Those of you who only get overlay, does your videocard have HDCP?

No HDCP here, it's an ancient 6600GT. PC is Pentium D 3.5ghz, Vista RTM, 1GB. Tried various drivers from 97.46 to today's 100.59.

Quick comparison in Vista btw: PDVD Ultra disables aero, as do all overlay apps. PDVD 6.5 doesn't, you can do a nice 3d flyover even while it's playing - quite impressive btw, it's totally smooth playback even in high action 20mbit AVC scenes.

What we really need is EVR compliance - forget garbage renderers like overlay and the VMRs:-)

6.5 isn't quite there either. Granted, it might do VMR9, but on certain movies, I only get 2.0 sound, even though it shows 5.1 on the display information.

which form is superior? toslink or spdif?

your confusing terms...toslink is a type of connection (just like coaxial) that carry the spdif signal....

from what ive read the optical output is not called spdif. there is optical and coax for digital outputs. i am asking what the main difference between those 2 formats are

Optical out IS SPDIF...

thanks, sorry I was confused :) I just wanted to make sure either would work by changing that in powerdvd

Just put together a simple test system for HD-DVD with E4300 @ 2.4GHz, 512MB RAM, ATI X300 (driver 8.33.0.0), XP Pro SP2, PowerDVD Ultra 7.1.

When I run the Cyberlink HD Adviser, I get a red dot against the graphics card driver, yet I'm using the latest Catalyst (7.1 I think). All other items are green, yellow and grey (which I think means they should be okay).

I can open an HD-DVD structure on HDD and it seems to play, however the video is completely corrupted and looks like coloured venetian blinds that keep changing: you can't make out the video at all. Audio is perfectly fine with no stuttering.

CPU usage is about 35% when playing the HD-DVD structure, so I don't think it's taxing the processing power.

I've turned video acceleration on and off (not that the X300 is likely to support VC-1 acceleration), but it doesn't make any difference.

I can play a DVD or HD mpeg2 from HDD okay with the same setup: it's just HD-DVD that is problematic.

I'm concerned that the Cyberlink advisor says "no" to the graphics card driver, even though it is the latest from ATI.

Would it help if I went back to an earlier driver (assuming I can find a way to backtrack)?

Just put together a simple test system for HD-DVD with E4300 @ 2.4GHz, 512MB RAM, ATI X300 (driver 8.33.0.0), XP Pro SP2, PowerDVD Ultra 7.1.

When I run the Cyberlink HD Adviser, I get a red dot against the graphics card driver, yet I'm using the latest Catalyst (7.1 I think). All other items are green, yellow and grey (which I think means they should be okay).

I can open an HD-DVD structure on HDD and it seems to play, however the video is completely corrupted and looks like coloured venetian blinds that keep changing: you can't make out the video at all. Audio is perfectly fine with no stuttering.

CPU usage is about 35% when playing the HD-DVD structure, so I don't think it's taxing the processing power.

I've turned video acceleration on and off (not that the X300 is likely to support VC-1 acceleration), but it doesn't make any difference.

I can play a DVD or HD mpeg2 from HDD okay with the same setup: it's just HD-DVD that is problematic.

I'm concerned that the Cyberlink advisor says "no" to the graphics card driver, even though it is the latest from ATI.

Would it help if I went back to an earlier driver (assuming I can find a way to backtrack)?

That grapcics adapter will work with PDVD 6.5, but not Pdvd 7 Ultra. You need a X1600 or higher radeon, or a similar Nvidia to use Ultra for some reason. I replaced my X800 with a X1950 for that reason.

That grapcics adapter will work with PDVD 6.5, but not Pdvd 7 Ultra. You need a X1600 or higher radeon, or a similar Nvidia to use Ultra for some reason. I replaced my X800 with a X1950 for that reason.
Thanks for the information. Is this the case for all graphics cards below some arbitrary level?

It seems ridiculous that PDVD 6.5 will work but not PDVD 7 Ultra with the same card.

I was particularly concerned why the Cyberlink Adviser has a red dot against the latest Catalyst drivers and wondered if something in the new release was affecting playback. I'll try to install earlier drivers and see if that makes a difference, but I hate this trial and error game.

[Update]
I installed Catalyst 6.7 driver, which Cyberlink recommend as the minimum, but the Adviser still has a red dot against it (but now says "video via analog" with a green dot) and PDVD 7.1 now says the driver is incompatible on launch and won't play anything.

Installed Catalyst 6.11 driver, but the Adviser still has a red dot against it (and says "video via analog" with green dot) and PDVD 7.1 still complains of an incompatible driver error 0012.

Restored back to original Catalyst 7.1 with the same issues as originally, however I notice the Adviser has a red dot against HDCP whereas on the previous drivers it had a green dot against analogue video instead.

This is ridiculous: PDVD 7.1 objecting to every major Catalyst release as not being adequate or not playing correctly.

Next, uninstalled PDVD 7.1 and installed PDVD 6.5 with Catalyst 7.1. Get proper video in the window but playing the HD-DVD structure from HDD just plays the Universal intro and then exits. Playing Feature_1.evo works just fine but is not ideal. There seems to be a green push to the image, but it displays okay with around 45% CPU utilisation on best quality.

[Update]
Modified the xml file to remove menu references and all other titles except main feature. PDVD 6.5 now plays the main feature with seeking along the timeline, but chapter advances seem to terminate play.

Note: feature can be played directly by executing the discid.dat file.

Is there any way to determine if PDVD 6.5 is decoding HD-DVD to native 1080p24, or whether it is applying pulldown to 1080p30?

I'm a little confused by the de-interlacing options: should they be applied and in what way to obtain the native 1080p24?

My experimentation so far produces a very jerky video, almost in slow motion, when de-interlacing is applied: the image is best with de-interlacing disabled, but I'm not sure if PDVD is applying pulldown or not. Would like to ensure straight 24fps decode.

I'm having difficulty getting 72Hz refresh on the X300, so I'm not sure if the minor judder and ghosting I'm seeing on my display is because of the mismatch with the 75Hz I'm using or the interaction of pulldown and 75Hz.

Just a little update regarding the stutters with Warner/640 kbps. I bought Ant bully and the DD+ track has the same stutter as my other Warner title, but if I select the TrueHD track the stuttering disappears.

If Full Screen is not selected in PDVD 6.5/7.1 for HD-DVD playback, then opening a HD-DVD evo file seems to open in a window that is less than the native resolution of the file (actually looks to be about half the native resolution in x and y).

I'm using VGA output, so does this smaller than expected window mean that PDVD is actually downscaling the video on playback like WinDVD is supposed to be doing?

Changing to fullscreen might simply upscale the downscaled video and I'm not sure one would notice the difference unless there was an actual native resolution image to compare it to. It's a bit of a worry.

Perhaps I just have a setting wrong somewhere, but I would like to get native resolution displayed (even if the graphics card has to scale it back to my displays native resolution of 1600x1200).

Pdvd 7.1 definitely does not downscale to 960x540 on my HTPC. I'm 100% sure of it.

Obviously. Since the image resolution is 1920 x1080, it would have to be scaled to fit in any window smaller (or larger) than 1920x1080. But it is not the player that is doing the scaling. It is the OS / Video subsystem.

I use YXY to control the image window size for AR control, (I can't use fullscreen mode since I have an anamorphic lens) and there is NO sign of the player ever applying downscaling to 540 at any time. I have used both HDMI and VGA connections. The image looks truly amazing. As good as or better than any of the standalone players currently available for HD DVD or BD on my projector (Sony Qualia 004).

HOWEVER, I have found that using a less than top of the line video card, and/or setting PowerDVD image quality to anything less than the best setting will cause a clearly visible degradation of image quality.

Vern

Obviously. Since the image resolution is 1920 x1080, it would have to be scaled to fit in any window smaller (or larger) than 1920x1080. But it is not the player that is doing the scaling. It is the OS / Video subsystem.
Mediaplayer tends to open video at its native resolution in windowed mode and I thought PowerDVD might be doing the same thing (which means PDVD would be providing only half res to the graphics subsystem).

It is possible PDVD initially displays an arbitrary window size for windowed playback, regardless of the source resolution.

Would anyone notice the difference between 1920x1080p24 and 960x540p24 scaled to 1920x1080p24, if PDVD was to down-res? Upscaled DVD is supposed to look almost as good as 1920x1080 native, for good source, so I hear, and 960x540p24 would be much better quality than that as a starting point.

I just want full source resolution, but the WinDVD down res-ing and the fact that PDVD 7.1 seems to require HDCP capability, even with VGA and decrypted HD-DVD content, has me concerned that maybe some crippling is going on for non-protected analogue output.

In theory I should be able to play decrypted HD-DVD via VGA with an ATI X300 and a fast enough CPU, with PDVD 7.1, but in reality I can't (PDVD prevents it). I can do so with PDVD 6.5 and the same setup.

Mine is doing 1920x1080 res.

Vern, have you had a chance to try PowerDVD 7.1 on a rig with a 7900GT card? I'm curious as to why you don't see the incredibly obvious banding artifacts on your 8800 equipped system. The artifacts are even noticeable on a CRT.

Oh - and does the 8800 output YCbCr 10 bit color? Or is it still outputting 8 bit RGB?

The PQ looks very very good with PowerDVD 6.5. I don't know why 7.1 would downgrade itself to using Overlay instead of VMR9.

I've also experimented with Sonic's VC1 decoder in Zoomplayer and TheaterTek, and the PQ is excellent - better than PowerDVD 6.5 (although I suspect that is because PowerDVD 6.5 is applying different contrast and brightness adjustments).

From what I know, you can't decode the audio, so it's just picture, and no audio :( I hate the UI of PDVD, and would MUCH rather use MPC instead, but no audio isn't worth it.

I'd like to build a HTPC based on an ATI graphics card after reading this article (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1916966,00.asp) on Extremetech discussing video processing.

My first question is whether the ATI cards work w/o problems with PowerDVD or any HD DVD/Blu-Ray playback soft., and if they provide hardware acceleration.

Second, is there any way to feed the HD audio formats to a receiver without downsampling?

I'd like to build a HTPC based on an ATI graphics card after reading this article (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1916966,00.asp) on Extremetech discussing video processing.

My first question is whether the ATI cards work w/o problems with PowerDVD or any HD DVD/Blu-Ray playback soft., and if they provide hardware acceleration.

Second, is there any way to feed the HD audio formats to a receiver without downsampling?


Before you rush out and buy an ATI video card based upon the article you referenced above you may want to read this article and see how ATI vs Nvida compare:

eVGA GeForce 8800 GTS
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2055682,00.asp

Thanks, but I'm not looking to spend that much!

Vern, have you had a chance to try PowerDVD 7.1 on a rig with a 7900GT card? I'm curious as to why you don't see the incredibly obvious banding artifacts on your 8800 equipped system.The 7950 sucked. I could not run 1080 without major stutters. Dropping to a lower quality setting in PDVD eliminated the stutters, but it also clearly ran at a reduced resolution, cause the jaggies on diagonal lines that were painfully obvious.

So, the 7950 went back to Fry's last week.

No I don't see any banding on my 8800, much less the incredibly obvious kind.

One gotcha on the 8800: Make sure you have both aux power connectors plugged in with each connected to two separate molex connectors (only one aux power plug if it's a GTS). If the card doesn't get enough power, it will automatically throttle itself down to run on the available power. The 97.92 drivers will give you a warning of this condition, older drivers may not.

I am using an Asus P5B mobo with a core duo 6700 CPU. I am running SW decode mode with PDVD set to auto video quality. MCE 2005. 9792 Forceware video drivers. I have used both HDMI and VGA. HDMI delivers a far more detailed image than VGA for me.

I also have a system running an ATI X1950XTX that works well, however I only use SW decode mode. That system is running a 3.6 Intel heat generator.....

