Settings/System

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Home icon grey.png   ▶ Settings ▶ System

System settings are found here. Setup and calibrate displays/video output, configure audio output, setup remote controls, set power saving options, enable debugging, setup master lock.


Video output

Settings.system.video output.png
Display Mode
Display XBMC in a window, or fullscreen on the selected screen.
Resolution
Changes the resolution that the User Interface is displayed in.
Use a fullscreen window rather than true fullscreen
...when active (Windows only). Does not use the DirectX fullscreen mode. The main benefit is for multi-screen configurations, where XBMC can be used at the same time as other applications without automatically minimizing. Uses a bit more resources and playback may be slightly less smooth.
Blank other displays
In a multi-screen configuration, the screens where XBMC is not displayed are blacked out.
Vertical blank sync
This eliminates vertical tearing.
Video calibration...
See #Video calibration...
LCD/VFD
?

Template:Gotham box


Video calibration...

Note: Always adjust your TV display settings before XBMC's settings (such as overscan, etc). In most cases, you can get a "just scan/just fit/PC mode/something" mode turned on that will not require any adjustments in XBMC, and will allow for the best screen quality. This screen allows you to calibrate the User Interface by adjusting the overscan. Use this tool if the image being displayed is too large or small for your display.
Simply adjust the screen so that the arrows are in the top left and bottom right corners and that the entire frame is visible on screen.

It offers the ability to adjust:

  • The overscan of the video - How close to the edges of the screen that the image is displayed.
  • The position where subtitles are displayed.
  • The pixel ratio allows you calibrate the aspect ratio at which videos are played back.


Audio output

Settings - Audio Output.png


Setting Description Setting Level Device type
Audio Output Device Select the device to be used for playback of audio that has been decoded such as mp3 Standard All
Number of channels Select the number of channels supported by the audio connection, or the number of speakers if connected by analog connections. Note - Number of channels is expressed as the number of PCM channels that the audio connection support, so although SPDIF only supports 2.0 PCM channels it can still output multichannel 5.1 audio using a compressed format such as Dolby Digital. This setting does not apply to passthrough audio. Basic HDMI/Analog-Speakers
Output configuration Fixed Select how the properties of the audio output are set:

[Fixed] - output properties are set to the specified sampling rate & speaker configuration at all times
[Optimized] - output properties are set at the start of playback and will not change if the properties of the source changes
[Best Match] - output properties are set to always be as close a match to the source properties as possible

Advanced All
Optimized
Best Match
Limit sampling rate (kHz) Maximum sampling rate for spdif or sampling rate for fixed output configuration Advanced SPDIF
Stereo upmix Select to enable upmixing of 2 channel audio to the number of audio channels specified by the channel configuration Advanced All
Normalize levels on downmix Select how audio is downmixed, for example from 5.1 to 2.0:

[Enabled] maintains the dynamic range of the original audio source when downmixed however volume will be lower
[Disabled] maintains volume level of the original audio source however the dynamic range is compressed. Note - Dynamic range is the difference between the quietest and loudest sounds in a audio source

Advanced All
Resample quality Low Select the quality of resampling for cases where the audio output needs to be at a different sampling rate from that used by the source

[Low] is fast and will have minimal impact on system resources such as the use of the CPU
[Medium] & [High] will use progressively more system resources

Advanced All
Medium
High
Keep audio device alive Select the behaviour when no sound is required for either playback or GUI sounds:

[Always] - continuous inaudible signal is output, this keeps the receiving audio device alive for any new sounds, however this might also block sound from other applications
[1- 10 Minutes] - same as Always except that after the selected period of time audio enters a suspended state
[Off] - audio output enters a suspended state. Note - sounds can be missed if audio enters suspended state

