth - My DVDs Gallery will search all locations that you have added to your My Videos space. How many levels deeps should it search for DVD content? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - FolderSearchDepth
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Search Network Locations - My DVDs Gallery will search all locations that you have added to your My Videos space. Should it include network shares and folders in its search? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - SearchNetworkFolders
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = search network folders; 0 = do not search network folders

Show DVDs In Drives First - My DVDs Gallery can display DVDs that are loaded in drives as the first items or sorted in with the rest of your DVDs. Should DVDs that are loaded in drives appear first? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - ShowDiscsInDrivesAtTop
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show DVDs in drives first; 0 = show DVDs in drives based on the current sort order

Show Cache File Location - In My DVDs when no metadata can be found for the current disc, the location of the cache file can be displayed on the DVD details page. You can edit this file to include any data that you would like to see displayed on the details page instead. Should the location of the cache file be displayed if there is no metadata? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - ShowCacheLocation
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show cache file location; 0 = do not show cache file location

Suppress Eject Prompt - When a 3rd party application (More Programs or Online Spotlight) tries to eject a disc, do you want a confirmation dialog? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - SuppressExtensibilityEjectPrompt
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = show eject prompt; 1 = do not show eject prompt

Display My Music As Last Viewed - Display my music as I last viewed it sorted by artist, albums, playlists, songs or genres.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\Audio
  • Registry value - fMyCollectionShouldBeSticky
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = remember last music view; 0 = do not remember last music view

Show Add To Queue Notification - Do you want to be notified every time music has been successfully added to the queue?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\Audio
  • Registry value - fShowAddToQueueSuccessPrompt
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show Add To Queue notification; 0 = do not show notification

Enable Universal Remote Control - If you have a universal remote control you may need to enable it. A reboot is required for this setting to take effect.

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
  • Registry value - EnableDebounce
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = enable universal remote control; 0 = disable universal remote control

Set Remote Control ID - To enable your Media Center to respond to a specific remote control ID do the following; 1. Press and hold the DVD Menu key on the remote then press a number button (1-8) for 5 seconds. Remotes with visible LED signal indicators will blink twice to confirm the change. 2. Enter that same number below. 3. Save. 4. Restart the Media Center PC. Note: To enable Media Center to respond to all remotes use the number 0. A reboot is required for this setting to take effect.

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum0
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

This setting also requires deleting the following registry values:

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum1
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum2
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum3

Display Wireless Passwords - When joining a wireless network, do you want to read the password as you enter it or do you want it to be hidden?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center
  • Registry value - DontHideWirelessKey
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = display password; 0 = hide password

Optimize For Display Type - By default Media Center Extender is optimized for display on a traditional TV. However, if you have a LCD or plasma TV you may want to disable this optimization in order to improve picture quality.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center
  • Registry value - TVSkin
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = optimize for traditional TV; 0 = optimize for LCD or plasma screen

Show Network Congestion Notification - Do you want to be notified on your Extender when there is network congestion preventing good performance?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral
    Registry value - DisableTransraterDialogs
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = show notification; 1 = do not show notification

Show 'Not Enough Bandwidth For TV' Notification - Do you want to be notified on your Extender when there is not enough bandwidth to enable a good TV experience?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral
  • Registry value - DisableMHN
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show notification; 0 = do not show notification

Prompt When Navigating Between Secure and Insecure Pages - Should the Extender prompt when navigating between secure and insecure pages within a partner application?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral\Setup\Internet Settings
  • Registry value - WarnOnZoneCrossing
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = prompt; 1 = do not prompt

Prompt When Submitting Nonencrypted Information - Should the Extender prompt when submitting nonencrypted information in a partner application?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral\Setup\Internet Settings\Zones\3
  • Registry value - 1601
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = prompt; 0 = do not prompt

Prompt On Mixed Content - Should the Extender prompt when displaying a partner application page that contains both encrypted and nonencrypted content?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral\Setup\Internet Settings\Zones\3
  • Registry value - 1609
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = prompt; 3 = do not prompt

