Display Driver error

[davidbecht01]

I am having an issue which is somewhat different than any other threads I have seen here. I have a custom build media center with a ceton infinitv card. It is working perfectly. I setup a bridge and assigned 1 tuner to my hp touchsmart pc which is located in my kitchen. The setup went smoothly with one exception. When I play live tv (in either full screen or windowed) I receive a display driver error. The error goes away when I switch from either full screen or windowed. The system plays recorded shows flawlessly and also records shows with no problem. I have tried updating my video and audio drivers. I updated the computer bios. I am at a loss of what to try next. Does anybody have any ideas? Or has anybody seen this type of problem before?

[newfiend]

What Video Card are you using?
Are you using HDMI out of the PC to the TV or AVR?
newfiend~

[BangBang]

I was watching a recorded movie a couple days ago and with 10 minutes left I got that error popping up. No idea what caused it. Didnt make any changes past few weeks. Rebooted and didnt come back...yet.

[davidbecht01]

I have an intel hd graphics. It is built into the touchsmart pc.

[newfiend]

If you are using a HDMI cable from the PC to the monitor/TV ..
In windows.. Click control panel>sounds
Set the speakers to Stereo.. If that is set to 5.1 you can get that error.
Open media center tasks/settings > general in there somewhere is the option to set up your speakers. If you have 5.1 or 7.1 set that here. If both MC and Windows have the same setting (5.1/7.1) MC will give you this error.

Media centers speaker settings are separate from windows. And that should fix the problem.



Sent from my SGH-i937 using Board Express

[erkotz]

Does your video card say how the internal display is connected? If it's a DisplayPort variant, this is a WMC issue. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2392252

[Tester]

I recently added a Ceton Infinitv about a month ago, not soon after I started to see this error. I researched it quite a bit and came to the same conclusion, it has something to do with audio properties. Just last week I formatted and tweated almost nothing, Sharks coded on standard and HDMI passthrough. All worked fine for about 3 days and then error again without me touching it.

Newfiend, I have done as U suggested and I still get the error. Since I am passthrough I tried several speaker setup combinations in both windows and MCE.

My Setup
Win7x64 ( although I was x32 previously and still had same error )
Latest Sharks
PC HDMI -> Sony Amp -> Philips TV

I also tried HDMI Monitor to reset the HDMI connection 15 secs after sleep or started ( this is how long my TV takes to synch to HDMI Port X)

I wish there was one definitive fix for this issue but I have yet to find it.

Any ideas Ceton ?

Thx
Tester

[newfiend]

@ Tester..
What are you using for video out on the HTPC? A video card or are you using the Graphics built into the CPU? If your using a Video Card which one?

WMC is famous for thowing a Missing Video Codec Error which is in actuallity a "Audio" issue..

There are 2 workarouds that used to work.. one was the one I mentioned earlier with setting Windows audio to 2.0 Stereo and WMC to your desired surround sound mode.

The other one was to disable navigation sounds in WMC Tasks/Settings.. (I'm not in front of my PC at home at the moment so I can't give you the exact location in Tasks/Settings but look for the option to disable Navigation sounds in WMC.)

Once that is done Close MC and reopen it and see if that fixes it. If not you may have another issue..

Make sure you have the latest Drivers for Audio and Video as well as chipset drivers for the mainboard etc.. Bios up to date? etc..

You can Blame HDCP for all the fun you are having.. It's more of a PITA than anything. I understand the reasons behind copy protection but HDCP's implementation makes it hard for the guy who wants to do things the right way...difficult at best. It's very frustrating.
newfiend~

[erkotz]

In general, codec packs cause a lot of trouble. I can't speak to the specific install you have, but you might try formatting with no codec pack (a simple MKV splitter should be OK)

[Tester]

@newfiend.. sorry, forgot to mention my video card. GTX460 using latest drivers for both video and audio. Onboard audio disabled. All retarded windows navigation sounds not only disabled but removed for years now. Chipset P35 using latest Intel Chipset drivers. And yes I do blame HDCP, not necessarily Ceton.. although I wish they had more input into this issue.

