Windows Media Center and HDCP (HDHomeRun Prime)

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rockyinnc

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I am looking to make the move to a HTPC solution for my family’s TV needs. We are a current Time Warner Cable (TWC) digital subscriber and have one DVR in the house with two other TV’s with standard cable connection. I have a three year old Dell Inspiron 480s desktop (Win7, Intel 5i 2.3 Ghz quad with 6Gb of RAM). I have a Netgear GS1016G 16 port gig switch with all Cat6 cabling in the house. We also have two xBox’s and four iPad’s in the house as well.

I am purchasing the Silcondust’s HDHomeRun Prime cable-card box and will set up my Dell 480s desktop as a HTPC to run Windows Media Center (WMC). I would have this set up then stream to the two xbox’s on the other TV’s.

I will need to upgrade my graphics card on the Dell 480s to get a HDMI port with audio to my Sony TV.

Here are my questions for you:

Does the new graphics card need to support HDCP?

When WMC records a program, is it saved in a format that is encrypted and can only play through WMC? Or can I transfer these files to an iPad to watch on it?

Any recommendations on a HTPC TV remote that works with WMC?

Thank you for any suggestions you can provide.

Rocky
 
Yes, your GPU needs HDCP. All recent GPUs should have this, nothing really to worry about.

WMC records in .wtv format, I forgot if everything is encrypted or just specific channels. However, you can convert it to using other programs, check out MCEBuddy. Would have to specify what conversion to make it iPad compatible.

I use a generic WMC Rosewill remote bought from Newegg, works well at controlling the HTPC. If you want to control the HTPC and TV together, you'll need an IR receiver and something like a Logitech Harmony remote.
 
rockyinnc said:
When WMC records a program, is it saved in a format that is encrypted and can only play through WMC? Or can I transfer these files to an iPad to watch on it?
Click to expand...

I have TWC as well, and basically, channels other than the broadcast networks are marked as "copy once", meaning they're encrypted and can't be transcoded/viewed/etc unless its on the original PC via WMC or an extender. The major network channels are not flagged as copy once, so they can be re-encoded for use on the iPad or whatever.
 
Thank you for the replies they were very helpful.

I've determined that my existing graphics card is a AMD ATI Radeon 5450, which has the HDMI port that will deliver audio to my TV. It does support HDPC, so I think I am in good shape to change it to a HTPC.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5450-overview/Pages/hd-5450-overview.aspx#2

Thanks AF22 for the product recommendations, I've placed an order for the keyboard and the cheaper remote.

I'll be using my xbox as a media extender to this HTPC. I don't think my wife will be keen on using a xbox controller as a remote. ;) Do you all have a recommendation for an xbox remote?

Thanks,

Rocky
 
Check out the new feature under extras for the new tuner cards or boxes that use cable cards there is a software agreement that you agree to and they install some software and then you test your system to see if its cable card ready and digital ready. Extras in WMC they just worked on our cable here and now i have lost my terrestrial HD channels or at least 2 WYOU-DTand WNBC-DT channel 22.1 and 28.1 are lost and had to remap channel WNEP DT to channel 92.3 which before was 16.1. Our HD tuner equip TV's were not effected still get the same channels with same virtual numbers, but how to fix the HD is a mystery to me at this time. I installed the WINTV software that came with the HVR-2250 and it picks up all the channels I used to get with Media Center in Windows 7. I have two systems with the same tuner in each one same motherboard etc and they both have the same issue.
 
Thanks valve1138 for the suggestion, after reading the review, I just purchased that one too. Thanks!

Rocky
 
I wanted to post a follow up on how things have gone with my new HTPC set up.

First, the HDHomeRun Prime is great. I would definitely recommend it. Set up with Time Warner Cable (TWC) was easy. I called tech support and they transferred me to the cable card support team. They authorized the card in the HDHomeRun Prime and set it up in their system and it reset and started adding all the channels. I did get a Tuning Adapter (TA) from TWC for the connection. Normally, the cable first goes into the TA first, then from the TA to the HDHomeRun (HDHR) Prime. Then there is a USB link between the TA and HDHR. This link is used for channel synchronization. The TWC tech recommended though to use a spliter and have the cable go to both the TA and HDHR separately. I bought a powered splitter/amplifier from Best Buy to boost the signal strength and it is working perfectly. I have both units and my HTPC plugged into a UPS to avoid problems with rebooting/resetting the TA and HDHR. I accidentally unplugged the TA and it messed things up until I rebooted BOTH TA and HDHR together to get them back in sync.

