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Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

There have been a couple of posts by myself and Matt Goyer listing some of the registry keys and values that TweakMce changes behind the scenes to configure advanced options within Windows Media Center.

I decided that it would be worthwhile to post all of the registry keys and values that can be changed via TweakMce in case you are running a beta build of Windows Vista and cannot install the current version of TweakMce, or if you would like to change these Media Center settings without needing to download and install TweakMce or resort to a registry monitoring tool such as RegMon to reverse engineer these settings yourself.

Skip Forward Interval - Enter the number of milliseconds you want to skip forward when you press the skip button. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings
  • Registry value - SkipAheadInterval
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Skip Back Interval - Enter the number of milliseconds you want to skip back when you press the replay button. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings
  • Registry value - InstantReplayInterval
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Storage Location For Recorded TV - Enter the path for the storage location for recorded TV.

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording
  • Registry value - RecordPath
  • Registry value data type - REG_SZ

Watched Folders For Recorded TV - If you have recorded TV stored in multiple locations enter the folder path below. You can enter one folder path for each line below. Example: C:\Recorded TV

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording
  • Registry value - WatchedFolders
  • Registry value data type - REG_MULTI_SZ

Notification Before A Recording Starts - When you are watching TV a notification appears before the channel is changed to start a new recording.  Enter the number of milliseconds to show this notification before Media Center changes the channel to begin the recording. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - RecorderStartWarningTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

More Info Panel Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds to show the More Info panel while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - InfoBarTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Seek Bar Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds to show the paused seek bar while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - SeekBarTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Seek Bar Rewind and Fast Forward Timeout - While watching TV or DVD pressing REW/FWD displays the seek bar.  Enter the number of milliseconds to show the seek bar when transitioning from REW or FWD to normal playback while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - SeekBarBriefTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Seek Bar Slow Motion Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds to show the seek bar when video is in slow motion playback while watching TV or DVD. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - SeekBarSloMoTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Enable Overscan - Some televisions do not display the full Media Center user experience. Do you want Media Center to pull in critical UI elements?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginSaved
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = enable overscan; 0 = disable overscan

Bottom Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the bottom of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginBottom
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Top Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the top of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginTop
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Right Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the right side of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginRight
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Left Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the left side of the screen?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings
  • Registry value - marginLeft
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Enable My DVDs - Media Center has a new DVD gallery with cover art and descriptions called My DVDs. Do you want to enable My DVDs? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - ShowGallery
  • Registry value data type - REG_SZ
  • Registry value data - Gallery = enable My DVDs; Play = do not enable My DVDs

Autostart Enhanced DVD Content - Some DVDs include bonus content enhanced for Media Center. Do you want to automatically start the content?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\AutoScan
  • Registry value - _autoPlayMCLEnabled
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = automatically start; 0 = do not automatically start

DVD Notification Timeout - Enter the number of milliseconds that you want to view the notification that a DVD has been inserted and is about to automatically start playing. (1 second = 1000 milliseconds)

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoConstants
  • Registry value - DVDNotificationTimeout
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Search Depth - My DVDs Gallery will search all locations that you have added to your My Videos space. How many levels deeps should it search for DVD content? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - FolderSearchDepth
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

Search Network Locations - My DVDs Gallery will search all locations that you have added to your My Videos space. Should it include network shares and folders in its search? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - SearchNetworkFolders
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = search network folders; 0 = do not search network folders

Show DVDs In Drives First - My DVDs Gallery can display DVDs that are loaded in drives as the first items or sorted in with the rest of your DVDs. Should DVDs that are loaded in drives appear first? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - ShowDiscsInDrivesAtTop
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show DVDs in drives first; 0 = show DVDs in drives based on the current sort order

Show Cache File Location - In My DVDs when no metadata can be found for the current disc, the location of the cache file can be displayed on the DVD details page. You can edit this file to include any data that you would like to see displayed on the details page instead. Should the location of the cache file be displayed if there is no metadata? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - ShowCacheLocation
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show cache file location; 0 = do not show cache file location