@erkotz.. Yes I agree, Ive been to codec hell and back more times than I can remember.. I do agree also that a minimal approach is the way to go, but I have become comfortable with Sharks codec since Ive never had an issue with it and has always done what I needed in a simple and easy manner.

This issue seems to be fairly common if U google it, so I am surprised that there is still not 1 definite fix

[erkotz]

What video card are you using?
What if you remove the amp and go directly to the TV?
Does your Amp or TV have a firmware update available?

[newfiend]

@ Tester..
First things to check are Erkotz Suggestions above ^
If those do not apply then continue here..
I am assuming you have the latest Nvidia Driver package 306.97 installed. (If not install it using the Clean Install Method.. During Install select Custom Install check the box for a clean install and continue.)
I would like you to try a couple things and let me know how things go.. this could or could not help but It can't hurt to try at this point.

I totally agree with Erkotz regarding codec packs... I avoid them., Windows 7 has excellent codec support. I only install a .mkv splitter, AC3 Filter, DirectVobSub for forced subtitle support, and my Zune software wich adds a few codecs i believe not native to Windows.. Thats all.. I try and keep it as clean as possible. Most of the posts you see online it seems related to codec problems seem to revolve around codec pack installations. These have a tendancy to mess up more than they fix.. Just from my own experience. Most people will get a file that won't play and instead of figuring out what codec is needed to play it they throw on a codec pack. Next thing you know.. you have posts like this one. (no offense toward anyone but it just seems to happen.)

Ok enough of my rant.. on to the testing..
Open Windows Control panel > Sounds Select your HDMI Out (nvidia HDMI) to your AVR/TV click the configure button.
Set it to 2.0 Stereo and continue...Ok,Ok, Finish ..Exit Sounds in Control Panel..
Now open Nvidia Control Panel
Under Display on the left Select Adjust Desktop color Settings on the right Set #2 to use Nvidia Settings, #3 Set Digital Color Format to YCbCr444. Set Content type reported to display to "Full Screen Videos". Click Apply in lower Right corner. If it prompts to confirm the changes accept them.

In Nvidia Control Panel on the Left select adjust Video Color Settings On the right #2 set to With the Nvidia Settings. Advanced Tab set Dynamic Range to Full (0-255).
Apply in lower right corner again, Confirm any changes if prompted and then exit Nvidia Control Panel.

Go here and Install all the updates to DirectX 9.0c http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download ... aspx?id=35

once all the updates are installed reboot the PC.

Once rebooted Open WMC. Go to Tasks/Settings > General > Windows Media Center Setup > Set up Your Speakers.
Run through the screens and set them to whatever your speaker set up is... 5.1, 7.1 etc.. Save and Exit back to the WMC main Menu, Exit WMC.

This may be unrelated but I would install this as well.. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2708283

Re-open WMC and see how things go.

If you still have the issue.. I would try maybe a fresh install of Windows 7. Try living w/o the codec pack. If you need help with certain video file playback issues start a new thread on here or PM me and i'll try and help. WMC/ Windows 7 has most of the codec support you need built in. I think you would find that you need very little but everyones needs are different. The less you mess with Windows Codecs the better and the less errors you will end up getting.
newfiend~

[Tester]

@newfiend.. thanks for the excellent suggestions, I will try these tomorrow and report back.

[Tester]

@newfiend
I did as you suggested and still got the same error.

So I decided to format and start fresh. Long story short, and unfortunately, I traced the issue down to the codec pack. I have no idea what is causing it nor how to fix it, but I can confirm that the issue did not exist till I installed the codec pack.
The other issue I notice is that this problem is persistent but also intermittent.. sometimes it just goes away without any changes and then suddenly returns. This makes troubleshooting all the harder.

