View Full Version : XBMC run any different between Vista nd XP?
RockDawg
2009-02-25, 16:26
I've been playing around with XBMC on my Vista desktop system. I just ordered all the components to build my HTPC for XBMC and I was wondering if it was beneficial to buy a copy of Vista for rather than run it with XP. I have a spare copy of XP, but not Vista. Does XBMC perform worse without EVR? I'd rather not spend the money on Vista if it doesn't really matter.
xanadu1979
2009-02-25, 16:53
I don't think XBMC even uses EVR. As far as I know, there's no advantages to using Vista for XBMC.
tebicenter
2009-02-25, 17:59
I just reinstalled my HTPC with Vista, and I ended up installing XP. XP works really fast, it doesn't have a lot of ugly stuff, like Index Search and a lot of services which the only thing that they do is to continue checking stuff that don't really matter.
Hibernation works really fast in XP. Don't know why in Vista is very slow.
Other thing are drivers. For example, I use VNC to connect to my HTPC. When I connect to vnc server in Vista, I'm not able to see XBMC in fullscreen, I only see a black screen. Instead, in XP, this works great, without any trouble.
Other thing is that I have a lot of disk problems in Vista. I had them in my HTPC and in my personal PC.
Hope this helps.
I just reinstalled my HTPC with Vista, and I ended up installing XP. XP works really fast, it doesn't have a lot of ugly stuff, like Index Search and a lot of services which the only thing that they do is to continue checking stuff that don't really matter.
These are my sentiments exactly. XP can be cut pretty lean pretty easily and allows for the extra resources to be used by XBMC.
RockDawg
2009-02-25, 19:05
Are any of you guys running 1080P Blu-ray rips on XP without problems? I can't seem to find it but I could've sword I read in some other posts that some people were having some jerky playback in XP while Vista was fine and it was suggested it may have something to do with EVR.
t0ffluss
2009-02-25, 19:09
Are any of you guys running 1080P Blu-ray rips on XP without problems? I can't seem to find it but I could've sword I read in some other posts that some people were having some jerky playback in XP while Vista was fine and it was suggested it may have something to do with EVR.
if so, im so moving over to Vista on my htpc.. Im having jerky playback on my Canon 5D Mark II h264 files.. Core2Duo with 9400GT, 2x1GB....
anyone can confirm this?
RockDawg
2009-02-25, 20:58
OK. Apparently I was mistaken. I've been searching and I find posts saying that EVR is a DirectShow thing ans therefore XBMC doesn't use it.
I plan on running Windows 7 beta on my HTPC build. From what I've been reading, Windows 7 will provide the speed of XP with everything Vista attempted to provide but fell short.
Windows beta is good until August 09. Hopefully the full version will be available by then, if not they will probably offer a RC edition.
natethomas
2009-02-26, 05:55
There should be absolutely no difference between Vista and XP (Media Center edition). If you have a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM, XBMC ought to run absolutely identical on both OSes.
I do not know about VNC. My understanding was the problem with VNC and XBMC had to do with the fact that VNC drivers do not allow for the passage of OpenGL graphics. If this is not the case under XP, then I suppose I was misinformed.
However, once again, so long as Vista can run, XBMC can run. So long as XP can run, XBMC can run. Neither can provide any benefit that the other cannot also provide. XBMC is lean and mean, which means there is absolutely no need to be scroungy with the resources, unless you have boot-up issues.
The only reason to worry about the two OSes is for reasons NOT directly related to XBMC, such as external players, VNC, gaming, etc. If this machine is solely going to be used for XBMC and you have 2 gigs of RAM, it JUST DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL!
Sorry for that little outburst. I get frustrated with people who cannot accept this basic fact. In answer to your question, if you have a free copy of XP sitting around, by all means use it.
tebicenter
2009-02-26, 15:48
Look, I just found something weird in XP that in Vista doesn't work like that.
If you have a folder with a DVD structure for example:
Matrix:
- AUDIO_TS
- VIDEO_TS
With XBMC installed on XP, clicking on the "Matrix" folder it just start to reproduce the DVD. Instead, in Vista, you have to click on "Matrix" folder, then go to the VIDEO_TS folder and then click on the IFO file to start playing the DVD.
Why this is happening? No clue...
dpassent
2009-02-26, 15:51
I switched back to XP. Never got "adjust refresh rate" working in vista. On XP - everything is ok, I just miss "hybrid sleep" from Vista. That's all...
DP
RockDawg
2009-02-26, 15:58
Thanks for all the input on this. It's good to hear they are the same in regards to XBMC. Now I don't have to spend any more money. :grin:
tebicenter
2009-02-26, 15:59
Hibernation in XP works awesome, in Vista it took a long time.
dpassent
2009-02-26, 16:00
Hibernation in XP works awesome, in Vista it took a long time.
it's too long for me. I use standby, but sometimes the power goes of in my suburbs, so it's not very healthy for the OS, but what a heck - I don't care :)
DP
boxterduke
2009-02-26, 16:11
Look, I just found something weird in XP that in Vista doesn't work like that.
If you have a folder with a DVD structure for example:
Matrix:
- AUDIO_TS
- VIDEO_TS
With XBMC installed on XP, clicking on the "Matrix" folder it just start to reproduce the DVD. Instead, in Vista, you have to click on "Matrix" folder, then go to the VIDEO_TS folder and then click on the IFO file to start playing the DVD.
Why this is happening? No clue...
You sure you are not in file view in Vista?
My HTPC is running XP but when I get home tonight I will install it on my Vista PC and see if it works the same or not. If it does not work like in XP then my next HTPC build will be XP as well.
natethomas
2009-02-26, 16:18
That is a strange one. I can't imagine why file structure would make any difference at all between Oses.
Of course, I always use library view, so that's pretty much a non-factor for me.
boxterduke
2009-02-26, 16:24
hmm, now I can't wait to get home and try it, problem is still 8 hours to go :(
tebicenter
2009-02-26, 16:42
You sure you are not in file view in Vista?
My HTPC is running XP but when I get home tonight I will install it on my Vista PC and see if it works the same or not. If it does not work like in XP then my next HTPC build will be XP as well.
Yeah, I tried in file view, both XP and Vista. Would be great if you guys can confirm this. I'll be waiting.
boxterduke
2009-02-27, 04:08
I just installed XBMC on my Vista PC and the movies that are video_ts play just like XP.
I click on the name of the movie and the movie starts.
I have full movies with menus and the menu shows and I also have just the main movie and the movie starts to play right away without having to browse the files inside the video_ts folder.
I'm using XBMCSetup-Rev17673-jester.exe, which is the same as on my XP PC.
Hope this helps.