Vern

When I try to play an HD-DVD movie take King Kong for example the stuff before the main menu play just fine but when I start the actual movie it is very choppy. I can open the settings and under the video tab the grayed out box next to Hardware acceleration is uncheck. But before I start the actual movie it is checked. The HD-DVD advisor is all green, I am using VGA, a Nvidia 7900gtx, and the XBOX 360 HD-DVD drive. Which the Powerdvd site say are all compatable. SO whats going on ? Can anyone help me?
Specs
XFX 7900GTX
AMD FX-60 2.6GHZ
Windows XP Home SP2
3 Giggs of Rams
PowerDVD Ultra
Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive
Creative X-FI Extreme Gamer Pro Series

I am using an Asus P5B mobo with a core duo 6700 CPU. I am running SW decode mode with PDVD set to auto video quality.


That's what a lot of people are doing I think. Rather stupid of NVidia to spend all that time wooing the video playback market, then screw it all up with repeated buggy/uncalibrate-able drivers.

The only time I use hardware acceleration at all now is for spatial-temporal deinterlacing of DVBS, and it's only a matter of time before a codec comes out that can do that properly in software (it's not that hard).

When I try to play an HD-DVD movie take King Kong for example the stuff before the main menu play just fine but when I start the actual movie it is very choppy.
I found enabling de-interlacing in PDVD 6.5 resulted in severe choppiness and a sort of slow motion effect: untick the de-interlace box and everything is smooth (or at least as smooth as it can be with a refresh of 75Hz on the monitor).

Nope it didn't work ether and I have 7.2

Hi everybody,

I am having a problem with my system and I am hoping one of you gurus can help me. Here is my system specs:

Opty 170
2 Gigs Ram
8800GTX HDCP with 100.59 driver
37" Westinghouse 1080P HDCP
Vista Ultimate Edition
XBOX HD DVD drive
Power DVD Ultra - Purchased 2/1/07

I begin by double clicking PowerDVD icon and the player appears and states it is the HD version like it should. The problem however is everytime I click play, it crashes after 2 secs. Vista reports that "PowerDVD has stopped working" It happens regardless of whether I play an HD or SD movie. It is so annoying because I have so much money invested in this PC just so I can watch a damn HD movie and it won't do it. I checked the logs in Vista and noticed that a certain .DLL file is causing it to crash everytime (I will post the specific one when I get home from work). Cyberlink tech support is non-exsistent and the only phone support they offer is $29.95 which is ludacris after spending $100 on the player that won't even help you. Is there anybody else out there that is having these problems? Or anybody that has some suggestions for me I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for your time,

Porscheman170

You made a poor choice in Vista. Remove it and install XP SP2 with Hotfix WindowsXP-KB920872-x86-ENU.exe. This combination has given me excellent stability for the PDVD Ultra environment both for HD DVD and BD on 2 different systems. One has an NVidia 8800, the other an ATI X1950XTX video card. One has an X-Meridian sound card, the other uses the onboard CMedia chip set. Both do 8 channel analog out. Video connection via HDMI.

Vista currently has many driver issues because it is so new. Put it away until SP1 ships later this year and the various HW vendors have a chance to get their act together on drivers.

Your problem is most likely related to either the Video drivers or the Audio drivers.

Since I expect the same level of reliability from my HTPC as I would get from a standalone player, I wouldn't touch Vista for an HD optical disc playback until at least SP1, maybe not even then.

Just my $.02. YMMV.

Vern

Vern,

What's the hot-fix for?

Vern, it's FAR from Vista's problem. It's the video drivers that's causing the problem! I'm running the exact same thing, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 6.5 works perfect, but I only get 2.0 sound going through analog.

Vern, have you had a chance to try PowerDVD 7.1 on a rig with a 7900GT card? I'm curious as to why you don't see the incredibly obvious banding artifacts on your 8800 equipped system. The artifacts are even noticeable on a CRT.

Oh - and does the 8800 output YCbCr 10 bit color? Or is it still outputting 8 bit RGB?

The PQ looks very very good with PowerDVD 6.5. I don't know why 7.1 would downgrade itself to using Overlay instead of VMR9.

I've also experimented with Sonic's VC1 decoder in Zoomplayer and TheaterTek, and the PQ is excellent - better than PowerDVD 6.5 (although I suspect that is because PowerDVD 6.5 is applying different contrast and brightness adjustments).

Hi Maxleung,

I was interested in your comments above, mainly "Oh - and does the 8800 output YCbCr 10 bit color? Or is it still outputting 8 bit RGB?" mt X1950Pro and Optoma HD72 projector are supposed to be 10bit but I have never seen anyway of fonding out if they are actually at 10bits, do you know of any way of checking???

Cheers


PS just to add to this post I have just had the following reply to one of my outstanding tickets:


Thank you for contacting CyberLink Online Support.

We understand your concern related with PowerDVD Ultra.

We can very well understand your concern and the implication of this situation as a user and apologize for any inconvenience faced by you.

After a long discussion on HD playback with product and development team we have found some issue with HD DVD playback with some HD DVDs titles.

Now, Product & Development team will going to release a new build on 9th of February 2007. If you won't get the new build by 10th of February, please contact us using the following link :


Well looks like we are soon going to have a patch

Hi everybody,

I am having a problem with my system and I am hoping one of you gurus can help me. Here is my system specs:

Opty 170
2 Gigs Ram
8800GTX HDCP with 100.59 driver
37" Westinghouse 1080P HDCP
Vista Ultimate Edition
XBOX HD DVD drive
Power DVD Ultra - Purchased 2/1/07

I begin by double clicking PowerDVD icon and the player appears and states it is the HD version like it should. The problem however is everytime I click play, it crashes after 2 secs. Vista reports that "PowerDVD has stopped working" It happens regardless of whether I play an HD or SD movie. It is so annoying because I have so much money invested in this PC just so I can watch a damn HD movie and it won't do it. I checked the logs in Vista and noticed that a certain .DLL file is causing it to crash everytime (I will post the specific one when I get home from work). Cyberlink tech support is non-exsistent and the only phone support they offer is $29.95 which is ludacris after spending $100 on the player that won't even help you. Is there anybody else out there that is having these problems? Or anybody that has some suggestions for me I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for your time,

Porscheman170
Faulting application PowerDVD.exe, version 7.0.2418.0, time stamp 0x45869a83, faulting module HDDVDAdvNav.dll, version 1.0.0.1206, time stamp 0x457656bf, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x00143b87, process id 0x128c, application start time 0x01c7477ad8dcd256.

Is what I get in my event viewer :(

Vern, it's FAR from Vista's problem. It's the video drivers that's causing the problem!And who changed the driver requirements and required the addition of a ton of overhead and function related to DRM to the drivers? It sure wasn't the driver manufacturers!!!

Install the MS Process Explorer (if it will even run on Vista :( ) and open it. Display the program stack for PowerDVD and see which module HDDVDAdvNav.dll is calling when it crashes. It will at least point you in right direction.

I had a HDDVDAdvNav.dll PowerDVD issue on XP MCE, turned out that the issue was a bug in the MS module kmixer that was addressed in a hotfix.

Vern

I agree Vista is not still ready for prime time, but hey that’s the price you pay for cutting edge DRM’s. Anyway to get back on topic since I installed my 3800 X2 my playback has been pretty good using the 93.71 drivers. As max mentioned you can’t get back the default desktop colors when playing with the overlay settings unless you create a color profile first. But the thing I find interesting with PDVD U is when I do install a fresh set of drivers my colors are 0-255 from desktop to video playback, even though the player is in overlay the colors are spot on and playback is pretty good in KK, my NX’s will be here today my 7800 GT is just tapped out. Also another thing I noticed is when I had the chip overclocked to 2.6 using 9/10 divider with 2-3-3-7 timings there was absolutely no difference in playback performance so I went back to stock settings, same with the video card overclocking it also had no affect on playback performance that’s strange very strange. The only thing the overclock affected was PDVD crashing sending up the error dialog box. As far as banding with 7.1 I don’t get it with the 93.71 with a fresh install of drivers as long as you don’t apply the video colors in the overlay control panel. The Cyber GUI is a crap player and at least cyberlink acknowledges this with a new build and Do you think they will charge us again for another buggy player or do you think they will give us early adopters a fix?.

Just a little update regarding the stutters with Warner/640 kbps. I bought Ant bully and the DD+ track has the same stutter as my other Warner title, but if I select the TrueHD track the stuttering disappears.

Another little update:

Not only Warner titles have this problem. Yesterday I bought the EU version of Tokyo Drift. When I select German DD+ (768 kbps) it stutters like hell. When I select English DD+ (1536 kbps) everything plays smooth.

Alpha, I can't think of a way of checking if your projector supports 10 bit EXCEPT if you have a standalone upconverting DVD player with HDMI and has that option. For example, my Panasonic S97 DVD player will ask the projector/TV if it can handle 10 bits, and if so, will allow you to output it in the Picture menu - I verified that last year on a friend's LCD TV that supported YCbCr 10 bit input.

My old Benq 8700+ projector only supports 8 bit, and I don't have any options to try a different one, as expected.

Vern didn't comment on the 10 bit, so I assume the 8800 only outputs 8 bits - I am very sure his Sony projector would have mentioned it. :)

Vern, thanks for your comments. I'm very dissatisfied with the scaling performance of the 7900GT - I get lots of jaggies on straight diagonal lines when it downsizes from 1080p to 720p on my system (I don't ever remember this happening on my OLD 6800GT AGP card!)

NVIDIA can't seem to get anything right. :(

PowerDVD Ultra (HD-DVD install) works fine for me with Vista Ultimate 32-bit, though I use spdif out. Not a single title stutters.

Asus P5B Deluxe (using on-board coax spdif out)
E6600
Sapphire X1950Pro (using component out)

PowerDVD Ultra (HD-DVD install) works fine for me with Vista Ultimate 32-bit, though I use spdif out. Not a single title stutters.

Asus P5B Deluxe (using on-board coax spdif out)
E6600
Sapphire X1950Pro (using component out)
ATI Cats 7.1

I'm seriously getting REALLY annoyed with nVidia right now. I don't think it's PowerDVD that's causing these problems I'm having, it HAS to be nVidia! It's so tempting to get an ATI right now...

Here is something I don't get, and hopefully someone here can help me.

I'm trying to figure out what I need to upgrade on my HTPC so its capable of running HD DVD's (using the MS 360 add on drive).

I know my processor has to go (Pentium D 820, looking at getting the D 945 Presler).

I also figured that my 6600GT 128MB is needs to go also. Well I have a 7900GT 256MB that came out of my Gaming PC, so I put it in the HTPC and ran that HD advisor software that came with PDVD.

It told me that I should upgrade the 7900GT, and I went to the website to see what is recommended, and the 7600GT was on there. Surely the 7900GT is a better/more capable card then the 7600GT right? Or am I missing something here?

I'm going to order the new CPU soon along with some case fans, and will order a new card if needed, but I just can't seem to grasp this concept, that the 7600GT is an "upgrade" over my existing 7900GT.

I think it's mainly talking about HDCP support. The 7600 can have HDCP, but I don't think I have seen a 7900GT with it, 7950 yes, but not 7900.

Thanks for the reply.

I guess I don't have to worry about HDCP support if I am running a VGA out from my HTPC to my TV?

If thats the case, I might just go with a better CPU :)

If it's VGA, you don't need to worry about HDCP right now. New CPU it is :D

Faulting application PowerDVD.exe, version 7.0.2418.0, time stamp 0x45869a83, faulting module HDDVDAdvNav.dll, version 1.0.0.1206, time stamp 0x457656bf, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x00143b87, process id 0x128c, application start time 0x01c7477ad8dcd256.

Is what I get in my event viewer :(

I get almost the exact same thing when trying to play blu-rays. haven't tried it with HD DVD'syet.

:(

in my case it is the bluraynavigation dll.

8800 GTS with 100.59
X2 4400+
powerdvd 7.2BD
vista home premium

And who changed the driver requirements and required the addition of a ton of overhead and function related to DRM to the drivers? It sure wasn't the driver manufacturers!!!

Install the MS Process Explorer (if it will even run on Vista :( ) and open it. Display the program stack for PowerDVD and see which module HDDVDAdvNav.dll is calling when it crashes. It will at least point you in right direction.

I had a HDDVDAdvNav.dll PowerDVD issue on XP MCE, turned out that the issue was a bug in the MS module kmixer that was addressed in a hotfix.

Vern

hopefully they will have a kmixer patch for vista soon then too.