Suppress Eject Prompt - When a 3rd party application (More Programs or Online Spotlight) tries to eject a disc, do you want a confirmation dialog? This setting is only available in Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and later.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings
  • Registry value - SuppressExtensibilityEjectPrompt
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = show eject prompt; 1 = do not show eject prompt

Display My Music As Last Viewed - Display my music as I last viewed it sorted by artist, albums, playlists, songs or genres.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\Audio
  • Registry value - fMyCollectionShouldBeSticky
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = remember last music view; 0 = do not remember last music view

Show Add To Queue Notification - Do you want to be notified every time music has been successfully added to the queue?

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\Audio
  • Registry value - fShowAddToQueueSuccessPrompt
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show Add To Queue notification; 0 = do not show notification

Enable Universal Remote Control - If you have a universal remote control you may need to enable it. A reboot is required for this setting to take effect.

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
  • Registry value - EnableDebounce
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = enable universal remote control; 0 = disable universal remote control

Set Remote Control ID - To enable your Media Center to respond to a specific remote control ID do the following; 1. Press and hold the DVD Menu key on the remote then press a number button (1-8) for 5 seconds. Remotes with visible LED signal indicators will blink twice to confirm the change.  2. Enter that same number below. 3. Save. 4. Restart the Media Center PC.  Note: To enable Media Center to respond to all remotes use the number 0. A reboot is required for this setting to take effect.

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum0
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

This setting also requires deleting the following registry values:

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidIr\Remotes\745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum1
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum2
  • Registry value - CodeSetNum3

Display Wireless Passwords - When joining a wireless network, do you want to read the password as you enter it or do you want it to be hidden?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center
  • Registry value - DontHideWirelessKey
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = display password; 0 = hide password

Optimize For Display Type - By default Media Center Extender is optimized for display on a traditional TV. However, if you have a LCD or plasma TV you may want to disable this optimization in order to improve picture quality.

  • Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center
  • Registry value - TVSkin
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = optimize for traditional TV; 0 = optimize for LCD or plasma screen

Show Network Congestion Notification - Do you want to be notified on your Extender when there is network congestion preventing good performance?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral
    Registry value - DisableTransraterDialogs
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = show notification; 1 = do not show notification

Show 'Not Enough Bandwidth For TV' Notification - Do you want to be notified on your Extender when there is not enough bandwidth to enable a good TV experience?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral
  • Registry value - DisableMHN
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = show notification; 0 = do not show notification

Prompt When Navigating Between Secure and Insecure Pages - Should the Extender prompt when navigating between secure and insecure pages within a partner application?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral\Setup\Internet Settings
  • Registry value - WarnOnZoneCrossing
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = prompt; 1 = do not prompt

Prompt When Submitting Nonencrypted Information - Should the Extender prompt when submitting nonencrypted information in a partner application?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral\Setup\Internet Settings\Zones\3
  • Registry value - 1601
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = prompt; 0 = do not prompt

Prompt On Mixed Content - Should the Extender prompt when displaying a partner application page that contains both encrypted and nonencrypted content?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral\Setup\Internet Settings\Zones\3
  • Registry value - 1609
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 1 = prompt; 3 = do not prompt

Adjust Audio and Video Network Priority - Do you want to prioritize a seamless audio experience higher than a seamless video experience when there is network congestion preventing good performance?

