Windows Media Centre and Cable TV

[mattd2k]

Hello,

I am hoping someone can help me. I am tring to connect my Virgin cable box to my PC and run it through Windows XP WMC.

I have everything connected and the cable box is working fine. However, when I try and set up Windows Media Centre it keeps saying I don't have an IR Control Cable connected. Can anyone tell me what this is, where I can get one if I really need it or is it possible to do it without?

Many thanks, Matt.

[green granite]

IR control cable: The IR control cable relays information from the Media Center PC to the set-top box to change the channel.http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windowsxp/mediacenter/images/en-us/SU_MedCntrPcSTB02.jpg
Remote sensor: The remote sensor receives the signal from the Media Center remote control and relays it to the Media Center PC. When you plug the IR control cable into the remote sensor and the set-top box, then the remote sensor also relays the signal from the PC to the set-top box.http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windowsxp/mediacenter/images/en-us/SU_MedCntrPcSTB03.jpghttp://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windowsxp/mediacenter/images/en-us/SU_MedCntrPcSTB04.jpg

[green granite]

Whether you can do without it I don't know. PC world should be able to supply one.

More info at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/setup/settop.mspx

[Keef]

My neighbour bought a Media Center (sic) box. All was OK until she tried to watch television on it. Then it absolutely insisted on a load of IR remote kit that she didn't have (and shouldn't have needed).

She gave up and put a television set in the computer room.

[mattd2k]

Green Granite, Thanks for the replies but I had already found the information you posted in the WMC help, hence my post here.

Keef, The buy another TV option would be preferable except space and finances do not permit right now!

[Keef]

Quite. Another wonderful product from Microsoft.

[mattd2k]

OK, so I went to PC World and the guy said not to bother with WMC and that I don't need the IR control cable. He suggested I use MediaPortal instead. I have installed this (which is free :ok:) but this now tells me I have no TV card installed :mad:

I have since taken the computer apart and changed the socket the card is in, to see if that helped, and in Device Manager it is showing that there is the Capture card and is working fine. I have even downloaded the latest driver for it but still no joy. Agggghhhhhhhh :confused:

Please can anyone shed some light on the matter? :8

Thanks.

[Parapunter]

Er, problems with set top boxes and media centre are generally caused by the set top box. Media centre is just fantastic once you know what you're doing, since it is from MS & therefore not likely to be working properly!

Media Portal is also great, but will require you to gain some knowledge in setting up codecs, tv cards etc. There's no apology for that since it's open source, so it's not as if you're being charged for it.

The IR control cable will show up in device manager as ehome transceiver. If you don't have one, you won't be able to configure your stb, since media centre requires you to use the mce remote when setting up the box, in order for it to learn the IR codes that the box uses for changing channels.

If your stb fails to configure when you've set up your IR cable, then there is a strong likelihood that you have one of the damn boxes that uses an incompatible set of IR codes. Samsung is most often the problem manufacturer.

If that is the case, then you will need to either get a different box off Virgin/NTL & good luck with that, or buy a red eye remote - google it, which will translate the IR codes to your box.

I would suggest the greenbutton.com as a good starting point - there's not much gone wrong with media centre hasn't been discussed in there.
Personally, I gave up trying to put NTL through media centre & went with a freeview dual tuner card. Remember, if you want to watch one program whilst recording another, you will need either a dual tv tuner or two (!) set top boxes.

PS, don't believe anything you're told in PC world. They generally know sweet fanny adams.

Can you tell us if you actually have a microsoft remote & IR Blaster as shown in the pictures? Cos if you ain't you're gonna need them.

[mattd2k]

Thanks Parapunter, guess what, my Virgin Media box is made by .... Samsung!

We have freeview on the TV in the living room and as we don't have a TV in our bedroom where the computer is I thought it would be an easy solution instead of going out to buy a TV for the bedroom. I should have remembered that nothing is easy with Windows!

On thegreenbutton.com I have found out that I need to set WMC up to channel 52 to read my box but it still wants an IR cable. This is very annoying as I am happy to use 2 remotes.

Thanks again, Matt. :ok:

[Parapunter]

Well, Samsung make quite a few boxes for Virgin/NThell and only one or two of them don't follow international IR standards. MCE uses IIRC, IR6, so you really do need a compatible stb for it to work. The only way to find out (as virgin won't have a clue) is to set the box up via wmc set up screens. As I recall, the set up asks you to punch in a few channel changes/characters & from this wmc 'learns' the code set for the given box.

An IR cable & blaster is only a tenner or so, but you should really have had it in with the PC if it came from PC world. If not, I would go back & complain, since media centre is designed specifically to work with the microsoft remote - I would be surprised if it was sold without it.

One word of warning - the IR blasters can become upset if you use more than one remote, so for sanity, once it's set up, ditch the tv remote, get up out of bed to turn the telly on & off and stick with the microsoft remote.

It's hassle at the outset, but once you've got telly, music, videos, pictures & streaming media all one one remote, you'll love it. I'v just built my third media centre pc & I wouldn't have it any other way now. Good luck!



Edit: Just noticed where you are - I'm round the corner! The PC world I suspect you use, is IMHO, absolute rubbish, so if your pc is from there, go back & moan. BTW if you do use the tuner card instead of the stb, choose Midhurst over Whitehawk Hill - more channels!

[mattd2k]

PP, Just noticed the edits on both your posts.

Unfortunately I don't have a MS remote or IR Blaster as shown in the pictures. It is a Packard Bell remote and the receiver is a USB dongle. Looking at the pictures in the setup guide I did wonder where I would plug the IR blaster into!!!!

I have found this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MICROSOFT-Media-Center-Remote-MCE-Vista-19-45-inc_W0QQitemZ290167218483QQihZ019QQcategoryZ51086QQcmdZViewI tem but is annoying to have to buy another remote! Any suggestions about the IR Blaster??

I have tried using a normal aerial to get a signal but it is really crap here in Shoreham, or at least in my bedroom, hence the need for a box!

Cheers

[mattd2k]

Tried to post the link to the Greenbutton in case anyone else finds this useful but evidently you can't post URL's in an edit!

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/post/168493.aspx

[Parapunter]

The IR blaster plugs into any usb socket & the IR cable plugs into the back of the blaster. Then you stick the eye of the IR cable I.e. the non plug end over the IR receiver on the stb, so that what happens when you press a button on the microsoft remote, the correct wmc signal is sent down the IR cable & into the stb, thus changing channel etc.

Edit:...which is a bit of an ache, but will run wmc as it was intended. AFAIK you will need the mce remote. I have no idea whether the Packard Bell one will work with wmc. Try their support website I guess.