"I begin by double clicking PowerDVD icon and the player appears and states it is the HD version like it should. The problem however is everytime I click play, it crashes after 2 secs. Vista reports that "PowerDVD has stopped working" It happens regardless of whether I play an HD or SD movie"

You've installed the 64bit version of Vista, I assume. I had this problem until I installed the 32bit version, and now PowerDVD "works".

Before following suit you may want to wait until PowerDVD is patched in the next week or so, altho I gotta say I can't see any great reason to be using Vista x64 just yet.

CDJay

Ok, so I've read tons of pages of this thread and haven't been able to find anyone who seems to be having the issues I'm having nor a solution for them.

I'm getting really poor playback in PowerDVD 7.1. The video plays in slow-motion, and audio at regular speed. CPU usage is also way high. I have lower CPU usage on my computer at work which is much slower, and I also had lower CPU usage before upgrading from my old x800 to this new x1950 pro. This leads me to assume something in the drivers are broken.

Did anyone else out there experience any playback issues with PowerDVD and the hardware I have (or similar)? I've tried disabling hardware acceleration, and the deinterlace settings in CCC.

My hardware is:
AMD X2 4600+ slightly overclocked
ASUS A8V-SE Deluxe
2gb of ram
Sapphire X1950 PRO AGP with 512mb of ram (running Catalyst 7.1)

Edit: Playback no longer works correct in any PowerDVD version. I was able to test with WinDVD 8 HD, and it plays back just fine.

Thanks,
hannisen

Don't you mean 7.1? 7.2 is the Blu Ray version.

Don't you mean 7.1? 7.2 is the Blu Ray version.

Yes, yes I did. Post edited. I've been playing around with Blu Ray plaback at a friends house, so I guess that's why I wrote 7.2 instead of 7.1.

hopefully they will have a kmixer patch for vista soon then too.I never said that was the problem in Vista. It was just an example of how a MS bug in the OS can lead to problems with a specific application. In this case, powerDVD.

Vern

This is the error that I get:

Faulting application PowerDVD.exe, version 7.0.2510.0, time stamp 0x45a45693, faulting module HDDVDAdvNav.dll, version 1.0.0.110, time stamp 0x45a4bfa9, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0014a167, process id 0x890, application start time 0x01c748776b27f9d0.

The other error is:

The program PowerDVD.exe version 7.0.2510.0 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Problem Reports and Solutions control panel. Process ID: 200 Start Time: 01c74879bc1e688a Termination Time: 138

And:

\??\C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\PowerDVD\000.fcl has been blocked from loading due to incompatibility with this system. Please contact your software vendor for a compatible version of the driver

and yes I am running 64 bit Vista.

000.fcl is a fax control language driver that is renamed from fcl.sys. Since you have 64bit Vista and this driver is not signed, Vista will not allow it to be installed.

As others here have said: Install 32bit Vista (does not require signed drivers) or, as I suggested: go back to XP.

Vern

This is the error that I get:

Faulting application PowerDVD.exe, version 7.0.2510.0, time stamp 0x45a45693, faulting module HDDVDAdvNav.dll, version 1.0.0.110, time stamp 0x45a4bfa9, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0014a167, process id 0x890, application start time 0x01c748776b27f9d0.



and yes I am running 64 bit Vista.

i'm running 32bit vista and get more or less identical problem with bluray
that and the HDTV tuner (not playback of stuff recorded on XP) massive stutter issue.

PowerDVD Ultra 7.1 phones home when it plays an HD DVD. I have PeerGuardian 2 installed and had to disable it when I want to watch a movie. You may have other firewall software installed that is blocking PowerDVD's attempt to call Cyberlink.

I was getting an error message (at work so I can not duplicate it here) similar to what has been menthioned in the last couple of days.

Phones home huh? Damn, and PeerGuardian doesn't work on Vista right now.

Why don't you just turn it off? Have you tried unchecking the little box next to the line that says: "Automatically connect to the Internet for product information?" in the player configuration panel?

Vern

Been playing with PowerDVD 7.1 and my HD-DVD backups. Is there a way to get full menus from EVO files? I've been just opening the large EVO files which make up the movie. Also, it seems my PowerDVD hangs at the end of a EVO file. So switching to the next EVO file it just freezes.

I've read that hardware acceleration has worse PQ, what colour settings is everyone using? I accidentally set the colour to one of those strange CLEV Cyberlink ones and colours were totally out to lunch, looked Sepia... I've since set it to Original.

Been playing with PowerDVD 7.1 and my HD-DVD backups. Is there a way to get full menus from EVO files? I've been just opening the large EVO files which make up the movie. Also, it seems my PowerDVD hangs at the end of a EVO file. So switching to the next EVO file it just freezes.

I've read that hardware acceleration has worse PQ, what colour settings is everyone using? I accidentally set the colour to one of those strange CLEV Cyberlink ones and colours were totally out to lunch, looked Sepia... I've since set it to Original.
Just play the the evo in order as media files in PDVD, but the change over is manual, you will at the end of each evo have to press "N" for next and it will continue. But if you decrypted the files then PDVD 7.1 will play the complete movie as a HD DVD HDD file.

Not all 7600GT are HDCP.

Yup, wished I had checked here first. The Evga 7600GT is definitely not HDCP compliant. I downloaded the latest Forceware 93.71 build, with video driver 6.14.10.9371.

I'm getting really poor playback in PowerDVD 7.1. The video plays in slow-motion, and audio at regular speed. CPU usage is also way high. I have lower CPU usage on my computer at work which is much slower, and I also had lower CPU usage before upgrading from my old x800 to this new x1950 pro. This leads me to assume something in the drivers are broken.
I'm not sure if PDVD 7.1 is the same as PDVD 6.5, but if I enable de-interlacing in PDVD 6.5 configuration settings, I get a similar effect to what you are experiencing.

HD-DVD doesn't require de-interlacing from what I gather, because it is native 1080p24.

I found PDVD 6.5 best, with original colour profile, deinterlacing off, hardware acceleration off, and best video quality selected. PDVD Ultra also seems impossible to stop from using overlay, which screws up calibration.

I'm not sure if PDVD 7.1 is the same as PDVD 6.5, but if I enable de-interlacing in PDVD 6.5 configuration settings, I get a similar effect to what you are experiencing.

HD-DVD doesn't require de-interlacing from what I gather, because it is native 1080p24.
I was able to try PowerDVD 6.5 as well in fact, and the results are the same. I also disabled deinterlacing, hardware acceleration and everything like that but nothing helps. Since my original post, I've come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with my GPU, all the GPUs of this kind, the driver, or Cyberlink's filters when used with the aforementioned. Decoding other HD sources that don't use VC-1 encoding works just fine.

I'm seriously getting REALLY annoyed with nVidia right now. I don't think it's PowerDVD that's causing these problems I'm having, it HAS to be nVidia! It's so tempting to get an ATI right now...

What problems are you having? I am using a P4 HT 2.4ghz and 6600GT. Works pretty good (except for HDCP of course). I am upgrading to a 7900 just to have a a little extra power.

This may just be a wild shot for those having problems with Powerdvd crashing because of HDDVDAdvNav.dll. But it may not be solely Vista related, but I'm making alot of assumptions here.
This is just based on my past experiences when I was getting the same error under XP.
I switched from HDMI to component out and speaker enviroment from SPDIF to 7.1.
For some reason PowerDvd didn't like that combination, you can try it and see if it works.
Now if Vista isn't loading the 000.fcl file, I think your SOL. I'm pretty thats where the device keys are stored and the player can't start the decryption process.

I had been enjoying HDDVD playback in Vista with Powerdvd until I instaled the most recent "Vista Ready" version of Power DVD Ultra. I believe this released coincided with the retail release of Vista. Suddenly playback became impossible, and looked more like a slideshow. I had kept my old installation of Powerdvd on another harddrive, and was surpirsed to find that I could run the Powerdvd.exe from this folder and it played perfectly. Obviously, the stuttering was not a hardware or nvidia driver issue. I then compared the file versions in the two folders, and noted some differences. Eventually i discovered the problem. The problem could be fixed by copying the three dxrender? dll files from my old installation to my new powerdvd folder. I believe the versions that work for me were .1103 and the new version is .1308 (I am not at the same computer so I am going only by memory) Rolling back only these three files completely fixed my playback issues in Vista. I have a 7800GTX and I am wondering if the new dxrender files do not properly support directx9. It seems that users with 8800's and directx10 support do not seem to be having trouble. This could be why.

The new version? Was there a patch I wasn't aware about? I only have .1130 files, not .1308.

I don't think they have put out a patch, but the first version I had installed in Vista RTM in December, before the official Vista release was a lower build number (7.00.2418). When I installed my Vista Retail version I noticed on the Cyberlink Website that they had updated the PowerDVD site to coincide with the Vista release. I believe the version is the same, but the build number is different. The Build number of Powerdvd.exe is higher (7.00.2510), and so is the build number of dxrender.dll dxrenderv.dll and dxrenderx.dll , along with some changes to other files. The build I have for dxrender?.dll is .1308. This .1308 build does not work and causes major stuttering on my dx9 hardware. Replacing just the dxrender files with the earlier .1130 build fixed everything.
I believe the build I downloaded most recently had a January 17 07 release date and the earlier build was Dec 06.

Ah, crap, I must not have that version. I'll have to download it then :)

I too have been enjoying HD DVD in my Vista Ultimate installation...don't care for the Media Center too much though... Here is my setup again...

Pentium D 820
1GB Ram
7900 GTX

I have it setup with original color mode and hw acc off. Plays smooth and to me anyway the load up time for the disc seems a lot faster than when I had XP.

This software shouldn't be allowed to call itself BR/HD-DVD compliant: it still doesnt do deblocking, which is one of the main features of AVC. Perhaps this is the reason for some of the image quality problems people are reporting?

What's deblocking?

http://www.planetenumerique.com/IMG/h264-7.jpg

New patch available here:

http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/download/dl_patch_354_1_ENU.html

Vern


Vern,

That's for version 7.0 the ordinary PowerDVD

Cheers

I hope they haven't got confused.....

Right, sorry. Just saw it and today's date and assumed...................

Deleted....

Vern

I had been enjoying HDDVD playback in Vista with Powerdvd until I instaled the most recent "Vista Ready" version of Power DVD Ultra. I believe this released coincided with the retail release of Vista. Suddenly playback became impossible, and looked more like a slideshow. I had kept my old installation of Powerdvd on another harddrive, and was surpirsed to find that I could run the Powerdvd.exe from this folder and it played perfectly. Obviously, the stuttering was not a hardware or nvidia driver issue. I then compared the file versions in the two folders, and noted some differences. Eventually i discovered the problem. The problem could be fixed by copying the three dxrender? dll files from my old installation to my new powerdvd folder. I believe the versions that work for me were .1103 and the new version is .1308 (I am not at the same computer so I am going only by memory) Rolling back only these three files completely fixed my playback issues in Vista. I have a 7800GTX and I am wondering if the new dxrender files do not properly support directx9. It seems that users with 8800's and directx10 support do not seem to be having trouble. This could be why.

how did you get it to let you donwload this newer release? i have the dec one and it instantly hangs for me with vista under hd dvd or blu-ray.

They sent me a time limited link when I bought it on Feb 1, 2007. I cant find a link to the new version (trial or otherwise) anywhere on their website. I think you would have to pay for it. However, from my "members" sign in page on the cyberlink sight, I am given an option for updates/upgrades. It tells me I have the most recent version. I suspect if you have the old version you could update from there.

http://www.planetenumerique.com/IMG/h264-7.jpg
Wow. We definitely need deblocking!

It would be more accurate to say:

PDVD Ultra = PDVD 7 Deluxe for almost everything, but for HDDVD/BD it uses the codecs from PDVD6.5.

It's a bit of a mess really, lots of bugs on the HD side. They really rushed it out :-(

Hi. I'm reading this entire thread and I'm only up the page 18 so there's a possibility that this question has been answered but which one uses the PDVD6.5 codec? PDVD Ultra or Deluxe? Thanks.

Cant wait to try it.