My HTPC is the Dell Inspiron s580 slim desktop running Win7 Media Center. Win7 MC is working great. We have the digital cable from TWC and so we can record shows in Standard Definition (SD) or High Definition (HD). I was shocked how much HDD space HD shows take up. An one hour show will be 1 to 3 GBs. So after setting up a dozen shows to start recording (all shows) my 1TB drive filled up (I only had 300Gb's left for TV shows). I purchased a second 2TB hdd for extra space. Today, I am now having issues with the two drives overheating. I am now planning on a reinstall on just the 2TB drive.

The only other tweak I did was add the channel logos. The "My Channel Logos" is a great product and works great. Well worth the $3 he charges for it.

I went with all the remote and keyboard recommendations the team here gave me and they work great. I may want to upgrade to a Harmony remote to make it easier for my wife to use.

Lastly, I wanted to comment on the family factor. Over all, my wife and kids are happy with the new HTPC set up with the HDHomeRun Prime. We have three primary TV's, one with the HTPC and two with Xbox extenders. All the network connections are on a three gigabit ethernet switches. I ended up having to replace a 3Com 10/100 managed switch that did not seem to want to allow some of the traffic. I have three Netgear switches and they are now work flawlessly. I purchased two older white xBox Media Remote and they are perfect. My wife can use any of the TV's and watch her recorded shows.

Other note, MCEBuddy was not able to copy the HD recorded shows. It can only do SD shows.

Thanks for the team here for all the suggestions and help.

Rocky
 
Here is what it looks like:

HTPC_HDHomeRun_Prime_Setup.jpg
 
rockyinnc said:
I am looking to make the move to a HTPC solution for my family’s TV needs. We are a current Time Warner Cable (TWC) digital subscriber and have one DVR in the house with two other TV’s with standard cable connection. I have a three year old Dell Inspiron 480s desktop (Win7, Intel 5i 2.3 Ghz quad with 6Gb of RAM). I have a Netgear GS1016G 16 port gig switch with all Cat6 cabling in the house. We also have two xBox’s and four iPad’s in the house as well.

I am purchasing the Silcondust’s HDHomeRun Prime cable-card box and will set up my Dell 480s desktop as a HTPC to run Windows Media Center (WMC). I would have this set up then stream to the two xbox’s on the other TV’s.

I will need to upgrade my graphics card on the Dell 480s to get a HDMI port with audio to my Sony TV.

Here are my questions for you:

Does the new graphics card need to support HDCP?

When WMC records a program, is it saved in a format that is encrypted and can only play through WMC? Or can I transfer these files to an iPad to watch on it?

Any recommendations on a HTPC TV remote that works with WMC?

Thank you for any suggestions you can provide.

Rocky
Click to expand...

When it comes to HDCP the graphics card and display need to support it. Most TVs and monitors made in the last 5 or 6 years will support it.

When something is recorded its in a *.wtv file. You can use something MCEbuddy to convert it to AVI or MP4 file to work on something like an iPad. Also it only works for things recorded "Copy Freely" come providers and networks make things "copy once" which is encrypted to play on that computer. This will mostly depend on your provider.

EDIT- I use Mcebuddy for HD shows all the time.

For a remote I used a rosewill MCE remote. But now I just use the USB receiver and now use a Hamony remote. I still use the rosewill remote to use to send the signals to the harmony remote. Because the harmony can learn as well.

I have a harmony 700 for my HTPC in the living and use a harmony 300 for the xbox 360.

As far as the Xbox 360s it doesn't have HDCP but it will still play everything as an extender with no issues.
 
rockyinnc said:
I get an error every time it tries to convert a HD showing. How are you able to do it?:confused:
Click to expand...

I use MP4 I think I do normal. If I remember doing high quality gave me errors. Also you may want to check if its copy protected.
 
af22 said:
Your using a cable card, the recordings are encrypted.
Click to expand...

