What codec does MCE use?

DukenukemX

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jan 30, 2005
Messages
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First let me just say that if you own a MPEG2 capture card you must have Windows MCE. Everything else is just a headache.

Anyway I'm trying to play back my recorded videos on a Mac as well as trying to convert my videos into something like say into the Xvid format. Problem is I don't know what codec MCE is using.

The extension says *.dvr-ms but it does play back fine on both my XP machines. Can anyone tell me what codec it uses and maybe be able to save the video as some other format? That is if MCE has that feature.
 
DukenukemX said:
First let me just say that if you own a MPEG2 capture card you must have Windows MCE. Everything else is just a headache.
Lies. :p
DukenukemX said:
First let me just say that if you own a MPEG2 capture card you must have SageTV. Everything else is just a headache.
Fixed. :D
 
I've used SageTV and I've not been able to get it working 100% the way I want it. I've used every damn capture or media something software only to be disappointed. SageTV would have been great had only the Dscaler plugin actually work for me and become a bit more user friendly. I'm sure the options I was looking for are in SageTV but I'd probably need to research and read tons of crap just to find the option I want.

Though MCE lacks options for me to configure, it does work and it does work well. The best part is that Microsoft is making MCE a standard and hardware has to be MCE complaint. Which is beautiful in a the HTPC world where every piece of software has lots of hack options for some hardwares compatibility issue. Ohh and yea there's lots.
 
Nothing against SageTV, BeyondTV or any others, but I agree with the above post. Ironically, although MCE may not be as customizable, it was the easiest to get working for me and also seemed more intuitive for my lesser geeky family. All the other apps I tried required some tweaking, but MCE really was just install and run setup wizard. Also, the MCE remote works great with no hassles, something that seemed problematic with other htpc apps. There a plenty of plugins available; I've got GameX running all my Mame games and it integrates beautifully. Whatever you may think of Microsoft, the reality is they are the big dog and have the sheer numbers of users on their side which ultimately leads to better compatibility.
 
agent420 said:
Ironically, although MCE may not be as customizable, it was the easiest to get working for me and also seemed more intuitive for my lesser geeky family. All the other apps I tried required some tweaking, but MCE really was just install and run setup wizard. Also, the MCE remote works great with no hassles, something that seemed problematic with other htpc apps.

that is what MCE is made for and why it appeals to the masses. It's made for my in-laws that have trouble with setting alarm clocks. However, most people on [H] aren't the "masses". We want something that doesn't wrap files in DRM and actually allows some tweaking and custimization. as far as stability and no hassles, that is all in how you set it up. See, MCE doesn't let you pick the details of your setup so it is stable with their choices. other apps leave it up to you. It's not the apps fault if the user can't create a stable environment. I have a sage server and 3 clients that run rock steady. Becuase of the time I took setting up the custom remote, I can teach a babysitter how to use it in 3 minutes. Only downtime I have had in about a year of service is hardware related. I built most of my network out of older parts that are free. When they break/die, I replace with new stuff.

all should feel inferior in my presence. :D
 
Granted most here are more [H]ardcore than that, but perhaps htpc systems in a family environment fall into a different category.

As for the drm thing, the dvr-ms files aren't really locked, it's just they contain different data than standard mpeg2 files. As stated above, they are easily converted into conventional files. Actually, the dvr-ms format was a big decision factor for me... the dvr-ms format allows for the saving of closed captioning, which I need because my wife has some hearing disability. I tried Sage and Beyond before I even considered Mce, but I could not get the closed captioning to work fully, even after multple suggested tweaks and registry hacks. Mce handles captioning and rating like a dream...

[edit]

As for the stability of a system, that should really be a non-issue... If you start from scratch with a wiped drive, install your hardware drivers, then what htpc app, you should expect it to work without mucking around.
 
agent420 said:
Granted most here are more [H]ardcore than that, but perhaps htpc systems in a family environment fall into a different category.

As for the drm thing, the dvr-ms files aren't really locked, it's just they contain different data than standard mpeg2 files. As stated above, they are easily converted into conventional files. Actually, the dvr-ms format was a big decision factor for me... the dvr-ms format allows for the saving of closed captioning, which I need because my wife has some hearing disability. I tried Sage and Beyond before I even considered Mce, but I could not get the closed captioning to work fully, even after multple suggested tweaks and registry hacks. Mce handles captioning and rating like a dream...

[edit]

As for the stability of a system, that should really be a non-issue... If you start from scratch with a wiped drive, install your hardware drivers, then what htpc app, you should expect it to work without mucking around.


CC is better supported under MCE from everything I have heard. As for stability, Once I came up with my proper settings and codc combo, I can do the same with sage/xp pro as MCE. wipe, install, go. I am not like lots of others that say MCE is evil. I think it is one of the better inegrated apps MS has done. Way better than their attempt at web browsing, remote control, and movie editing. MCE is great for set it and forget it, basic HTPC functioning.
 
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