They sent me a time limited link when I bought it on Feb 1, 2007. I cant find a link to the new version (trial or otherwise) anywhere on their website. I think you would have to pay for it. However, from my "members" sign in page on the cyberlink sight, I am given an option for updates/upgrades. It tells me I have the most recent version. I suspect if you have the old version you could update from there.

i'll see if that works.

ok. nope.
i have the old december version and it wont'let me get the new january one.
i wonder if this why mine crashes at the navigation menu start with vista.
maybe my older one is not vista ready.
arggghhhh....
they have become a not so customer friendly compnay over the past 6 months or so....

Wow. We definitely need deblocking!

tbh that was just an image from google to demonstrate what deblocking is and I imagine it is mainly useful for low bitrate encodes, which HD disks of course aren't. It's still a fact that a AVC decoder that ignores deblocking is by definition not a compliant AVC decoder though.

Anyway, I'm just looking at some high bitrate AVC files to see how much of a difference deblocking makes but I don't have any real HD/BR disk samples.

.....

OK, here's a clip from a Sony HDR-UX1 camcorder:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20060809/ezhqp1.m2ts (12000 kbps)

First screenshot here is with PDVD DXVA on and secend is off:

http://img6.picsplace.to/img6/25/thumbs/dxva_on.png (http://img6.picsplace.to/img.php?file=img6/25/dxva_on.png)

http://img6.picsplace.to/img6/25/thumbs/dxva_off.png (http://img6.picsplace.to/img.php?file=img6/25/dxva_off.png)

The difference is very clear so it seems that PDVD only ignores deblocking when DXVA is on. It's also clear that deblocking can be important even for high bitrate encodes.

Anyone know where to get a sample clip of a real HD/BR movie?

I found PDVD 6.5 best, with original colour profile, deinterlacing off, hardware acceleration off, and best video quality selected. PDVD Ultra also seems impossible to stop from using overlay, which screws up calibration.

I concur.

Did quite a few tests yesterday, first with 7.1, no deinterlacing, no hardware acceleration and then cleaned the system and registry from 7.1 and did the same tests with 6.5.

6.5 really looks better.

However, due to extreme instability of 6.5 I restored 7.1.

My system, little obsolete:
Abit IS7, P4 2.8 at 3.4Ghz, 1GB RAM (2x512 Dual channel), Leadtek 7600GT, nvidia 93.71 drivers, Samsung 67" DLP TV.

The difference is very clear so it seems that PDVD only ignores deblocking when DXVA is on. It's also clear that deblocking can be important even for high bitrate encodes.

Anyone know where to get a sample clip of a real HD/BR movie?IF it's only with DXVA on, that could be a driver issue perhaps? Given NVidia's recent track record that certainly wouldn't surprise me. Those screen caps don't look like particularly high bitrate to me though; and they also look like they've been greatly enlarged. I haven't noticed any "blocking" in the VC-1 HD-DVD titles I've watched so far. Then again I'musing an ATI card so there's no HW acceleration for VC-1 currently.

IF it's only with DXVA on, that could be a driver issue perhaps? Given NVidia's recent track record that certainly wouldn't surprise me. Those screen caps don't look like particularly high bitrate to me though; and they also look like they've been greatly enlarged. I haven't noticed any "blocking" in the VC-1 HD-DVD titles I've watched so far. Then again I'musing an ATI card so there's no HW acceleration for VC-1 currently.

The images are 1:1 pixel mapped, no enlarging from 1080i source, bitrate is 12000, you can download the clip under the link I posted.

I don't know about VC-1 deblocking but it's a well known issue that Cyberlink omits AVC deblocking, maybe to get extra performance. I don't know if this also happens on ATI cards but I have not heard anything indicating it doesn't.

Oh well no sign of the much promised Ultra patch/upgrade. I am a little suspicious that there was a 7.0 patch and that they got their internal communications wrong....... :mad: :mad:

While on here, has anyone any opinion on whether it is worth getting a second Gig of RAM for my HTPC, PowerDVD Ultra only seems to use about 50-60% but RAM is quite cheap at the moment??

Cheers

Since my cards finally showed up last week I've been playing around with different overclocks for the CPU and GPU. First off the MSI GT's are pretty sweet when paired with it's sister card in SLi. Theses cards are HDCP compliant on DVI and HDMI so no probs hooking it up to the Sceptre 37" fp. After I reached 2600 MHz stable 5/4 divider on the ram there was no difference in playback and I thought that was kinda odd, a 600 MHz overclock is a 30% clck how can that not affect the playback? Clocking the cpu and gpu had 0 affect on performance the only thing that could affect this is if the player is playing in software mode and not really utilizing the hardware, because if I play back a movie my gpu temps go up maybe 2 deg C with my cpu anywhere at 36 to 56 % on cpu usage it settles around at 40 or so. So it's definetly the player and it could be a lot better performance wise they just need to tap into the gpu with a better player that will utilize the hardware more efficiently and having the option to playback in VMR 9!

I went to go check my IRQ's and found out that my 2.0 USB card and especially my Aud 2 card were sharing the same resources for both video cards. The second card especially was inundated with IRQ's from the Aud 2 card. So after dumping the card and going back to the onboard Realtek drivers, I had to loose the overclock also. But then I added CoolBits to the nVidia registry and got both cards clocked from 560 to 610/1.5 MHz. :eek:

So now I finally got my IRQ's in order and with the USB controller sharing with one card.... After I did that I ran Assault on precinct 13 and guess what perfect playback on both KK and 13, Troy is still a little jittery but from what I've heard it's seems to be with Warner movies doing this. So you really don't need a 1 mb cach to get good playback and the 3800 X2 is holding it's own for now, and I am happy with the performance but a Toledo wouldn't hurt for 30.00 more. As for using different players my rig just didn't like 6.5 I get better playback using 7.1 using hw acc and deinterlacing off using the 93.71 drivers. Colors are not banding either very clear and natural using original setting in pdvd.

I really feel the player needs addresing in performance playback, and it can be done a lot better utilizing more of the hw acc hw to off load the cpu because an X2 3800 has more than enough power to push HD content in my humble opinion after testing with different clock speeds on the gpu and cpu.

And going from a 7800 GT to a 7600 SLi GT's it does make a difference indeed!

Hey guys...

I'm experiencing stuttery video when my Realtek '97 is set to S/PDif out to my receiver. As soon as I switch to analog (stereo) sound, I have no problems watching these hd movies.

Now, being that I have an Audigy 2 lying around, how would I connect that to my receiver? There's no optical/coax out on the card...

So, either if someone knows a way to fix the Realtek issue, or a way to connect my Audigy 2....

Thanks in advance.

WilliamG, which movie did you experience stutter with? I have stutter with SPDIF as well but only with DD+ 5.1 640 kbps sound tracks like those used on some Warner movies.

Vista currently has many driver issues because it is so new.

It's not Vista, it's the hardware vendors, specifically Nvidia who haven't done their homework.

Vista has been available for them since last October and Nvidia hasn't even managed to get a driver out that will even install on Vista!

And companies like ATI and Nvidia should have (and probably have) tested their hardware with Vista for a year now. But even if they started in October they should have had enough time to write a decenter driver.

Shame on you, Nvidia.

Oh well no sign of the much promised Ultra patch/upgrade. I am a little suspicious that there was a 7.0 patch and that they got their internal communications wrong....... :mad: :mad:

While on here, has anyone any opinion on whether it is worth getting a second Gig of RAM for my HTPC, PowerDVD Ultra only seems to use about 50-60% but RAM is quite cheap at the moment??

Cheers

yeah, I have a really feeling that was the case too.]

actually they just told me a 7.3 version is due shortly.

WilliamG, which movie did you experience stutter with? I have stutter with SPDIF as well but only with DD+ 5.1 640 kbps sound tracks like those used on some Warner movies.

I have the problem with V for Vendetta HD-DVD (haven't tried others...), and a (perhaps unquestioningly illegal) Pirates of the Caribbean 2 720p x264 with DTS audio a buddy of mine brought over. With SPDif enabled, the Pirates movie has a very sporadic framerate, like it's switching between 25fps and 30fps (or something like that). It runs fine for a few seconds, and then the framerate changes. It's really weird. V for Vendetta runs pretty much the same way, though it's more jerky. As soon as I switch either to analog, they work absolutely fine.

I'd love to find a workaround for this.

My system is a Shuttle SN27P2 with the Realtek ALC882 HD Audio. (I thought it was a Realtek 97, but I guess it's not?)

V for Vendetta is a Warner release so it probably has a 640 kbps DD+ sountrack. Those soundtracks seem to cause stutter with SPDIF and we suspect it's caused by PowerDVD 7 Ultra. If you choose TrueHD audio instead it will probably play smoothly. It does for me on the Warner release I have that has both audio tracks.

My inquiry:

"There was talk of a patch out today to
( hopefully ) solve the SPDIF output w/
DD+ soundtracks, and improve Vista
compatibility, for PowerDVD Ultra
today. I notice a PowerDVD 7.0 patch
has been issued, is there a patch for
Ultra users in close pursuit?"

Response:

"Thank you for contacting CyberLink Online Support.

We understand your concern related with PowerDVD software.

In regard to your issue please note that PowerDVD Ultra software is fully compatible with Windows Vista software. And the patch released on website are for PowerDVD 7.0 Deluxe software.

However, we are take the concern of our PowerDVD Ultra software users as a feedback and forward them to our development department. Our development team will review them and try to include in next built of the software or released patch if required. "

Apparantly the SDPIF stuttering issues, irrespective of operating system, subtitle/menu issues experiences by many, and my inability to play HD-DVDs in Vista 32bit w/out frequent crashes ( or it working at all in 64bit ) aren't a concern.

Fully compatible w/ Vista? That disabling of the Aero interface is pretty bizarre then :/

CDJay

WilliamG, it is possible that your video refresh rate isn't an exact multiple of 59.94 hz (or 60.000 hz in my case - I don't know why). If it is too far off, you will get stuttery video as the player tries to keep the audio playing at the correct speed without dropping 32 ms Dolby Digital packets.

At least, that is my theory! ;)

maxleung,

I was thinking that is my problem. I have been running PowerDVD Ultra with only Vista Ultimate since it came out (and before with the RTM). PowerDVD is very buggy and I have been getting the same stutter when the video is playing... it's really noticable when the video is panning. I don't get this while playing VC1 (or WMV-HD 1080p) or DVDs. Only with the HD DVD stuff through PowerDVD. So I don't expect the refresh to be an issue.

I think it's a combination of NVIDIA drivers and PowerDVD. I hope they come out with a fix because this has been a waste of $100 so far.

Danny

My inquiry:

"There was talk of a patch out today to
( hopefully ) solve the SPDIF output w/
DD+ soundtracks, and improve Vista
compatibility, for PowerDVD Ultra
today. I notice a PowerDVD 7.0 patch
has been issued, is there a patch for
Ultra users in close pursuit?"

Response:

"Thank you for contacting CyberLink Online Support.

We understand your concern related with PowerDVD software.

In regard to your issue please note that PowerDVD Ultra software is fully compatible with Windows Vista software. And the patch released on website are for PowerDVD 7.0 Deluxe software.

However, we are take the concern of our PowerDVD Ultra software users as a feedback and forward them to our development department. Our development team will review them and try to include in next built of the software or released patch if required. "

Apparantly the SDPIF stuttering issues, irrespective of operating system, subtitle/menu issues experiences by many, and my inability to play HD-DVDs in Vista 32bit w/out frequent crashes ( or it working at all in 64bit ) aren't a concern.

Fully compatible w/ Vista? That disabling of the Aero interface is pretty bizarre then :/

CDJay

some people have a slightly newer build, those who bought it around the time of the vista release instead of back at first release.i'm suspicious that this later build works a little bitbetter wiht vista. cyberlink won't let one upgrade to the newer build though. on the hopeful side they did say that they are working on a 7.3 and it will be out very soon. they claim it will allow one to play BOTH blu-ray and hd dvd without needing to setup a dual-boot system, fix some of the KK issues and a few other things.

seems they still don'trealize that you can'trun off subtitles by going to the main menu for some deleted and scenes because going to main menu resets you otu fothe deleted scenes and extras area and setting it in the main area has no effectin the other area.

