Runtime Binaries

All runtime binaries provided in the Direct3D 11 tech preview that will be available on Windows 7 and Windows Vista SP1 are installed with the SDK and are labeled as "Beta" components (i.e. D3D11_beta.DLL). All beta-labeled components are time-bombed. To create projects to evaluate these new components, you must link to their equivalent beta-labeled import libraries (i.e. D3D11_beta.lib). If you have a PDC copy of Windows 7, the headers, libs, and pdbs provided in the Windows SDK with the build are appropriate for development using the Direct3D 11 components providing in Windows 7. Please reserve the use of the headers, libs, and pdbs in this SDK to the beta components provided herein.

Last week my wife told me she wanted to cancel our DirectTV, because she did not think we used it enough to justify the $74.99/month we were paying. I couldn't really find any fault in her logic, other then the fact that we would pay a $120 early termination fee.

In it's place, the Wife wanted to re-subscribe to Netflix, as all of the shows we did watch, are available, and allot of them are available via streaming. So we signed up for the 2 DVD at a time plus unlimited streaming for around $14.99 I believe.

So where does the home theater PC (HTPC) fit in? Well, I figured that if we are getting rid of DirectTV, now would be the perfect time to invest in a HTPC to replace my aging modded XBox and Xbox Media Center. While functional, it lacked the horse power necessary for high quality H264 encoded videos, and windows networking was a bit of a pain.

Component Build List

I remember reading a post by Jeff Atwood early this year were he upgraded his HTPC on the cheap, and decided to work off his parts list. Since it's been almost 7 months since his post, prices have dropped, and I was able to get a relatively the same build for less money. The 2.4 Ghz AMD was replaced with a newer model running at 2.5 Ghz, and I opted for 4GB of ram. The most expensive item you can see was the case with an 80plus power supply. I had a copy of Vista Ultimate laying around that I won at a meeting somewhere. Not on the list below is a wireless keyboard and mouse (currently a MS 6000 that I want to take back and try a Logitech at the same price point as the MS one doesn't work at 10' on my lap even though it claims a 30' range). Also missing is a 2.5" to 3.5" mount adapter for the laptop hard drive.

Assembly was straight forward, although the case gets quite cramped. The included power connectors are not satisfactory for an all SATA build like I was doing. I have no idea how they thought the power cables would even reach. I had to use some Molex to SATA convertors, which also served as extenders to power everything.

Installing Vista

Vista Ultimate installed fairly quickly as well, although it appears to hang on the first gray screen giving the impression that it's locked up. Oh, forgot to mention, the retail case for Vista is a real treat to open ;)

Here is a quick run down of how I setup my HTPC.

• Change video card memory in BIOS from automatic to 512MB.
• Install Vista Ultimate with SP1(64 bit)
• Install all latest windows updates
• Joined to domain and set static IP
• Create _WorkstationUsers group for setting permissions. I create this local group on all my PCs so if I ever need to change user accounts, I can just add it to this group.
• Add exceptions for remote desktop, and file/printer sharing in Windows Firewall.
• Installed .Net 3.5 with SP1
• Installed AMD power monitoring software. Observed processor dropping down to 1800 mhz and lower voltage
• Created Domain User and related group for logging into the HTPC.
• Stopped following Services
• DHCP Client
• Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS)
• IP Helper
• Tablet PC Input
• Windows Media Center Receiver Service
• Windows Media Center Scheduler Service
• Windows Search
• Add registry entry for .mkv files (see below)
• Installed vista codec packs from http://shark007.net
• Vista 32 bit version 473
• Vista 64 bit version 152
• Download Windows Media Player Classic

Vista Media Center (VMC)

I had some issues getting getting my h264 encoded videos in an mkv container to show up and play in Vista Media Center. I first  tried the Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP) as I've had really good luck with it in the past. What I didn't realize is that it's designed for 32 bit systems (specifically the Haali Media Spliter), and VMC uses a 64bit player. After some research I found a forum post that suggested using the 32 and 64 bit Vista codecs that I linked above. After uninstalling CCCP and installing the Vista codec packs (and a reboot for good measure) I was good to go.

One thing I'd like to point out, is that when adding folders to monitor for your library in VMC, it takes quite a long time for everything to show up, especially in network folders. I would suggest leaving VMC run overnight to get everything in the library the first time.

