Ian Dixon: Vista

Windows Vista SP1

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:36:50 GMT

I just downloaded and installed Windows Vista SP1 beta, at just over 600mb it's not a small download. I kicked the install off and about 40 minutes later my test box rebooted for the first time. It processed the update for about another 10 minutes, then shut down and rebooted. When it resumed Vista told me not to turn off the machine as it was installing a Service Pack, so iI waited another 10 minutes and it rebooted. Once it came backup it played the Windows Vista sound and told me to wait while it installs a Service, hmm not good I thought. So I waited (again) 10 more minutes and it rebooted and guess what, it told me to wait while a Service Pack installs, I was about to panic as I thought it was stuck in some kind of loop but it looked different this time as the screen was running in a higher resolution, so I left it and it rebooted.

So that is three reboots, then another reboot and one more then finally Vista came on, so that is six reboots which must be a record for a Service Pack. Once I had logged in everything looked fine. I can't see any differences yet, this was on a Dell desktop PC so I don't use Sleep mode like I do on my UMPC and laptop so I can't comment on whether its any faster. In use Windows does seem a little faster to respond, but that could be in my mind!

I would love to try it on my laptop to see if it speeds up Sleep mode and fixes my problem where Windows adds the external display to the right hand side on my laptop screen when it sits on the left hand side and I have to manually change the setting after it sleeps or hibernates, but I am not going to put it on just yet, while I have faith in Microsoft to get it right it is still only a Beta!

Technorati tags: Windows Vista SP1

Windows Vista SP1 and XP SP3 Coming soon

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:00:41 GMT

Technorati tags: Windows vista Service Pack 1

Finally confirmation from Microsoft that there is a service pack for Vista coming and that there is a Service Pack 3 coming for XP

From reading the information from Microsoft the XP Service Pack looks like a roll-up of al the fixes since SP2 and doesn't contain any features, but that is to be expected. What is more interesting is that Microsoft seem to be playing down the significance of the Vista Service Pack.

In addition to updates we’ve previously released, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues we’ve identified via customer feedback, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also makes additional improvements to the IT administration experience. We didn’t design SP1 as a vehicle for releasing new features; however, some existing components do gain enhanced functionality in SP1

So I don't expect to see any major updates to Windows Media Center in the Service Pack, well nothing like the changes in XP2. I am sure it will have all the Media Center fixes and updates that have shipped since Vista was launched.

There is more information on the Windows Vista Blog and there is a detailed white paper.

Testing a new device - Sony UX1

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:12:29 GMT

Just received a new unit to review. The Sony UX1XN is a neat UMPC, much smaller than I expected with a very clear 4.5" display it makes my Samsung Q1 look like a monster. In terms of performance the unit feels quick, I think its going to take some time to get used to the small screen but I am going to give it a go.

The only downside I can see at the moment is that pre-installed is Windows Vista Business Edition, so no Media Center

I am going to play with it over the weekend and do a proper review in the mean time checkout Sony's site for more details

Not sure I will be wearing it on my belt like this guy

Technorati tags: Sony UX1

Vista Update Packs

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:10:49 GMT

Microsoft have released two update packs for Windows Vista.The Performance and Reliability Pack the Compatibility and Reliability Pack

This two update packs were released to beta testers a couple of weeks ago and I have been running with them since last week and can say I have not noticed any changes at all.

Have a look at Microsoft's site for more details on the update. I can't see any specific issues for Media Center but some things like faster resume from Hibernate will be nice to have (having said that I can't see any change in resume time on my machine)

Technorati tags: Windows Vista

Windows Vista SP1 Beta due next week?

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 09:20:14 GMT

Could there be a surprise beta of Windows vista SP1 out next week? According this post Microsoft could be preparing the beta for sometime next week with a RTM of November. It will be interesting to see if there is a Windows Media Center update included, if it does then that would fit with the eHome teams yearly release cycle but nothing has been announced, and I haven't heard any rumors of a Media Center update for then either.

