Opening media center distorts my display

GPS said:

I have my HP connected to my Panasonic Plasma via DVI/HDMI converter, everytime I open Media center my screen get scrambled for around 20sec, then works fine. It seems that every time there is some thing that needs to go full screen in windows 7, this same problem occurs. Do you guys know of any fixes for this? (this wasn't an issue in XP)

Do you have the resolution and MC resolution set to the same?

Edit: To elaborate, Media Center maintains its own resolution outside of the standard defined resolution. If they are set different, depending on the quality of your video card, you’ll see distortion as the resolution is changed.

GPS said:

Thanks for the reply, I just checked and my media center setting match my computer resolution settings. My TV is 1080p 60hz and those are my setting on my computer and media center. This problem also happens with other video players when going to full screen.

What video card and drivers do you have?

The Windows 7 drivers for the GeForce 7900GTO has problems. What driver revision are you using? Always get your nVidia drivers directly from their website, do not use the Windows Update version.

I'd also suggest getting a lower end DX10 card to replace the 7900GTO. I don't believe nVidia will be putting very much effort into the DX9 card drivers eventhough W7 can simulate DX10. The cheap price of DX10 cards may make it a worthwhile investment versus the frustration of troubleshoot a possibly error prone card.

soop said:

Mine is plugged into a TV too (1080i though) and when I make Media Center full-screen, or when the machine is booting, logging on, or when it asks for special permissions for programs, the TV takes a couple of seconds to think about it. Don't know why, but it does.

The delay when going into "secure desktop" (the dimmed background when the UAC) is common for lower-end cards. What card and drivers do you have? What is your WEI for Graphics?

If it is just a matter of your card not being able to handle Aero you can turn off the secure desktop and Aero if needed but before you do that lets see if it is a different problem.