From: "Rich Gauszka" 


"Geo."  wrote in message news:45dbbeac{at}w3.nls.net...
> So I got vista working with high def video, however after hours of trying
> it's become clear to me that the drm is kicking in if I try to play HD
> content in anything but Windows Media Player. Probably because the other
> players are not written to interface with the DRM system. I can't imagine
> why they would need to considering the fact that none of the video is
> DRM'd but that's certainly how it appears to me.
>
> I have confirmed that the codecs needed are present and being used by all
> the media players, they play lower resolutions but soon as I pass the
> threshold I get black screen playback in everything but WMP.
>
> Anyone got any suggestions? I hate WMP.
>
> Geo.

There was quite a bit of confusion in August 2006 over the ability of  X32
Vista to play HD content thanks to coments made by Microsoft's Senior
Program Manager Steve Riley.  It does appear that Vista's HD support is a
bit confused

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/52643.html

Microsoft issued a statement clarifying comments its Senior Program Manager
Steve Riley made at the conference on Thursday, which other publications
have reported, but commotion over the issue has not yet abated.

Riley's Faux Paus

Riley told his TechEd 2006 audience Free How-To Guide for Small Business
Web Strategies - from domain name selection to site promotion. that
"any next-generation high definition content will not play in x32 at
all. This is a decision that the Media Player folks made because there are
just too many ways right now for unsigned kernel mode code [to compromise
content protection]."

Media companies asked Microsoft not to support high definition content in
x32-bit versions of Vista, Riley explained, because unsigned malware
running in kernel mode can get around content protection.

"We had to do this," he concluded.

Setting the Record Straight

If Riley's comments were correct, then Microsoft Windows users wanting to
play Blu-ray or HD DVD content on their PCs would need a 64-bit processor
and a 64-bit version of Vista to do so. The 64-bit version of Vista
requires all drivers to be signed to keep content protections in place and
stop pirates.

However, Enderle Group Principal Analyst Rob Enderle spoke with Microsoft
product managers personally on Friday to clear up the matter. Microsoft
told Enderle that Riley's comments were off the mark.

"There are DVD capabilities built into the system Back up your
business with HP's ProLiant ML150 Server - just $1,299., but there was
never a plan to put HD DVD or Blu-ray capability into either the 32-bit or
the 64-bit version, and there still is no plan to put it into either
version. That will be supplied by third parties," Enderle told
TechNewsWorld.

Half-Baked Software

That means Vista will allow users to play high-definition DVDs, but they
will have to plug in a player from Cybermedia, Innervideo or some other
manufacturer to do it. That scenario reflects the same approach Microsoft
took with Windows XP, the most current available version of the operating
system.

"Part of the reason Microsoft isn't supporting high definition in
Vista is that HD DVD and Blu-ray software isn't fully cooked yet,"
Enderle said. "Even if they wanted to drop it in, it's not stable
enough to throw into the operating system right now. If those platforms are
still around when the follow-on to Vista shows up -- which some of us have
doubts about -- then it might be in the follow-on product."

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