# VIP622 integration with MCE 2005 ?



## lcn (Jun 29, 2007)

I am interested in integrating a VIP622 & Windows Media Center 2005.
anyone get a VIP622 working, changing channels, view signal with MCE?

I do understand recording HD content, without getting a R5000 modified receiver is not possible.
I am just interested in getting SD content from the TV2 output.

I have an older Dish 5000 receiver that has worked with out trouble for my MCE 2005 setup.
I have consistently recorded programing to MCE 2005 and changed channels for 4 years with this setup.
I use this setup right now .... no problems.

I would love to upgrade my Dish network hardware from the older "reliable" model 5000 to a new VIP622 dual tuner receiver,
but have concerns about the ability of MCE 2005 being able to control this new VIP622 set top box.

my model 5000 receiver changed channels with a Microsoft IR blaster, but I have concerns that the VIP622 will not function this way.
my idea was to have the TV1 signal go direct to my TV via Component video for HD, TV2 to the MCE via Composite or Svideo for SD recording.
anyone have any feedback on this idea, or setup ideas of there own?

I have also posted this question on another forum at TheGreenButton.com
h**p://thegreenbutton.com/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=195351#195351

thank you in advance.


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## sthor (Oct 1, 2006)

lcn said:


> I am interested in integrating a VIP622 & Windows Media Center 2005.
> anyone get a VIP622 working, changing channels, view signal with MCE?
> 
> I do understand recording HD content, without getting a R5000 modified receiver is not possible.
> ...


What do you want to use the MCE 2005 for ?
The 622 is an excellent DVR on its own.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Dish receivers still accept same IR commands, plus a few new. So, little research and you'll have all the codes. ViP622 will be controlled by external device (PC) like usual with IR or RF remote.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

TV1 in the 622 is IR TV2 is UHF. You must use TV1 if you want your MCE to change 622 channels or put the 622 in single mode.


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## lcn (Jun 29, 2007)

sthor ... 
it's partially for the WAF.
I like the MCE interface, and yes would use both the VIP622 and MCE to record TV.
I have three tuners in my MCE box.
one dual tuner card from Hauppauge and a V-BOX Digital tuner.
I have 600 Gig of storage for shows 2 drives as RAID 0
Find me a VIP622 with 600+ Gigs of storage.
I have a Linksys WMCE54AG Wireless Media Center Extender in another room via CAT5.
Same interface to keep the WAF up 

Jim5506 ...
so are your saying I'm out of luck controlling TV2 wiith IR?
I was thinking I could record HD on VIP622 and direct view via Composite from TV1
and SD on TV2 to MCE 2005.
The VIP622 in single mode changes what?

Thank you all for your posts.


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## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

Single mode means that it outputs the same signal on both HD & SD outputs.


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

In Single mode it works with a Haupaggue USB2 MCE Device and Windows XP MCE 2005. I just had to teach the MCE software the control codes for the VIP622 and then the little IR blaster from the haupague worked.

I run in single mode. Which means it changes TV1 and I have it hooked up via S-video and L & R audio. 

As others have said TV2 wants a UHF remote. Also TV1 is the only one with S-Video out. So we end up in single mode with all the tuners working with one TV set. and The coax, S-video, Component and HDMI all with the same content.

I'm not sure why you are even replacing the 5000 if it works?


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## sthor (Oct 1, 2006)

lcn said:


> sthor ...
> it's partially for the WAF.
> I like the MCE interface, and yes would use both the VIP622 and MCE to record TV.
> I have three tuners in my MCE box.
> ...


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## lcn (Jun 29, 2007)

sthor said:


> What is the point of using a 622 for this? You won't get HD. 600 gigs of SD material doesn't interest me.
> 
> Why not just use a Dish SD receiver to feed your MCE?


sthor ...

That may just be the way I go.
Keep the 5000 receiver connected to the MCE.
and the VIP622 for HD content.

Thank you all for your feedback.


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## dtow (Jul 5, 2007)

I just upgraded from the buggy 921 that I bought on ebay some year or two ago to the 622 and love it.. I tried hooking it up to Media Center using the "Home Distibution? coax connector on the back of the 622. I could set it up to see a picture but there was no way to change channels, but I then used S-Video and now it works like a dream.... SO YES YES YOU CAN


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## dtow (Jul 5, 2007)

dtow said:


> I just upgraded from the buggy 921 that I bought on ebay some year or two ago to the 622 and love it.. I tried hooking it up to Media Center using the "Home Distibution? coax connector on the back of the 622. I could set it up to see a picture but there was no way to change channels, but I then used S-Video and now it works like a dream.... SO YES YES YOU CAN


WELL THAT SUCKS.... Yes it only sees TV 1... No way to control channels unless you use the Dish remote to chang channels, but then none of the Media Center is really used except to record...

Not a good solution yet..


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Well the advantage of using a VIP622 is so that you can record the HD channels. Yes they will be in SD but high quality SD. The video you can record from a HD channel will look better than the same channel's SD Feed. IOWs HBO HD compared to HBO SD. The DVD from the HD feed looks better. 

