ATI AIW full screen Theatre mode under XP SP2

[Richard_G]

I think this is probably one for Lordsmurf, but I'll give everyone else a chance too. I've got an ATI AIW 7500 Radeon card in my pc and often use the full screen Theatre mode to display video clips in full screen on an external TV (via a VCR so I can record the clips). I also regularly re-install Windows and all my software. To make the re-install a painless operation, I use two separate hard drive partions (C and E) to install to.

Currently, I have my full install on E but am doing a clean install on C. The reason I do it this way is that I end up with a dual boot capability and can choose which install I want to open. I then install my software over a period as and when I need it/have time. Once I have everything installed, I can copy Favourites, e-mails, etc over from the old install to the new. It also gives me the chance to not bother installing stuff I use so rarely it isn't worth bothering with. Once the new install is complete, I can completely delete the old install until next time.

My old installation consists of Windows XP Pro SP1, with DirectX 9.0, MMC 8.9 and Catalyst 4.2 drivers. On that system I have turned on the TV display and set the Overlay options to Theatre mode, Full Screen, 4:3. When I play a video clip it is displayed in a window (or even minimised) on the pc monitor but in full screen on the TV. This is exactly what I want.

The new installation is Windows XP Pro SP2, with DirectX 9.0c, but everything else the same. I now find that the TV displays the same as the monitor (except not a full screen as the monitor is set to 1280 x 1024 and the most the TV output will give is 1024 x 768). If I play video in a window on the monitor, it is still in a window on the TV. Display settings on both installs are identical.

But, if I open the TV module in MMC, that displays full screen on the TV, as does the dual head real time preview in Ulead Mediastudio Pro. Nothing else does though. I've tried Windows Media Player, PowerDVD, Creative PlayCentre and even MMC File Player. These all show in a window on the new install, but in full screen on the old one. I managed to get it to work briefly by randomly turning the TV display on and off in Display settings and rebooting a few times. As soon as I closed the player I had been using and opened it again, it had reverted back.

Thinking I might have ATI drivers that are too early for SP2, I checked the ATI site for later ones. Normally I don't update drivers for the sake of it, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but in this case it was. I found that they recommend SP2 is installed for everything later than Catalyst 5.1. I used the ATI uninstaller to remove everything and loaded Catalyst 5.6 drivers and MMC 8.9. This has made no difference at all, TV displays full screen but nothing else does.

Anyone got any clues as to what combination of Catalyst and MMC I need to use under SP2 to get it working as it should?

[lordsmurf]

I don't use SP2. Don't need it.

[Nelson37]

We should collect all of these ATI driver hell stories and make a book, maybe Stephen King would be interested?

That temporary correction which went away after closing and re-opening the program is very telling, whenever I have had similar MMC issues in the past I have either had to learn to live with it, find a workaround, or format and re-install. Or delete the registry keys involved. Sometimes this is simple, sometimes not.

Multiple attempts with different drivers and MMC versions can endanger your hair, and can often make it worse. There is no guarantee that the correct combination is currently available.

If you decide to reformat and reinstall, however, rest assured that ATI will have an updated driver that becomes available shortly afterward.

Have you tried different resolution settings, refresh rates, changing mode on the TV? Sometimes you have to trigger a re-write of whatever registry settings control the feature that is causing trouble.

[Richard_G]

I've heard about others having problems with ATI drivers, just as I've heard of people having problems with Creative drivers too. But in most cases they only have themselves to blame. I am not in the habit of updating drivers for the sake of it, if it ain't broke, why fix it!

My original ATI Rage chipset AIW came with the relevant drivers and MMC 7.7 and worked perfectly, the Radeon one I have now came with Catalyst 4.2 and MMC 8.9 and also worked perfectly. It is only since trying this configuration with SP2 that it has stopped doing what it always did before.

This leads me to think that it isn't an ATI problem but an SP2 one. Either there is a driver/MMC combination that works with SP2 or there isn't. In which case, I'll simply junk SP2. I'm just hoping someone has found a driver/MMC combination that works 100% under SP2.

A format and re-install isn't too much of a problem as I'm doing that at the moment anyway. I've got very little software loaded on the SP2 install at the moment. I'm just installing a bit at a time and testing everything to make sure it works. Which in the case of Theatre mode, it doesn't!