Thats not always the case. It depends on the provider and the network. Majority of the channels I get are "Copy Freely" so anything that I record from those channels aren't encrypted and can be converted with no problem. The ones that a "Copy Once" are encrypted to that specific device.
 
Noob question here, but does the HDHR prime allow for different channel viewing from different devices? For example, you can watch ESPN on the living room TV, HBO in the bedroom, and Discovery in the kitchen?

My setup would be having the living room pc hooked up directly to the TV, xbox in the bedroom, and a laptop in the kitchen.

I would assume that it does allow different channel sharing or else the device is fairly worthless, but it isn't spelled out anywhere directly.
 
njenabnit said:
Noob question here, but does the HDHR prime allow for different channel viewing from different devices? For example, you can watch ESPN on the living room TV, HBO in the bedroom, and Discovery in the kitchen?
Click to expand...

Yes, each device will use one tuner for different channels at the same time. If someone in the living room and kitchen are watching the same channel then it will only be using a single tuner with two tuners still available.
 
Also keep in mind that if you are recording a program on one of the devices, that also takes one of the available tuners. So lets say you were recording a show on the living room pc but also watching a different show from the living room pc. This would mean you are using 2 of the 3 tuners so only one tuner would be available for watching from one of your other devices. Now lets say you are watching a program in the living room and recording 2 other channels. All 3 tuners would then be in use and not available for the other devices.
 
You will get a popup notification that MCE needs to change the channel to record what you scheduled.
 
"Dell Inspiron s580 slim desktop running Win7 Media Center. Win7 MC is working great"

I realize this is an old post but can you please provide an update? I also have a dell slim (755 SFF) with a XFX HD 5450 GPU installed. I've tried to get windows media center working with my HDHomerun Prime to no avail. Nothing but error messages. "Driver display error vide playback devise does not support playback of protected content". The TWC will flash video for a few seconds and then render the error message. So i'm wondering if anyone is able to use this HD 5450 card with windows media center, TWC, and HDHomerun. Is it my HDMI output (new cable)? Do I need to use VGA with a stereo cable for audio?
 
pointv1 said:
"Dell Inspiron s580 slim desktop running Win7 Media Center. Win7 MC is working great"

I realize this is an old post but can you please provide an update? I also have a dell slim (755 SFF) with a XFX HD 5450 GPU installed. I've tried to get windows media center working with my HDHomerun Prime to no avail. Nothing but error messages. "Driver display error vide playback devise does not support playback of protected content". The TWC will flash video for a few seconds and then render the error message. So i'm wondering if anyone is able to use this HD 5450 card with windows media center, TWC, and HDHomerun. Is it my HDMI output (new cable)? Do I need to use VGA with a stereo cable for audio?
Click to expand...

The content needs to be HDCP protected - based on your error message, there's a couple places to look - 1. The HD 5450 does support HDCP, so it could just be a case of needing to update the drivers. 2. The TV it is going to must support HDCP as well - generally if there's an HDMI port on it, you'll be fine.

If the above two don't work, then yes, going to a VGA cable will solve it as HDCP is not required, but your image quality will take a bit of a hit as a result.
 
David_Schroth said:
The content needs to be HDCP protected - based on your error message, there's a couple places to look - 1. The HD 5450 does support HDCP, so it could just be a case of needing to update the drivers. 2. The TV it is going to must support HDCP as well - generally if there's an HDMI port on it, you'll be fine.

If the above two don't work, then yes, going to a VGA cable will solve it as HDCP is not required, but your image quality will take a bit of a hit as a result.
Click to expand...

Well, I'll try again tonight and see how well it works with VGA. I believe the driver was AMD catalyst 15.7. I used the auto detect from the website. This could be the issue because it installed a sound driver that was incompatible with the card. As soon as I deleted the AMD sound driver the audio actually is working through the HDMI. However, WMC still gives me nothing but trouble with the driver display error. Per the greenbutton forums various versions of the drivers present problems. So i might have to find the "correct" driver and who knows what that is and if anyone actually has a HD 5450 actually working with WMC and a cablecard.
 
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