Software - Original Config - Media Played Within MediaPortal
This was the configuration I used during 2007, and it worked very well allowing me to play everything I wanted.
However, mainly for purposes of this website, I wanted to come up with a very simple to follow method to allow others to play media files with minimum software installation and setting changes. This is why since using the build below, I am now using; My Latest Configuration.
I have kept the following info as this setup allows you to play everything within the MediaPortal interface without the need of an external player. However, the initial setup is more difficult.
There are a number of software applications available which will turn your PC into a Media Center/HTPC. After testing, reading reviews and evaluating their facilities, MediaPortal was to be the chosen platform. It ticks all the boxes with regards to ease of use, funtionality and asthetics. It's has a fast growng community, and is open source which allows people customise and offer imporvements to the rest of the community. Best of all, its free!! :o)
Now, you could just use WindowsXP, but trying to play music and video files from your settee at 1920 × 1080 (1080p) resolution is ridiculous. So using media portal makes things easier to control, and is graphically designed to be viewed at a distance.
Ideally you will have a fresh install of WindowsXP with Service Pack 2 installed and the latest security updates, and no other software slowning your system down. Remember, this puppy is going to be streamlined into a High Definition video playing powerhouse. We dont want anything else hogging your PC's resources.
It would be a good idea to partition your hard disk into 2 seperate drives. One for installing your operating system and software (The C:\ drive), and the other for holding all your media files. That way, if the operating system becomes corrupted, you can format the C:\ drive and re-install Windows while keeping your media same on a seperate partition. It also helps to keep things organised and efficient.
1.) Firstly, install all the required drivers for your system. Using the drivers supplied with your hardware will be fine (which is what I did), but if you do run into problems, the latest drivers from the manufacturers website can offer various bug fixes.
2.) Next, for Media Portal to run correctly, you need to install the following:
DirectX 9
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Media Player 11
3.) Install the latest version of Media Portal from here. During installation check the boxes to install DScaler and Gabest MPA/MPV Decoder. This allows you to play DVD's within MediaPortal.
4.) Once this is installed, you will have 2 icons created on desktop "Media Portal" and "MediaPortal Setup". Within the setup section you setup a vast selection of options for Media Portal, including the location of your movie, music and picture files. Enter the setup and make sure everything is configured how you want it. Some to note are:
- If your on a widescreen TV, use the the "BlueTwo wide" skin and
- Under DVD Codec, I used "MPV Decoder Filter" as video codec, as personally im using ffdshow to upscale my DVD's. Alternatively, you could use the "NVIDIA Video Decorder" here, and then: Under Decoder Filters, NVIDIA PureVideo Decorder, make sure your using hardware acceleration. These last 2 points obviously only apply to those using NVIDIA graphics. This should yeild the best picture quality.
5.) IMPORTANT: Probably the hardest part is getting the right codecs installed and working. Avoid getting the codec packs, and just Install the following decoders:
If you have any other software such as PowerDVD, this can affect how some of your videos are played. For example, you may find that .mkv files are being played with cyberlink decoder rather than CoreAVC. You can find this out by using Graphedit (details on next page), and then increase the merit for CoreAVC using FilmMerit.
- CoreAVC (Version 1.5 Here or an old Version 0.0.0.4 Alpha Here)
- MatroskaSplitter
- ffdshow (one of the nightly builds has worked well for me)
This is all I have installed on my HTPC, its possible for other software to confuse your system and give you problems playing files.
A few things to note while installing ffdshow; Personally I have found some HD movies (x264) to play very dark. If you enable H.264 as the screenshot below:
I have found this helps fix this problem. However, this is something you may want to test on your system, as it can use more processing power from your CPU. If you are unsure, leave it unticked as you can change it later in the ffdshow settings.
You can now start MediaPortal, and should now be all set to watch all your movies on your HTPC! If you have any problems post in the forum.
Continue onto the next page for some extra tips.
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