Windows 7: A couple odd problems with WMC

ok so there are a couple of small somewhat annoying problems i have found and was wondering if anyone knows a fix or a solution for them.

what i am running........ intel duo 2.6 with ATI all in wonder HD, main display is the DVI output to a 22 inch monitor, second display is HDMI output to sharp 36" HDTV running 1080i.

the problems.,......



1: when WMC is maximized on the sharp i cant seem to move my mouse back to my main display, when in a window its fine though, i CAN press alt+tab or Win key and my mouse comes back over to main display but when i do that both the monitor and my tv flicker back and fourth on and off till it comes back a few seconds later, and every other time WMC stops responding and has to be restarted..... i know i can run it in a window but than i feel it defeats the purpose of WMC IMO.


2: Basicly i dont know if it CAN be done but if so i would like to find out how....... as of right now i have my entire computers audio going through the HDMI OR my Computer speakers.... what i would like to do is somehow only use the HDMI for WMC and have all my system sounds come through the computer speakers? is this even possible a *dual* audio output with selectible sources? i know i can turn my sytem sounds down seprate than WMC but can i change the audio output source?

no ideas huh?

I have dual monitors, and pressing the Windows key allows me to move the mouse off the WMC when it is maximized to the second screen - however, my dual screens are identical 22" WS monitors, each running off an independent graphics card (pair of GTX 260s) so mine flickers for up to 2 seconds and then all is well.

That is how I can watch Jeopardy, The Mentalist Numbers, etc. while being on here / playing a game / etc.

I suppose it has to do with your HDMI connection, assuming that your TV supports HDCP - I think it thinks that you are trying to do something 'illegal' like streaming it or recording it or whatever.... If your setup does not do HDCP, then it may be the fact that the All in Wonder cards are iffy to begin with....but you might check your CCC to see if there is an option along the lines of Always enable HDMI port". Sorry, I don't have any ATI cards anymore, and have never owned an AIW so I can't help much more with that....

As for the second option, if you mean simultaneously that is not possible with your AIW (nor, in fact, with most tuners. If you mean that when you run WMC then sound goes through HDMI and when you are not running WMC then sound goes through your speakers, there might be a possibility - but if there is it will directly negate what I said previously, in that you'll need to change a setting (if it exists) for your AIW in CCC to 'Not always send a signal' on that HDMI port, and then see if your sound card shows two separate devices for sound - HDMI and Regular sound - and if so, if it disables the disconnected devices (meaning the HDMI when it is not on) then you can set the HDMI to default, and when the TV turns off (and thus the HDMI gets disconnected) your sound should revert to your previous default - the speakers.

I have a set of Logitech headphones for Notebooks with a USB adapter - obviously when I don't have the USB adapter plugged in the sound app does not show it, hence it disables the USB device, so I used this similar approach to set my speakers as default, then plugged in the USB adapter, and then set it to default.

now, if the USB is not plugged in, the speaker out (feeding my 210W Dolby Receiver with surround and center and main) is my main output. If I plug the USB in, it immediately shifts over to being the primary (default) device, and all sounds are routed to the USB adapter.

i have found some sort of solution to my problem. not yet in wmc yet. but in wmp you can choose to output to digital. something like settings>preferences>something rather. this means that you can output two different audio streams, so long as you keep analogue audio to default so everything else opens through my headphones.

edit: i also found in wmc settings you can change the sound option to digital.

Hi,

You first question:
there is a setting in WMC "always on top". Change that and you will be able to go back and forth the desktop.

A note though. When you switch from full screen to windowed it always stops playing and turns black for a moment. That is default behaviour.

But it isn't supposed to crash.


Your second question:
I have solved this by getting a DVI to HDMI adapter and conect my HDMI cable to the DVI output of the graphics card.
This has two advantages.
1. You can select a different sound source.
2. It circumvents DRM. (digital right management)

I find that setting the resolution and image settings is easier to do when using the DVI out instead of the HDMI.

Hope this helps.

Good luck