The Mystery of the missing Internet TV in the UK
The plot thickens…
I wrote an article about Internet TV for Windows Media Center and how I couldn’t get it to work, then I heard other people were unable to access it and that the service had been pulled. A reader then commentated on the post saying he had got the service to work on one of two PCs so today I had a look for any news about Internet TV for those of us in the UK, looks like Microsoft think it is already here.
On the UK Media Center micro site which talks a lot about Internet TV and there is even I found a Learn More page about Internet TV where it clearly states that users should just wait for the download and then Internet TV will appear on their machine. That is definitely not something that is happening for most people I have spoken with. I have tried to find this download as a standalone and have yet found nothing.
As I continued to look for more info on this I also found that on the Now Playing tab of the micro site the only mention of Internet TV is by using the Sky Player which I don’t believe is the only way to access Internet TV. The Sky service is not yet live with no info on when users can download it (the “Get Sky Player Now” button takes you to a sign up page with no way to download the Sky Player afterwards).
Now I am very confused about this service, my understanding is that users aren’t meant to be able to watch TV through the internet and also download the Sky Player if they want to to access unique/live content. Also why is it very few people currently have access to the Internet TV service in the UK when the Microsoft site about gives the distinct impression users should be able to access it now?
I can only guess that either there is something very wrong with the way Media Center checks users PCs before downloading and installing the Internet TV service or that only PCs with Windows 7 installed after October 22nd can get access to the service (would explain why so many people I speak with have not got access to the service; I have tried setting up Media Center from scratch but still no luck) or that Microsoft are waiting till the Sky Player is ready before allowing users to access the Internet TV service (doesn’t account for a few people already having access to the service or make sense why Microsoft would wait for Sky).
As a student without the means to pay for the TV license I hope the Internet TV service works soon, the iPlayer is good but doesn’t (yet) have a collection of programs from all providers.
EDIT: I have found a way to get the Sky Player to show up as a service in Media Center, it still “Coming Soon” so no functions yet but its an improvement to not having anything show up. I had hoped for Internet TV to show up by using the following method but I would guess that it is not possible for people to get the service yet as I don’t see what else I could so.
*Some data/information may be lost if you use this method*
It turns out that when users select to “Run Setup Again” there are a few files that aren’t changed which mean some new services, like Sky Player, wont be downloaded by Media Center, to ensure that you have a completely clean setup of Media Center navigate to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome and delete all the files in there then go to Media Center and select “Run Setup Again”. After setup the program should start downloading necessary files and any extras, such as Sky Player or, as I am hoping, Internet TV.
Let me know how you get on with this.
Update: The Sky Player has now come to Windows Media Center in the UK – Internet TV comes (poorly) to the UK
Update and Fix: The fix that seems to be working for most people comes from Dave, in the comments below.
None of the advice I’ve found anywhere online has helped get my Sky Player working in WMC, which has steadfastly refused to work.
However, after a lot of mucking about I’ve now figured out a way to get it to work (at least it worked for me):
Run up regedit (Start Menu/Run and type regedit into the dialog box). When in Regedit, navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\ProgramGuide
The strCountryCode key should be set to GB in order for SkyPlayer to download and install itself properly (it only installed in the UK, which is identified by the GB entry in this key). If its not set to GB already, this is probably your problem, so set it to GB and exit Regedit. Then re-start Media Center. Go into Tasks/General/Automatic Download Options, and select Download Now. Once the download has finished, hey-presto SkyPlayer should appear.
Hope this works for you as well as it did for me.
Comments
The Mystery of the missing Internet TV in the UK « My Microsoft Life | TVPhoneMedia.com (Nov 12, 2009)
[...] Original post: The Mystery of the missing Internet TV in the UK « My Microsoft Life [...]
Joe (Nov 19, 2009)
Great isea first person iv’e seen to even address the problem afraid the fix didn’t work for me but it stlest gave me hope ths im not alone
dave (Nov 20, 2009)
None of the advice I’ve found anywhere online has helped get my Sky Player working in WMC, which has steadfastly refused to work.
However, after a lot of mucking about I’ve now figured out a way to get it to work (at least it worked for me):
Run up regedit (Start Menu/Run and type regedit into the dialog box). When in Regedit, navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\ProgramGuide
The strCountryCode key should be set to GB in order for SkyPlayer to download and install itself properly (it only installed in the UK, which is identified by the GB entry in this key). If its not set to GB already, this is probably your problem, so set it to GB and exit Regedit. Then re-start Media Center. Go into Tasks/General/Automatic Download Options, and select Download Now. Once the download has finished, hey-presto SkyPlayer should appear.
Hope this works for you as well as it did for me.
Gilly (Nov 20, 2009)
Oh nice work Dave, I am sure that will some in handy for some people. Thankfully when Sky Player was launched I had no issues getting it to download and install.
