New build questions

[Tiapan]

Just finished my HTPC build. The core is an integrated ASUS/AMD solution with ATI 4200 embedded graphics card. All went well and works well except for a couple of troublesome issues.

1. Currently feeding an old Sony 32" HD CRT (HDMI out). While the DVD playback is fine the windows desktop is awful. I suspect it may be the max refresh rate the card can support at the native resolution. Soon I will be replacing probably with a 42" plasma. Will the desktop improve considerably?

2. Win 7 Media Center will not play DVD's however PowerDVD 9 Ultra will just fine. It would be nice to have the remote control available with MCE. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance....

 

[Wishmaster]

It would be nice to have the remote control available with MCE. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance....

Newegg.com - AVS Gear MG-IR01BK Windows Vista/Window7 MCE Infrared Remote Control

 

[Wordsworth]

Just finished my HTPC build. The core is an integrated ASUS/AMD solution with ATI 4200 embedded graphics card. All went well and works well except for a couple of troublesome issues.

1. Currently feeding an old Sony 32" HD CRT (HDMI out). While the DVD playback is fine the windows desktop is awful. I suspect it may be the max refresh rate the card can support at the native resolution. Soon I will be replacing probably with a 42" plasma. Will the desktop improve considerably?

2. Win 7 Media Center will not play DVD's however PowerDVD 9 Ultra will just fine. It would be nice to have the remote control available with MCE. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance....

How old is your DVD drive? I had a problem where neither Win 7 WMP or Media Center would play DVDs when I rebuilt my system stilll using an old Toshiba DVD-ROM. I couldn't find a firmware update for it so I bought a DVD burner and all works well since. You may need to find a firmware update for your drive, or find a newer model drive and test it in your system.

On your first question, do you have the latest drivers installed for the graphics chipset?