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[rjm]

MC 12.0.239

I am observing two dvd playback issues on Vista. The 1st is just an annoyance and the 2nd is a genuine problem that I would appreciate some assistance to solve.

1) When playing a dvd MC turns off Aero, and Aero stays off until MC is exited (MC does not turn off Aero when playing all other video types). Intervideo WinDVD does not turn off Aero when playing a dvd so it is definately technically feasible to leave Aero on. This is not a big deal but I think MC should leave Aero on.

2) MC plays dvds on optical discs correctly. However, MC is unable to play a dvd stored on the hard drive. When I attempt to play a hard drive dvd, MC displays a waiting message in the title bar and then does nothing. Are there any configuration changes I can make to fix this?

[prod]

Hi

1) Tools>Options>Playback>DVD Playback settings...   Select Enhanced Video Renderer (Vista Only) in the Video renderer drop down.

2) MC plays stored DVD's just fine. Perhaps the above change will fix it or possibly this is a codec thing - I personally use the Vista Codec Package, which suits my own requirements. Playing with the DVD playback settings a bit might be a good starting point.

Pete

[rjm]

hi prod, thanks for fast response

1) Turning on Enhanced Video Renderer (Vista Only) solved the Aero issue. Thanks!

2) Dvds on hard drive still do not play. I confirmed Intervideo WinDVD correctly plays hard drive based dvds. Thanks for the codec suggestion, however I do not think it is a codec issue because MC correctly plays dvds on optical discs.

The Vista Codec Package looks like a strong competitor to the CCCP codec pack. I am very cautious about changing my codecs. Can anyone comment on the pros and cons of CCCP vs. Vista Codec Package?

[rjm]

confirming that online dvds still do not play on Vista with 12.0.251

same dvds and same library plays fine on XP

[GHammer]

How is the DVD stored on the drive?
What format, what codec?

[rjm]

completely standard dvd file structure and format, css encryption has been removed

[Rob L]

HDD-based DVD playback is working fine in MC 2.5.1 for me now.

And I haven't done anything with the codecs - it's jut got the Microsoft DVD codecs that ship with Vista Home Premium. In fact, I've installed very little else- MC is the only other piece of multimedia software I've installed.

I couldn't get MC to play DVDs back at all (HDD or direct) at first - the picture was TOTALLY screwed up.
And I was also getting the issue of Aero being turned off.

Making the change prod suggests is what fixed the video issue for me (though actually not entirely - I get some funny video glitches when zooming the picture).

However, I don't know if that affected playback from the HDD. It certainly does work fine now, but I did make one other change - there's a registry entry you can change to allow DVDs on the hard drive to appear in Windows Media Center. But I don't *think* that changed MC's ability to playback from the hard drive...

[rjm]

Thanks Rob L

Repeating the key observations in the hope that someone can diagnose why MC does not play hdd based dvds on my Vista system:

1) WinDVD plays hdd based dvds
2) MC plays optical disc dvds
3) When I attempt to play hdd dvd with MC, I get "waiting message" in MC title bar.
4) same hdd dvd and library works with MC on XP

[JohnT]

When you go to Tools/Options/Playback/DVD Playback settings...
what is in the list of dvd filters? Maybe a screen shot of this dialog if possible.

[newsposter]

Just to cover the basics, is the firmware in your DVD drive up to current levels??

How about the Vista drivers for your drive?  Don't depend on MSFT Update to keep your drivers up to date, go straight to the drive mfgrs support site and browse around to see if they offer newer, dedicated Vista drivers (and firmware).

In the past three days I've found new firmware for all five of my Samsung (TSST) DVD r/w drives.

Additionally, some DVD drives do not like to 'share' power lines with other drives.  They tend to pull a tad more power than CD or even disk drives.  Try running your DVD drive on it's own power lead without splitters.  To preclude power problems, make sure that your system isn't trying to pull more power than your power supply can deliver.  Decent quality 400w and even 500w power supplies are cheap enough these days.

[rjm]

When you go to Tools/Options/Playback/DVD Playback settings...
what is in the list of dvd filters? Maybe a screen shot of this dialog if possible.

Video Decoder = Automatic Selection
Video Renderer = Enhanced Video Renderer (Vista Only)
Audio Decoder = Automatic Selection
ffdshow post processing option is not selected
DVD Filters:
- Default DirectSound Device
- Enhanced Video Renderer
- Line 21 Decoder 2
- ffdshow Audio Decoder
- InterVideo Video Decoder
- DVD Navigator

Note: All DVD filters are same as on my XP system (which works) except:
- XP system has Video Renderer instead of Enhanced Video Renderer
- XP system has Overlay Mixer (which is not present on Vista system)

[rjm]

Just to cover the basics, is the firmware in your DVD drive up to current levels??

How about the Vista drivers for your drive?  Don't depend on MSFT Update to keep your drivers up to date, go straight to the drive mfgrs support site and browse around to see if they offer newer, dedicated Vista drivers (and firmware).

In the past three days I've found new firmware for all five of my Samsung (TSST) DVD r/w drives.

Additionally, some DVD drives do not like to 'share' power lines with other drives.  They tend to pull a tad more power than CD or even disk drives.  Try running your DVD drive on it's own power lead without splitters.  To preclude power problems, make sure that your system isn't trying to pull more power than your power supply can deliver.  Decent quality 400w and even 500w power supplies are cheap enough these days.

Thanks newsposter, I think you misunderstood my problem. My dvd drive is fine. MC correctly plays dvds from optical discs. My problem is that MC on Vista does not play dvds stored on the hard drive.

[Rob L]

You could presumably set the Video Decoder to "Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Decoder", which is the one I'm using, and maybe also the Audio to "Microsoft MPEG-1/DD Audio decoder".

Unless of course you're running one of the Vista versions that doesn't include it? (e.g. Enterprise)

[rjm]

You could presumably set the Video Decoder to "Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Decoder", which is the one I'm using, and maybe also the Audio to "Microsoft MPEG-1/DD Audio decoder".

Unless of course you're running one of the Vista versions that doesn't include it? (e.g. Enterprise)

Thanks, I did already try the Microsoft codecs without success. Again, I doubt it's a codec issue because JRiver Media Center plays dvds on optical dics without a problem on Vista.

[JohnT]

Just to be sure we're on the same page, when you tried the Microsoft codecs, did you see them show up in our filter list dialog? Have you tried using the Intervideo audio decoder to go along with their video decoder? I know you don't think it's a codec issue, but just to be sure...

When you try to play a HDD DVD, does the waiting message stay there indefinitely? Is the application frozen at this point?