Which operating system to use for MP (1 Viewer)

[robbo100]

Hi there.

I am currently using MP with XP SP3 and I am loving it.

My father has now seen my installation and is desperate for me to build him an HTPC with MP installed (but his will be much better than mine ).

I have read the sticky regarding pros and cons of XP vs Vista but obviously this is long served post from when Vista was poorly supported for drivers etc.

With that in mind and taking a snapshot of the Vista support and functionality now, what do people recommend I use for my fathers system?

VISTA or XP?

Thanks

Robbo100

 

[Dadeo]

Speaking as a user (not a developer) I have a dual boot system with both Vista Ultimate 32bit and Windows XP SP3 and I run MediaPortal on both. I find MP runs beautifully on both OS's. I am sure there must be esoteric technical issues with one vs the other. But for the main functions of MP I don't find it makes a lot of difference. So I think you can base your decision on which OS you prefer and which best suits your configuration (you do need more memory with Vista). Since you have and know XP already, that is a big advanatage.

I think a lot depends on how you want to configure MP. In the Vista vs XP forum post there seem to be pros and cons depending which features you want - are you networking, using multiseat TV, etc. etc. There are almost infinite ways of configuring MP and so many plugins and options I think it is really hard for anyone to say definitively which OS works best in every possible scenario!

One advantage with Vista is that Net 3.5 is included so the MP install is a bit easier. I find the quality of all media a little better in Vista but that may be due to it supporting EVR, or may be the media features of my motherboard which Vista can use and XP can't. However, Vista's UAC is a pain, it is the first thing I disabled!

I mostly use Vista and I don't have any of the usual problems with sluggishness or slow boot up times. My Vista is actually faster than XP on the same system. But no one believes me.

And don't forget Windows 7! It looks promising and I believe some MP users are running it already.

 

[Pretoriano]

Hi,
according to the survey results (MEDIAPORTAL - free media center - Results of the user survey 2009) 60% of the users are using WinXP 32Bit (WinXP x64 is not supported) but i've always used Vista (both x86 and x64) and i don't have issues.

IMO the problem is how powerfull it will be your father's HTPC, and based on that you should choose the OS.Drivers are not an issue anymore with Vista and if you have a powerfull PC is working great (atleast it does for me),and mine is not even a dedicated HTPC.
So if u ask me you should go with Vista,but the most important thing is choosing the right hardware for your HTPC,read the forum posts and see what hardware give troubles to the users so you can avoid that...

 

[robbo100]

Thank you both of you for your comprehensive answers.

My fathers PC will be an E7400 dual core on a motherboard with an onboard 9400 GT (as apposed to my AMD 3200+ which to be honest I think is doing pretty well considering it can cope with full HD etc).

I think the advice that they will be much of a muchness means that I will probably stick with XP since as you say, I know the system well and I can give far better support to him over the phone (it will no doubt happen). XP is also cheaper, so that is another bonus.

Regarding Windows 7, I am well out of the loop on new windows software. I am a bit of a recent Mac convert (got a Macbook recently) so as long as the OS gets the most of out the HTPC I am happy.

(please don't all have a go at me for loving Macs )

Cheers for the advice

Robbo100

 

[SpudR]

I'm going with XP for now, and waiting for windows 7 official release... (my company is an MS partner - free software )
That's my plan...

 

[kiwijunglist]

I tried vista64 and xp32, found xp32 a bit easier to setup etc.
Also having mediaportal in c:\program files (x86)\ instead of c:\program files\ can be annoying for some mods that expect mediaportal to be in c:\program files\

 

[etheesdad]

Ive run both but these days use XP just because its a more straightforward OS. I agree that the installation is a tiny bit easier in Vista (no need to add some components and no dvbfix requirement). I reckon Hoborg's thread on SAF may be worth a look. He has some pretty definite ideas about the superiority of XP over Vista (Im not saying I necessarily agree with him but I respect his point of view as someone who has spent a lot of time working with codecs and MP), one facet of which is that his setup allows use of DXVA in XP, negating the pervieved advantage of Vista in that regard

Use Windows XP SP3 instead of VISTA becouse:
- XP are much, much faster then Vista
- you can modify XP and hide all "windows" messages, boot screen, etc
- DXVA working great under XP
You can get some special Windows version (corporate) "up to date" on torrents, such releases have latest hotfixes integrated, latest DirectX, latest drivers, WMP11, IE7.0, raid drivers, etc, and fresh instalation of MP on such Windows release is piece of cake here is INF from FEB 2009 (do not ask me where DL this torrent).

Source: https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...iaportal-dxva-ready-mpeg2-h-264-vc-1-a-44614/

From what Ive seen in the various discussions on here there really aren't any crashing deal-breakers between the two OS's for most users.

Personally I just like XP better, because its just snappier and more responsive (especially when set up properly), I guess some people will propound the benefits of Vista because that can also be configured to be pretty quick when properly set up (no aero, split page file, tweaked services, etc). I have achieved better boot times with Vista than XP but to me this is a moot point as I rarely boot my HTPC - preferring to use power management for on/off.

Swings and roundabouts really and as has already been noted, I think a lot of XP users (myself included) are waiting for the OEM release of W7 and a release of MP which workd out of the box on it, making Vista a potential stepping stone either way. I do wonder about the transitional issue of xp->W7 and Vista->W7, having read conflicting reports about the do-ability of each for users preferring not to do a clean install....

 

[kiwijunglist]

I think it also depends on how fast your system. If your building an HTPC and go XP you don't need to spend as much on CPU/RAM etc... My computer is ok for MP+vista (AMD X2 4200+ / 2GB DDR800 / HD3200) but runs mediaportal much much better under XP. If your building a dedicated HTPC running mediaportal only it makes sense to just stick with XP unless you have a really fast system. You wont notice all the vista bells and whistles underneath mediaportal. EVR (VISTA) apparenty gives a superior picture cf VMR9 (XP); difference only minimal.... however it's only gonna be noticeable if you have a cutting edge system and display and your only playing HD content.