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Hi all,

As stated in my subject this is essentially my setup.
Microsoft MCE 2005
19" Viewsonic LCD monitor - Primary display
52" Sharp Aquos 1080p (LC52D82U)- Secondary display
Pentium E6600
3GB Corsair RAM
NVidia 7950GT KO
Asus P5N-SLI MoBo
Onboard Sound Card (may upgrade to X-Fi if recommended)
Mark Levinson No 40 HD Media Console (Receiver/Hub)

I am using a DVI-D Male to HDMI Female adapter to plug into the HDMI
port on the receiver.

The computer itself will be dual purpose computer for the family to
play games on, and also as a Media PC. Here is my issue, I am hoping
someone here knows the solution.

The primary display needs to be the monitor for ease of use for gaming
since the kids (under 5 years old) use the computer for games. They
are not sophisticated enough to be able to adjust the video and the
like.

The resolution on the Viewsonic needs to be 1280x1024 or it looks
horrible and of course the TV has to be 1920x1080 to be usable.

I am having issues trying to get Media Center to run on the TV, it
always wants to run on the "Primary Display" which is the Secondary
Display. If I try using cloning, then the resolution on the TV drops
to that of the primary display and looks horrible.

Does Windows Vista Ultimate make this easier? Or is there a way to
have Media Center pushed to the secondary while retaining the primary
on the computers monitor without having to upgrade the OS?

Thanks in advance! Hopefully this answer will help others as well.

Hello "Grock":
I can tell you how I resolved this problem. I use an Xbox 360 connected
to the tv as an extender and connect my pc to the Xbox via CAT6 ethernet
networking cable thru a simple switchbox. All the features of the pc's Media
Center interface can be accessed thru the network and the Xbox 360 has all
the necessary outputs to the tv for anything from analog to over-the-air HD
with digital sound to your sound system if you have a digital tv tuner. It
really works great and you can use your pc at the same time your pc is used
for any purpose except tv viewing which would require two tuners to watch a
different channel from your tv. The price of the Xbox has come down since I
set up my system but still runs about $300. It will allow your kids (after
they get a little older) to use the xbox to play games on your big screen
also. The only disadvantage is that the Xbox 360 makes a high pitched
whining noise which is no problem when you have the volume at normal levels.
The new Xbox 360 may have fixed the noise problem. This set up can also be
done with a wireless router of good enough quality to send enough data
wirelessly. What I love most about it is when young people see the Xbox 360
they think an old man like me is still quick-thinking enough to play video
games!

xiowan.........in tucson



"Grock" wrote:

X-No-Archive: yes

On Dec 13, 10:20 pm, xiowan <xio...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
Thanks for the reply, I looked into using an XBox 360 for this purpose
but the noise of it turned me off. I do have a PS3 as a part of the
system, and it can get a bit loud as fan noise, but it does not have
that high pitch whine. The PS3 as a media device is terrible IMHO,
but is decent enough as a Blu-ray player and gaming device.

The wireless portion of the system is not a problem as I am running
Wireless-N with repeaters throughout the house.

I will look into the noise levels on the XBox 360 again, but I would
really prefer to use the computer as a Media Device all-in-one.

Grock - In Toronto

Set the Windows Display mode to Extended desktop on the TV display. If the
two displays are in the same room, drag either one of the two images of
monitors in the display box to its real-world position relative to the other
display. Restore down Media Center to a window when it opens on the primary
display then drag it over to the TV and maximise it again to full screen.
It should continue to open on the TV after that unless you move it again.

As well as setting the required resolutions for each display in Windows, set
up the Media Center settings, TV configuration for the correct cabling and
resolution for MC display on the TV.


"Grock" <tranc3@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:605db880-cab4-4397-8161-cc64beca7acc@s12g2000prg.googlegroups.com...

One additional point... some Media Center add-ons, or plugins, ALWAYS open
only on the primary display. Just so's you don't waste time trying to figure
out why MC Solitaire, TweakMCE (etc.) refuse to open on the TV like you
expected them to. That behaviour might be dependent on the type of
connection you use, mine happens to be S-video, but be aware it might
happen.

"RalfG" <itsnotme@la-de-da.deda> wrote in message
news:e5e2aZmPIHA.4912@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...