Solved! Oh please help.....WD TV Media Player WDAVN00BN

[pathfinder2]

Hi guys, I am not jokeing when i say iv been trying to set up a stand alone Media center for a year now, its not an exaggeration...yes i was doing other things in the mean time, but iv been talking with people, chatting with folks, but iv yet to get a Media PC set up the way i want.

I was able to get it somewhat working, the real issues is having the remote buttons work exactly as they should. i would like to mention Im not interested in Bluray or HD quality video, i simply want to browse a library, pick the movie/music and be able to watch the video just like a dvd, mainly the jump back and forth 10 or 20 seconds as-well as FF/RW.

I was able to get it going a little bit with KMplayer but when i hit the rewind buttion it jumped straight back to the begining of the video same with FF.

So again All id like is a stand alone computer hooked up to my TV which can boot straight into a media center and can be completely controlled with a remote...no mouse or keyboard.

I do have several pieces of hardware, most recently i got the WD TV HD media player, I kinda like it but the remote is terrible and i cant jump forward or back unless i start to FF or Rewind, then i can hit next and it jumps 10 seconds....idealy id like to be able to choose how long it can jump, for example if i hit it once it jumps 10 seconds and if i hit it twice it will jump 20seconnds.

I also Have the old style usb dongle with the windows XP media center remote, i have a Harmony 610 remote, And again just yester day I got the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface which comes with the windows vista remote.

But as mentioned earlyer if i can id like to use one of my older dell PCs with do not have PCI Express so i figured id lt you know i do have These Dell, i figure the 4600 because its got 4 gigs of ram and sata ports aswell as a 2,4 ghz cpu?

Dell 4600 - http/support.dell.com/support/to [...] ag=1rc5831

dell 4500 - http/support.dell.com/support/to [...] ag=7zpkj11

and i have these PCI Graphics cards and TV tuner

ATI TV Wonder 650 - High Definition Personal Video Recorder for PC 100-715331 PCI Interface

2 PNY Geforce 8400GT

visionTek X1300


or a Radon 9800 which plugs in to a molex connector

I kinda strated to talk about this in another question i posted about replacing the OEM powersupply in the dell 4600 with a 500watt Ultra V which does have sata power connectors.

I know this is a long thread but any help at all would be great! Any suggestions as to what softwear to use, or how to configure the WD TV so it works with the vista remote and will jump back and forth, any ideas would be great now that i have some new hardware to work with Thank you so much!!

 

[Supe_]

How do you feel about building a new computer? Not even getting into the old parts part of this but ideally you are going to need storage and from what i can tell you have room for only two IDE HDD's. And I know you mentioned you are not into HD or bluray but the onboard audio may not be the best.

As far as software Windows Media Center in either Vista Home Premium or W7 Home premium and above work pretty well. I use that with the Media Browser add in and it is pretty dang slick. CHECK IT OUT HERE.
You could also look into XBMC for windows. You can also stream Netflix (with subscription) and get a plugin for Hulu (still free but who knows for how long)

If you are a Linux person there is Mythbuntu and XBMC.

As far as remote only, you will never get away from a keyboard and mouse on a computer but using the W7 WMC as an example you can set it up for WMC to run at bootup and use the Vista remote to navigate. I do that, but I also use my HTPC for ripping DVD's and whatnot so I do have to close or minimize WMC in order to do that.

As far as FFWD and skipping 10 secs or setting an interval....I dunno. I don't have tuners yet because I am waiting for the Ceton multi card to come out so in viewing a movie my skip ahead is a whole chapter but I do have FFWD and RWD, pause, etc.

If you were to build a new HTPC you could build a respectable one for $500 to $600, more if you are willing to spend it or less if you skimp.

You mentioned you have an XP media center remote. Do any of the computers you mentioned have XP Media Center OS running? Because another option is the XBOX 360 as an extender. It ties in with the computer and both run WMC (you would have to use ethernet). You could also get a plugin server called Playon that allows Netflix, Hulu and youtube.