WilliamG, it is possible that your video refresh rate isn't an exact multiple of 59.94 hz (or 60.000 hz in my case - I don't know why). If it is too far off, you will get stuttery video as the player tries to keep the audio playing at the correct speed without dropping 32 ms Dolby Digital packets.

At least, that is my theory! ;)

An interesting theory, though it doesn't explain why other movies work perfectly.

Ah well... I'll live with it. Thanks for the input, though. I'm welcoming any explanations!

I get no stutter when using digital out when DD+ is used. What Im wondering does powerdvd(using 7.1) properly send out the MLP tracks if you let the player decode it. I already have 6.1 analog because of gaming hooked up to reciever and lossless owns 640K DD+ I'd love to use that if I knew the player really did it properly.

i'll see if that works.

ok. nope.
i have the old december version and it wont'let me get the new january one.
i wonder if this why mine crashes at the navigation menu start with vista.
maybe my older one is not vista ready.
arggghhhh....
they have become a not so customer friendly compnay over the past 6 months or so....


If it's any consolation, the new January version caused the stuttering problem for me. Playback had been fine under the December release. Both versions turn off the Aero interface, and even with the new version I still run into the "subtitles on by default issue"

I don't see any difference in the builds aside from obvious differences in the dxrender?.dll's as mentioned above. For me the old dxrender files work and the new ones do not work at all! Ver .1103 = :) Ver .1380 :mad:

I should also mention that I am on my third or fourth support complaint to Cyberlink. Their responses have all been stock answers and completely irrelevant to the issue i raised, but by my third complaint they sent me a link and serial number to download the January release. For me this was unhelpful, as I already had this version of the software (further proof they don't really read the complaints) but for others... if you make enough noise they will send you the new version!

I'm sorry to ask this here, since it is the powercrapdvd ultra tread, but... does anybody knows when is Windvd HD DVD version going to be officially released? I would like to try something different.... and I hope that they wont release a $99 POS that looks more than a beta version (yea, im talking about powerdvd ultra).

Here's an annoying little problem that recently started cropping up. The last several times I've started PDVD the speaker setting has reverted to plain old stereo instead of SPDIF, forcing me to go into the configuration settings and reselect SPDIF.

Here's an annoying little problem that recently started cropping up. The last several times I've started PDVD the speaker setting has reverted to plain old stereo instead of SPDIF, forcing me to go into the configuration settings and reselect SPDIF.

I get that as well, it is another one of my tickets, one of my many many tickets. They appear to have stopped answering them all together now :mad:

Yep I think mine is changing when I play a file thats simple audio 2 channel its forcing the player itself into 2 channel mode for some reason. So when I go back to play a hd dvd its not in digital out anymore.

I'd still like to know the quality of the audio the software can put out if you let it do the decoding. Does it properly decode MLP HD-DVD audio or heck even the DD+ audio if you let it decode or is it downsampling everything instead.

Obviously it down samples DD+ when you use the spdif to 640(or whatever it is, i forget exactly) but whats it do if you let it do the decoding.

Can you actually buy an HD-DVD standalone drive with IDE / SATA interface for a PC ?!? You can already buy a variety of BD burners, but I've yet to see an HD-DVD drive available as a PC component. :mad:

The NEC HR-1100A (in the Tosh HD-DVD player) disappeared from the market as a component before it was made available. :mad:

It's incredibly frustrating that you can't yet buy a dedicated transport for HD-DVD despite the format being out for well over a year (apart from the xbox 360 addon drive). :rolleyes:

Is anyone aware of such a drive commercially available or is the xbox USB2 drive the only option at the moment :confused:

You can always pull a NEC HR-1100A out of an HD-A1 since you can buy a refurb'ed A1 for well under $300 :) Vista has a driver for it, however I have not seen a confirmed report of it working with PowerDVD Ultra.

Have followed this for weeks. Frustrating as all hell - have tried every suggestion to no avail. Still no word from Cyberlink as to my repeated issues.

Always the same, jerky video at startup regardless of movie, choppy sound, then after 10seconds it tells me that a either a graphics driver is wrong or that dual-monitor is enabled. Error Code =01222. Using a Sony BWU-100A.

HPMCE m7360n (PentD), Vista Ultimate upgraded over XP, NV7600GT, DVI-Component to 37Westy, 1920x1080. PDVD Ultra at $89.95 (ouch). Haved tried NV drivers from 93.81 - to 100.59 - all show same, except that 100.59 will just crash vista. Same if PDVD option hardware is enabled or disabled.

OK, so either wait this out or go back to my XP config which ran perfectly. This just has to be a Vista-NV driver issue.

Any ideas b4 I blow off Vista?

Is your 7600 HDCP? I see that you're DVI, granted, yes it's going to component, but I think think it would need to be HDCP, unless it's showing as analog. I only have problems viewing my backups, but the regular discs play fine.

Vista upgraded over XP might be the problem. A fresh install may be what is needed.

Here's an idea...if you like many others (including myself) are an HTPC enthusiast you are more than likely have crap codecs and ancient versions of FFDshow and all types of garbage on your hard disk. Even the Vista Upgrade Advisor will tell you there are drivers and programs it does not recognize, hence, it can not predict success.

That's why I did a freash install and am keeping to only hardware and programs that specifically state they are Vista compliant. I've had NO problems whatsoever and to me Vista is a vast improvement.

My player dl'd an update yesterday morning, as far as performance I can't tell seems to play the same.

PDVD7 Ultra doesn't seem to work with Windows Vista 64bit with ATI's Catalyst 7.1 64bit driver. Cyberlink support sent me a link to the latest PDVD7 Ultra build. This version is different from the version available on the Cyberlink website. It allows you to select HD DVD or Blu-ray during install. However, the Advisor software check fails the video driver. But the latest HD Advisor (a separate program on the website) passes the video driver. Yet when I load Batman Returns HD DVD disc, PDVD7 halts and says my system doesn't meet the requirements. :(

Don't waste your money for now on PDVD7 Ultra if you're running Vista 64bit. I'm still talking to Cyberlink support about this issue.

has anyone tried the 2/9 PowerDVD 7 patch? Has it fixed any woes we've been hearing over the past couple of months? Did it break anything?

PowerDVD 7.0, not 7.1/7.2...

The 2/9 patch would not install over my PDVD7 Ultra in Vista 64bit. It would give an error during install. That's why Cyberlink support gave me a link to the new build.

The 2/9 patch would not install over my PDVD7 Ultra in Vista 64bit. It would give an error during install. That's why Cyberlink support gave me a link to the new build.

As above it was not for 7.1 or 7.2 only 7.0 so I'm not surprised you had problems.

So basically PDVD7 is a hybrid build that can install 7.0, 7.1 or 7.2 versions? In any case, that is really confusing.

No, there's PowerDVD 7.0 Deluxe, then there's PowerDVD Ultra 7.1/7.2. 7.1 is HD-DVD, 7.2 is Blu-Ray.

Picked up a BD drive, graphics card is on the way. Just so I understand, I need PDVD 7 Ultra to get the newer audio from BD discs as opposed to PDVD 6/7? Is there any upgrade pricing to get Ultra?

No upgrade, and YES you need PDVD Ultra for it to work. OR the Japanese version of WinDVD8.

By updating my Nvidia Drivers to 100.64 and my Realtek Drivers to 1.59, I am no longer getting crashed w/ PowerDVD Ultra under the 32bit version of Vista.

CDJay

I am about to upgrade to 100.64.......fingers crossed I can get thru a whole movie!

CDJay, do you get much stutter while playing back your HD-DVDs / BD?

I used to use Reclock which gave perfectly smooth playback but I cannot use it in Vista, it doesn't work. I get quite a bit of stuttering when playing in 1080P 60Hz, and not so much if I output at 1080i 30Hz and the let the TV deinterlace the image.

Daz

How can you output 1080i 30 Hz? That gives a 15 Hz frame rate.

No upgrade, and YES you need PDVD Ultra for it to work. OR the Japanese version of WinDVD8.

Thanks. Now if the idiots would just ship my new video card, I'll be all set. :mad:

Today i installed Cyberlink PowerDVD 7 Ultra on my Media Center PC running Vista Ultimate. I was able to playback HD-DVD's then but the Media Center refused to playback XVID's . Windows Media Player itself though was still able to play them. I then uninstalled PowerDVD and the XVID's worked again perfectly in the Media Center. To make 100% sure I installed PowerDVD a last time and again the XVID's did not work anymore in the Media Center. I really would like to use both Media Center and PowerDVD but I need to be able to playback XVID's from my Media Center. Does anyone know of a solution for this ? Thank you.

Today i installed Cyberlink PowerDVD 7 Ultra on my Media Center PC running Vista Ultimate. I was able to playback HD-DVD's then but the Media Center refused to playback XVID's . Windows Media Player itself though was still able to play them. I then uninstalled PowerDVD and the XVID's worked again perfectly in the Media Center. To make 100% sure I installed PowerDVD a last time and again the XVID's did not work anymore in the Media Center. I really would like to use both Media Center and PowerDVD but I need to be able to playback XVID's from my Media Center. Does anyone know of a solution for this ? Thank you.

You might unselect Xvid in "File Associations" of PowerDVD Ultra 7.

Or adjust filter merit values.

Im having a problem with PowerDVD Ultra Deluxe 7.2 in Vista Ultimate 64. I can install the program fine and start the program fine . When i try to play a blu ray movie i get an error in vista that the player has stopped working and needs to close . I have BFG 8800gtx video cards in SLI and a samsung Syncmaster 204BW HDCP monitor. The program works perfect in windows xp for me . I am using the nvidia 100.64 drivers. I also tried the other ones also and still no go . Anyone else run into this problem?? Let me know what you think. Thanks

I uninstalled Koepis Xvid and installed ffdshow tryouts instead and now it seems to work. Only strange thing I experience now is that a 1080p WMV i have is playing with Stereo sound only instead of Windows Media 9 Codec but I did not enable any audio codecs from ffdshow. I still use all default codecs and for AC3 I use AC3Filter as I did before when the file was plaid with the correct audio.

By updating my Nvidia Drivers to 100.64 and my Realtek Drivers to 1.59, I am no longer getting crashed w/ PowerDVD Ultra under the 32bit version of Vista.

CDJay

still getting the crash with vista home premium, nvidia 8800 GTS with 100.64, x-fi extrememusic latest drivers.
i have the december build of powerdvd ultra.
it plays back SD DVD, but crashes almostinstantly with bluray.

one nasty thing, on tv color control i see no options to change colors and stuffanymore and the drivers are using overlay with 16=black so SD DVD that do play look reallyhorrible.

http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=1279

not sure who has tried this yet, but they've now got an anyDVD HD, and well im now playing back HD dvd's via DVI/HDMI with a non-hdcp video card!!!!!

playback is flawless, no skipping, no audio issues nothing!!!!

needless to say I am giddy like a little school girl right now.

- Josh

Did you get the key for beta testing, or 21 day trial, or purchase?

i downloaded that last night, watched king kong to test on my non hdcp monitor, works like advertised :D

just using the 21 day trial, this is just beta so no keys are yet available for it.

- Josh

Just what I've been hoping for. :) Does it evade the region of Blu Ray movies as well?

2nd that,

I tried that too, all the hiccup with plain powerdvd ultra are gone. :D

BRILLIANT!! product. Now i also can watch hd-dvd on non-hdcp monitor on the fly. No more backing it up first. :p

http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=1279

not sure who has tried this yet, but they've now got an anyDVD HD, and well im now playing back HD dvd's via DVI/HDMI with a non-hdcp video card!!!!!

playback is flawless, no skipping, no audio issues nothing!!!!

needless to say I am giddy like a little school girl right now.

- Josh

So...What does AnyDVD allow you to do? Watch HD DVD movies on none HDCP hardware or copy the movie?

So...What does AnyDVD allow you to do? Watch HD DVD movies on none HDCP hardware or copy the movie?

Both. Plus, if they ever turn on ICT, this will make sure it isn't downrez'ed.

Do I need to run PowerDVD with AnyDVD in the background or does it have its own player?

Do I need to run PowerDVD with AnyDVD in the background or does it have its own player?

Yes you still need the player.

Thanks!

Nice logo BTW :) ...