  • Registry key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaCenterPeripheral
  • Registry value - DisableTransrater
  • Registry value data type - REG_DWORD
  • Registry value data - 0 = prioritize audio higher than video; 1 = prioritize audio and video equally

 

Published Saturday, April 29, 2006 7:48 PM by astebner

Comments

Monday, May 01, 2006 2:57 PM by Lazy Man Joe’s » Blog Archive » Interesting registry settings for MCE

# Lazy Man Joe’s » Blog Archive » Interesting registry settings for MCE

PingBack from http://www.lazymanjoe.com/lazymanjoe/blog/?p=7
Monday, May 01, 2006 3:01 PM by Lazy Man Joe’s » Blog Archive » Interesting registry settings for MCE

# Lazy Man Joe’s » Blog Archive » Interesting registry settings for MCE

PingBack from http://www.lazymanjoe.com/lazymanjoe/blog/?p=8
Wednesday, May 10, 2006 1:02 AM by tunji afonja

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Nice work. However, is there a way to keep the top and bottom bar  that are displayed when you go to window mode. They alway time out in about 2 seconds. Is there a registry key for this. I use mce a lot while on my office desktop( multitasking) I would like to keep this shell alway on. Thanks
Monday, May 15, 2006 9:12 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Tunji - There is not a way to change the length of time or disable the timeout for the mouse controls that appear over the top of the Media Center UI.  I'm not sure I understand why you would want them to always appear though.  If you are using your office desktop system, simply moving the mouse will cause them to reappear.

If there is a scenario where you really want those mouse controls to stay visible all the time, you could write a simple background add-in for Media Center that calls GetCursorPos and SetCursorPos over and over to simulate mouse movements.  That would have a side effect of causing the mouse controls to be visible even over full-screen TV/video as it is playing back, which can become annoying.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 11:16 AM by NoVaSpY

# Remote Enter Button

I can't get my remote's enter/select button to work once I get into My Music for example. The enter/select button allows me into My Music but when I try to select an album, the enter/select button only makes the folder flash but that's it. So, the enter/select button only sorta work. Any ideas?
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 6:16 PM by DUrham Evans

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

get my video files (avi's) to display as thumbnails in mce2005 option on and off...
Thursday, June 01, 2006 5:31 PM by supermanesh

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Is there a way to skip to a particular timestamp in MCE?
Thursday, June 01, 2006 6:13 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Supermanesh - Do you mean a fast forward mechanism to skip to an exact spot in a recorded TV file?  If so, there is not a built-in way to do this.  But, Stephen Toub has published an article on MSDN that talks about a way of implementing this functionality in a Media Center add-in if you're interested.  His article is located at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnxpmce/html/positionchangeraddin.asp.
Friday, July 28, 2006 4:28 AM by Heula

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

I Would like to change the LastDVDid value in HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-484763869-562591055-682003330-1003\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\VideoSettings so there will be more dvd's playing where stopped.

Does someone know if this is possible?
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 10:31 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Heula - I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to accomplish.  Can you describe your scenario in more detail?

It is possible for you to change the LastDVDID value directly in the registry, but that just stores a value used to identify what DVD was most recently played, and Media Center uses this value to determine whether the DVD you start playing is the same as the one that you most recently played.
Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:10 AM by Heula

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Well if you play a dvd in MCE and stop in the middle and turn off MCE the next time you want to continue watching that same movie plays where you stopped and that's the function of the LastDVDid reg key.
MCE will only put the last watched dvd there so if I'm watching a adult movie but have to stop because one of my children want to watch a Disney dvd or someting for kids then MCE will store that dvd in the LastDVDid and my stoppint is gone and hae to start over with that movie and search where I stopped.
That's why I would like MCE to store more dvd's in that reg key.
Most standalone dvd players support that but MCE doesn't.

Hope this will be helpfull info.

Thanks Aaron.

Heula alias Alex from www.xpmce.nl
Friday, August 04, 2006 1:49 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Heula - Windows Media Center does not support that type of functionality.  It only remembers the stop point of the most recently played DVD.  We have heard this request for DVD changers starting with Update Rollup 2 and it is a feature we are considering for a future release.  However, I have not ever heard of a standalone single-disc DVD player that could remember the stop point of a disc once you replace that disc with another one.
Saturday, August 05, 2006 6:11 AM by Heula

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

I have a Philips dvd625 and this simpel standalone player has a 5-disk resume function. Play one of the last 5 discs that are stored in the players memory and it will play where stopped. There are Philips dvd players/recorders that have this for 10 discs.