Technorati tags: Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Get Windows Movie Maker running on a Vista UMPC

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:18:01 GMT

One thing I noticed doesn't work on my Sanmsung Q1 UMPC running Vista is Windows Movie Maker. While I don't expect to be doing major movie edits on the UMPC it is handy to be able to do a quick edit on a video podcast. When you try to launch it you get a message: "Windows Movie Maker cannot start because your video card does not support the required level of hardware acceleration or hardware acceleration is not available"

Now Microsoft have released Windows Movie Maker 2.6 for machines that don't support the Vista edition

Overview

Movie Maker 2.6 is for Windows Vista users whose computer cannot run the Vista version of Movie Maker.
To test if your computer can run the Vista version of Movie Maker:
1. From the Start menu, click All Programs.
2. Click Windows Movie Maker.
If Movie Maker launches, you should not download version 2.6.
If you get an error message that says, "Windows Movie Maker cannot start because your video card does not support the required level of hardware acceleration or hardware acceleration is not available", download and install Movie Maker 2.6.

Link to Download details: Windows Movie Maker 2.6

Technorati tags: UMPC, Vista, Windows Movie Maker

New Vista Blog on TheDigitalLifestyle.com

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:11:04 GMT

I want to welcome Tony Campbell to TheDigitalLifestyle.com, Tony will be manning the Windows Vista Blog, a new blog that is looking at all aspects of Vista not just Windows Media Center.

Tony is an author, author, journalist and consultant and also is co-author of our new book Using Windows Vista Media Center (and also author of Windows Vista: Beyond the Manual)

His first post is about Movie Making in Vista

Tony is asking for feedback, so checkout his blog and let him know what you want him look at in the blog

Technorati tags: Windows Vista, Blogging

Reports of problems with new HP Pavilion Vista PC's and Windows Media Center Extenders

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:32:13 GMT

A user on the forums on TheDigitalLifestyle.com reported a problem with a brand new HP Pavilion M7775 running Windows Vista Home Premium and Media Center Extender appearing to not listen to input. The user did all the usual stuff, checked network connections, firewall and AV software but it didn't respond.

It turns out that the problem could be caused by some pre-installed software. The Picasso add-in steals the focus from Media Center when the Extender session is launched and so instead of the remote controlling Media Center it tries to control Picasso (which is not visible). So pressing the green button should bring Media Center back to the foreground and get round the problem.

A more permanent solution is to remove Picasso ->General->Program Library Options->Edit Program Library and uncheck Picasso and the Front Panel add-in. Then restart the extender session. I haven't verified this myself but I am told it does fix the problem.

This raises two issues. What is the quality control like a HP and how much "crapware" gets pre-installed on new machines. So my advice is when you get a new machine remove crapware before you start using it!

Technorati tags: HP, Windows Vista

Going from XP Media Center to Windows Vista Ultimate Edition

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 09:10:37 GMT

As I mentioned on the blog before I have decided to install Windows Vista on my main Media Center PC. Unlike any other installations I have this is THE main box in the house that does all the TV recording and Media serving and having something not working on this box is not good for the WAF (wife acceptance factor)

The spec of the box is:

Intel P4 3.2 HT
2gb RAM
300gb of storage
2 x Blackgold DVB-T TV tuner card

Before installing Vista I did some research and found that 2 PCI Blackgold TV tuner cards are not supported under Vista and since I did not want to go back to a single tuner I decided I would go for a new tuner card. Thanks to the list of tuner cards that is building up on The Media Center Show forums I picked on a Hauppage WinTV-NOVA-T-500 which is a single PCI card dual DVB-T tuner as I had some good reports in the forums on using this card with Vista. I also used Windows Vista upgrade adviser to make sure they would be no surprises when installing and this also picked out a problem with the Blackgold cards

I decided to do a clean install of Vista as my XP build had filled up with the usual rubbish that gets installed over time. The installation went very smoothly, I have installed Vista lots of times now and I am impresses by how little interaction is needed. I downloaded the Nova drivers for Vista from Hauppage's FTP site, unfortunately the drivers are part of a full install CD that you have to download, why do they do this? Just give me the drivers!

Once I had installed the drivers for the TV card and my LCD display everything was working. No need to find drivers for my FireWire card or chipset drivers which was nice!

When I ran Media Center for the first time I picked the Express Setup which allows you to use Media Center straight away and skips the TV setup. Once I made sure Media Center was working I ran the TV setup, which asks for your region (which defaults to Windows's installed region), and post code, then it downloads the guide data and scans for TV channels. The whole process seemed a lot quicker that it was under XP.

Next step was setting the XBox 360 up as an Extender. Again this is much simpler on Vista. Just turn on the Xbox and Media Center on the my pc prompted me for a setup code which I got from the Xbox. The Xbox then connected and ran Media Center.

