Migrating Windows Media Center Scheduled Recordings

This is really tricky.  I've successfully done this twice though, and I didn't write it down the first time so I'm writing it down now.

I started with this as a guide: http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=119&sid=a81fc0052c8d1f074600a52dfe5dbe21&start=20

It's a starting point, complete with unresolved issues, wrong file paths and more!

What you really have to do is this:


Old system:

Save off this folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\

You need the files that are in mcepg2-0 or mcepg2-1, whichever that has the newest files in \backup\recordings.  mcepg2-0 had the newest for me, so that's what I'll refer to from this point on.

New system:

Setup Windows Media Center from scratch including live TV, but don't worry about the details too much.

Then, after setup is complete, copy these two directories from the saved-off old system to the new computer (same location):

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg2-0\backup\recordings
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg2-0\backup\subscriptions

Personally, I recommend renaming the existing folders so they aren't blown away, just in case something blows up and you need to revert to your freshly setup setup.

Then, at a command prompt run:
C:\Windows\eHome\loadmxf.exe -i C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcepg2-0\backup\recordings\FileName

!!Where FileName is the name of the newest file in \backup\recordings and \backup\subscriptions!!!

That crucial piece of information is omitted from the green button forum post.

So do that for both recordings and subscriptions, reload your program data and you should be in business!  Don't reload the listings, or you'll get double the channels and it'll be all messed up.

Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center is a mystical mysterious mystery.  It barely exists.  It's hiding, laying in wait on all Windows 7 computers.

All you need is:

• A reasonable, used even, quad core PC
• 4 Gig of RAM minimum
• 1 TB of disc minimum
• 1 TV tuner minimum, official support for 4
• 1 Antenna, higher in the air the better
• Some type of remote

You'll also need a bunch of wires, depending on your setup

• VGA or HDMI to your HDTV
• Audio if necessary
• Coax for the antenna, preferably RG6 for less signal loss
• Network cables

All this stuff may cost a couple hundred dollars if you're starting from scratch.  But how much to you pay for cable per month?  Though lots more people have dropped cable.  It's fun in any event.  Does take some maintenance, but it runs WAY better for watching live or recorded TV than any third party program I've ever used.

The software setup can be a little tricky, but that's for another day.

Handbrake subtitles

Had trouble getting the foreign audio subtitles to come out on a movie using handbrake. What I finally got working was to do the foreign audio scan, burn in. It worked with forced on and off, but not with default checked.

The handbrake subtitle documentation hasn't changed in years, so it's versions behind.

Windows Media Center Recording Settings Explained

Edit 01-15-2014: After rebuilding my htpc a couple times it's become clear that these settings are arbitrary at best. I just have to trial and error the settings every time.

Windows media center has cryptic terms for how recordings are set.

1. To record three episodes of a show, recording every time, keeping the most recently aired shows:

Show type: New & rerun
Channels: any
Airtime: Anytime
Keep: Until space needed
Keep up to: 3 recordings
Stop: 3 minutes after, when possible

2. To record three episodes of a show, only recording when one has been deleted.  So in effect, there will always be 3 shows available, but some might be old.  This is good for something like Wheel of Fortune that it's nice to have a couple, but you don't want the PC starting up all the time to record new episodes.  The "Latest recordings" setting seems opposite of what you want, but that's the setting to keep older shows and not have WMC discard a show to record a new one.

Show type: New
Channels: any
Airtime: Anytime
Keep: Latest recordings
Keep up to: 3 recordings
Stop: 3 minutes after, when possible

3. To keep as many as possible, and not discard any shows to record new ones (for your favorite show).

Show type: New & rerun
Channels: any
Airtime: Anytime
Keep: Until I delete
Keep up to: As many as possible
Stop: 3 minutes after, when possible