Standard All
Play GUI sounds Configure how interface sounds are handled, such as menu navigation and important notifications Basic All
Enable passthrough Select to enable the passthrough audio options for playback of encoded audio such as Dolby Digital Advanced HDMI/SPDIF
Passthrough output device Select the device to be used for playback of encoded formats, these are any of the formats below in the 'capable receiver' options Advanced HDMI/SPDIF
Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver Select this option if your receiver is capable of decoding AC3 streams Advanced HDMI/SPDIF
- Enable Dolby Digital transcoding Select this if the audio out connection only supports multichannel audio as Dolby Digital 5.1, such as an SPDIF connection. If your system supports LPCM multichannel sound via HDMI then leave this disabled. This option is only available where the number of channels is 2.0, for SPDIF this is set automatically so this option is always available, if using HDMI then you may need to change the Number of Channels setting to 2.0. Advanced HDMI/SPDIF
Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3) capable receiver Select this option if your receiver is capable of decoding E-AC3 streams Advanced HDMI
DTS capable receiver Select this option if your receiver is capable of decoding DTS streams Advanced HDMI/SPDIF
TrueHD capable receiver Select this option if your receiver is capable of decoding TrueHD streams Advanced HDMI
DTS-HD capable receiver Select this option if your receiver is capable of decoding DTS-HD streams Advanced HDMI
IMPORTANT NOTE:

The "capable receiver" options relate only to the passthrough of audio to another device such as an AVR, where that device must support decoding of the format. Before leaving any "capable receiver" option enabled check to make sure that both the playback device running XBMC (e.g. HTPC) and the connected device (e.g. AVR) both support that format.

If you have a "capable receiver" option enabled that your device does not support then this will result in poor playback of video typically with a very low frames-per-second and no audio, so for example if the TrueHD capable receiver option were enabled then make sure that the playback device can passthrough TrueHD and that the connected device can decode TrueHD, if either of the devices do not support TrueHD then the TrueHD capable receiver option MUST be left disabled.

For any format where the "capable receiver" option is not selected, XBMC will still playback any content containing those audio types, however instead of the audio being passed through, XBMC will decode audio and then send the audio in a compatible format.

If connected directly to a TV be aware that TV are not compatible with DTS, TrueHD or DTS-HD, typically the only encoded format a TV will be compatible with is AC3.


Input devices

Note: The content of this screen largely depends on the input devices that XBMC detects.

Settings.system.input devices.png
Remote control sends keyboard presses
When activated, your keyboard arrows will move the selection on the virtual keyboard. When deactivated, they will move the cursor from your text.
Enable mouse and Touch Screen support
If deactivated, XBMC will ignore all mouse movements and clicks.


Internet access

Settings.network.internet access.png
Use an HTTP proxy server to access the internet
If your internet connection uses a proxy, configure it here.
- Server
Proxy server
- Port
Defines the port of the proxy server
- Username
Defines the username used for the proxy server
- Password
Defines the password used for the proxy server
Internet connection bandwidth limitation
If you have limited bandwidth available, select a suitable value here and XBMC will try to keep to these limits. ?


Power saving

Settings.system.power saving.png
Put display to sleep when idle
Turns off display when idle. Useful for TVs that turn off when there is no display signal detected, but you don't want to suspend/shutdown the whole computer. Selectable from 5 minutes to 120 minutes.
Shutdown function timer
Sleeps the computer when idle. Selectable from 5 minutes to 120 minutes.
Shutdown function
Defines what "Shutdown" will do by default. Can be set to actually shutdown, suspend, minimize, or quit.

XBMC also has a "Custom shutdown timer" selectable from the power icon on the home screen, or from the shutdown menu (press S on a keyboard).

Debugging

Settings.system.debugging.png
Enable debug logging
Toggles debug log on / off. Useful for troubleshooting.
Screenshot folder
Folder used to save screenshots taken within XBMC. (see Keyboard controls for the screenshot key for your OS)


Master lock

Note: The Master Lock options are ONLY available while using the Default User profile.

Settings.system.master lock.png
Master lock code and settings
Opens the Master Lock dialog, where you can configure your Master Lock options.
Ask For Master Lock Code on Startup
If enabled, the master lock code is required to unlock XBMC on startup


Master lock settings

Profile3.png
Master Lock
Allows you to set the master lock password. Can be one of three types:
  • Numeric Password - Enter a Numeric Password using the On Screen Keyboard
  • Gamepad Button Combo - Enter a series of buttons using the Gamepad
  • Full-Text Password - Enter a plain-text password using the On Screen Keyboard


With the Master Lock, you can restrict access to the following sections when selected:

Lock Music Section
Lock Video Section
Lock Pictures Section
Lock Programs and Scripts Section
Lock File Manager
Lock Settings

Locked out?

XBMC will give you three tries when you need to enter a lock/password to access something that is locked. If you max out these three tries then just quit XBMC and re-open it to get three more tries. The Master Lock code is stored in the "profiles.xml" file in the userdata folder. Should you get locked out, you can delete or edit the "profiles.xml" file.