Is this new version of AnyDVD helping correct the stuttering issue with DD+?

Brilliant! I tried it myself now and I can finally use a DVI-D cable even though my video card isn't HDCP compliant. I don't care about ripping though, I play from disc.

It didn't help with the DD+ stuttering.

Update: Got some stuttering in Casino, and the 100.65 drivers re-introduced the crashes previously witnessed.

Haven't tried AnyDVD yet but shall do shortly.

Slow but steady progress? Heh.

CDJay

AnyDVD HD is released for sale now. :)

AnyDVD HD is released for sale now. :)

Yep.

http://www.slysoft.com/en/purchase.html

Me thinks they are in trouble, but me could be very wrong.

Since they're in Antigua, it could very well be difficult to extract legal remedies from them.

Oh great, way to go Cyberlink, looks like the patch is still a long way off, just had this reply:

"Please note that the patch for PowerDVD Ultra is still in process. It need some more time. It might be released in first week of March."

Wonder if we'll ever see it :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Are there any other Software HD-DVD Players beside of PowerDVD Ultra and the Japanese WinDVD ? I thought I heard Nero also had a Software HD-DVD Player ?

I admit I haven't read all thirty pages, but at begining someone was asking if HDCP-compliant hardware is needed in order to play HD-movies, and another someone answered that this is the case with most commercial releases.

This would be true if a protocol called Image Constraint Token (ICT) would be triggered by a flag on a disc. However, although the specs of both new formats include this options, the majority of released movies (if not all of them) have this flag deactivated, thus their HD-content will remain unchanged if using not-HDCP hardware, especially on a PC. (After all, xbox 360 HD DVD unit is ment only for watching movies, but xbox 360 has only a component (not-HDCP) cable for the time beeing.) It is said that ICT will be used in the next decade. But nevertheless, it is worth checking the HD DVD box, because movies are required to disclose if they trigger this protocol.

I have a question as well: which program can be used to grab screenshots from HD DVD? PowerDVD has this option disabled.

If you rip your discs, you can use MPC to get a screenshot.

I don't know about that ICT flag. First of all Xbox360 will not upscale standard DVD at all over component, you need to use VGA for DVD upscalling. Second of all even HD-DVD will not play at 1080p over component XBox360, you get 1080i only (however games play at 1080p) and you can only have 1080p over VGA as well. Also I read in many places that you need to use VGA for non HDCP video card for HD-dvd playback from computer to work so it seems all this is outside of ICT token. Total freaking nonsense if you ask me and looks more like good way to sabotage the new formats and confuse hell out of everybody than anything else, maybe if they took it easy on booz and hardcore drugs, things would be better. But since copy protection is already broken this whole BS may be irrelevant anyway.

If you rip your discs, you can use MPC to get a screenshot.
Please, please, please tell me more, what codec do you need for MPC to play HD-DVD? I only get sound and there is no way I'm loading this bloated garbage Cyberlink or WinDVD, at close to 100MB that software will never work correctly no matter what. MPC is wonderful and this is the first time ever that it won't play video file.

Please, please, please tell me more, what codec do you need for MPC to play HD-DVD? I only get sound and there is no way I'm loading this bloated garbage Cyberlink or WinDVD, at close to 100MB that software will never work correctly no matter what. MPC is wonderful and this is the first time ever that it won't play video file.

It a very involving process. You have to demux the .evo files. Head over to doom9.org, all the info is there.

BD is different, the .m2ts files play back perfectly in MPC and VLC, without needing to do anything else. Getting screenshots of those are very easy.

I admit I haven't read all thirty pages, but at begining someone was asking if HDCP-compliant hardware is needed in order to play HD-movies, and another someone answered that this is the case with most commercial releases.

This would be true if a protocol called Image Constraint Token (ICT) would be triggered by a flag on a disc. However, although the specs of both new formats include this options, the majority of released movies (if not all of them) have this flag deactivated, thus their HD-content will remain unchanged if using not-HDCP hardware, especially on a PC. (After all, xbox 360 HD DVD unit is ment only for watching movies, but xbox 360 has only a component (not-HDCP) cable for the time beeing.) It is said that ICT will be used in the next decade. But nevertheless, it is worth checking the HD DVD box, because movies are required to disclose if they trigger this protocol.

This is the case in theory, but in practice WinDVD and PowerDVD software have required HDCP-capable graphics systems in order to play AACS-protected movies, regardless of whether ICT or DOT are set.

It a very involving process. You have to demux the .evo files. Head over to doom9.org, all the info is there.

BD is different, the .m2ts files play back perfectly in MPC and VLC, without needing to do anything else. Getting screenshots of those are very easy.

Thank you very much, don't know how I missed it, I guess it's just too much reading all at once.

Can somebody help please?

I'm trying to get Powerdvd to work with a rip (to beat HDCP using DVI out), and the best I can get is a black screen, with very occasional sound snippets. Most of the time it just freezes. Powerdvd is really sluggish, even though CPU is at ~30%.

The HD advisor gives me grey for the video card, a 6800GT.
And RED for my display drivers. I've tried the recommended 93.71 drivers, now running 97.92 using modified .inf file...still red.

I have a Dual Core Opteron 165 at 2.8ghz, so that should be enough. I'm building up a PC to be fast enough to play HD-DVD, so the 6800GT is borrowed and will be replaced by an ATi card (so I can run VRM9 without tearing). But I should get an image at least..

XP SP2. AMD dual core driver loaded.

Tried DVI to HDCP display (although card is not HDCP) and VGA out to CRT monitor. Turned off dual displays..ran just the VGA monitor...frigged around...nup

Any idea why the HD advisor is giving me red for the correct display drivers?


thanks

Mark

anydvd hd negates hdcp playback enjoy hd-dvd playback from 360hd drive through non compliant monitor and pj through dvi perfect

Can somebody help please?

I'm trying to get Powerdvd to work with a rip (to beat HDCP using DVI out), and the best I can get is a black screen, with very occasional sound snippets. Most of the time it just freezes. Powerdvd is really sluggish, even though CPU is at ~30%.

The HD advisor gives me grey for the video card, a 6800GT.
And RED for my display drivers. I've tried the recommended 93.71 drivers, now running 97.92 using modified .inf file...still red.

I have a Dual Core Opteron 165 at 2.8ghz, so that should be enough. I'm building up a PC to be fast enough to play HD-DVD, so the 6800GT is borrowed and will be replaced by an ATi card (so I can run VRM9 without tearing). But I should get an image at least..

XP SP2. AMD dual core driver loaded.

Tried DVI to HDCP display (although card is not HDCP) and VGA out to CRT monitor. Turned off dual displays..ran just the VGA monitor...frigged around...nup

Any idea why the HD advisor is giving me red for the correct display drivers?


thanks

Mark

Mark,
I could be wrong but I didn't think the 6800 card would work for HD DVD??

Terry

Can somebody help please?

I'm trying to get Powerdvd to work with a rip (to beat HDCP using DVI out), and the best I can get is a black screen, with very occasional sound snippets. Most of the time it just freezes. Powerdvd is really sluggish, even though CPU is at ~30%.

The HD advisor gives me grey for the video card, a 6800GT.
And RED for my display drivers. I've tried the recommended 93.71 drivers, now running 97.92 using modified .inf file...still red.

I have a Dual Core Opteron 165 at 2.8ghz, so that should be enough. I'm building up a PC to be fast enough to play HD-DVD, so the 6800GT is borrowed and will be replaced by an ATi card (so I can run VRM9 without tearing). But I should get an image at least..

XP SP2. AMD dual core driver loaded.

Tried DVI to HDCP display (although card is not HDCP) and VGA out to CRT monitor. Turned off dual displays..ran just the VGA monitor...frigged around...nup

Any idea why the HD advisor is giving me red for the correct display drivers?


thanks

Mark
how did you rip it? make sure u have the right keys etc...but neway i believe if you ripped it correctly, you need to edit the .xpl file to be able to play it stutter free.....doom9 forum has more info on that for you: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=939276#post939276

Anyone got any further information/help with why WB HD-DVDs have problems running movies with my S/PDif enabled on my Realtek card? I have to switch to stereo to have smooth playback currently. If I run SP/Dif, I get stuttery playback, JUST in the WB movies (Batman Begins, V for Vendetta etc..)

Thanks in advance.

System is a Shuttle SN27P2.

Someone on another thread mentioned that newer drivers from Realtek's site helped. At least, that's what I got out of "so far, so good".

Anyone got any further information/help with why WB HD-DVDs have problems running movies with my S/PDif enabled on my Realtek card? I have to switch to stereo to have smooth playback currently. If I run SP/Dif, I get stuttery playback, JUST in the WB movies (Batman Begins, V for Vendetta etc..)

Thanks in advance.

System is a Shuttle SN27P2.

It's not only Warner movies. All tracks with DD+ 640 and 768 kbps have this problem. Using the German DD+ track of Tokyo Drift (768 kbps) I also get stutters, English plays fine.

I am looking to upgrade to a Geforce 8800. Are there any advantages to going for an overclocked card?

Any advantages for 1080P with 640MB for HD playback, I do not care about games?

Thanks,

Rich

I am looking to upgrade to a Geforce 8800. Are there any advantages to going for an overclocked card?

Any advantages for 1080P with 640MB for HD playback, I do not care about games?

Thanks,

Rich
I'm using an 8800GTS and at stock speeds it has more than enough power to drive 1080P and HD playback. Since you don't game an 8800GTX wouldn't really get you anything over the GTS. Even the new 320MB 8800 would probably be more than adequate for your needs.

Can somebody help please?

I'm trying to get Powerdvd to work with a rip (to beat HDCP using DVI out),


Powerdvd Ultra force HDCP on rip also. You need Powerdvd 6.5 HD DVD version.

I'm using an 8800GTS and at stock speeds it has more than enough power to drive 1080P and HD playback. Since you don't game an 8800GTX wouldn't really get you anything over the GTS. Even the new 320MB 8800 would probably be more than adequate for your needs.

Thanks, I was definately going GTS. Now the last question 320 or 640MB?
PowerDVD says 256 or more. Decisions Decisions...

Thanks,

Rich

EDIT: I ordered the 640MB card which costs too much. Oh well.

Powerdvd Ultra force HDCP on rip also. You need Powerdvd 6.5 HD DVD version.

Does PowerDVD 6.5 HD DVD version work with DVI/HDMI without HDCP, or only over VGA? And is there a difference between 6.5 and 7.2?

Thanks guys.

Also, will this card do PCM audio?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127237

Want to order it if so..

I don't know of any video cards today that do true PCM audio. There are a few that claim to, but really all they do is provide a connection to the SPDIF expansion connector on the mobo or sound card. This effectively means thet are limited to outputting either DD, DTS, or 2 channel PCM.

Not a solution in my book.....

Vern

The Prolink 7315 apparently does, but you need to use G965 integrated graphics, Intel HD Audio, and some not terribly intuitive (and buggy) software. And so far no one knows if it will pass Blu-ray or HD DVD because it's not supported by PowerDVD.

There is no simple solution, currently.

does anyone know why i play a hd-dvd it is pip and not single screen with timeline or something else?

I don't know of any video cards today that do true PCM audio. There are a few that claim to, but really all they do is provide a connection to the SPDIF expansion connector on the mobo or sound card. This effectively means thet are limited to outputting either DD, DTS, or 2 channel PCM.

Not a solution in my book.....

Vern

I will be installing my BD drive soon. So I guess I am limited to analog outs on the MB or SPDIF? Analog out is not an option since that is used for my HD DVD player already. So when you play a BD, do you use its DD or DTS sound track or does PowerDVD down-convert the PCM to DD or DTS? With DTS you could use a higher bit rate.

- Rich

http://www.geardigest.com/2007/02/21/hd-dvd-buyers-guide/index.html

"There's something of a battle underway right now between two different blue-violet laser-based high definition DVD formats: HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Despite that, we believe there's enough good gear of great interest on both sides of this hot contest to warrant a buyer's guide for equipment using both standards. In this article we will take a look at two kinds of equipment offerings that involve HD-DVD technology: standalone HD-DVD players; and PC-oriented HD-DVD players and burners (some internal, others external)."