What I can't understand is how there is NO CLEAR ROOTCAUSE for this issue. Clearly many have had had this issue in the past so U would think someone would have rootcaused it, but it seems the issue ( or error ) is too vague to troubleshoot down to a single rootcause for every possible setup combination.

I can only say this -> I did not have this issue previously until I installed my new Ceton ( and I am guessing this is due to stupid DRM ).. and with the Ceton card, the issue was not there till I installed the codec pack. Unfortunate since I really do like this codec pack.

Thanks all for your help.
Tester

[STC]

^ Most codec packs cause a lot of grief.
The web is full of codec pack related issues.

[Tester]

Yes I agree, but I have never had any issues using Sharks codec.. I've also noticed many users having the same issue without even using a codec pack.

[newfiend]

@ Tester..
Can you live without the codec pack? What file format are your files in? I mostly deal with either .mp4 or .mkv. Some like .m2ts or .wtv etc.. Have you thought about not using the codec pack and just installing the codecs you need? or converting all your files to the same type like .m2ts or .mp4? I decided awhile ago that the files I had that were all different containers to convert to one or two containers rather than have a mix of .divx, .mkv, .avi etc...
It simplifies things quite a bit. and you spend less time "troubleshooting" codecs..and PC problems.
Codec packs just seem to cause issues. I'm not saying Shark's is bad or trying to bash him, it's just that it seems that lots of posts with these issues relate back to codec packs. IMO less is more.
newfiend~

[newfiend]

Yes I agree, but I have never had any issues using Sharks codec.. I've also noticed many users having the same issue without even using a codec pack.

I agree that this is or used to be a common problem.. The workarounds I posted earlier used to fix the issue (fix by way of workaround).
But with the millions of hardware combinations out there you can have a million different problems..
Since your issue revolves around the codec pack I would start there.. If you MUST have the codec pack and can't live without it.. I would contact Shark.. Tell him your issues and maybe he has a fix or a suggestion on a setting to work around your specific issue.
I would still try to avoid the codec pack if possible and only install the specific codec's you need to play your files or convert them to a container you know works.
newfiend~

[Tester]

@newfiend
Last night I uninstalled the codec pack and the issue is still there. According to Shark, his uninstall removes his entire package and sets to default.

Regardless, I did some deep reading yesterday and tried a few new things. What I noticed, with the codec pack installed, is that if I reset the HDMI port when I get this error, everything works correctly.. even when changing channels. Once I put the system to sleep and wake again, the error is there again, even when pack removed as stated above. I reset the HDMI port and all is well.

Since I have also been dealing with another issue ( not finding my AVR when waking ), I believe some of the changes I've made in regards to that problem is probably causing this particular video error. I think I am trying to fix too many things at the same time.

I believe the root cause of all my problems is that my Philips TV takes a long while to set the HDMI port and begin to handshake. Both the PC and the AVR take maybe a third of the time and sit there waiting for the PC, this is what is causing so many of my problems. So what I did is reset the HDMI port at 5 secs ( after both the AVR and PC are awake but before the TV) and then set the PC to run MCE after the TV finds the rest of the system. I do this by delaying MCE start using MCE Standby. This, + a merged TV/AVR driver, has finally solved my wakeup issues that I have dealt with for a year since I added my AVR.

Now I just have to figure out a way to make the above fix not cause the damn video error. All of this is due to stupid Playready and DRM, this is clear from all the reading I did yesterday.

HDMI should be a godsend, but DRM and CEC issues make it a huge pain in the a$$

[newfiend]

Can your TV be updated (firmware) via Ethernet or USB? Sometimes TV mfgs. Release new firmware to fix issues like this. My Sony TV has had two updates since I purchased it that fixed a couple small issues. Look for firmware updates for the display. If it's a handshake issue you're having there is a little device called a Gefen hdmi detective. You place it inline and it stores your display EDID. It tricks your pc into thinking it is constantly connected (so it never looses the handshake). http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8005



Might be an option if the display is just taking too long to connect and handshake correctly & your sure this is the issue and not the codec pack.

newfiend

Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express Pro