Why? You are starting with a better source. I have found one quirk as I may have mentioned. The S-Video seems to squeeze the image as well as cutting some of it off. OTOH if I leave it squeezed and then use the TV remote's Fill button it fills the screen at the proper AR. If Do that the DVDs look more of a square box on a SD TV.
If I hit the 622's Zoom once then the DVD I make will look OK on a SDTV, or the HDTV. However then I can not hit the Fill button for the TV as it will make everything look squashed. and I will have a 4:3 on a 16:9 TV.

I should try the Coax out again on the 622. However when I tried it on a DVD recorder that image did not look as good as the S-Video in a A - B comparison. Whether that was teh 622 at fault or the Pioneer DVD recorder's tuner I didn't go into as at that time I had no Windows MCE based computer running.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

I have found the 211 to be much more friendly to TiVo /MCE recording than the 622.


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Jim, in what way do you prefer the 211. I've had no problems with the IR bug controlling my 622. Maybe it is because I run it in single mode?

The only strangeness was that I had to tell MCE it uses 3 digit channel changes. then it changed 3 or four digit channels properly. Since all the mapped down one and two digit locals are also available in 3 digit, 4 digit for the HD locals, that works ok.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

The 211 outputs are more friendly to SD recording. I have both the SD and HD outputs set to normal and set the HDTV setting to 4X3#1. My HDTV projsctor sees 1080i out of the component connections and my TiVo sees the letterboxed SD version, both wide screen.

Maybe the 622 also does this on 4X3#1, I'll have to check it out this afternoon.

I too have used my TiVo to control he 622 in both single mode and dual mode on TV1. I could not get both the HD to be 16X9 AND the SD to be letterboxed, but that was not in single mode. I might try that.

I really got the 211 to be ready for Dish's switch to total MPEG4 next year. Next July, I'll swap my other 301 for another 211 and have no MPEG2 receivers.

I checked the 622. I believe the difference is I am connected to the 211 by s-video and to the 622 by component on TV2.


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## Legolas (Jul 21, 2006)

Using MCE w/ 622 would be a downgrade. You probably have a Hauppauge
or similar PVR card. The best video connection is SVideo and audio is stereo.
That means 5.1 is out of the picture.

If you use 622 directly, you could have HDMI/DVI video + optical for audio.

My 2 cents....


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

I have the 622 hooked up to the same HDTV I use as a computer monitor. Yes a hauppauge USB2 MCE version. 

HDMI to TV, S-Video and red/white to hauppauge, Optical to 5.1 Sound.

Capture with MCE is because I picked up MCE2005 cheaply. I wanted to play with the media center part. I have done some test captures with media center letting it control the channel on the 622, authoring to DVD with TMPGEnc DVD Author 3program that can use the MCE capture direct with no conversion needed and create a Standard single layer or Dual Layer DVD or a .divx that will play in my ultra Divx certified player with chapters and menus.

Both types of output look pretty good with the .divx file needing longer because it has to encode the mpeg2 video to divx.

Bottom line it is only a downgrade because I can not find a reasonable priced HD capture card that doesn't also need terabytes of disk space for the capture and a super topline computer. My dual core amd 4200 probably couldn't cut it for HD work. It is pretty fast for standard DVDs and is much faster then the P4 3.0Ghz it replaces. Then once I captured it in HD what do I do with it? Turn it into a HD divx or find authoring software for Blue ray or HD DVD? Buy the software, burner expensive discs and a standalone player?

OTOH if I author as anamorphic DVD I can fill the 16:9 screen and have it look pretty good. I'm still working on learning that process completely but tests using Commercial anamorphic DVDs look good and the captures look very good from the MCE computer so it is just a matter of time.


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## ocdb8r (Feb 5, 2003)

So I am also interested in this set-up. 2 follow-up questions.

1) Is there no UHF blaster made for the PC/Media Center?


2) If I were to set the 622 in single mode, connect HD to the TV and SD to the media center, which tuner output stays active? What I'm trying to ask is, say I have an HD recording set (which I want to store on the 622) and another recording set on the media center to occur at the same time (keep in mind it would be triggered by an IR channel change, not a timer on the 622 itself). Can I ensure the SD will always be the preferred output AND that the channel/output would not change if a timer fired on the 622? 

It might be easier to ask it this way (anyone with a 622 should be able to answer). If you're sitting watching TV on the 622 (in single mode) and a timer fires for a recording, does the 622 change the channel being output or does it just record it in the background? 
This would essentially be what I would be doing. The Media Center would be "watching TV" (of course recording it to the PC) and I might have an HD recording set on the 622 itself. I'd hate for the output to change to the HD timer, killing my Media Center recording.

What about the other way around? What happens if you are recording one channel and then try to change to another? Does the output automatically switch, or do we get one of those confirmation requests? What if an HD timer were currently recording and then the media center fired a channel change to record...would the output automatically change?

I haven't had a dual tuner in some time but I seem to remember on the old 522's there being all kinds of trouble keeping a certain channel on the primary output.

TIA for any answers!


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