You have a few options open to you and I may have just confused you even more. My suggestion would be to build an HTPC, or if you have a XP Media Center computer and an xbox 360 look into that.

I typed this up rather quickly so If you need me to confuse you further just ask.

 

[pathfinder2]

Okay i did just that, i bought a Gigabyte MA&8LM-S2H AM3 Motherboard
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128407

AMD Phenom II Black Edition Multi-core Processor (X3-720)
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103652

So what do you think?

Iv got the Hardrdrives a pack of 2 1gig crucial Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA800 -

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163&cm_re=crucial_ddr2-_-20-148-163-_-Product


And i think ill put it in a coolmaster 620 case with a 500watt PSU

But agin the main issue here is how to set the media center?? I dont want to have to touch a keyboard or mouse.

As i mentioned i do have a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface which comes with the windows vista remote
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036&Tpk=Hauppauge%20WinTV-HVR-2250%20Media%20Center%20Kit%20Dual%20TV

However that would take up the PCI-e slot, but i talked to gigabyte constmer servee and he mentioned the Onboard Video which is a "ATI Radeon 3000" with HDMI oiut would work out fine? However if any one disagrees i do have a few PC graphics cards i could use or i could use the

ATI TV Wonder 650 - High Definition Personal Video Recorder for PC 100-715331 PCI Interface
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815306020&Tpk=ATI%20TV%20Wonder%20650%20-

And Use my PNY Geforce 9600

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133311&cm_re=9600gt-_-14-133-311-_-Product

So any suggestions as to what else i need in the way of any hardware or softwear, please let me know, i just watn the reemote to do what each button is supposed to do, specially jump back and forth 10 to 20 seconds so i dont have to use the rewind and FF buttions....thank you all for any help with this!!

 

[Wolfshadw]

Since you're not worried about Blu-Ray or HD video, I'd go ahead and use the Hauppauge 2250 and it's WMC remote. The onboard video will be enough to handle video playback, so no need for a discrete graphics card. Once you have your library onto your system and either Vista Home Premium or Windows 7 home premium installed, you can just use your WMC remote to browse through your library or watch TV.

I have a similar setup and the only reason I use the keyboard is, like Supe_, to rip my DVDs to the hard drive (and windows updates).

-Wolf sends

 

[pathfinder2]

Since you're not worried about Blu-Ray or HD video, I'd go ahead and use the Hauppauge 2250 and it's WMC remote. The onboard video will be enough to handle video playback, so no need for a discrete graphics card. Once you have your library onto your system and either Vista Home Premium or Windows 7 home premium installed, you can just use your WMC remote to browse through your library or watch TV.

I have a similar setup and the only reason I use the keyboard is, like Supe_, to rip my DVDs to the hard drive (and windows updates).

-Wolf sends

Yes i have windows 7 ultimate installed, so would you suggest i use the windows media center over something like Media Monkey or any of the other player/librarbys out there? Also may i ask how you would rate the on board graphics card? as a whole?

Thanks again, i really dont know much about this stuff so any and all thoughts really do help!

 

[Supe_]

Yes i have windows 7 ultimate installed, so would you suggest i use the windows media center over something like Media Monkey or any of the other player/librarbys out there? Also may i ask how you would rate the on board graphics card? as a whole?

Thanks again, i really dont know much about this stuff so any and all thoughts really do help!

I am starting to get lost on exactly what you have. What is W7 Ultimate installed on?
I personally would have gone another $25 on the GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard but that board should be fine with the radeon 3000

My vote is to go with WMC. I have tried XBMC which is another popular option but it is not as easy to use as WMC and looked at a couple others. WMC can be enhanced to be much like XBMC by using Media Browser(<---that is a link) along with meta<browser/> (<---that is a link) to organize all the metadata info and makes it easy to edit the .xml files and set your images and whatnot to something you like.
Did you take a look at Media Browser? It organizes and displays movies and TV in a much slicker way than WMC by itself. I provided a link to a gallery in my last post. I can't even look at the original movies section in WMC anymore. Yup, my vote is for Media Browser. there are a few others out there but I forget what they are.

