[DISCUSSION] Patch WMC to run on Windows 10 final & possible alternatives

Discussion in 'Windows 10' started by ricktendo64, May 8, 2015.

  1. MAVAV

    MAVAV MDL Novice

    Apr 4, 2017
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    Try in media centre going to settings, general, automatic download options, and unselect Retrieve CD album art, media information etc.
     
  2. mark frankland

    mark frankland MDL Novice

    Apr 9, 2019
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    #9822 mark frankland, Feb 3, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2020
    Hi everyone, i have been putting off upgrading to windows 10 for years now because of the lack of media center.With support for windows 7 now ended i am going to make the change to windows 10 pro 1909. Just wondering which version i should install as i've seen 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 13 etc. Tried reading through all the threads but it gets quite confusing. Could someone also confirm if DVBLink works with media center on Windows 10, Thanks in advance for any help.
     
  3. plplplpl

    plplplpl MDL Novice

    Jan 3, 2020
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    Rovi EPG has been discontinued for all iterations of WMC. I'm experimenting (actually revisiting after several years) NextPVR, which has free built-in short-term EPG.
     
  4. mark frankland

    mark frankland MDL Novice

    Apr 9, 2019
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    There is an excellent free program called EPG Collector that collects EPG over the air from freeview, freesat, sky etc.
     
  5. technodevotee

    technodevotee MDL Senior Member

    Sep 18, 2015
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  6. technodevotee

    technodevotee MDL Senior Member

    Sep 18, 2015
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    #9827 technodevotee, Feb 4, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2020
    There's actually not much of relevance in that thread except to say that DVBLink won't work on anything later than 8.8.1.

    It is something to do with changes made to ehshell.exe when the manifests were removed. As you may know, V13 uses files from V12 so it predates V8.8.x and doesn't suffer those particular issues. However, if you search for posts by me in this thread you will see that there was quite a lot of back and forth with people who were having issues and some people said V13 didn't work and some people said it worked.

    I have come to the conclusion that WMC is rather picky about the configuration of the PC hardware and software and some versions work better than others in certain configurations.

    I did a lot of testing with DVBLink and it worked perfectly for me (except that I kept getting the error about PlayReady needing updating that everyone seems to get and found that you just have to ignore it) but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone.

    To save you doing a whole load of reading, the differences between V8.8 and V13 are basically to do with how they function in an RDP session: V8.8 can play TV but can't be used full screen whereas V13 can't play TV but can be used full screen.

    Other than that and the fact that V8 doesn't need quite so much work to get it going properly, they are basically the same.
     
  7. mark frankland

    mark frankland MDL Novice

    Apr 9, 2019
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    Yes doesn't really say too much in that thread. I have done quite a bit of reading and thinking 8.8.1 is the way to go. I thought i read somewhere (but i can't find it again) that the full screen issue can be fixed. Am i wrong in that assumption ? Also as far as you know if microsoft updates break WMC is it just a case of running your Multi Tool to fix the issues or is a reinstall needed ? Cheers.
     
  8. technodevotee

    technodevotee MDL Senior Member

    Sep 18, 2015
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    #9829 technodevotee, Feb 5, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2020
    As far as I know, there's no way round the inability to use WMC 8.8.x full screen in RDP. Possibly, you saw a method of switching in to windowed mode by clicking on the controls you can't see.

    However, given that you are using DVBLink to watch TV on another PC and not an RDP session, I don't expect it would bother you too much. For me though, not being able to use WMC full screen in RDP is a pain because I have to keep resizing the window when using it on the host PC. I don't want to watch TV in an RDP session either.

    As far as keeping the system running is concerned,
    Microsoft upgrades remove the WMC registry settings and services so whichever version you have, you have to uninstall, reboot and reinstall. I made some changes to the backup and restore utility in V13, which makes life a little easier. I have tested it on 2004 and it works fine as long as you reinstate MSSQlite but I haven't tested 8.8.1 on anything since 1903 myself so I can't say whether it works or not.​

    There's just one extra add-on to run in V13 (fix_thumbnails) but like I said, that normally only needs to be run once after installation. Being as you already have WMC multi tool (which is a little harder to use because it is more granular than the add-ons included with V13), there's not much in it.

    The choice is yours to make.
     
  9. mark frankland

    mark frankland MDL Novice

    Apr 9, 2019
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    Thanks again for your quick replies. Just to make it clear i don't really need RDP. Both my pcs use WMC on their own and both have DVBLink active on them. I use DVBLink TV Source and DVBLink for IPTV. I'm just a bit confused as to what you mean by V13 can't play TV. Does that mean i won't be able to use it to watch TV. Sorry if that sounds a bit dumb. Also Is 8.8.1 in full screen if not using RDP. I also have DVB-T and DVB-S tuner cards in both pcs. Emby fow WMC i also use as well as Media Center Studio if you know if these still work. Thanks again.
     
  10. technodevotee

    technodevotee MDL Senior Member

    Sep 18, 2015
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    I was talking specifically about how they work in RDP. Both versions work perfectly normally on the host PC so it won't affect you at all.