The next job was to get the recorded TV content back in to Media Center. This was easy as I use a separate drive for Recorded TV and it was just a case of pointing Media Center to the folder on the other disk.

The other task I had was to restore my series record settings. Over time on XP I had built up a nice set of programs I like recorded and didn't want to re-enter them all. So I used my tool designed for this called mceBackup 2.0. I used mceBackup to backup my Media Center setting everyday on XP so all I needed to do was to install mceBackup on Vista and restore the backup and the job was done.

So Windows Media Center and the Extenders were all setup and all that was left was to install the reset of my usual applications, but I am making an effort to not fill this install with crap!

In all including swapping the cards the whole process took about 3 hours but most of the time was spent waiting and I am glad I made sure my TV card was sorted before installing

So if you thinking about upgrading and your hardware supports it, go for it!

Vista Online Spotlight applications come to the UK (sort of)

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:08:01 GMT

While US users of Media Center have been enjoying new Vista version of he Online Spotlight content over in the UK no such content had shown up.

Over on The Media Center Show forums I noticed that someone had spotted more content for the UK was here. BBC7, and others have been spotted, on my machine BBC News, ITN News, FunSpot. All seem to be old style HTML application which is a real disappointment, hopefully some MCML apps will show up around launch time to show off the potential of Vista Media Center and the new style MCML applications

Recording The Wave Out Mix in Vista

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:32:41 GMT

One of the ways I record Skype chats for podcast on XP is to set Skype to use my headset mic as the input and the PC's sound card for the output so that with Adobe Audition I can record my voice and the guest voices and separate channels. It makes it much easier for editing and cleaning up of the audio files.

Since moving one of my machines over to Vista I noticed I couldn't find a way of recording the output of the PC sound card. In XP I would enable recording of the Wave Out Mix sometimes called "Stereo Mix". This was also useful to record sounds for the machine when I am doing screen captures.

In Vista I could not find the option to turn on this Mix so I thought it may have been removed in the new Sound stack, but after some searching I found that it hadn't been removed just hidden.

To enable the Wave Out mix:

Go to the Sound item in control panel
click on the Recording tab
Right click on the background of the tab and select "Show Disabled Devices"
find the Wave Out mix item and right click on it and select Enable
It will now show up as a device channel in application like Cubase and Audition

So now you can capture audio from any program in Windows

Windows Vista Digital Cable Tuners

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 20:57:10 GMT

Robert McLaws over on windows-now has posted info on the renaming of the OCUR cable card boxes to Digital Cable Tuners

He got sent a review unit and has a great set of pictures of the new units

I will be getting some interviews on this while at CES, listen to my interview with Tim Cutting from Niveus Media for more details

Windows Live for TV!!

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:21:21 GMT

Remember my blog post on the Nemo Project? Well its back and now called Windows Live for TV.

Here are the features:

Live TV is an additional program for Windows Media Center which will provide access to Spaces, Messenger, and Live Call, all wrapped up in a ten foot interface. Here's the feature list from Ideas:

• Browse millions of Spaces in rich 3D graphics with new Gallery views and full keyword search
• Find out what your friends have been doing and saying on Windows Live Spaces
• Have real-time text and voice conversations*
• Call your friends' mobile or landline telephones by signing up with Verizon Web Calling to make affordable domestic and international calls**
• Easily navigate with your mouse, keyboard or a TV remote (remote navigation requires Microsoft Media Center Remote and IR)
• Make free PC-to-PC calls to other Windows Live Messenger users.
*Both parties must have compatible webcams, microphones, and speakers
**Requires voice calling in Windows Live Messenger Client

The application is built in Windows Presentation Framework (.NET 3.0) so you get a nice 3D interface but not the real power of MCML, but still its great to see a Windows Live application on Media Center.

Its Vista only and you can signup here

Via LiveSide.Net

Acer Ferrari Laptop from Microsoft (now with pics)

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:15:30 GMT

During the Christmas break, I was very surprised to get an email from Microsoft offering me a review model of a Acer Ferrari 1000 with Vista and Office 2007 installed. The email said I could review it and either return it, keep it or give it away.

