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http://aaxnet.com/editor/edit042.html
Find A draconian DRM (Digital Rights Management)
in the article.. I didn’t like the idea of this in Xp, I definitely don’t like it in Vista.

I have the same specs as you do, except that I upgraded to a HD2600XT. I still eperience the choppy video on live OTA HD broadcasts. But not all the time?

What type of output are you using to your tv?

Stuart

I checked all of the power settings and adjusted them all. The problem was not that Media Center was turned off, it was that the display would not reinitialize after it was turned off. ATI has since fixed this problem with a driver update. I also experienced some choppiness with recorded TV playback, and upgrading my video card seemed to fix it.

- Anthony

I have a 27 inch CRT TV connected to my Xbox360 Extender running Windows Vista Media Center, and watch it from a distance of about 15 feet. I have found the interface to be fine for me at this distance, and do not think it is a strain on the eyes.

- Anthony

I have an HTPC that I put together with many different parts and it had worked great with MCE on XP. I just upgraded to Vista ultimate and with respect to 4. Display problems, it is because you have power save on (turn the hard disk after 1 hour). Just turn that off and Media center should stay on all the time. My only concern is that I have choppy SD recorded video playback, whereas with xp, I did not.

I am looking to buy the VIAO media Center and have only a 28 inch widescreen CRT sony at the moment (no money to buy IAn LCD) and I am planning to hook up via Component to Scart . Assuming the connection is sound, I was wondering whether you had any feedback on the display and usablity of Vista on a standard CRT TV? Will I be straining my eyes for evermore?..

Cheers

Steve

Yes, I did solve the problem of choppy TV playback, but I was not able to solve it with the ATI Radeon X300 video card that was included in the Sony VAIO. After repeated emails to ATI customer support, opening a ticket with them, and getting nowhere, I got frustrated with their lack of support and replaced the video card. I actually upgraded the video card to an NVidea 7600GS, and it has worked perfectly ever since. I still have not heard back from ATI about the problem.

The sound problems I was having with the secondary digital lock were fixed with a new driver that came out in January of this year for the sound card. (Note: I am using the drivers for the sound card that came down with Windows Update, not anything from Sony directly.) The sound works flawlessly now using the SPDIF output on the back of the PC.

Dragan