Adjust Audio and Video Network Priority - Do you want to prioritize a seamless audio experience higher than a seamless video experience when there is network congestion preventing good performance?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral
  • Registry value - DisableTransrater
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = prioritize audio higher than video; 1 = prioritize audio and video equally

Comments

  • Anonymous
    May 01, 2006
    PingBack from http://www.lazymanjoe.com/lazymanjoe/blog/?p=7

  • Anonymous
    May 01, 2006
    PingBack from http://www.lazymanjoe.com/lazymanjoe/blog/?p=8

  • Anonymous
    May 09, 2006
    Nice work. However, is there a way to keep the top and bottom bar  that are displayed when you go to window mode. They alway time out in about 2 seconds. Is there a registry key for this. I use mce a lot while on my office desktop( multitasking) I would like to keep this shell alway on. Thanks

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2006
    Hi Tunji - There is not a way to change the length of time or disable the timeout for the mouse controls that appear over the top of the Media Center UI.  I'm not sure I understand why you would want them to always appear though.  If you are using your office desktop system, simply moving the mouse will cause them to reappear.

    If there is a scenario where you really want those mouse controls to stay visible all the time, you could write a simple background add-in for Media Center that calls GetCursorPos and SetCursorPos over and over to simulate mouse movements.  That would have a side effect of causing the mouse controls to be visible even over full-screen TV/video as it is playing back, which can become annoying.

  • Anonymous
    May 16, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 23, 2006
    get my video files (avi's) to display as thumbnails in mce2005 option on and off...

  • Anonymous
    June 01, 2006
    Is there a way to skip to a particular timestamp in MCE?

  • Anonymous
    June 01, 2006
    Hi Supermanesh - Do you mean a fast forward mechanism to skip to an exact spot in a recorded TV file?  If so, there is not a built-in way to do this.  But, Stephen Toub has published an article on MSDN that talks about a way of implementing this functionality in a Media Center add-in if you're interested.  His article is located at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnxpmce/html/positionchangeraddin.asp.

  • Anonymous
    July 27, 2006
    I Would like to change the LastDVDid value in HKEY_USERSS-1-5-21-484763869-562591055-682003330-1003SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterSettingsVideoSettings so there will be more dvd's playing where stopped.

    Does someone know if this is possible?

  • Anonymous
    August 01, 2006
    Hi Heula - I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to accomplish.  Can you describe your scenario in more detail?

    It is possible for you to change the LastDVDID value directly in the registry, but that just stores a value used to identify what DVD was most recently played, and Media Center uses this value to determine whether the DVD you start playing is the same as the one that you most recently played.

  • Anonymous
    August 03, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    August 04, 2006
    Hi Heula - Windows Media Center does not support that type of functionality.  It only remembers the stop point of the most recently played DVD.  We have heard this request for DVD changers starting with Update Rollup 2 and it is a feature we are considering for a future release.  However, I have not ever heard of a standalone single-disc DVD player that could remember the stop point of a disc once you replace that disc with another one.

  • Anonymous
    August 04, 2006
    I have a Philips dvd625 and this simpel standalone player has a 5-disk resume function. Play one of the last 5 discs that are stored in the players memory and it will play where stopped. There are Philips dvd players/recorders that have this for 10 discs.

    So this is not new and should be a standard feature in Vista and perhaps there can be a small update for MCE XP as well?

    Thanks.

  • Anonymous
    August 05, 2006
    Hi Heula - That makes sense that it would be possible to do this for a finite list.  I was originally thinking of it in terms of an unbounded list, which would be very difficult.  As I stated in an earlier comment, Windows Media Center does not have a feature like this currently.  We have heard this request in the past and it is something we are considering for a future release.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime.

  • Anonymous
    August 05, 2006
    ok, hopes are on Vista.

  • Anonymous
    August 06, 2006
    Hi Heula - I'm sorry, but the Windows Vista version of Windows Media Center does not have this multi-disc resume function either.  It is something we are considering for a future release though.