Its a great lightweight laptop and Vista works on it very well. I didn't get a choice on what I wanted to do with it as my wife grabbed it straightaway and seeing the amount she puts up with with me doing podcasting, blogging, book writing and going CES I thought she deserved it. It was also good opportunity to see how a user gets along with Vista for the first time as so far she has been an XP user.

There is an interesting debate on the ethics of accepting a free laptop, but seeing as a) I am a enthusiast and love the laptop, b) don't make much money out of this c) my wife puts up with so much I thought I should keep it. It doesn't effect my judgment (hey I am a biased enthusiast anyway) so I don't see any conflicts or problems with it.

Anyway the Acer is in use and I will post some pics of it soon.

As its Windows Vista Ultimate it has Windows Media Center built in and again that works great. I could get it to stream recorded TV over my network with no problem. It does however miss live TV like a true extender device, but that has been talked about many times before.

A full review and a "end user" type review coming soon.

Oh I am a massive Formula One fan, just not the red team!! (come on Mclaren!)

UPDATED Pictures: http://iandixon.co.uk/cs/photos/media_center_setups/picture1610.aspx

http://iandixon.co.uk/cs/photos/media_center_setups/picture1613.aspx

CE Pro Show Niveus Media's Rainier Vista Media Server

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 16:37:07 GMT

CE Pro have a nice video of Niveus's Rainer Vista Media Center in action, its a great looking and powerful Media Center Server

Reporting from the show floor of the Electronic House Expo (EHX) in Long Beach, Calif. is Web editor Jason Unger, speaking with Brian Paper about Niveus Media's Rainier Vista Media Server.

http://www.cepro.com/news/editorial/16438.html

The Media Center Show Extra #4 - Z

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:03:52 GMT

This week on the show I look at the “Z” sample application in the Windows Media Center SDK (v5.0)

Z is a complete end-to-end sample application that really shows off the power of Media Center Markup lanungage. You get the source code to the whole application in the SDK. I hope it not only inspires developers to get developing with Media Center but content companies too, they will be able to see the potential for getting there brand to the TV

For more info checkout Charlie Owen’s blog post and you can download the SDK from HERE

Download 640×480 (43mb)
Download 320×240 (17mb)
Watch via Youtube (Edited to fit the 10 minute YouTube limit)

Have a look at the Media Center Show Extra Survey and let me know when you think of the show

This weeks show

Vista RTMs

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 11:53:03 GMT

So its finally done! Vista has been released to Manufacturing!

Media Center is looking great (see my video of Media Center's TV functions).

Well done to all the team at Microsoft that worked on Media Center. Now you have got that done, can we have the next version please

See see announcement on MSN soap box

Nemo, Windows Live meets Media Center?

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:28:13 GMT

This at first glance this looks very interesting, a Live version of Media Center, but once I read it I was a little disappointed.

First off it looks like its not part of Media Center, so there could end up being 2 10' interfaces in Vista, secondly it say it will be built using WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and not MCML (Media Center Markup Language) which means it will not work on Extenders as well as MCML apps will do. It also says the project is on hold.

I hope it does come to something, I have been hoping that Media Center gets the extra content but I would like to see it fully integrated in to Media Center rather than a separate application

From Liveside.net

Codename Nemo is designed to be an add-on for Windows Vista (Home Premium and Vista Ultimate editions), that integrates Spaces, Messenger and Live Call into a UI designed for large monitors and TVs. Nemo essentially creates a Windows Live Media Center, and is optimized for use by Microsoft Media Center remote, as well as keyboard. Of particular note is the 3D Gallery view for browsing Windows Live Spaces, shown below, presumably built using the new Windows Presentation Foundation that will be included in Windows Vista.

(Gallery prototype design larger view*)

By bringing Windows Live to the living room, Microsoft could expose users to its online services in a way that competitors such as Google or Yahoo have not yet exploited. With content plus advertisers equaling revenue, this can only be a good thing for MSN. Adding MSN Soapbox or MSN Originals integration into this Windows Live package could present Microsoft with a content delivery method that really starts to move the PC out of the office. Combine this with live concert streaming thanks to MSN’s recent partnership with Control Room, and suddenly the Media Center PC has much more to offer. Nemo would make upgrading to Vista a lot more attractive for the Windows Live fans too.

Although initial indicators that Nemo would be in beta by the end of 2006, the project now appears to be on hold, for reasons unknown. We have heard it was demoed at MGX 2006, an internal-only Microsoft conference for those working in global sales and evangelism, so we’re expecting (and hoping) to see it back on track soon.

