Posts Tagged ‘Windows Media Center’
You may have the issue that surfaced recently (December 2010-January 2011) that the standard FAQ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977116 steps will not fix. First, you will need to change yours DNS servers to resolve the issue. The theory is that somewhere along the line, caching DNS/proxy servers have corrupt/bad information that impacts some users and/or that MS has some bad servers on their server farm).
Go to http://www.dnsserverlist.org/ which will automatically determine the best DNS servers based on your IP address. Pick two and carefully get the IP addresses. <- Apparently not available as of 3/28/2011.
Here are some sources for alternative DNS servers. Please note, I have not tested these.
http://theos.in/windows-xp/free-fast-public-dns-server-list/
http://www.tech-faq.com/public-dns-servers.html
Next, you will need to change your network settings on your Windows Media Center PC(s) to use these. This will override any settings on your router and/or the DNS settings provided by your ISP via DHCP:
1. Start Menu, Control Panel
2. Select "Network And Internet"
3. Select "Network and Sharing Center"
4. Select "Change adapter settings" on the left side of the screen
5. Right-click your network adapter and then select properties from the menu. (For example: "Wireless Network Connection" or "Local Area Connection")
6. On the Networking tab, double-click "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"
7. Check "Use the following DNS server addresses"
8. Carefully type in the DNS Server IPs you want to use.
9. Click Ok and Ok again to exit.
After doing the above, open an administrative command prompt
1. Select start Menu, then Programs, then Accessories
2. Right click "command prompt" and select Run as Administrator
3. Type into the command window
ipconfig /flushdns
and then press [enter].
4. then type in:
cd \ [enter]
cd c:\Windows\ehome [enter]
start /wait mcupdate –uf [enter]
Wait a bit and Netflix and Internet TV menus should appear when you open Windows Media Center
If the above does not work, please post to http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/97522.aspx?
I suggest you watch this thread/subscribe to it via email in case a permanent solution is found so that you can revert your DNS to normal settings.
Motivated by the upcoming yearly Halloween onslaught of youngsters and the not so young about to come through my condo complex, I started thinking about how to integrate an Internet capable surveillance camera with my connected home and devices. I’m not a “real” developer, but I’m a pretty smart geek (IMO) and I started looking around for ideas that I could borrow and customize.
My goals were to be able to check activity in my parking lot/walkway on demand from Windows Media Center, my iPhone, and my iPad. The web is a wonderful wealth of information, and putting this together was not really difficult. And definitely worth sharing with others.
Some of my Canadian friends might be pleased to hear that Netflix intends to cross the border officially later this year. You can pre-register now if you are interested at http://www.netflix.ca.
Update: if you are a Rogers customer, this may have triggered lower usage limits. CBC news is reporting that Rogers is lowering their download limits.
Here’s what you’ll see if you access the site from a Canadian IP address.
CBC news has posted info, including the fact that this will be streaming only (no DVD’s by mail). “English only to start, French to follow over time”.
I don’t know if Media Center access to Netflix for Windows 7 Canadian users will be turned on at launch, but am trying to find out.
One comment, if you are a HD snob (and I have no qualms admitting that *I* am), the content is pitiful. And the content for PC’s and Mac’s (a subset) is shameful.
Here’s one I did not expect to work but did. I’ve been able to use Windows Media Center to display non DRM’d High Def content over WiDi (since the TV HD is at best 720p, it will work.. higher 1080p is not support.. maybe someday).
I’d ripped a bunch of movies at 720p to stream to my iPad using Air Video and other options. I was browsing the network folder over RDP that housed these mp4 and double clicked The Day After Tomorrow without really knowing what might happen. My expectation was that since RDP has been so bad at streaming media of any kind that it would be dreadful. To my surprise, it actually worked smoothly and well, including video and audio in sync.
Here’s a shot of my TV where you can see the RDP session and the movie in a Windows Media Player window.
And here is it when I expanded to full screen
I admit that I prefer the Windows Media Center interface over RDP as that losses the menu bar and gives me full screen. But this brings up interesting possibilities of traveling to a friends house with my Push2TV adapter and WiDi enabled laptop and having access to a remote library over the Internet. Probably won’t work as well over the Internet, but I’m up for trying.