  • Anonymous
    October 11, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 23, 2006
    Hi Downeya - Unfortunately, I am not aware of a workaround to enable these types of channels other than the one listed in the URL that you linked to.

  • Anonymous
    October 26, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 29, 2006
    Hi HT Slider - Unfortunately, there is no way to disable or configure this error message in Media Center 2005.  This dialog has been removed from the upcoming version of Windows Media Center in Windows Vista.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

  • Anonymous
    November 29, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    January 23, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2007
    I've managed to change the margin* settings that change things like the position of UI elements. I've also found that there's a key uncer HKCUsoftwaremswindowscvmediacentersettingsMCEperusersettings called "optimizeFor". This seems to change the actual VIDEO overscan and is set when you choose the display type in Vista MC's setup. For instance, I've seen "Television" and "ComputerMonitor" as values. It seems that when I'm using Television, MC pulls the video in and there is less video image lost to overscan than with ComputerMonitor, which would make sense. (ComputerMonitor seems to be used when you specify a flat panel display.) Is there however a registry setting that tells it by how MUCH to pull the video in - because by windowing the media center display I can see there is still more picture to see. Ideally I'd like to tell MC to pull even more of the video in than it does. Is there a way?

  • Anonymous
    September 27, 2007
    I tried the following with no luck. Bottom Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the bottom of the screen? Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterSettingsMCE.PerUserSettings Registry value - marginBottom Registry value data type - REG_DWORD I would like to "move" the transport controls up about 1/2" and to the left about a 1/2".  Is this possible?  What values should I enter? Thanks! Chuck

  • Anonymous
    September 27, 2007
    Hi Audiogeek - I believe you have to enable overscan before the margin settings will have any effect.  Can you give that a try and see if it helps on your system?

  • Anonymous
    September 27, 2007
    Thanks.  That worked.

  • Anonymous
    October 10, 2007
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 10, 2007
    Hi YARG - To my knowledge, there is not an officially supported way of configuring the "no TV signal" timeout value in the registry.  You may want to post a question at one of the following locations to see if there is something unofficial that folks have used in this type of scenario in the past: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx You may also want to look into some kind of hardware to try to boost the signal strength in your area to help eliminate this issue on your system.

  • Anonymous
    October 10, 2007
    Ok thanks for your prompt feedback astebner

  • Anonymous
    October 18, 2007
    I MCE2005 running on a sony VAIO without a tuner card. While I watch a dvd I would like to be able to turn the captions on. The problem is that while watching the movie, if I right click -> settings -> TV, that it says "tuner not found." Is there a way to get around this with a registry tweak of some nature? Thank you.

  • Anonymous
    October 18, 2007
    Hi Xdriver - I haven't heard of an issue like this before.  I don't know of a registry tweak to avoid a "tuner not found" error.  Do you have a tuner configured on this system?  It might help to try the steps listed at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/02/17/534559.aspx, but I'm not positive. If that doesn't help, I'd suggest posting a question at one of the following locations to see if someone there can suggest any other workarounds: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

  • Anonymous
    March 13, 2008
    PingBack from http://netweb.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/links-for-2008-03-14/

  • Anonymous
    June 19, 2008
    Changing SkipAheadInterval appears to have no effect when running wvx+mpeg content on an Extender. Is this expected? Is there any other way of changing the 29s interval?

  • Anonymous
    June 20, 2008
    Hi Andypennell - The SkipAheadInterval setting is located under HKEY_CURRENT_USER.  Extenders log in using their own user accounts, so you need to make sure to set this registry value in the HKEY_USERS hive for the extender user account.  Could you give that a try and see if it helps?  Also, just to be sure, can you confirm that this setting works on the console as opposed to via an extender session?