Codename Nemo: Windows Live meets Media Center

List of new features for Vista Media Center

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 07:39:18 GMT

Matt Goyer has collated a list of new features for Vista Media Center, I think sometimes people don't realize half the new features in the new version of Media Center

Support for 64bit machines
You can upgrade to Windows Vista Media Center from XP
Media Center is included as part of two Windows Vista SKUs
No need to buy a Media Center. You can install yourself.
Domain join
Available worldwide in every locale that we ship Windows to (160 new locales! 15 new languages!)
More content on screen in our photos/music/videos/TV libraries Faster perf for the music library
OCUR/CableCARD support
It was very hard to use a mouse in MCE 2005. We’ve made some big improvements to mouse handling.
Likewise, hard to use with a touch screen before, should be better now
Run on your Tablet PC
New start menu to get you to where you want to be faster
Start photo slideshow from Music Now Playing
Now playing item on the start menu, should be more discoverable
More ways to slice and dice your music collection
New music Now Playing
Way better queue management
View photos and videos by folder or date
Mini TV guide
TV favorites/most viewed
TV categories is now discoverable
TV guide is an overlay
Easy to get to TV categories
Thumbnails in recorded TV library
PAL exhaustive channel scanning
Microsoft DVD codec
Native burning solution
Extender platform. Now any hardware manufacturer can integrate a MCX into their TV, DVD player, etc.
Tighter integration on start menu for third parties. You’re no longer buired in More Programs
Windows Media Center Presentation Layer, now you can build apps that have the same fidelity as Media Center
Windows Presentation Foundation, re-use your Avalon code to build Media Center applications
Hotstart

Running Vista Media Center on my XBOX 360 (with Video)

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 07:59:51 GMT

Last night I played with the extender function of Windows Vista. This is the first time I have got my XBOX 360 working as an extender with Vista.

Using the latest build of Vista (5472) I setup up the XBOX 360 as an extender. The setup was very simple, it seems slicker that the XP version and maybe a little quicker.

Once up and running it looks exactly like Media Center running on Vista, with the new UI and sounds.

I made a little video of Vista Media Center running on my XBOX 360, check out the new mini guide in action as well as the the new sounds

Video of Vista on XBOX 360

mceBackup 2.0 update

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 10:45:50 GMT

As I posted before,I am working on a update for mceBackup

Well I say update its more of a complete re-write using .net 2.0 and Media Center Markup Language. Its going to a 10 foot application for Vista that enables you to backup your scheduled recordings all via the Vista Media Center UI (plus other settings)

I have actual got an alpha version of the 2 foot version working, a GUI UI and a command line version, and I tested in on XP to Vista and it worked ok. So you could use it if you testing builds of Vista and don't want to setup your scheduled TV recordings every time.

Next week I will make the 2 foot version available to download and please feel free to post question and suggestions either via a comment or on my forums

A Weekend with Vista Media Center

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 08:42:39 GMT

Up to this weekend I found my Vista beta box had been a bit flaky, with any of the builds I have tried on it I never got TV working on it.

Well all that changed this weekend as ATI updated there Vista video drivers on Thursday. So I updated my drivers and tried Media Center again, it worked like a dream. The video drivers fixed the mpeg playback problems and all the graphical glitches that were occurring.

It feels like a complete operating system now, I lived with Media Center over the easter break, recording and watching TV on it and playing with the guide. I really like how the Media Center menus are layed out now and found going back to XP Media Center felt like a real step back.

The Recorded TV section works with image previews of the recorded tv, so you get a much better graphic representation of your content and it doesn't just grab the first frame either, eg when looking at some motor sport I recorded the preview image shows a frame from the race and not the advert at the begining

There are some nice touches such as when you hit the guide key the video plays in the background with the guide overlayed

It is amazing how a updated graphics driver can make the difference, I got a real feel for how Media Center is looking in Vista, I had my doubts but the new menu system is much better. There are still some bugs to work out but it is looking great

Sidebar on Channel 9

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 12:50:20 GMT

Former guest on the show and top man Sean Alexander has a video up on Channel 9 showing the Sidebar in Windows with the Gadgets on, you can see the RSS, slideshow, email gadgets and Media Player

Watch the video HERE