Just a quick update on a previous post about problems with BBC HD in Windows 7 Media Center when using ATI video cards.
As I have pointed out on Nigel Dessau’s Blog (closed by AMD since this article was published), the length of time customers have had to wait for a fix to this issue is now beyond reasonable. ATI should stop blaming Microsoft (even if this is a legitimate laying of blame) and implement their own fix. If a driver fix is not possible then ATI should work on enabling the avivo codec in LiveTV by making it conform to Microsoft’s DRM requirements (as Cyberlink have apparently done with the PowerDVD codec).
Whilst ATI and Microsoft are responsible for not fixing this problem, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the BBC for creating it. Tweaking their encoding process has not only created this problem, but it has also reduced the quality of their HD broadcasts even when they are playable. It’s all well and good creating stunning programmes like “Planet Earth” but it’s barely worth it if they are then so heavily compressed for broadcast they look nothing like the quality of HD that is obtained from a physical medium (i.e. BluRay). Stop wasting spectrum with all those channels that no-one watches and start broadcasting HD as it ought to be seen!
In the meantime here are the places to keep checking for progress with this issue…
- Microsoft KB article
- Thread #1 on GreenButton
- Thread #2 on GreenButton
- AMD Forum
- Nigel Dessau’s Blog
- AMD InfoBase Article
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