Once you get the Hauppauge 2250 hooked up you can set it up in WMC also and run it through there.

As far as I can gather Media Monkey is for audio only and looks like a good addition for managing music but would run separately from WMC and would require KB/mouse.

 

[pathfinder2]

I know im sorry, i can get confuesing sometimes when explaingin things, Okay so i have 2 PCs i can use as a media center

one is a Intel E6300 Dual-Core on a Intel DG965WH

Hi there, thanks for your time in responding so.i just took a look at the link for meta-Browser, and it seems like a great way to go about this. But do i want to use the meta media center & Browser? would you mind explaining how it should be set up with windows media center or the plain old windows media player?

I know nothing about media centers, iv never used them, even for music, i always just stored them in folders.

But now id like to organize everything and be able to watch them just as if they were a regular dvd, The main issue is having the ability to use the Jump Back and Forth buttons. Is there some kind of program that would allow me to set both the FF/RW and Forward/Back buttons to work the way id like them to? For example I woould set it up so if i hit the back button twice it would jump 20 seconds, if i hit it once it will jump back 10 seconds...as of now when i hit back it goes all the way to the begining of the movie, same with forward, it jumps to the next movie........most files are one AVI/WMV/KVM files, so there are no chapters, i would need to kinda have the program recognize it automaticly? Has any one heard of a company called Melloware which makes a program called Intelliremote? http/melloware.com/products/intelliremote/

Again Thank you for your experienced help with this, Im going to go ahead and install the Hauppauge 2250 and use the remote that came with it and see what happens

Oh i forgot to mention i do have the Antec Veris Elite which iv yet to try? Any thoughts about this piece of hardware?
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999192&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Accessories+-+Case+/+Rackmount-_-Antec-_-11999192

 

[Supe_]

Oh boy! Welcome to the world of HTPC. It seems you never quite get to perfection but you get close. I have to admit that I am not that concerned about skipping 20 seconds ahead so I don't have much experience with that. However, with the Antec Veris that you bought there is software that comes with that. That would include a media center called Imedian. In my opinion it is very basic. I found a youtube demo for you to look at of the iMedian in action. Pay attention at around 3:30 minutes into it you will see that there is a setting for skip ahead increments. Here's the link: iMedian youtube demo. Gotta warn ya, I started yelling at the guy to MAKE A FREAKIN CHOICE!!!

I have the iMon/imedian software installed on my HTPC because I have an Antec case that came with the Veris/iMon/Imedian configuration. It has an ugly LCD readout with infra red receiver built in to the case along with the Veris remote. Ditched the remote. The software allows to use that remote or emulates a WMC remote. The Veris remote, for me, was extremely involved to use. You can move the mouse pointer and interact with the OS just like a mouse. I found it difficult to use. And since I am a Harmony One snob I set that up as a WMC remote to use with my HTPC and the imon software to emulate the WMC remote. You have a WMC remote, lucky you.

Now a little explanation here on centers vs players. Windows Media Center is NOT Windows Media Player. WMP is simply just a program to play media such as .wav and .mpeg (along with other windows recognizable formats). It has not really changed since Windows 95. It has it's uses but you seriously do not want to watch a whole movie on it. And Metabrowser is not a media center. You could choose to not use it at all because Media Browser will get all the metadata on it's own but it is limited.

As far as Media Browser, here is a link to a demo on youtube: Media Browser youtube demo. Mind you this is one way to set it up. It is not setup the way I have it and I think mine is better...but to each his own, right? There is alot of helpful information on how to set things up on the mediabrowser knowledgebase. Beware though......this is a "hobby" that will suck you in.

