Registry Tweaks for Media Center
Here is a list of registry settings that you can use to tweak Media Center to meet your needs. Please use caution when changing registry settings, as you can mess up your computer. It is recommended that you backup all settings prior to making changes.
To make changes to the registry, goto "Start" and select "Run" - then type "regedit" and hit enter. On Windows Vista you can get to the registry by clicking the "Start" button and typing "regedit" into the search bar (then press enter).
Hint: press CTRL to select multiple categories.
Hide the TV strip
- Set "HideTV" to "1" to remove the TV Strip from the Media Center menu
- Set "HideTV" to "0" to show the TV Strip from the Media Center menu
Recording Location
Lets you change the default storage location for recorded TV.
Buffer Location
Lets you change the storage location for the Live TV buffer.
Skip Ahead Interval
- Set "SkipAheadInterval" to new value. Change value to Decimal and set to the number of milliseconds you wan the skip interval to be e.g. 45000 for 45 seconds.
- Default is 29000 (29 seconds)
Replay Interval
- Set "InstantReplayInterval" to new value. Change value to Decimal and set to the number of milliseconds you wan the skip interval to be e.g. 15000 for 15 seconds.
- Default is 7000 (7 seconds)
Remote Code - Two Media Center Computers Next to Eachother
The settings for this have not been added yet, please check the related link for more information.
IR Delays for STBs
Please note that the {A799A...}\{BD307...} number may be different depending on the tuner you are using with your STBi.
Under the "STBCode" entry you can easily change the following numbers: These numbers may be different from what is listed above - they are set during the initial TV signal setup - modifying them here is a way to change the settings without re-doing the TV Setup. You may want to write down your current settings before changing these - just in case you need to go back. You might need to mess with the different delays several times to find what works best for your setup.
Live TV Buffer
- BackingFileDuration the defalt is 300
- Setting BackingFileDuration to "600" will give you 1 hour
- Setting BackingFileDuration to "900" will give you 1.5 hours
- Setting BackingFileDuration to "1200" will give you 2 hours
My TV with no TV Tuner
- Set the "iVideoSource" to 1 to enable "My TV"
DVD Gallery
- Set "ShowGallery" to "Gallery" to enable the DVD Gallery.
- Set "ShowGallery" to "Play" to go back to the default
AV Pipeline Scaling
This is an unsupported video settings that Ian Kennedy posted on The Green Button.
This will enable a more efficient scaling path in the AV pipeline. On some GPUs it may result in a sharper image, on some it may get funky:
- "BoundByNativeSize"=dword:0
Nominal Range/Expanded Blacks
This is an unsupported video settings that Ian Kennedy posted on The Green Button.
This will set your nominal range to video levels, the current defualt for MCEi. Use with properly calibrated consumer displays and projectors. IE: devices set for 7.5IRE blacks.
- "NominalRange"=dword:2
This will set your nominal range to 0-255 (PC levels) essentially doing "expanded blacks" use this with a typical PC monitor calibrated for blacks==0.
- "NominalRange"=dword:1
Hide Music Strip
This is for a per user setting, meaning you could diable the menu item for an extenderi, but leave it for the main Media Center. You can also use the same key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for a system wide change (all users and extenders).
This registry entry may not exist, you may need to create the registry key and the string value before you can use it.
- "OnStartMenu"="False" - will hide the Music Strip
- "OnStartMenu"="True" - will show the Music Strip (default)
Hide Sports Menu
This is for a per user setting, meaning you could diable the menu item for an extenderi, but leave it for the main Media Center. You can also use the same key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for a system wide change (all users and extenders).
This registry entry may not exist, you may need to create the registry key and the string value before you can use it.
- "OnStartMenu"="False" - will hide the Sports Strip
- "OnStartMenu"="True" - will show the Sports Strip (default)
Hide Pictures & Videos Strip
This is for a per user setting, meaning you could diable the menu item for an extenderi, but leave it for the main Media Center. You can also use the same key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for a system wide change (all users and extenders).
This registry entry may not exist, you may need to create the registry key and the string value before you can use it.
- "OnStartMenu"="False" - will hide Pictures & Videos
- "OnStartMenu"="True" - will show Pictures & Videos (default)
Hide Online Media
This is for a per user setting, meaning you could diable the menu item for an extenderi, but leave it for the main Media Center. You can also use the same key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for a system wide change (all users and extenders).
This registry entry may not exist, you may need to create the registry key and the string value before you can use it.
- "OnStartMenu"="False" - will hide the Online Media strip
- "OnStartMenu"="True" - will show the Online Media strip (default)
Please note that disabling the Online Media menu item in Media Center will also hide the program library - this means if a 3rd party application isn't on your start menu, you won't be able to access it.
Hide Tasks Strip
This is for a per user setting, meaning you could diable the menu item for an extenderi, but leave it for the main Media Center. You can also use the same key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for a system wide change (all users and extenders).
This registry entry may not exist, you may need to create the registry key and the string value before you can use it.
- "OnStartMenu"="False" - will hide the Tasks menu
- "OnStartMenu"="True" - will show the Tasks menu (default)
Debounce (enable universal remotes for Media Center)
Set EnableDebounce = 1 for default
Set EnableDebounce = 0 to let Media Center work with Universal remotes.