Joe (Nov 20, 2009)
Thanks u again dave for not only addressing the problem but being the only one to respond out of 6 forum posts i have made on diffrent Q&A sites AND ive just succeeded thanks to your wounderful instructions you doing understand how happy i am now thank you again
Ian (Nov 20, 2009)
I didn’t have an strCountryCode key :-(
dave (Nov 20, 2009)
My wife’s PC had the same problem, so I created the key, set it to GB and it also worked after forcing a dowload again. Good luck.
Joe (Nov 20, 2009)
im using it now thanks to daves great instruction was they would let u record or aylest pause
Ian (Nov 21, 2009)
Dave (above) thanks, worked a treat.
Frank Lee Grateful (Nov 21, 2009)
Dave what a star you are. I’ve been bashing my head against a wall trying to get this to work for 2 days. Followed your fix and minutes later I have a fully functional Sky Player on my WMC.
Thanks mate, much appreciated help.
Jim (Nov 21, 2009)
Hi, thanks for the info. I now have it up and running. Works a treat and looks great. Thanks :))
Jae (Nov 22, 2009)
thank you..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rob (Nov 22, 2009)
Sorry to sound really daft – I didnt have an strCountryCode key either – Dave you said you created one – How do I do that??
darren (Nov 22, 2009)
well done. this works a treat.
Wayne (Nov 23, 2009)
Great fix thx :)
Tweaked Regedit as described n now have a fully functional Sky Player on Win7 WMC. TYVM
Thomas (Nov 28, 2009)
hi guys
just wandering how long does that download take because mines taking forever
thanks in advance,
Gilly (Nov 28, 2009)
It didn’t take long for the download on my PC, maybe try restarting WMC if nothing seems to be happening.
Thomas (Nov 28, 2009)
how long would you say because i have tried every thing this is what happens:
i go to tasks, settings, general, automatic download options then download
it then says “downloading the latest guide listings, you will be notified when the download is complete
i have waited 3 hours but nothing happened
p.s. this is the first day i have used windows media centre and all it says on TV is recorded TV and live TV setup
Thanks again,
Gilly (Nov 28, 2009)
It may have downloaded, I think the message is only in media center for a short time. Go to the WMC main menu and see if the Sky Player is listed there, if not then maybe some of the method on this page will help.
Thomas (Nov 28, 2009)
no nothing and i have tried the methods above but also i have a question about the method do you doubled click strCountyCode and type in the value box GB because thats what i have done then tried downloading like the method says now i’m not sure what to do
Thanks Gilly,
Gilly (Nov 28, 2009)
Unfortunately I haven’t actually tried the fix out, I haven’t needed too, so cant help you out. Hopefully one of the previous posters will check by and be able to answer your question.
Thomas (Nov 28, 2009)
Hi Gilly i just remembered about Windows Remote Assistance, could i give you a code and you help my pc out?
Thanks,
Thomas (Nov 29, 2009)
hi every one,
just thought of something. does a media centre icon shop up in your dashboard when you are downloading? because mine does not and i think this is my problem . . . also does anyone know how to manually download the update form a sit or something then install it?
Thanks,
Thomas (Nov 29, 2009)
sorry i was suppose to write
“from a site” in the last comment
Sorry,
Stuart (Nov 29, 2009)
Rob, try this http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7programs/thread/70033dfe-da78-4da5-b0f4-8dde0db6e040
I found this elsewhere, look at the bottom comment – it worked for me
Thomas (Nov 29, 2009)
hi every on i have solved my problem ad i have two different solutions . . .
solution 1. if you are new to media centre go to system restore and go back before you started using it.
solution 2. go to c:\windows\ehome and run mcupdate.exe look down in your taskbar and you will see the icon for update and then you have it (if this fails do solution 1 then solution 2 in that order)
hope this helps
Thomas (Dec 03, 2009)
oh run mcupdate.exe as administrator (right click#0
Spongebob290 (Dec 06, 2009)
Thomas’s answer is the one that worked for me.
Spongebob
gospodin_i (Dec 09, 2009)
Dear Author mymicrosoftlife.com !
It really pleases me.
MARINE_93 (Dec 27, 2009)
how do you change the strCountryCode to GB
KANDI (Jan 12, 2010)
thanks dave. you are a genius.your instructions worked for me.i was scratching my head since i upgraded my pc with windows 7 two days ago to get sky player on media center and finally you are god sent for me as it is working now. once i downloaded the guide as you suggested i did get an error message saying somthing wrong but what i did was i run the customised set up again and straight away i got the sky player icon on the screen.thanks.
Paul Bannister (Jan 12, 2010)
this also works:
Trying to set up sky player on wmc, onto laptop. Sky player was not visible to start with however made a change in regedit. As follows;
Run up regedit (Start Menu/Run and type regedit into the dialog box). When in Regedit, navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\ProgramGuide
The strCountryCode key should be set to GB in order for SkyPlayer to download and install itself properly (it only installed in the UK, which is identified by the GB entry in this key). If its not set to GB already, this is probably your problem, so set it to GB and exit Regedit. Then re-start Media Center. Go into Tasks/General/Automatic Download Options, and select Download Now. Once the download has finished, hey-presto SkyPlayer should appear.
