Playing Pre-Recorded TV from WHS or Recording Live TV to WHS .

Works for Vista , MCE 2005 and Xbox360.

If you do not need to record live TV to the WHS, and just need it to store the recorded TV files and play from WHS, you can miss out "Recording Live TV to WHS" but you will still need the Batch file on the WHS.
All Recorded TV stored on the WHS will show in "Recorded TV" on Vista or MCE 2005 and in "Recorded TV" in MCE UI on the Xbox360

On the WHS you need to enable media sharing on the Music, Photos and Videos shares. You can do that by clicking on the Gear icon in the top right of the WHS Console, then click on the Shared Folders.

Then setup a Guest Account with no password, this will be so you can see the recorded TV from WHS on your Xbox360 in Media Center UI under "Recorded TV"

Using WHS console add a share folder call "Recorded TV" to WHS default shared folders.

 

Settings for Windows Home Server.

1 In Run, type "gpedit.msc", then click OK .

Then go to Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, Security Options

Find the entry "Network access: Let Everyone permissions also apply to anonymous users", double click and set to "Enabled"

2 Click Start, Run, and type "regedit", and click OK.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters

Double click the NullSessionShares key, and add the value "Recorded TV" at the end of the existing entries, then click OK.

3 Reboot WHS.

Log on back on to WHS right click the shared "Recorded TV" folder then go to Properties Click on the Share tab and Security then Permissions add "Anonymous Logon" click "Full Control" box then click on OK.

4 Log off DO NOT REBOOT WHS the Share Permissions and Security Permissions will be removed if you reboot, there is a batch file to fix the problem see below ).

Settings for MCE 2005 or Vista .

On Vista or MCE 2005 Run, "regedit".

1 Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording

Double click the "WatchedFolders" key

Add the UNC path of WHS shared folder. \\Server\Recorded TV

2 Reboot the MCE 2005 or if you have Vista reboot that.

 

Recording Live TV to WHS

For Vista or MCE 2005

1 If you need to record live TV to WHS here is the setting go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\Recording

Double click the "RecordPath" key

then add \\Server\Recorded TV

2 Reboot the MCE 2005 or if you have Vista reboot that.

 

Batch file Fix for Anonymous Logon after WHS Reboots.

These settings where needed because if WHS reboots, the Share Permissions and Security Permissions will be removed.

Copy and Paste the batch file into notepad and save it as "whs.bat" DO NOT save it as a text file, add the batch file to WHS startup menu.

Here is the Batch file below (Copy and Paste it).

--------------------------------------------------

@ECHO OFF
net share "Recorded TV" /Delete
net share "Recorded TV"="D:\Shares\Recorded TV" /GRANT:Everyone,FULL /GRANT:"Anonymous logon",FULL 
ECHO Y| cacls "D:\shares\Recorded TV" /G "Anonymous logon":F "Everyone":F
end

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A big thanks to Ian Dixon for his help on this.

Richard Miller mce mvp.

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Richard Miller Media Center MVP 2006

awesome

this should get stickied somewhere so that it doesn't get lost, and people can stop(ha) asking

I got this working on my WHS as well, but rather than doing this route, I did something different.

I setup my media center user with a password and setup media center to automatically log in with the password. The account was setup as an admin account. Then I changed the 4 media center services to run under the account. I also setup this account on the WHS box.

I then changed the two registry settings for recorded tv and watched tv to be \\whserver\Recorded_TV, rather than hack the registry, you can also use TweakUI

So my questions is, which one is better? The advantage I can see of how I'm doing it is you cut down on just anyone getting access to the box, but I don't have a 360 yet to see how or if I can view the media through the extender, I'm thinking it may be an issue. Anyone?

The Media Center Scheduler service runs using the "Network Service" account. So why not simply give the "Network Service" account full permissions on the file share on the server.

No need to enable anonymous logins and no need for any batch files on every boot and also no need to create a new user account and use that.

Cheers

I am a bit of a noob.  I have just tried to set this up and ran into a couple of problems and hoped you could help me fix them.

1)   Settings for Windows Home Server: after step 3, when I log back onto WHS, I am not seeing the Share and Security tab, nor Permissions, nor Anonymous Logon.  I can only select Full (for the Guest account), via Properties, User Access.

2)   Recording Live TV to WHS: I don't have the ability to 'add' \\Server\Recorded TV (as I did in the Settings for MCE 2005 section).  Instead I can only replace the existing directory path.  The problem is that when I restart the computer, it reverts back to the original path and not the new server path. 

