Troubleshoot Video and Display Problems

	In Windows Vista, the preview window that displays video from a camera device no longer works after you wake the computer from sleep. The preview window may stop responding. For example, this problem may occur if you preview the video from the camera by using a program such as Windows Live Messenger, and then you put the computer put to sleep while the video is still playing. This problem occurs if the computer is configured not to require a password when the computer wakes up.
	Consider the following scenario: You are using a Windows Vista-based computer. You have Aero Glass disabled, or the video card does not support this mode. You are playing a video in Microsoft Windows Media Player. You are playing the video in full-screen mode. You right-click the full-screen video to display a shortcut menu. In this scenario, the video playback window becomes unresponsive. If you press CTL+ALT+DEL to exit full-screen mode, Windows Media Player functionality returns.
	Windows Vista displays the incorrect dedicated video memory size for certain display adapters. The incorrect dedicated video memory size appears in the system display settings and in the Windows System Assessment tool (Winsat.exe). This problem occurs if the dedicated video memory size is not a power of 2. For example, if a display adapter has 320 megabytes (MB) of dedicated video memory, Windows Vista shows that only 256 MB of dedicated video memory is available for the display adapter.
	Consider the following scenario: You are using a Windows Vista-based computer. The computer is connected to an external monitor by using an S-video connection. You configure the desktop area to extend across both displays. This configuration is known as "Extended desktop" mode. In this scenario, when you click Play in either the Pictures section or the Videos section of Windows Photo Gallery, a black screen appears to load. However, the pictures or the videos do not appear on the screen.
	Consider the following scenario: On a computer that is running Windows Vista, you play a video that requires that Certified Output Protection Protocol (COPP) is used for playback. For example, you play a video from a Blu-ray Disk. The application that you use to play the video uses Video Mixing Renderer 9 (VMR-9) to display the video. You use two or more monitors, and you extend the desktop. The application is running on the primary monitor or on the secondary monitor. In this scenario, the application does not play the video. Or, an error occurs in the application.
	You use Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer to play a DVD movie. When you switch the display to use a different "video out" port, the DVD movie may be unexpectedly set to play from the beginning. Additionally, the screen may flicker.
	When you use certain NVIDIA GeForce FX Series video cards to view images in Windows Photo Gallery, you may experience display issues. These issues may occur if there is a bug in the NVIDIA GeForce FX driver that you are using. This issue has been observed in the following NVIDIA GeForce FX Series video cards: GeForce FX 5100 GeForce FX 5200 GeForce FX 5300 GeForce FX 5500 GeForce FX 5600 GeForce FX 5650 GeForce FX 5700 GeForce FX 5750 GeForce FX 5800 GeForce FX 5900
	You apply a windowless skin such as the Revert skin to Microsoft Windows Media Player 11, to Windows Media Player 10, or to Windows Media Player 9. However, after you apply the skin, certain kinds of video content do not play.
	In Windows Vista, the dedicated graphics memory that is reported by the "Performance Information and Tools" item in Control Panel may be less than the actual graphics memory that is available for the primary video card. The dedicated graphics memory is reported under Graphics in the "View and print details" page of the "Performance Information and Tools" item in Control Panel.
	When you use full-screen mode to watch video in Windows Media Center, the screen saver may start on a Windows Vista-based computer.
	Consider the following scenario: You use a Windows Vista-based computer. You use a widescreen monitor that is attached to a video card. The video card uses a Uniform Memory Access (UMA)-based video card driver. Note UMA-based video card drivers are associated with integrated video chipsets. There is no indicator in the operating system that informs you whether a driver or a chipset uses UMA architecture. In this scenario, if the Windows Experience Index (WEI) score is greater than or equal to 3.0 in Windows Vista, slide show pictures are not displayed in the centre of the screen. Instead, the slide show pictures are displayed on the left side or the right side of the screen.
	You use a Windows Vista-based computer that has a video card that supports DirectX 10. When you click the Display tab in DirectX Diagnostic Tool, 9Ex appears as the Device Driver Interface (DDI) version. This problem occurs even though DirectX 10 appears as the DirectX version on the System tab.
	When you watch a video in Windows Vista, video performance may suddenly be reduced. For example, you may notice lost frames or other poor video performance. This problem occurs if the following conditions are true: The system does not support Windows Aero. For example, the computer is running a version of Windows Vista that does not support Windows Aero, such as Windows Vista Home Basic. Or, the video hardware of the computer does not support Windows Aero. The video window is partially covered by any of the following Windows elements: Windows Sidebar. The Windows Start menu. A tooltip. A software pointer that has shadows. Any window that has rounded corners or other transparent elements. A window that has shadows. A sprite that has transparency elements or shadows. A sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation. For example, some Gadgets for Windows Sidebar are sprites. Video performance decreases only when any of these elements partially cover the video. When the elements no longer partially cover the video, the video plays as expected. The poor video performance may be more severe on computers that have slower CPU hardware. Other factors that may affect this problem are the display resolution, the random access memory (RAM), the graphics processing unit, the memory bus, and the drivers.
	When you press MUTE on the remote during live TV playback, closed captions may not appear on the TV screen that is connected to the Media Center Extender for Windows Vista. The issue occurs even if Windows Media Center is configured to display closed captions when the audio is muted.
	When you start a slide show in Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista, the slide show stops, and you receive the following message: Loading… When this issue occurs, you do not see the slide show pictures. You may hear audio for the slide show if the slide show includes audio. This issue occurs even though the Windows Experience Index rates the computer's Graphics and Gaming graphics with scores of 3.0 or more.
	Consider the following scenario: You are watching Live TV in Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer. You change the channel to a program that is being broadcast in a high-definition television (HDTV) format. In this scenario, a green screen is displayed instead of the expected Live TV program.
	Consider the following scenario: You are running Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer. You put the computer into hibernation. After you resume from hibernation, the Windows Media Center window is black. Additionally, if Windows Media Center was running in full-screen mode when you put the computer into hibernation, the whole screen is black after you resume from hibernation.
	In Windows Vista or in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you experience poor performance when you view images by using the Slide Show feature in Windows Photo Gallery or in Windows Live Photo Gallery. For example, transitions between the images may be choppy.
	Consider the following scenario. You have a computer that is running Windows Vista Ultimate or Windows Vista Home Premium. The computer receives digital cable by using a CableCARD. However, when you watch Live TV or Recorded TV in Windows Media Center, you may experience macroblocking or blocking artefacts. For example, square sections of the picture are not displayed correctly. These sections may appear to be missing, or they may appear as a single block of colour. Additionally, the picture may appear distorted or pixelated. If you rewind the video, the distortion appears again at the same location in the video. This problem is most likely to occur when one of the following conditions is true: You watch or record TV from a high definition (HD) channel. The motion of images on the screen is very fast. Scenes changes occur quickly.
	When you upgrade a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista, multiple monitors are not enabled. This issue may occur if the computer has more than one graphics adapter installed.
	You are watching a video in Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 in Windows Vista. When you move the Windows Media Player window by using a drag operation, the video performance may suddenly be reduced. For example, you may notice lost frames or other poor video performance. Video performance decreases only while you move the window. When you stop moving the window, the video plays as expected. This problem occurs if the following conditions are true: The system supports Windows Aero. However, Windows Aero is turned off. This problem does not occur when Windows Aero is turned on. The screen has been rotated by using a third-party display rotation utility. This problem does not occur when the screen has not been rotated.