So everything is working at this point, except for subtitles in the anime I get off the net. The easiest solution is to just drop out of VMC and use Media Player Classic. The Vista Codec pack supplies a subtitle codec that's worked with everything I've thrown at it so far.

Encoding Video

I have a bunch of DVD's I want to encode to my new HTPC. Previously I've used XVid, but the times have changed and H264 is the new king on the block. I'm using the latest dev snapshot of Handbrake (www.handbrake.fr) with the following settings:

• High Quality Film (1800 video bit rate)
• AC3 Pass thru

I can't tell the difference between the original DVD and my encoded file. Star Wars Episode 3 was compressed from ~7.4 GB down to ~2.4G, with full AC3 surround sound.

Registry Entry for .MKV files

Copy between the lines, paste in Notepad

_______________________________

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mkv]
"PerceivedType"="video"
"Content Type"="video/mkv"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Multimedia\WMPlayer\Extensions\.mkv]
"Runtime"=dword:00000007
"Permissions"=dword:0000000f
"UserApprovedOwning"="yes"

_________________________________

To me, UAC is just a pain in the neck security feature. Even if I am an admin, the UAC nag screen keeps popping out in every changes I make on the system. So the first thing that I do after installing Vista is to disable the User Account Control for my account. To my surprise I received a comment from Vibhanshu asking if there is another UAC tool for Windows XP because SmartUAC is crashing his computer. I think that SmartUAC is a badly coded unstable software, not a rogueware…

If you’re like Vibhanshu looking for another UAC tool for Windows XP, you can try suDown.

An old Unix rule is that you don’t use an administrator level (root) account for your everyday work. Unix based operating systems has two utilities to handle these kind of situations: “su” (abbreviation for substitute user) and “sudo” (short for superuser do). You can use “su” to quickly change your active user to another one and execute commands with the other user’s context. The runas command of Windows is quite similar to “su”. The other Unix command “sudo” is a bit different in that it allows a permitted user to execute a command with superuser privileges but with his own context.

suDown tool is to make using low privileged accounts in Windows XP easier which is an effective security layer against harmful virus, worm, trojan or spyware software. If some malicious program manages to get past your security programs or break in through an unpatched security hole of your web browser, email client or operating system it still finds itself in an unfriendly low privileged environment where the possibilities of replicating and doing harm are quite limited.

The latest suDown v2.21 requires .Net Framework version 3.5 SP1 installed or the context menu will not appear. Once suDown is installed, you must choose trusted users to add to the Sudoers group. You can do that by right click on My Computer and select Manage. Expand Computer Management (local) > System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Groups. Double click on the “sudoers” group, click the Add button and type in the user name. If you are not sure of the user name, go to Users and the list of users are listed there.

There are two ways to run a program with administrator privileges. From right click context menu or command line from cmd. The user account’s password will be required.

Once the correct password is entered, the suDown client calls the suDown service, which temporarily escalates the user’s group permissions to the Administrators’ Group, but only for the specific program being run. Thus while a user may normally only need basic User group permissions, he can easily use suDown when he needs administrative rights for tasks such as installing a new program, changing system settings, or removing old software. Do take note that you must restart your computer after adding your own user account to sudoers group to take effect. To remove an account from sudoers group, you’ll need go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > right click on Computer Management, select “#sudo Computer Management.lnk” and enter your user account password.

The difference between suDown and “Run As…” is that suDown launches programs under your account profile - not an Admin account. This means that the launched programs see your Documents & Settings folders, Desktop, Start menu, etc. suDown also caches the password so you don’t have to keep entering it as you would with Run As… The password for the Administrator account can stay secret, as the user needs only his own password to use suDown.

Here is a short video demo demonstrating the advantages of using a low privileged user environment by intentionally infecting
two freshly installed Windows XP SP2 environment with a well-known malware program. I’ve also tried infecting my own computer with Bha.dll.vbs worm and my system (with suDown installed) was protected from the damages. However, the worm managed to add “Hacked by Pokemon” on my Internet Explorer’s title bar which is not a big deal since there’s no real damage and can be easily removed from registry.

Symantec is in the midst of developing Norton User Account Control tool but it is not an UAC for XP as it can only be installed in Vista.

[ Download suDown v2.21 ]

Technorati Tags: suDown, UAC, security, XP, control