  • Anonymous
    June 26, 2008
    I was re-configuring my Windows Media Center the other day (don’t ask) and I wanted to adjust the “skip

  • Anonymous
    December 17, 2008
    PingBack from http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/887754-vmc-display-issues.html#post8372467

  • Anonymous
    January 18, 2009
    PingBack from http://www.keyongtech.com/2820240-disable-remote

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2009
    hello guys, any one know y media centre dont work when i click live tv?the recorded programs work apart from live tv. used to work b4 but i dont know wat happen since its been a while since i used it. am probably think that the registry keys must be missing or corrupted, but stil dont know. am on windows Xp media centre edition version 2002 service pack 3. plz help, thanks, oma

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2009
    Hi Oma - There are some troubleshooting suggestions for this type of error in the links at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/articles/487537.aspx.  I'd suggest looking at some of those items to see if any of the workarounds listed there help in this scenario. If none of those help, then I'd suggest posting a question at one of the following locations to see if anyone there can help suggest other workarounds for you to try: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2009
    thank u astebner,for yo response but nothing seems to work in my situation. i also forgot to mention that no error message is displayed when i click into live Tv, its like it doesn't respond or the live tv button not working. but no error message cos the recorded programmes work. hope that gives you a picture.thank u

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2009
    Hi Oma - The behavior you describe sounds like it could be caused by a driver problem, so I'd also suggest searching for updated drivers for your video card and TV tuner card(s) to see if they help. If that doesn't help either, then If none of those help, then I'd suggest posting a question at one of the following locations to see if anyone there can help suggest other workarounds for you to try: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

  • Anonymous
    May 05, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2009
    Hi Oma - The MRU registry entries are used to add links to the Media Center start menu.  I don't think those keys would cause any issues with being able to view live TV within Media Center.

  • Anonymous
    May 13, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 14, 2009
    Hi Oma - I'd also suggest re-running Media Center TV Setup after updating your vidoe and TV tuner drivers to see if that helps. If that doesn't help, then I'm not sure what other suggestions I can provide.  It would probably be best to post a question at one of the forums that I posted links to previously: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

  • Anonymous
    June 18, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    June 19, 2009
    Hi Joe_Geo0 - I don't know of a reliable, supported way to automate the configuration of the settings that are controlled by this page that appears the first time you start Media Center on a system.  You may want to check on the Green Button forums to see if any folks there have any suggestions for you to try - http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx.

  • Anonymous
    June 21, 2009
    Thanks astebner for pointing me the Green Button forums.

  • Anonymous
    June 12, 2012
    Hi Aaron. I'm cleaning up a laptop that has MCE2005 installed. When launching Media Center, there is always an error message stating that Windows Messenger is not installed. Messenger 4.7 is installed and runs fine. Is there a registry value that can prevent Media Center checking for Messenger?

  • Anonymous
    June 12, 2012
    Hi Drewfus - Can you please try the suggestions listed at blog.jasontsang.ca/.../windows-messenger-error-in-media-center.html and see if they help in your scenario?

  • Anonymous
    June 13, 2012
    I had success with both of the registry values mentioned in that blog post. Thanks Aaron! To what extent can the registry settings described in this post be exported and reimported after a system reimage, on the same hardware? For example, is it possible to save or export the key "HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterServiceVideoTuners" to a .reg file and merge this data after reimaging? What about remote or per user settings?

  • Anonymous
    June 13, 2012
    Hi Drewfus - If the hardware is identical, I believe it should be safe to export and re-import these settings after re-imaging the computer.  I don't know that configuring a Media Center using this type of process has been very well tested though, so your mileage may vary.

  • Anonymous
    June 13, 2012
    Thanks Aaron. I'll do some testing and report anything interesting. What, if any, is a good source of info on where and in what formats Media Center (any version) saves data for things like TV channels, recording schedules and guides?

  • Anonymous
    June 13, 2012
    Hi Drewfus - Some of this information is documented on MSDN - for example, msdn.microsoft.com/.../dd776338.aspx.  For any questions not covered there, I'd suggest posting a question on one of the Media Center forums such as the Green Button and hopefully someone there will be able to provide additional details for you.