3)   Batch file Fix for Anonymous Logon after WHS Reboots: How do I add the batch file to the WHS startup menu?  I created the file ok, but not sure how to add it to the menu.

I am sorry if this is really basic stuff, but would love to have this feature working properly with your help.

Thanks

Greg

I am running XP MCE rollup2 (x 2), and WHS RC

saxnix:

I am a bit of a noob.  I have just tried to set this up and ran into a couple of problems and hoped you could help me fix them.

1)   Settings for Windows Home Server: after step 3, when I log back onto WHS, I am not seeing the Share and Security tab, nor Permissions, nor Anonymous Logon.  I can only select Full (for the Guest account), via Properties, User Access.

2)   Recording Live TV to WHS: I don't have the ability to 'add' \\Server\Recorded TV (as I did in the Settings for MCE 2005 section).  Instead I can only replace the existing directory path.  The problem is that when I restart the computer, it reverts back to the original path and not the new server path. 

3)   Batch file Fix for Anonymous Logon after WHS Reboots: How do I add the batch file to the WHS startup menu?  I created the file ok, but not sure how to add it to the menu.

I am sorry if this is really basic stuff, but would love to have this feature working properly with your help.

Thanks

Greg

I am running XP MCE rollup2 (x 2), and WHS RC

Drag and drop the the batch file into "All Programs > Startup" on WHS.

To Record TV to WHS replace the existing recorded TV path with " \\Server\Recorded TV " on MCE 2005

 

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Richard Miller Media Center MVP 2006

Thanks Richard,

Any suggestions for the other problems I was having?

Greg

After you drag and drop the the batch file into "All Programs > Startup" on WHS, that will fix the first problem you posted.

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Richard Miller Media Center MVP 2006

But putting a batch file in "All Programs\Startup" will only work if some user logs into WHS.

So if the WHS reboots, e.g. after a power failure etc. then the batch file won't be run until someone logs into the WHS.

If you need something to run after boot then create a scheduled task and you'll notice one of the options that you can specify is for the scheduled task to run on boot.

However if you go with my suggestion of setting the file share permissions such that the "Network Service" has full control then there is no need for these sorts of 'hacks', i.e. having to enable anonymous logins, having to have batch files run after each boot etc.

Cheers

So with WHS, you can record directly to the server share?  I am running vista mce, and I know when I had mce'05, it wouldn't record to a network share.

are you able to have all the media centers in the house record to the network share on the WHS and have them all see the recorded content as if it were local?

Also, do you have to restart mce in order to have the new files show up, or do they automatically show up as they were recorded?

Thanks

Ryan

Sean McLeod:

The Media Center Scheduler service runs using the "Network Service" account. So why not simply give the "Network Service" account full permissions on the file share on the server.

No need to enable anonymous logins and no need for any batch files on every boot and also no need to create a new user account and use that.

Cheers

If you set WHS that way the Xbox360 will not work.

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Richard Miller Media Center MVP 2006

does anyone know the answer to my question 2 posts up??

anyone been able to figure it out?

Ricoks:

So with WHS, you can record directly to the server share?  I am running vista mce, and I know when I had mce'05, it wouldn't record to a network share.

Neither Vista or MCE will natively allow you to record to a network share.  But, that's what Richard's workaround - - in his first post - - is all about.... 

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Richard A Miller:

If you set WHS that way the Xbox360 will not work.

I presume you mean the XBox360 doesn't work as an extender device in this case as opposed to a UPnP/Windows Media Connect client?

I don't have an XBox360 to test with but I'd apply the same logic before using 'anonymous login hacks', i.e. figure out what account is used by the extender sessions and set the permissions on the file share such that those account(s) have access.

Cheers

Richard A Miller:

After you drag and drop the the batch file into "All Programs > Startup" on WHS, that will fix the first problem you posted.

Thanks Richard.  I guess it took the WHS to be rebooted twice before the batch file was recognised???  Either way I didn't realise it had worked until I went to manually move my recordings from computer B to A, and there were no files in the usual recorded tv directory.  I had a look on the server and there they were.  After the batch file was recognised/loaded I didn't think the process had worked as when I went into settings and recorder storage, it was still showing the old location, not the WHS. 

Anyway, thanks for your help and your workaround.  This was the precise reason I jumped on board with the WHS beta. 
Thanks again Greg