I give up.
Fail.
I give up. Apparently the only way I am going to solve
my photo editing problems is to reinstall windows. They aren't real
problems, and its not a problem with photos. The problem seem to be
with my windows 7 libraries and no amount of rebuilding the databases
seems to do any good. Windows just refuses to properly link the
libraries to the programs that rely on them.. like windows live photo gallery
(supposed to be the native solution for photo corrections and stitching
images together into panoramic shots) and also windows media center
(which I use in almost every room of the house).
This systemic issue has limited the usability of my entire home network of machines. My media just does not go the places it is supposed to go. Want to play music from the media center in the living room? Nope.. the computer is pretty sure there is absolutely no music available on any computer anywhere to play. Want to look at you photos? Nope.. sorry, there are no photos on any computer anywhere.. ever. Period. Stop asking.
Never mind that if you open the library in say.. explorer.. sure enough everything is there. If you open a specific file.. sure enough.. there it is. Ever try to play a play list by manually browsing your network paths using an xbox controller to select and play each individual file? Of course you haven't because that would be ridiculous.
"Just use itunes.. or a mac.. it just works." Shut up. You're an idiot. You really think their god awful solutions would really work better in my situation or perform the functions I need them to?
I think the root of this issue is my use of a home server (i.e. network shares) coupled with some difficult system recoveries instead of a fresh install. I now recover my system from back ups instead of doing fresh installs (when things like SSDs go bad) because the cable companies (and specifically COX) feel the need to encrypt and control all their media. This means that if I wipe my machine and start fresh, especially if I do any hardware changes in the process, I have a pretty good chance of locking out playback of any of my recorded TV.
I guess the answer is to catch up on all my recorded shows and then delete them all so I no longer have any ties to my system in its current configuration.
Come to think of it, unless I do an "upgrade", when I move to windows 8 I will have the same problem. Just to be clear, this is the cable companies fault, not Microsoft's.
2 comments:
If it's the cable companies fault why don't you just get a TiVo?
/DuckAndCover
Seriously though, having a pretty intimate knowledge of your home network I think you need to seriously consider splitting functions off of your main box (which I know for a fact has some "exotic" software for your schooling). The basic function that seems to be causing you the most pain and misery is TV recording and the HD homerun card.
So TV recording is a "core harmony" application and will only grow with the expansion of your family. I can't think of a better way to put this other then... it's time to build or repurpose a new computer who's whole purpose to record and push video in all of it's forms to your various screens.
Yes I know this doesn't fix your immediate issue of all of this content you haven't watched, but honestly if you haven't watched it after two weeks are you really going to watch it? (personal experience for me is less then a 10% chance) long term though the dedicated video distro box is the way to go.
That's my personal thought on the subject.... I'm going to go back to my world of Apple TV's, Macs, Xbox, Windows, and TiVo and watch some Racing.
Tivo charges a subscription. I am not going to pay someone more money to watch the thing I already paid for.
Also, Tivo doesn't solve the problem of whole home DVR, which is what my current set up does.
The original design/plan was to have my homeserver act as the media center with extenders going to my TVs to act as front ends.
Unfortunately there is no media center server solution that allows this. You essentially need a Windows 7 machine to record TV because of the cable company mandated DRM. It is the same DRM that ensures the only computer that can play the content is the same computer that recorded the content. The media center extender is the fastest/cheapest solution around this problem and since I still use my office machine to watch TV, it is also what forces my main rig into the equation.
I could just stop watching TV all together but that would be un'merican.
I am very close to a working equilibrium. This media library thing really is just an annoyance that would be easily solved by a fresh install, but due to all the software I have licensed through ASU it is a real pain in the ass that I just don't want to have to go through. Its much easier to whine about it on the internet.
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