A list of the coolest things that I've ever done with a computer

These are the ones that come to mind

Year	Deed
1985	Heard a computer play “La Cucaracha”
1997 1997	Sent an email Installed Winamp
2001	Created a Video Compact Disc (VCD)
2001 2002	Hooked up a computer to a television to play digital video discs (DVDs) Bought a digital camera
2005	Built a 1 TB hard drive using four 250GB drives, setup as a Raid 0
2006	Shared a computer’s Ethernet connection over Bluetooth to a Sony T637 phone
2006	Converted videos to play on a Sony W810i Walkman phone
2009	Put a new operating system on a HTC Shadow Windows Mobile phone
2009	Copied Xbox saved games to an Xbox 360
2010	Put a new operating system on a Sony W810i Walkman phone
2010	Rooted an LG Optimus V Android phone
	Routers 2011	Put DD-WRT and Tomato onto a router
	2011	Used Tomato for port forwarding
	2011	Setup Remote Potato to access Windows Media Center remotely
	2011	Used Tomato as a Print Server
	2011	Used Tomato to set up a Universal Serial Bus (USB) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site
	2013	Used Tomato to Wake On LAN (WOL) computers
	2013	Used Tomato to update a dyndns.com Internet protocol (IP) address automatically
2011	Used a thumb drive and Clonezilla to bit for bit copy a hard drive (as pointed out by my wife: just like in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
2012 2013	Slipstreamed Windows XP Installed dual boot operating systems on a Kindle Fire
2013	Used Tasker to disable the blinding "100% charged" green light emitting diode (LED) notification on a HTC EvoV Android phone

Unlock Remote Desktop Windows 7 Home Premium

Totally awesome: http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows_entertainment_and_connected_home/f/114/t/79427.aspx?PageIndex=1

Windows Media Center

I haven't officially said it online, but I'm done with MediaPortal.

Windows Media Center in Windows 7 works so much better.

It's more stable, automatically downloads the program guide (for the correct time zone and time change), can be accessed on my android phone remotely, doesn't quit if disconnected from the network, wakes from sleep to record, has a better interface, and is just generally great overall.

Plus it has a great build in photo screensaver.

I've spent countless hours (days, weeks) tweaking, repairing, fixing, enhancing, un-enhancing...

My HTPC isn't a hobby anymore, I don't have to mess with it.

DIY 3.5" to 5.25" Hard Drive Adapter

Hard drive adapter brackets are so expensive, I decided to make some myself. I now have a dozen adapters for the price of one pair on newegg.

These are made out of 3/4" aluminum channel. Available from ye olde neighborhood big box hardware shoppe. Trim to 3-5/8" long.

The threaded holes that attach to the case are 1/8". They could probably be smaller if you have a tap & die set to thread the holes.

The pass through holes for the hard drive are 3/16".

The mounting pattern is:

3-1/16" on center for the case side of the bracket
2-5/16" on center for the hard drive side of the bracket.

These measurements may be more exact in metric, but the longest metric measuring device I have is a SwissCard.

Tip A: It's handy to have a drill press.
Tip B: I drilled the hard drive side holes through both sides so a screwdriver can be inserted all the way through for easy mounting.
Sub Tip B: Drill the important side first, then allow the bit to go through the less critical side.

Comskip update

So, after a whole lot of run around trying to get Comskip to stop crashing my HTPC, I figured it out. For an unknown reason it was crashing my ATI H.264 codec. Who knows why. So I switched it over to Divx and all is well.

Unfortunatly it took a couple unnecessary trial and errors to figure out. To aid future debugging:

When things go wrong try these before uninstalling and reinstalling Media Portal:

1. Uninstall and reinstall Divx
2. Uninstall and reinstall video drivers
3. Change video/audio codecs in MediaPortal
4. Make sure there is still enough disk space to record video
5. Swap out hard drives to the other bootable disk and try it any fixes on that drive first!

Media Portal

For a few years I've been running Media Portal on a home theater pc. I make occasional changes and tweaks, but it's been pretty stable for the past 6-8 months. The most recent addition is pretty interesting and really easy. I started running Comskip.

What Comskip does is runs in the background after a TV program is completely recorded. Comskip analyzes the program and automatically edits out ads on playback. It just worked, pretty exciting!