As far as the metabrowser. This is another program that is not a media center. It is a program that scans all your movies and uses scrapers for IMDB and TVDB to get metafile information about each movie and tv episode. All the stuff you see in the mediabrowser demo that is information about a movie is the metafile stuff. year of movie, director, actors, synopsis, rating, running time, the movie poster and background image (fan art).... all that stuff is what metabroswer will setup. Media browser does that all on it's own in the first place but Metabrowser allows YOU to edit that metadata and choose what is displayed.

So in my opinion WMC/Media Browser kicks the pants off iMedian as far as a media center. But if that 20 second skip is that important to you then it looks like iMedian is the way to go with the Veris remote, or WMC remote if it can be setup that way...then again I have not explored the iMon software to see if I can setup the skip ahead option. Like I said at the start...you never quite get to perfection.

So. I have only touched on the media center portion of this whole thing. Maybe if you have an idea of where you want to go then we can get you to a machine that will do that.

But....once again, lol, you have confused me. Which computer do you have W7 installed on, and the gigabyte mobo and new cpu?

 

[pathfinder2]

Oh boy! Welcome to the world of HTPC. It seems you never quite get to perfection but you get close. I have to admit that I am not that concerned about skipping 20 seconds ahead so I don't have much experience with that. However, with the Antec Veris that you bought there is software that comes with that. That would include a media center called Imedian. In my opinion it is very basic. I found a youtube demo for you to look at of the iMedian in action. Pay attention at around 3:30 minutes into it you will see that there is a setting for skip ahead increments. Here's the link: iMedian youtube demo. Gotta warn ya, I started yelling at the guy to MAKE A FREAKIN CHOICE!!!

I have the iMon/imedian software installed on my HTPC because I have an Antec case that came with the Veris/iMon/Imedian configuration. It has an ugly LCD readout with infra red receiver built in to the case along with the Veris remote. Ditched the remote. The software allows to use that remote or emulates a WMC remote. The Veris remote, for me, was extremely involved to use. You can move the mouse pointer and interact with the OS just like a mouse. I found it difficult to use. And since I am a Harmony One snob I set that up as a WMC remote to use with my HTPC and the imon software to emulate the WMC remote. You have a WMC remote, lucky you.

Now a little explanation here on centers vs players. Windows Media Center is NOT Windows Media Player. WMP is simply just a program to play media such as .wav and .mpeg (along with other windows recognizable formats). It has not really changed since Windows 95. It has it's uses but you seriously do not want to watch a whole movie on it. And Metabrowser is not a media center. You could choose to not use it at all because Media Browser will get all the metadata on it's own but it is limited.

As far as Media Browser, here is a link to a demo on youtube: Media Browser youtube demo. Mind you this is one way to set it up. It is not setup the way I have it and I think mine is better...but to each his own, right? There is alot of helpful information on how to set things up on the mediabrowser knowledgebase. Beware though......this is a "hobby" that will suck you in.

As far as the metabrowser. This is another program that is not a media center. It is a program that scans all your movies and uses scrapers for IMDB and TVDB to get metafile information about each movie and tv episode. All the stuff you see in the mediabrowser demo that is information about a movie is the metafile stuff. year of movie, director, actors, synopsis, rating, running time, the movie poster and background image (fan art).... all that stuff is what metabroswer will setup. Media browser does that all on it's own in the first place but Metabrowser allows YOU to edit that metadata and choose what is displayed.

So in my opinion WMC/Media Browser kicks the pants off iMedian as far as a media center. But if that 20 second skip is that important to you then it looks like iMedian is the way to go with the Veris remote, or WMC remote if it can be setup that way...then again I have not explored the iMon software to see if I can setup the skip ahead option. Like I said at the start...you never quite get to perfection.

So. I have only touched on the media center portion of this whole thing. Maybe if you have an idea of where you want to go then we can get you to a machine that will do that.

But....once again, lol, you have confused me. Which computer do you have W7 installed on, and the gigabyte mobo and new cpu?