So this is not new and should be a standard feature in Vista and perhaps there can be a small update for MCE XP as well?

Thanks.
Saturday, August 05, 2006 11:32 AM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Heula - That makes sense that it would be possible to do this for a finite list.  I was originally thinking of it in terms of an unbounded list, which would be very difficult.  As I stated in an earlier comment, Windows Media Center does not have a feature like this currently.  We have heard this request in the past and it is something we are considering for a future release.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime.
Sunday, August 06, 2006 6:04 AM by Heula

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

ok, hopes are on Vista.
Sunday, August 06, 2006 11:13 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Heula - I'm sorry, but the Windows Vista version of Windows Media Center does not have this multi-disc resume function either.  It is something we are considering for a future release though.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 10:19 AM by downeya

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

is there a reg hack to enable the "add listings to channel" option under "settings > tv > guide"

i have at least 10 channels with epg data available that wont display data due to the way my cable provider is set up in mce.

"film four" instead of "film4" being the prime example.

a fix is identified here, but i dont have the partiular option needed

http://www.salloway.org.uk/mceblog/WelcomeFilmFour.aspx

Monday, October 23, 2006 10:11 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Downeya - Unfortunately, I am not aware of a workaround to enable these types of channels other than the one listed in the URL that you linked to.

Thursday, October 26, 2006 11:37 PM by HT Slider

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

One "feature" of Media Center that drives us crazy wasn't able to be controlled with any of these.  Maybe there is another registry setting that can be tweaked??

We are a family of 4 and use Media Center for all TV functionality (5 Media Center PC's networked).  My wife likes to have the latest of a few of her shows available, while the rest of us just want a couple of each of our shows available.

We have only one satellite reciever and one tuner (configured) and we have 60 series configured to record.  To keep the main HTPCs work load possible we have almost all of these 60 series configured to record a maximum of 2 shows and to keep them until watched.

This works perfectly in that we pretty much always have 2 of each of our TV shows available to watch at any time.  What drives us crazy is the 10-20 "series limit has been reached" messages that appear every day.

Is there a way to disable this message or configure it to automatically go away after some (very short) period of time?

Sunday, October 29, 2006 9:08 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi HT Slider - Unfortunately, there is no way to disable or configure this error message in Media Center 2005.  This dialog has been removed from the upcoming version of Windows Media Center in Windows Vista.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:58 PM by MCE Shortcuts and Registry Hacks « Ajit Monteiro

# MCE Shortcuts and Registry Hacks « Ajit Monteiro

PingBack from http://ajitmonteiro.wordpress.com/2006/11/29/mce-shortcuts-and-registry-hacks/

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 3:19 PM by aaron_knapp

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

I was wondering if you might know of a registry setting in Vista Media Center to fix an issue I have been having since I switched from 2005.  I currently have a Xbox 360 connected to my Media Center PC (via a gigabit router, cable, etc.)  With 2005 I had no problems streaming HDTV.  But since I installed Vista there is a large amount of pixellation during the first few seconds of playback and the first few seconds after I skip and resume playback.  I have checked the network performance and I don't see any problems and I am not getting any network congestion errors.  After maybe 3 or 4 seconds the picture stays clear until I skip again or stop and restart playback.  I wasn't sure if there is a registry setting to specify the amount buffered at the start of playback or perhaps a setting to enable or disable buffering for playback.  Any suggestions would be appreciated because both my wife and I like the Vista's media center interface but this issue is driving us crazy.

Monday, July 30, 2007 5:21 PM by mnewman

# overscan amount change?

I've managed to change the margin* settings that change things like the position of UI elements.