  • Anonymous
    July 04, 2012
    Thanks again. Now i understand about the files in ProgramDataMicrosofteHomemcepg2-0backup (.mxf files, but without the extension) and the loadmxf.exe tool. I've also got a handle on using 'Windowsehomeehprivjob.exe /OCURDiscovery | /OCURActivate' to configure TV tuners in Windows 7. Vista has this executable but seems to lack the switches. MediaCtr2005 does not have the command at all. I tried to create a base image for MediaCtr2005 (i know it's old, but just in case i come across it again), and used the 'Windows XP Professional System Builder (Full)' generic product key from technet.microsoft.com/.../bb457096.aspx during installation. It all worked fine, except that now i don't seem to have Media Center at all - the only file in Windowsehome is custsat.dll. I used the 'winnt32.exe /makelocalsource:all' switch during setup and had the CMPNENTS folder at the same level as I386. Was using the XP Pro generic product key the problem here? Is there a generic product key specifically for XP Media Center 2005?

  • Anonymous
    July 05, 2012
    Hi Drewfus - The product key listed in that Technet article that you linked to is only being used as an example to show how to create an unattend.txt file.  It is a beta product key for the standard Windows XP product, which means that it will not cause any Media Center features to be installed if you use it.  If you plan to make your own image for deployment purposes, you'll need to use your own product key, and you'll need to make sure that it is a product key for the Windows XP Media Center edition (as opposed to a standard Windows XP key).

  • Anonymous
    July 05, 2012
    Understood. I do have Media Center keys, so i will use one of those, but my understanding was that those generic keys are equivalent to the keys in <Vista/7>sourcesproduct.ini, and meant for the same sort of purpose - to create reference images that are not meant to be activated per se, but depend on whatever MAK, OEM or retail key is supplied when the image is deployed. In that set of articles on XP deployment, there are keys listed for XP_x64 and Tablet Edition also - that is, everything except Media Center. Back on the subject of backup and restore of Media Center configuration - is this something you would consider doing a post on?

  • Anonymous
    July 05, 2012
    Hi Drewfus - It has been several years since I worked on the Media Center team here at Microsoft, and I no longer have the expertise that would be required to write that type of article about backing up and restoring Media Center settings.  If you have questions about how to do this, I'd suggest posting a question on one of the forums at experts.windows.com/.../default.aspx. I'm sorry that I'm not able to be more helpful in this scenario.

  • Anonymous
    July 07, 2012
    Aaron, you have been a help, including the info in this post. Thanks. Anyway, i've pretty much got a handle on what i need to know regarding Media Center config backup and restore. Perhaps the only thing i can think of that i'm not sure about is how the MC app determines if the first run wizard should be run - that is, what settings does it configure and look for before and after setup is run by the end user? If i can't work this out, i'll use the forum as you suggest.

  • Anonymous
    July 08, 2012
    Hi Drewfus - I thought I had some information about how to skip the first run wizard, but I can't seem to find it anymore.  I think the forums would be your best source of information for how to do that.

  • Anonymous
    April 16, 2013
    Many years since the original post, this is still the only place I have been able to find this information. After a long while of tearing my hair out trying to get my MS media remote to work in Windows 7, this post sorts it out with seconds worth of effort. Thanks Aaron :)

  • Anonymous
    January 12, 2015
    Looking for a reg key to tweak the navigation jump in Channel Guide when the FF or RW keys are pressed on a MC remote. Default jump is 3 hours, but I'd like to adjust this to match the guide window of 2 hours. (i.e. jump one guide page at a time)

  • Anonymous
    January 13, 2015
    Hi plooger - I'm sorry, but it has been too long since I've worked on Windows Media Center, so I don't know if the functionality that you're looking for exists or not.  I'd suggest posting a question on one of the Windows forums at answers.microsoft.com/.../windows to see if someone there happens to know the answer.

  • Anonymous
    April 05, 2015
    Also wanted to give you a shout out for this page. Here it is 2015 and this post is still useful! This info doesn't exist anywhere else and TweakMC is impossible to find! Thanks!