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[fdefunct]

Media Center: 17.0.184 (also tried 17.0.182)
OS: Windows Server 2008 R2

I'm a heavy XBMC user, and have been for several years now. Some of the features I see in Media Center, however, have interested me and I would very much like to try it out. I'm having a great deal of difficulty getting things going though...

My media server is a dedicated server running Windows Server 2008 R2 - it shares all of my media, audio and video. After the initial install I designated my one media related folder via 'Configure Auto-Import', and tagged it with the appropriate media sub type (Movies). I then ran the Auto-Import. Please note that for test purposes I limited the designated folders to one, but I have tried will all media folders on my server and have had similar results.

The Auto-Import seemed to recognize the actual number of movies in the folder, and says that it imported the total (105), but only 1 movie is visible via the media browser.  Despite being added properly via the import, I cannot play the 1 movie. When I try I receive an error see below:

When I tried to manually play a movie's video file, either by opening it via 'File>Open Media File...' or by dragging it into MC I receive the following:

The file that was imported was .mp4, the file that I tested playing was a .mkv. I can turn right around and play either file in VLC, without issue.

Here's what I've tried so far:

• I've tested checking and unchecking 'Ignore files previously removed from library'.
• I've ensured that the file types are properly associated.
• I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling (two different versions).

In addition to the above, based on the suspicion that Server 2008 R2 simply isn't supported, I tested an install on my Windows 7 box. I pointed it to same media folders (setup as network shares) and had no issue, which seems to confirm this. So I guess I would just like to see if I'm doing something wrong, or get some sort of confirmation that MC is not compatible with Server 2008 R2.

[Matt]

Welcome.

In addition to the above, based on the suspicion that Server 2008 R2 simply isn't supported, I tested an install on my Windows 7 box. I pointed it to same media folders (setup as network shares) and had no issue, which seems to confirm this. So I guess I would just like to see if I'm doing something wrong, or get some sort of confirmation that MC is not compatible with Server 2008 R2.

I believe you need to install the media pack that includes the Null Renderer for Server 2008 to work.

I'm sorry but I don't know the exact name.  Hopefully somebody else will be able to help with that.

[Matt]

This thread is sort of related:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=68105.0

[fdefunct]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll hunt around and see if I can find a null renderer, can't say I'm familiar with it, so if somebody has a link handy I'd appreciate it.

[fdefunct]

On a side note, I noticed that selecting 'Null Output' under the audio settings (thanks to that linked thread) allows me to play the one video that did correctly import. It seems like MC has no trouble importing .mp4's, the other files are all .avi and .mkv.

[Hendrik]

I have been running MC17 on a 2008 R2 server fine for quite some time now. The magic setting was to install the "Desktop Experience" Feature in the Server Manager, because without it, it doesn't have all the required media infrastructure.

[fdefunct]

I have been running MC17 on a 2008 R2 server fine for quite some time now. The magic setting was to install the "Desktop Experience" Feature in the Server Manager, because without it, it doesn't have all the required media infrastructure.

May you sir live to be 1000 years old...that was the ticket. Thanks for the help guys!

On a side note, just in case someone else hits this. After enabling the feature, I had to clear my library and re-import everything. Attempting to import the files before clearing the library did nothing.

[MrHaugen]

Yea. "Desktop Experience" is the key. I scratched my head for days with this one my self. Before you enable this, there will be playback, import problems as well as problems finding duration for movies and so on. I almost bought a new audio card, because I was almost certain that 2008 server did not support the on board one because of that audio error Windows 2003 did not have the same problems or limitations, so the step up to 2008 proved problematic.

[Matt]

I wonder if there's some easy and reliable way the program could detect when the "Desktop Experience" parts are missing and tell the user what to do?

[InflatableMouse]

Isn't there a windows api call through which you can query installed features? I've seen many programs that will tell the user a specific feature is not installed (SQL Server for instance requires quite a few features to be installed).

Either way, the "Themes" service won't be running without Desktop Experience, it might not even exist I'm not sure.

Also, I wonder what advantages there are to running Windows 2008 for a HTPC  ?.

[MrHaugen]

Some of us geeks like to run server OS because we can, and because it's supposed to be more stable and give better server functionality. I would for example not like to run my 48 TB SAN setup on a client OS. I'm running MC Server, Hyper-V, and several other MS systems because that is my job. I want to learn, at the same time as I get some benefits from them. Most are not such a geek as me, but I still understand that some want to run a server OS when they can. I think most uses server OS strictly for server purposes. Not using it as a HTPC.

I do not know what's the best method of checking if Desktop Experience is activated or not. I can probably give some input tomorrow. Is a quick check could be implemented, it would certainly prevent some problems in the future.

[Hendrik]

Also, I wonder what advantages there are to running Windows 2008 for a HTPC  ?.

For a HTPC? None, really. Probably only downsides.
But some of us run home servers that host our media libraries and serve other tasks.

[MrHaugen]

Here's a code example of how it can be done:

Code: [Select]

public static bool isServerFeatureInstalled(Win32_ServerFeature_ID id)
{
    bool idFound = false;
    ConnectionOptions connectionOptions = new ConnectionOptions();
    ManagementScope managementScope =
        new ManagementScope(
            @"\\localhost\root\cimv2", connectionOptions);

    ObjectQuery oQuery =
        new ObjectQuery("SELECT Id FROM Win32_ServerFeature");
    ManagementObjectSearcher oSearcher =
        new ManagementObjectSearcher(managementScope, oQuery);
    ManagementObjectCollection oReturnCollection = oSearcher.Get();

    foreach (ManagementObject oReturn in oReturnCollection)
    {
        if ((uint) (oReturn["ID"]) == (uint) id)
        {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return idFound;
}

// short list of names and values taken from MSDN.
public enum Win32_ServerFeature_ID
{
    Application_Server = 1,
    Web_Server = 2,
    Media_Server = 3,
    Windows_Sharepoint_Services = 4,
    Fax_Server = 5,
    File_Services = 6,
    Print_Services = 7,
    Active_Directory_Federation_Services = 8,
    Active_Directory_Lightweight_Directory_Services = 9,
    Active_Directory_Domain_Services = 10,
    UDDI_Services = 11,
    DHCP_Server = 12,
    DNS_Server = 13,
    Network_Policy_and_Access_Services = 14,
    Certificate_Server = 16,
    Active_Directory_Rights_Management_Services = 17,
    Terminal_Services = 18,
    Windows_Deployment_Services = 19,
    Failover_Clustering = 33,
    Network_Load_Balancing = 34,
    Desktop_Experience = 35,
    DOTNET_Framework_30 = 36,
}
I stole it from this page: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/632241/how-can-i-programmatically-check-if-a-server-feature-is-installed-in-windows-ser

It should also be possible to check for existence of a registry key. But I did not find anything called "Desktop Experience" when I searched my 2008 server Have to google it I think.

[AndyCircuit]

Also, I wonder what advantages there are to running Windows 2008 for a HTPC  ?.

In my case there is a 2008 R2 in my basement running 24/7 anyway and my idea was to use it as client (by running the nessesary cables trough the floor) because
1. it saves me a client machine
2. no need to boot/wake up
3. no extra stand by power

You can't do that if there are security issues with your server, though