Oh boy! Welcome to the world of HTPC. It seems you never quite get to perfection but you get close. I have to admit that I am not that concerned about skipping 20 seconds ahead so I don't have much experience with that. However, with the Antec Veris that you bought there is software that comes with that. That would include a media center called Imedian. In my opinion it is very basic. I found a youtube demo for you to look at of the iMedian in action. Pay attention at around 3:30 minutes into it you will see that there is a setting for skip ahead increments. Here's the link: iMedian youtube demo. Gotta warn ya, I started yelling at the guy to MAKE A FREAKIN CHOICE!!!

I have the iMon/imedian software installed on my HTPC because I have an Antec case that came with the Veris/iMon/Imedian configuration. It has an ugly LCD readout with infra red receiver built in to the case along with the Veris remote. Ditched the remote. The software allows to use that remote or emulates a WMC remote. The Veris remote, for me, was extremely involved to use. You can move the mouse pointer and interact with the OS just like a mouse. I found it difficult to use. And since I am a Harmony One snob I set that up as a WMC remote to use with my HTPC and the imon software to emulate the WMC remote. You have a WMC remote, lucky you.

Now a little explanation here on centers vs players. Windows Media Center is NOT Windows Media Player. WMP is simply just a program to play media such as .wav and .mpeg (along with other windows recognizable formats). It has not really changed since Windows 95. It has it's uses but you seriously do not want to watch a whole movie on it. And Metabrowser is not a media center. You could choose to not use it at all because Media Browser will get all the metadata on it's own but it is limited.

As far as Media Browser, here is a link to a demo on youtube: Media Browser youtube demo. Mind you this is one way to set it up. It is not setup the way I have it and I think mine is better...but to each his own, right? There is alot of helpful information on how to set things up on the mediabrowser knowledgebase. Beware though......this is a "hobby" that will suck you in.

As far as the metabrowser. This is another program that is not a media center. It is a program that scans all your movies and uses scrapers for IMDB and TVDB to get metafile information about each movie and tv episode. All the stuff you see in the mediabrowser demo that is information about a movie is the metafile stuff. year of movie, director, actors, synopsis, rating, running time, the movie poster and background image (fan art).... all that stuff is what metabroswer will setup. Media browser does that all on it's own in the first place but Metabrowser allows YOU to edit that metadata and choose what is displayed.

So in my opinion WMC/Media Browser kicks the pants off iMedian as far as a media center. But if that 20 second skip is that important to you then it looks like iMedian is the way to go with the Veris remote, or WMC remote if it can be setup that way...then again I have not explored the iMon software to see if I can setup the skip ahead option. Like I said at the start...you never quite get to perfection.

So. I have only touched on the media center portion of this whole thing. Maybe if you have an idea of where you want to go then we can get you to a machine that will do that.

But....once again, lol, you have confused me. Which computer do you have W7 installed on, and the gigabyte mobo and new cpu?[/quotemsg

LOL okay so i bassicly have windows 7 on all of my PCs iv just been trying to decide which PC to use for the media center....i think im going to go with this set up

Coolmaster 690 case
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual
http/www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16819115005

Intel dg965wh board
http/reviews.cnet.com/motherboards/intel-desktop-board-dg965wh/4505-3049_7-32014813.html

Antec 500w PSU, the Antec Elite media center/remote

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface which comes with the windows vista remote
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 0Dual%20TV

Or i can use the

ATI TV Wonder 650 - High Definition Personal Video Recorder for PC 100-715331 PCI Interface
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %20650%20-

Now i also have a harmony 610 as i mentioned but i could use a HARMONY 720 WHICH I WAS GOING TO SELL??

So i have all the hardware and some softwear, but im lost as to set it up properly.

I also wanted to mention again i could use the Gigabyte Board and AMD Phenom II Black Edition Multi-Core? I still have them boxed up so i could return them or get a better board?

Ill take a look at those links, specially the one about Media Browser...

to be honest though as of now i have no intrest in having the ability to find artwork or anything which i guess is called "meta-Data"

Thank you for your help, seriously!!