I've also found that there's a key uncer HKCU\software\ms\windows\cv\mediacenter\settings\MCEperusersettings called "optimizeFor". This seems to change the actual VIDEO overscan and is set when you choose the display type in Vista MC's setup. For instance, I've seen "Television" and "ComputerMonitor" as values.

It seems that when I'm using Television, MC pulls the video in and there is less video image lost to overscan than with ComputerMonitor, which would make sense.

(ComputerMonitor seems to be used when you specify a flat panel display.)

Is there however a registry setting that tells it by how MUCH to pull the video in - because by windowing the media center display I can see there is still more picture to see.

Ideally I'd like to tell MC to pull even more of the video in than it does. Is there a way?

Thursday, September 27, 2007 5:03 PM by audiogeek

# re: margins

I tried the following with no luck.

Bottom Margin - How many units should Media Center pull in critical elements from the bottom of the screen?

Registry key - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\MCE.PerUserSettings

Registry value - marginBottom

Registry value data type - REG_DWORD

I would like to "move" the transport controls up about 1/2" and to the left about a 1/2".  Is this possible?  What values should I enter?

Thanks!

Chuck

Thursday, September 27, 2007 5:37 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Audiogeek - I believe you have to enable overscan before the margin settings will have any effect.  Can you give that a try and see if it helps on your system?

Thursday, September 27, 2007 9:11 PM by audiogeek

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Thanks.  That worked.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 9:41 AM by YARG

# No TV Signal

Hi,

Unfortunately my TV signal isn't great and sometimes it takes a few seconds as I switch between channels.  This has been OK with my UK Digital Freeview box but now that I’m using MCE2005 on a Sony XL202 I sometimes get a “No TV Signal” error.  Now I know the signal is OK, if I stop MCE2005 and restart it the signal is there.  I guess there is some registry timeout setting or something that I may be able to use in order to increase the timeout delay?

Cheers

Steve

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 11:05 AM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi YARG - To my knowledge, there is not an officially supported way of configuring the "no TV signal" timeout value in the registry.  You may want to post a question at one of the following locations to see if there is something unofficial that folks have used in this type of scenario in the past:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

You may also want to look into some kind of hardware to try to boost the signal strength in your area to help eliminate this issue on your system.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 11:58 AM by YARG

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Ok thanks for your prompt feedback astebner

Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:54 PM by xdriver

# Caption question

I MCE2005 running on a sony VAIO without a tuner card. While I watch a dvd I would like to be able to turn the captions on. The problem is that while watching the movie, if I right click -> settings -> TV, that it says "tuner not found." Is there a way to get around this with a registry tweak of some nature? Thank you.

Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:27 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Xdriver - I haven't heard of an issue like this before.  I don't know of a registry tweak to avoid a "tuner not found" error.  Do you have a tuner configured on this system?  It might help to try the steps listed at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/02/17/534559.aspx, but I'm not positive.

If that doesn't help, I'd suggest posting a question at one of the following locations to see if someone there can suggest any other workarounds:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

Friday, March 14, 2008 3:20 AM by links for 2008-03-14 « Netweb

# links for 2008-03-14 « Netweb

PingBack from http://netweb.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/links-for-2008-03-14/

Friday, June 20, 2008 1:36 AM by andypennell

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Changing SkipAheadInterval appears to have no effect when running wvx+mpeg content on an Extender. Is this expected? Is there any other way of changing the 29s interval?

Friday, June 20, 2008 12:09 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Andypennell - The SkipAheadInterval setting is located under HKEY_CURRENT_USER.  Extenders log in using their own user accounts, so you need to make sure to set this registry value in the HKEY_USERS hive for the extender user account.  Could you give that a try and see if it helps?  Also, just to be sure, can you confirm that this setting works on the console as opposed to via an extender session?

Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:58 PM by Robert McLaws: Windows Vista Edition

# Windows Media Center Registry Tweaks

I was re-configuring my Windows Media Center the other day (don’t ask) and I wanted to adjust the “skip

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 10:48 AM by VMC Display Issues - AVForums.com

# VMC Display Issues - AVForums.com

PingBack from http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/887754-vmc-display-issues.html#post8372467

Sunday, January 18, 2009 12:09 PM by disable remote | keyongtech

# disable remote | keyongtech

PingBack from http://www.keyongtech.com/2820240-disable-remote

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:09 AM by oma

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

hello guys, any one know y media centre dont work when i click live tv?the recorded programs work apart from live tv. used to work b4 but i dont know wat happen since its been a while since i used it. am probably think that the registry keys must be missing or corrupted, but stil dont know. am on windows Xp media centre edition version 2002 service pack 3. plz help, thanks, oma

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 12:26 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Oma - There are some troubleshooting suggestions for this type of error in the links at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/articles/487537.aspx.  I'd suggest looking at some of those items to see if any of the workarounds listed there help in this scenario.

If none of those help, then I'd suggest posting a question at one of the following locations to see if anyone there can help suggest other workarounds for you to try:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 6:06 PM by oma

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

thank u astebner,for yo response but nothing seems to work in my situation. i also forgot to mention that no error message is displayed when i click into live Tv, its like it doesn't respond or the live tv button not working. but no error message cos the recorded programmes work. hope that gives you a picture.thank u

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:58 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Oma - The behavior you describe sounds like it could be caused by a driver problem, so I'd also suggest searching for updated drivers for your video card and TV tuner card(s) to see if they help.

If that doesn't help either, then If none of those help, then I'd suggest posting a question at one of the following locations to see if anyone there can help suggest other workarounds for you to try:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

Tuesday, May 05, 2009 2:22 PM by oma

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

hello Asteb, u may be surprised that i aint found a solution to solve the media centre problem i posted days earlier but i think i may know wats causing it. i scanned windows with RegCure application and found out i got a couple of registration keys either missing or invalid for media centre. it came with some thing like this:The key pictures MRU under media centre listing them like MRU #0, MRU #1, > > MRU #2,.i dont know how it got caused neither to get them back. hope u can advise me on this. thanks

Wednesday, May 06, 2009 6:03 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Oma - The MRU registry entries are used to add links to the Media Center start menu.  I don't think those keys would cause any issues with being able to view live TV within Media Center.

Thursday, May 14, 2009 6:15 AM by oma

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

hi astebner, thnks for yo info regarding MRU registrys. to my ignorance i thout they may have caused the malfunction when viewing live TV. i stil cant get around this issue i tried updating the turner but to no avail.Am using a PCTV pinnacle media centre version  110i but it didnt help.

Thursday, May 14, 2009 2:13 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Oma - I'd also suggest re-running Media Center TV Setup after updating your vidoe and TV tuner drivers to see if that helps.

If that doesn't help, then I'm not sure what other suggestions I can provide.  It would probably be best to post a question at one of the forums that I posted links to previously:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx

Thursday, June 18, 2009 10:40 PM by joe_geo0

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi,

i am trying to automate windows media center testing.

when we execute media center for the first time, there is a settings page that comes up.

due to that setting i cannot directly play the video, first I have to bi pass this settings page.

i didnt find a perfect way to bi-pass that introductory/settings page.

Note:

the page shows up differently in vista and in windows7.

Can you please help?

Friday, June 19, 2009 3:21 PM by astebner

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Hi Joe_Geo0 - I don't know of a reliable, supported way to automate the configuration of the settings that are controlled by this page that appears the first time you start Media Center on a system.  You may want to check on the Green Button forums to see if any folks there have any suggestions for you to try - http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/83/ShowForum.aspx.

Monday, June 22, 2009 5:21 AM by joe_geo0

# re: Registry settings that can be used to configure advanced Media Center options

Thanks astebner for pointing me the Green Button forums.

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