I will be installing my BD drive soon. So I guess I am limited to analog outs on the MB or SPDIF? Analog out is not an option since that is used for my HD DVD player already. So when you play a BD, do you use its DD or DTS sound track or does PowerDVD down-convert the PCM to DD or DTS? With DTS you could use a higher bit rate.

- Rich

PCM and the lossless compressions DTS-MA are so much better on blu-ray than the using the backup DD, DTS tracks I would simply take the few seconds to switch the connectors from standalone HD DVD drive to the PC playing blu-ray.

It a very involving process. You have to demux the .evo files. Head over to doom9.org, all the info is there.

BD is different, the .m2ts files play back perfectly in MPC and VLC, without needing to do anything else. Getting screenshots of those are very easy.

After reading Doom9, installing multiple players, codecs I still can't get screencaps from FEATURE_1.EVO files. Even after demuxing them using EVOdemux I only get blank video.

what is the hotkey for hd-dvd?

i was wondering why when i play the hd-dvd it only comes out left and right speaker and not 5.1 speaker.?

please help me.

After reading Doom9, installing multiple players, codecs I still can't get screencaps from FEATURE_1.EVO files. Even after demuxing them using EVOdemux I only get blank video.
here you go

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=809002

Dont have BR to try but the prog only caps the screen so in theory it should work with any app.

what is the latest verison for nvidia video card?

the hd-dvd advisor always tell me that it is outdated? i got 93.71 driver.

Last night I purchased PDVD7 Ultra. I am running a clean install of Vista Ultimate 32bit. Video card is a 7800GT 256mb, it is not HDCP compliant to my knowledge, has 2 DVI outs. I put a DVI-VGA adapter on, and VGA cable to my monitor. Figured this would force an "analog" playback stream. Bluray drive is the Sony, updated to 1.0c firmware. I did not use the Sony CD at all, just plugged in the drive and let Vista install it.

So I get PDVD7U installed (the Bluray version) and start it up. Press play and it just sits there forever. Does nothing. I didnt have much time to check, but I know I am not running the nVidia 100.xx drivers, but didnt think this was required because the Cyberlink advisor gave me a green light on the driver (or at least I thought it did).

What else could it be? When I try to kill the PDVD7 program after it sits there for 10+ minutes, it takes another 10-15 minutes to kill the program. Very frustrating, but I'm guessing I missed something very obvious in the setup. :(

What else could it be? When I try to kill the PDVD7 program after it sits there for 10+ minutes, it takes another 10-15 minutes to kill the program. Very frustrating, but I'm guessing I missed something very obvious in the setup. :(

What CPU are you running?

Check your CPU usage. Try to play a regular DVD if you can. Does it play ok?

My guess is that it's due to Vista and/or nVidia driver. That's why I stuck with Xp and it works flawlessly.

AMD X2-3800+ running at stock speed, but if needed I can bump it up to 2.6ghz easy enough.

I didnt try a standard DVD, I will tonight. CPU was flat at about 8% though.

I will also grab the latest nVidia driver tonight and see how that does.

A question on the DVI to VGA adapters. Are they all identical? I have about 20 of them it seems, and I dont know if some are card specific. I wouldnt imagine these being an issue, but who knows...

I have a feeling that a standard DVD will play just fine. I had a problem with an older AMD CPU and nVidia 6800GT. The driver was part of the issue. It went from playing nothing to at least playing audio by changing the video driver. My CPU/Gfx card could not handle HD/BR which is why there wasn't video with the audio.

So I upgraded to a Core 2 Duo 6700 and a nVidia 8800GTS and it works perfectly with the right video driver. This is where the VISTA thing comes in since you won't be able to use the Xp driver (at least I believe that is the case).

So I upgraded to a Core 2 Duo 6700 and a nVidia 8800GTS and it works perfectly with the right video driver. This is where the VISTA thing comes in since you won't be able to use the Xp driver (at least I believe that is the case).

I am building up my system tonight with an 8800GTS. What driver version are your using?

Thanks,

Rich

I am building up my system tonight with an 8800GTS. What driver version are your using?

Thanks,

Rich

im using the 100.65 with out much issues.

Is the 320MB version of the 8800 GTS ample, or is the 640MB better? Strictly for video playback, not gaming.

I am building up my system tonight with an 8800GTS. What driver version are your using?

Thanks,

Rich

This is the version I'm using for my 8800GTS (EVGA)
ForceWare Release 95
Version: 97.92
Release Date: January 10, 2007
WHQL Certified


Just saw your post regarding the 320MB version. That is a good question. I believe that it would be fine. That version was not available when I bought mine. Check the dimensions of your case to *VERIFY* the card will fit. I had to modify my HTPC case and then it fit just fine (with the power cable plugged in).

I believe what is important is the driver and encoding in the graphics chip. I have always had 256MB of memory on my graphics cards. If I was running vista I might spend the extra $$$ for the 640MB GTS due to the Aero 3D interface. Since I refuse to run Vista I can not say with certainty if the 320MB is enough. Anyone running Vista able to vouch for this setup?

http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2926


to compare

Check the dimensions of your case to *VERIFY* the card will fit. I had to modify my HTPC case and then it fit just fine (with the power cable plugged in).
I have a Silverstone LC16m. Technically none of these cards fit. I had to remove the DVD tray inside (center mounted) and move my DVD drive external via USB2 port. So now I am able to use longer cards :)

ya in my x11 case i have like 1/2" of space from the card and hd tray

im using the 100.65 with out much issues.


Thanks, but I am an XP kind of guy ;)

- Rich

This is the version I'm using for my 8800GTS (EVGA)
ForceWare Release 95
Version: 97.92
Release Date: January 10, 2007
WHQL Certified


Just saw your post regarding the 320MB version. That is a good question. I believe that it would be fine. That version was not available when I bought mine. Check the dimensions of your case to *VERIFY* the card will fit. I had to modify my HTPC case and then it fit just fine (with the power cable plugged in).

I believe what is important is the driver and encoding in the graphics chip. I have always had 256MB of memory on my graphics cards. If I was running vista I might spend the extra $$$ for the 640MB GTS due to the Aero 3D interface. Since I refuse to run Vista I can not say with certainty if the 320MB is enough. Anyone running Vista able to vouch for this setup?

I decided to go for the 640MB GTS just to be safe. I probably did not need to for Video but there was no definitive answer. The size looks about the same as my 7800GL so I do not think there will be a problem there.

I am sticking with XP on my HTPC, there is just no upside to Vista for this system.

Thanks,

Rich

PCM and the lossless compressions DTS-MA are so much better on blu-ray than the using the backup DD, DTS tracks I would simply take the few seconds to switch the connectors from standalone HD DVD drive to the PC playing blu-ray.

That is not so easy. Have you seen any inexpensive 5.1 manual switch for sale anywhere?

- Rich

There is no need to buy the 640mb version of the 8800 for HD-DVD or BLuRay playback. I am currently doing both on my HTPC with a 7600gt 256mb with a fairly low end (opteron165 @ 2.2ghz) dual core and it plays every HD-DVD and BluRay disc I throw at it.

I just built a friend a gaming machine with the 8800GTS 320mb and it provided even more acceleration (lower CPU utilization) than the 7600gt, playback was fine with no dropped frames. So if HD playback is your only concern you can save yourself some cash with the 320mb version.

At this point I am not going to buy a card. Unless nVidia is doing something weird, shouldnt a 7800GT or 7800GTX (I have both) be at least equal to a 7600GT? I know the 7600GT is 'newer' but based on numbering, its 'slower'? I've got a component only TV anyway, so no real need for a HDCP card. I just think I have some other type of issue going with HD/BD playback right now.

It's not only Warner movies. All tracks with DD+ 640 and 768 kbps have this problem. Using the German DD+ track of Tokyo Drift (768 kbps) I also get stutters, English plays fine.

This really sucks. Is it a Realtek bug or a PowerDVD bug? I'm really frustrated that I have to watch Batman Begins in stereo. :(

Also, for some reason, my The Hulk won't play in PowerDVD 7.2 with my 360 HD player. It keeps switching to File Mode when I put the disc in, despite recognizing the disc correctly. Anyone got any idea why? :(

This really sucks. Is it a Realtek bug or a PowerDVD bug? I'm really frustrated that I have to watch Batman Begins in stereo. :(

I think it is a PowerDVD issue. The stutters occurred on a SB Live! (Tokyo Drift) and Audigy 2 ZS (Superman returns).

And now I find I can't even watch The Hulk! :( :( :( :(

That means my current issues with the PowerDVD 7.2 Player:

1.) Can't watch The Hulk
2.) Digital audio = stuttery picture at 640 and 768kbps audio (1.5mbps is fine)
3.) Subtitle bug with every movie.


Anyone know if any of these issues are fixable, or are we just going to have to wait for a new version of PowerDVD?

I just installed the Sony BD vesion and when I play X-Men the window is zoomed about 4x.

Is there a way to fix this?

- Rich

Has anyone watched Clerks 2 on PDVD? I tried, but it complained about Parental Controls. I disabled it in the XPL file, but the menu is f'd after that, and I can't start the movie. Even after decrypting it, it still wont play :(.

Don't try it at home: PDVD Ultra w/SPDIF and without the cable.

If you enable "Use S/PDIF" in the Audio tab w/o SPDIF cable, your system will be rebooted immediately.

Cyberlink answer to stupid users like me.

I know because I've tried :D

Ok so I tried again tonight. The cyberlink advisor shows green on everything except processor (yellow) and video card (yellow). Put a Bluray disc in, and tried to play it. CPU stays under 10%. It hangs the app. When the disc first goes in, the drive light blinks slowly about 10-12 times. Then it goes into a very fast flashing, which it never stops. Eventually it will time out (15 minutes or so). The error I get is "A disc with an unsupported format in drive D:". I have tried 3 different bluray discs now, 3 different titles that is. Discs are like new, no scratches.

I dont know what else to try. Suggestions?

I dont know what else to try. Suggestions?

Switch to HD DVD?

Heh, already have HD DVD going. But I would be glad to if you can convince Fox and Disney to release their movies on HD DVD!

Heh, already have HD DVD going. But I would be glad to if you can convince Fox and Disney to release their movies on HD DVD!

I am working on it :D

Heh, already have HD DVD going. But I would be glad to if you can convince Fox and Disney to release their movies on HD DVD!
They will in time!

Hey guys, whenever i play an HD-DVD folder or .EVO file i get a green line in PDVD.
The line in the image is not as pronounced, but whenever i play HD-DVD folders with Powerdvd 7.2 i get a green line in the bottom. At times it seems like i am "streaming" because the line looks like it scrolls, dims in certain parts, becomes a full line again etc.

When i try to take a screen capture of it the images comes out blank, probably because of overlay being enabled in the video card settings. Let me know guys, if you need more info also let me know.

And now I find I can't even watch The Hulk! :( :( :( :(

That means my current issues with the PowerDVD 7.2 Player:

1.) Can't watch The Hulk
2.) Digital audio = stuttery picture at 640 and 768kbps audio (1.5mbps is fine)
3.) Subtitle bug with every movie.


Anyone know if any of these issues are fixable, or are we just going to have to wait for a new version of PowerDVD?

Do a search, these are all known problems and have been discussed in this thread previously. The Hulk is playable if you rip it BTW. There's a file you can remove that's screwing up PDVD as I recall.

Hey guys, whenever i play an HD-DVD folder or .EVO file i get a green line in PDVD.
The line in the image is not as pronounced, but whenever i play HD-DVD folders with Powerdvd 7.2 i get a green line in the bottom. At times it seems like i am "streaming" because the line looks like it scrolls, dims in certain parts, becomes a full line again etc.

When i try to take a screen capture of it the images comes out blank, probably because of overlay being enabled in the video card settings. Let me know guys, if you need more info also let me know.

Normal, unfortunately. I'm overscanning my TV a little so that the line isn't there anymore.

Do a search, these are all known problems and have been discussed in this thread previously. The Hulk is playable if you rip it BTW. There's a file you can remove that's screwing up PDVD as I recall.

So if I do a search, this will fix all my problems? :p

All I'm doing is adding my 2 cents, so that if Cyberlink ever read this thread, they can see one more complainant.