Thanks guys – i did this and it works great
Joe (Jan 30, 2010)
I dont have strcountry code when goin into regedit… lots of people saying that this works for them so wheres my str???? someone help me please my heads about to explode.
Joe (Jan 30, 2010)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\ProgramGuide
i’ve done this about 12 times now an theres no strcountrycode…. it just aint there, all’s i get is (stickyfavourites) (fAgreeEPGPrivicy) and default!!!!!!
I’m very close to loosing my mind… all’s i want is my sky player in my widows media center, its not to much to ask is it. WHY WONT IT WORK
Gilly (Jan 30, 2010)
You will need to create a new entry called strcountry and then set the value. I haven’t had to do this before but I understand its fairly easy to do.
Joe (Jan 30, 2010)
o right thank you… what would i have to set the value???
Gilly (Jan 30, 2010)
I believe you can just set the code’s value to GB
Joe (Jan 30, 2010)
to?? what would i have to set it to it was ment say, sorry!
Joe (Jan 30, 2010)
al give it a whirl.. thanks
Joe (Jan 30, 2010)
nope tried that now…. its still a no go!!! nothin like this ever works for me
Смородин (Feb 06, 2010)
Кто не умеет пользоваться счастьем, когда оно приходит, не должен жаловаться, когда оно проходит. – М. Сервантес
Мічення (Feb 06, 2010)
спасибо большое.
Chris (Feb 09, 2010)
can someone please tell me how to create the new entry strcountrycode!! I have found the correct place, where it should be but it is not, but dont know how to create it and set the value correctly.
ajay (Feb 10, 2010)
oh wow thank you Thomas (Nov 29, 2009) your advice was spoy on !
Chambrer (Feb 10, 2010)
дяяя….старая темка, но ми тут нету^^ даже если не по картинкам смотреть))) нету и фсё^_^
Татар (Feb 11, 2010)
пытаемся читать между строк..
Darrall (Feb 12, 2010)
go into run and type regedit. This will bring up another screen. make your way to this folder:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Media Center > Settings > ProgramGuide
If there is a file inside that folder called strCountryCode. make sure it has GB after it, if it doesn’t then double click the file and add GB.
If you are missing the entry “strCountryCode” on the right hand side, you can add it by following these steps. Be warned making mistakes in your registry can create problems for you computer.
1. If you haven’t already, run regedit from the “start” button
2.On the left hand side, browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Media Center > Settings > ProgramGuide
3. On the right hand side, RIGHT CLICK and hover over “New” and move the mouse to “String Value”.
4. Your cursur should be in the *new value* box that you can rename to “strCountryCode” minus the quotes :o)
5. Double Click on this and enter the value data of “GB” ….again leave the quotes off :oP
et voila
Hope this helps
James (Feb 13, 2010)
thanks guys worked a treat, if strcountrycode is saying ”<> then u need to double click strcountrycode delete ”<> and put GB instead in there then ok.
fototehnika (Feb 19, 2010)
Сайт супер, буду рекомендовать друзьям!
Drw (Feb 20, 2010)
Guys, I need to find out how to get mcupdate on, so how do I do it?
Appella (Feb 21, 2010)
Портал просто супер, порекомендую знакомым!
Barney (Feb 23, 2010)
Cheers Dave – worked a treat!!
smitch66 (Feb 27, 2010)
Perfect solution. Mine said <> and I simply overwote as GB, did an automatic download, and Sky appeared in the TV section. Amazed I couldn’t find any help on either Sky or Microsoft sites. Many thanks.
Len (Mar 03, 2010)
Thanks for this, the fix mde Sky Player appear, download and install. However, I still can watch anything WMC just sits there with a blank screen whe I tell it to play a download?
Aran (Mar 05, 2010)
Thanks soo much!!
JK (Mar 15, 2010)
Thanks deleting the ehmoe files worked for me
Andy (May 11, 2010)
The regedit fix worked for me, thanks…
jonny (May 17, 2010)
cheers mate , worked fine and it was easy :)
luke (May 26, 2010)
thankyou, mine said <> in the entry, so i put gb into it, and voila sky player appears!
Akream Iqbal (Jun 26, 2010)
Every time I turn on my computer it says:
WINDOWS FAILED TO LOAD
Error code: 0xc000000f
Can anyone help?
Gilly (Jun 26, 2010)
That sounds to me like you would need to reinstall Windows on your PC
Akream Iqbal (Jun 28, 2010)
I’m using firefox as my web browser & i need to reinstall windows, what will happen to my browsing history in firefox & will i be able to access my bookmarked websites?
hodgy (Aug 23, 2010)
awesome. worked perfectly