Replacing Arcsoft TMT for Windows Media Center

[miraks]

Hi all, hoping you can help me. I build a HTPC several years ago, and installed Windows 7 so I could use Windows Media Center. I also installed Arcsoft Total Media Theater. And it worked amazing. Copied all my blu rays at full quality in BDMV file structure, they would display in the beautiful WMC library, and when I hit the play button the movie would start automatically in TMT.

And then in the last month, every time TMT launches it instantly crashes the PC. Not just the program - the entire PC reboots. It’s bizarre. So now I’ve got an HTPC that used to work perfectly that’s now pretty much useless. (Other programs like Windows Media Player still work).

So can anyone give me some quick and easy advice of how to fix this problem? I need a program that can play full blu ray copies in BDMV file structure, that works with Windows 7, and that Windows Media Player can launch automatically when I play a movie out of WMP.

Sorry if these are dumb questions but it’s been a long while since I set all this up. I don’t need anything fancy - I just want to get back up and running again.

[locotus]

Blindly guessing you migh try to run windows system file checker to see if there's some windows file that may be corrupted.
More info: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929833/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-re...rrupted-system

[HemLok]

Microsoft released an update (KB4056894) for Windows 7 back in January 2018 to address Meltdown. The update made changes to the Windows kernel. TMT makes use of a protection mechanism that messes with the Windows kernel. This caused TMT to no longer function properly. Do you have KB4056894 installed?

[miraks]

Yes, I’ve been reading about how a Windows update essentially killed TMT. I’m sure that’s what this is. I’m trying to figure out whether it’s better to go through the headache of undoing the windows update (if I even can) or if there’s some other player I can subsititute for TMT that will integrate with WMC?

I toyed around with PowerDVD last night. It plays the BDMV and Video_TS movies fine, but it doesn’t appear to integrate with WMC. I really loved the wonderful media library setup of WMC! PowerDVD also has a media library but it leaves a lot to be desired (or maybe I’m not using it right?). I can’t figure out how to sort the movies into categories. It doesn’t display big beautiful screen shots in the background when I select a movie, the way WMC did.

Unless I can find a suitable replacement for WMC, I’d really like to find a BDMV player that still works and integrates with WMC.

[usually_quiet]

Did you try looking for help in Cyberlink's forum? I found some advice here: https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/43422.page

I'm sorry to say this because I do still use WMC for recording TV, but you need to begin thinking about a future without it. Yes, I know that there is a way to get guide service for WMC from SchedulesDirect, but it will surely become increasingly difficult to make WMC work with new processors and their motherboards.

[miraks]

Would it be easier to just replace WMC with something else? I need something (1) with a nice media library, (2) works on Win7, (3) supports a video player plugin that handles BDMV.

[usually_quiet]

I'm satisfied with launching each program that I need for different purposes (i.e. NextPVR for recording/watching TV, PowerDVD for playing Blu-ray discs, PotPlayer for watching misc. media files). I'm not trying to do everything through a unified media center interface like you want to do, so I can't recommend a sure-fire solution from personal experience. Maybe Kodi or Media Portal would work for you, with PowerDVD as an external media player. JRiver Media Center might work also, but it is paid software.

[Dreamer]

I'm using PotPlayer for any video source, movies, IPTV, streams, youtube, it has a file navigator too, I'm not using it, but it looks good, fully customizable.

For audio I'm using AIMP, but PotPlayer has a good support for audio too, including the slideshow with custom pictures, effects, smart playlist.

Of course, it's fully customizable, including the keyboard shortcuts, useful features like: borderless mode, playlist tabs, favorites, skins, 1-click paste and play, OSD, DVD/Blu-ray support...