I shouldn't have to rip my Hulk HD disc. I bought it so I wouldn't have to take up hard drive space! :)

RichB - To stop the video zooming set anti-aliasing in the your 3d control panel to either 2x or Application Controlled.

Daz

Well this is interesting. I put the sony drive of mine into a USB2 enclosure, and it works perfectly! Go figure! Not sure why, but I am not complaining at all.

For anyone using Ultra on Vista, how do you keep the app from switching back to the Vista basic mode (out of aero)?

RichB - To stop the video zooming set anti-aliasing in the your 3d control panel to either 2x or Application Controlled.

Daz

Thanks. I already reinstalled the drivers and that worked.

- Rich

I now have the Sony OEM PowerDVD 6.6. Is there any advantage to upgrading to PowerDVD Ultra?

There appears to be no upgrade path, which is unfortunate.

- Rich

If you have PowerDVD 6.6 working then keep it. Ultra (at least on my system) has a red hue to the picture that makes faces look sunburnt which destroys the picture quality - and the reason for HD DVD!

Does the latest PDVD Ultra patch fix this red hue (it has been reported here often)?

If you have PowerDVD 6.6 working then keep it. Ultra (at least on my system) has a red hue to the picture that makes faces look sunburnt which destroys the picture quality - and the reason for HD DVD!

Does the latest PDVD Ultra patch fix this red hue (it has been reported here often)?

Unfortunately, I get some consistent stuttering even when my cpu is not that busy. My system is a 4600+ X2 with Geforce 8800GTS 640MB graphics card. Everything is green according to the system. I do not have this problem playing TS files on the same system.

Just wondering if there was an upside to an upgrade.

- Rich

ok i'VE got mine running with a 7950gt and amd 3400 64 overclocked. Only on Hd-dvd's with OUT DTS Plus. Mission impposible King Kong will not play. Swordfish, Eagles play great. Any word on a patch that will fix this.

I have another issue. Anyone figure out how to play DVD's from your hard drive. I used to just highlight the folder with the DVD in it and hit OK and it would play. On this version it the OK is blacked out as if there are no DVD files in the directory. If I add all the files and use the playlist I'm unable to go chapter to chapter as I like to do on my Music DVD's. Anyone figure this one out?

Does anyone know how to navigate in the U-control features of Miami Vice? I can enable and switch between the different kinds of features, but if I want to navigate for example inside the cast bios, I can only see the first page and not the others. Navigation does not work there.

Unfortunately, I get some consistent stuttering even when my cpu is not that bsuy. My system is a 4600+ X2 with Geforce 8800GTS 640MB graphics card. Everything is green according to the system. I do not have this problem playing TS files on the same system.

Just wondering if there was an upside to an upgrade.

- Rich

OK. I bought PowerDVD Ultra and my stuttering is almost gone. I stillg get an occasional stutter in XMEN-3. I have to say I am not overly impressed with the encoding, I see more banding and more atrifacts than with other titles, especially those with VC1.

I bought the phone support, now I will have to try that out. I was able to enable the remix option on SPDIF and that seemeed to work for the PCM track. There seems to be less LFE when playing this way. Still looking for an inexpensive 5.1 audio switcher.

- Rich

Finished my upgrade, now running a CoreDuo 6600, Leadtek 8800GTS 320MB, LiteOn BD drive with PowerDVD Ultra and yxy for AR control in my CH setup. So far so good, watched Eight Below last night, nice to finally hear the uncompressed audio and thanks to Vern for helping me with the timings to get 1080/24PsF working with the new video card. Time to return the PS3 and maybe add the Xbox external HDDVD drive....

What takes the least resources for blu-ray? pd, vlc or mpc

BD is different, the .m2ts files play back perfectly in MPC and VLC, without needing to do anything else. Getting screenshots of those are very easy.

Unfortunately, I get some consistent stuttering even when my cpu is not that busy. My system is a 4600+ X2 with Geforce 8800GTS 640MB graphics card. Everything is green according to the system. I do not have this problem playing TS files on the same system.

Just wondering if there was an upside to an upgrade.

- Rich

Rich,
I'm not sure why you would need an upgrade.
You certainly have enough processor to do the job and there isn't a better video card.
I run my 4400+ X2, 7950 stutter free on all HD DVD's I've tried. Stock timings.

Terry

What takes the least resources for blu-ray? pd, vlc or mpc

Usually, VLC and MPC take the least resources. However, it really depends on the BD title, if it's using MPEG2 or AVC.

Rich,
I'm not sure why you would need an upgrade.
You certainly have enough processor to do the job and there isn't a better video card.
I run my 4400+ X2, 7950 stutter free on all HD DVD's I've tried. Stock timings.

Terry

I went ahead with it primarily to ge the latest updates and it seemed to fix the problem. Perhaps there was something better about its support for the 8800 GTS but I agree it was not a CPU problem. Right now I am using Sony Blu-Ray drive. I would love to run both but I am not sure I am up for the dual install yet.

Any word on an updated that will support both BD and HD DVD "naturally"?

- Rich

hey everyone

im having trouble playing back a backed up blu ray movie.
using powerdvd i get the sound but only scrambled picture. using mpc i do get the video but no sound. i think because its encoded in dts-hd mpc player cant play back the audio but why wont powerdvd 7.2 ultra play the video?

I went ahead with it primarily to ge the latest updates and it seemed to fix the problem. Perhaps there was something better about its support for the 8800 GTS but I agree it was not a CPU problem. Right now I am using Sony Blu-Ray drive. I would love to run both but I am not sure I am up for the dual install yet.

Any word on an updated that will support both BD and HD DVD "naturally"?

- Rich

cyberlink told me that the next update will be 7.3 and that it will combine dual support into this single release (no more of the 7.1 HD DVD, 72. blu-ray split).

When is this next release due?

When is this next release due?

Yes. I have the same question since I could not resist and bought a Xbox DVD drive on Ebay last night :p

- Rich

When is this next release due?

I believe the revised date is 'first week in March' but I won't be holding my breath.

Cheers

I am still hunting for an affordable <$100 analog audio switch solutoin.

Would this RCA HD4cda (http://www.beachaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=74800) work?

- Rich

I am still hunting for an affordable <$100 analog audio switch solutoin.

Would this RCA HD4cda (http://www.beachaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=74800) work?

- Rich

No
That thing is crap! I tested the thing a couple of months on an impulse buy just to check it out and it was a waste of time. Only a couple of the channels worked and they sounded horrible. The build quality was the worst thing I have ever seen. It was half price at Walmart (20 $) and I took it back the next day. I am using a Sony P9000ES for my 5.1 switching. It works great, however they go for big bucks on Audiogon...

No
That thing is crap! I tested the thing a couple of months on an impulse buy just to check it out and it was a waste of time. Only a couple of the channels worked and they sounded horrible. The build quality was the worst thing I have ever seen. It was half price at Walmart (20 $) and I took it back the next day. I am using a Sony P9000ES for my 5.1 switching. It works great, however they go for big bucks on Audiogon...

Ok. It is looking like the Zektor 4.1 may be the one. More than I wanted to spend though. I would have settled for a manual switch ;)

- Rich

Here's a question. Can you get full Dolby TrueHD and DD+ using an Audigy 2 with its analog outs?

I believe the revised date is 'first week in March' but I won't be holding my breath.

Cheers

they told me "VERY SOON" about two weeks ago.they told some others, as above, first week in March.

Here's a question. Can you get full Dolby TrueHD and DD+ using an Audigy 2 with its analog outs?


yes you can :-)

Here's a question. Can you get full Dolby TrueHD and DD+ using an Audigy 2 with its analog outs?

I have it working with the NVidia sound ACL850 audio on my HTPC but the sound is low when with PCM tracks. Would a third party sound card be better sounding?

Thanks,

Rich

yes you can :-)


Wow, awesome. I still have my Audigy 2 lying around. Do I set the audio to 6 speaker in PowerDVD?

I have it working with the NVidia sound ACL850 audio on my HTPC but the sound is low when with PCM tracks. Would a third party sound card be better sounding?

Thanks,

Rich


I have the ACL882, which I assume is the younger brother to the ACL850. How do you hook up all the channels to it? If I can do that with my 850, I won't even need to use my Audigy 2....

I'm guessing I need these?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2&style=

I have 4 audio ports on my cube (Shuttle SN27P2): Front Out L/R, Center, Surround Back L/R, and Side Surround L/R. Do I assume I use only 3 of those ports (i.e. not the Side Surround?).

Thanks for the help, guys.

I have the ACL882, which I assume is the younger brother to the ACL850. How do you hook up all the channels to it? If I can do that with my 850, I won't even need to use my Audigy 2....

I'm guessing I need these?

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2&style=

I have 4 audio ports on my cube (Shuttle SN27P2): Front Out L/R, Center, Surround Back L/R, and Side Surround L/R. Do I assume I use only 3 of those ports (i.e. not the Side Surround?).

Thanks for the help, guys.

Yes. Those are the correct item. Then you connect them to the analog inputs of your receiver or preamp. You can use all but the surround. If it RealTek, there should be a sound control panel to setup the number of channels you are using.

- Rich

Yes. Those are the correct item. Then you connect them to the analog inputs of your receiver or preamp. You can use all but the surround. If it RealTek, there should be a sound control panel to setup the number of channels you are using.

- Rich

Just to clarify: I use all but the Side Surround, or all but the Surround Back?? And that will give me 5.1?

Thanks again.

Oh, and one other thing, more PowerDVD related. Does anyone notice more banding running the 360 drive connected to a PC than via the 360? I've definitely noticed it bands a little more... This on a 7900GS and also on a 7600.

Just to clarify: I use all but the Side Surround, or all but the Surround Back?? And that will give me 5.1?


You will have to click on the sound icon in the control panel and setup the sound card for 6 channel audio then connect the channels using the adapters.

- Rich

You will have to click on the sound icon in the control panel and setup the sound card for 6 channel audio then connect the channels using the adapters.

- Rich

Right, but can you clarify which ports I'm going to be using? I'm confused what surround back and side surround are. :)

Thanks yet again.

Right, but can you clarify which ports I'm going to be using? I'm confused what surround back and side surround are. :)

Thanks yet again.

In a 5.1 system you have six speakers:

Front L/R
Center Channel
Subwoofer
Rear L/R

In an eight channel system, you have two additional surround channels. You won't be using those.

- Rich

In a 5.1 system you have six speakers:

Front L/R
Center Channel
Subwoofer
Rear L/R

In an eight channel system, you have two additional surround channels. You won't be using those.

- Rich

Right. That makes sense. So which one am I not using? The surround back or the side surround? :)

Right. That makes sense. So which one am I not using? The surround back or the side surround? :)

Use side. Back is for 6.1 and 7.1.

Use side. Back is for 6.1 and 7.1.

Thank you.

Now I just have to wait for my adapters and cables to arrive from Monoprice. :)

So, anyone know how to fix the banding problems in PowerDVD 7.2? They're not absolutely awful, but they are noticeable. The Mummy Returns experienced a few of them, as did Batman Begins in the shadows..

I feel like my HD-DVD setup is getting there..., - just a bit more tweaking! :)

So, anyone know how to fix the banding problems in PowerDVD 7.2?

Only way I found was 6.5. Version 7.2 is forced using overlay, so the colour expansion will always introduce artifacts.

No banding problems in my setup (Ati X1950, powedvd ultra).
If your system is properly calibrated there will be no artifacts with overlay and/or VMR9.

A side note: with my old ATI X800 Pro card, the powerdvd 6.5 was operating though VMR9 and the Ultra through Overlay, With the new X1950Pro, both versions operate through Overlay!

No banding problems in my setup (Ati X1950, powedvd ultra).
If your system is properly calibrated there will be no artifacts with overlay and/or VMR9.

A side note: with my old ATI X800 Pro card, the powerdvd 6.5 was operating though VMR9 and the Ultra through Overlay, With the new X1950Pro, both versions operate through Overlay!

I will have to respectfully disagree about my system being not calibrated correctly causing banding. This is clearly a software issue - and not hardware, in my eyes.

Only way I found was 6.5. Version 7.2 is forced using overlay, so the colour expansion will always introduce artifacts.

Thanks. Will have to look into that :)