    I have two main PCs with tuners in them - one upstairs with DVB-T2 and one downstairs with DVB-S2 and I connect using RDP to check and configure recordings from wherever I happen to be.

    No experience with emby or Media Center Studio I'm afraid but you could have a look in the third party section of the green button forums.
     
  11. mark frankland

    mark frankland MDL Novice

    Apr 9, 2019
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    Thanks for the explanation, that's made things a lot clearer. I think i'll start with v13 on one pc and see how i get on. Thanks for your time explaining everything.
     
  12. suedehead

    suedehead MDL Novice

    Jun 21, 2016
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    Likewise I've just made the transition to Windows 10 via 2 new PCs which are replacing Win 7 based PCs that ran WMC. A few years ago, I loaded WMC on a Surface running Win10 as a "proof of concept" with the idea that when I did eventually upgrade my HTPCs (Live TV via HDHR Prime) to Win10 that I'd be able to run WMC on them.

    So lo and behold, imagine my surprise when I found out today what all of you fine people already know: It worked a few years ago, but apparently doesn't work now. Initially I tied to install version 12.7 but I wasn't able to install it. I did install version 8.84 but couldn't get it to recognize my cable card tuners. A few questions/confirmations, I have that I wasn't able to find for myself from looking through these AMAZINGLY HELPFUL forums:
    • Is it categorically true that I am unable to run WMC on the latest release of Win10 Home and have it be able to access my HDHR Prime Cable Card tuners for viewing/recording live TV without incorporating something like DVBLink?
    • Despite not being able to view or record live TV using WMC, should the other functionality work---namely viewing recordings made on Win7 machines, using MyMovies to watch DVDs, viewing photos/videos stored on my NAS? If so, perhaps I can just use the HDHR Viewer when I want to watch live TV on those Win10 machines (not dedicated HTPCs).
     
  13. suedehead

    suedehead MDL Novice

    Jun 21, 2016
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    I had not. Thank you, kindly sir. That does indeed answer my first question.
    Regarding the second question, I have now tested it out and it appears to be working as described: I run WMC v8.84 on my Win10 Machines without setting up Live TV. I am able to configure all other WMC functions as I wanted (MyMovies, home photo/video library, etc.). The Win10 WMC computers are NOT dedicated HTPCs. I have about 8 other dedicated Win7 HTPCs running WMC without issue (including Cable Card).
    I installed the HDHR App on the 2 Win10 machines and it can be used if we NEED to watch LIVE TV on either of those machines. Otherwise, the recorded TV seems to work fine on WMC on Win10. Therefore I can watch recordings made on my other HTPCs on the Win10 machines at almost any time. To accomplish this, I can either use a method to dump all recordings onto a NAS/Server and point the WMC on Win10 Recorded TV Library to that location, OR I can point the Recorded TV Library to the Recorded TV Libraries on each of the 8 HTPCs individually (with proper credentials, of course).

    Thanks for pointing me to that other thread. It was indeed helpful. I will share my approach to this with the OP there as there seem to be some similarities in our situations.
     
  14. ScratCZ

    ScratCZ MDL Novice

    Feb 21, 2020
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    Hello :)

    Seeking this need Windows Media Center x86 and x64 to make it as easy as easy installation should be blue and green Windows Media Center .... For reasons hard to find another server link it does not work :( Because it would like to find easy to install ;) Thank you very much :) I'm deaf in the I live in Brno, Czech Republic. :D
     
  15. boyonthebus

    boyonthebus MDL Expert

    Sep 16, 2018
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    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
  16. ScratCZ

    ScratCZ MDL Novice

    Feb 21, 2020
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    Thank you ! :)
     
  17. 019

    019 MDL Novice

    Mar 5, 2016
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    My wmc box was dying and with the EPG guide going away it pushed me to make the choice of doing another WMC hack or doing something new. Figured this might be useful for others.
    I'm in the USA, had a working SiliconDust HDHR with a cablecard so I looked into lots of options.
    I ended up getting the nvidia shield pro with an external USB drive and tried Plex DVR, the HDHomerun DVR, Kodi Android TV app with the HDHomerun plugin (it's on GitHub and this worked amazingly well but scheduling recordings on Kodi is full of WTF), Live Channels Android TV DVR app (pretty clean app but DVR was buggy, froze during playback, not flexible recording options, limited guide schedule), and Channels DVR. I was mainly looking for ease-of-use (the wife test) and no bugginess.
    Ended up going with Channels DVR even though it's $80/year. I wanted to like Plex DVR but man it was frustrating. If you already know Plex it might be ok but for a noob it was a PITA and buggy, not to mention they regularly break stuff with their updates. It was broken for no reason when I installed it and figuring out that it was them not me really soured me on it. Even after that, playback would fail randomly, record would fail.. argh. If they ever make the DVR a priority it'd be awesome. Even paying for the Plex Pass. I might revisit it again when my subscription for Channels DVR is up.
    Channels and Plex both have a free trial. getchannels.com