How to get Theater mode working in ATI ( VISTA )

[raymerjacques]

Nvidia has permanently disabled fullscreen video mirror. So for all the nvidia fanboys all i can say is "I know how you feel." . it is totally outrages that nvidia would disable something so vital to alot of users !!!

In ATI the same feature is called theater mode, and is working to some extent, i expect they will perfect it as time goes by. So to all the ATI fanboys, Ain't you glad now that you made the right choice when you chose ATI over Nvidia ?? I know i am

To get it working in ATI just follow below :

ok this is what i did.

First set your vista theme to windows basic ( same as the glass theme, just without the glass effects ), fullscreen is not yet surpported in aero glass theme, hope they fix this soon.

1. - I installed ace mega codec pack.

2. - I installed real alternative.

3. - I installed quicktime alternative.

4. - I installed the the ATI catalyst 7.3 drivers ( old drivers )

5. - reboot pc.

6. - open ATI control panel on basic settings.

7. - set monitors to clone mode and tick the box that allows you to set how monitors will display picture.

8. - on next page set the size ( i used 1024x768 ) and choose fullscreen theater mode, scale to fullscreen.

now go test a movie, it should be working, if not just mess around with the settings, reinstall drivers etc ...

9. once you got fullscreen working, install new "7.4 catalyst drivers" but choose "upgrade" and then when asked choose "custom" .

10. when it gives you options to select , select driver update only, do not upgrade control panel.

now you are done

------------------------
I know it sounds complicated, but i had it working easily before, then i reloaded vista and could not get it working again, and after much frustration the above method is how i got it working again.

Atleast it is working in ATI, and once setup it will work forever. Nvidia has now disabled fullscreen video permanently , so ATI is the only option now.

Things to remember :

1. - with real alternative and quicktime alternative. when you install them, untick the media player classic box ( in setup menu ), you already installed media player classic with ace mega codecs and you don't want them clashing.

2. remember to set your theme to vista/windows basic.

3. players that i tested fullscreen on :

Windows media player - not working.

media player classic - working 100%

Realplayer - working 100%

just set media player classic as your default player for movies, it is way better than win media player anyway and has zoom options and less adware and spyware.

Hope this helps for anyone trying to get theater mode running. I cannot live without this feature !!!

Way to go ATI !!!

---------------

hope this helps

 

[Ketxxx]

Its not the fault of ATi or nVidia. Vista is just crap in a lot of respects and thats why manufacturers are having a hell of a time trying to get fully working Vista drivers. Dont expect any solutions in the near future.

 

[raymerjacques]

Its not the fault of ATi or nVidia. Vista is just crap in a lot of respects and thats why manufacturers are having a hell of a time trying to get fully working Vista drivers. Dont expect any solutions in the near future.

it is true, vista is full of crap and manufacturers are having a tough time.

BUT, nvidia said that the feature will no longer be availible in the future because of the way vista is coded, it is impossible to have this feature working.

Yet it is working in ATI, it may take a little effort to set it up but it is working. and i am sure that ati have other things that are more of a priority at the moment than theater mode, but they will eventualy get to it and perfect it since it is there and just needs some fixing.

For nvidia to enable this feature it is a whole different ball game, they would have to re write their core, which they aren't willing to do. yet as a user you should benefit from all the product has to offer, so rightly they should rewrite their code .... bad nvidia

Anyway, my original post is just a guide for those that want the feature but are having a hard time setting it up, i had a few PM's asking me how i got it working, this is the reason for the post.

( oh and about drivers, manufacturers had plenty time to make drivers for vista, they had all the alpha versions, beta versions, and rtm version of vista. the reason they are having so much issues is because when they were meant to work on driver support they chose to ignore vista, and now that vista is released they are suddenly under pressure to produce. if they had started driver support a year ago they would all have fairly stable drivers out now and not beta crap... just a thought. )

 

[Ketxxx]

True, but at the same time it also makes you think.. if manufacturers didnt want to make drivers for Vista.. somewhat of a silent protest as to how shitty Vista actually is perhaps?

 

[raymerjacques]

i don't deny that vista has it's flaws, infact i prefer xp over it in alot of ways. but vista is here and slowly making it's way into the market. eventualy you will have to upgrade weither you want to or not, when software is made to run on vista only and require Dx10 you will have no choice, and it is not far off either. The same will happen when windows 7 ( codename vienna ) comes our way in the near future.

should the consumers suffer because the manufacturers refuse to keep their drivers up to date ? from early beta versions ATI already had far more stable drivers readily availible, and it is for this reason that i bought ATI, now all my friends are buying ati's too and also for this reason.

as an end result nvidia will lose millions of dollars to ATI ....

the same happened with lexmark and HP, both manufacturers refused to support vista when it first showd it face, yet cannon and other printer manufacturers had drivers ready, so i went and got a cannon printer and will never again support either HP or Lexmark....

you see where i am going with all this ?

I am just one guy, but because i was first to run vista and warn friends and family of these things 1 guy becomes ten, they tell their friends and 1 guy becomes 100, and that is just in my city alone....

Everyone is so consumed by having the fastest card on the market, so they all run to grab the 8800, when they get home they discover that a crap load of things aren't working .... On the other hand you have ATI which most people assume are losing millions because they are more concerned about stability than having the fastest card, but in the long run everyone goes for stability. I have met more than a dozen people online that are pissed off with the fullscreen feature not working on nvidia and everyone of them said their next card will be an ATI, i think that nails the hammer into the box at the end of the day...

 

[Mikeybloke]

Easy way to do it is download Media player classic homecinema (if you cant find it you can get it bundled with the cccp codec pack) do a search to find the executible file and right click property's then compatibility. tick the bottom two options (disable desktop composition & display scaling) and save. Afterwards set it as your default player and open a video file, windows will switch to vista basic and you will get perfect theater mode on your second monitor/tv.

 

[pax681]

Nvidia has permanently disabled fullscreen video mirror. So for all the nvidia fanboys all i can say is "I know how you feel." . it is totally outrages that nvidia would disable something so vital to alot of users !!!

In ATI the same feature is called theater mode, and is working to some extent, i expect they will perfect it as time goes by. So to all the ATI fanboys, Ain't you glad now that you made the right choice when you chose ATI over Nvidia ?? I know i am

To get it working in ATI just follow below :

ok this is what i did.

First set your vista theme to windows basic ( same as the glass theme, just without the glass effects ), fullscreen is not yet surpported in aero glass theme, hope they fix this soon.

1. - I installed ace mega codec pack.

2. - I installed real alternative.

3. - I installed quicktime alternative.

4. - I installed the the ATI catalyst 7.3 drivers ( old drivers )

5. - reboot pc.

6. - open ATI control panel on basic settings.

7. - set monitors to clone mode and tick the box that allows you to set how monitors will display picture.

8. - on next page set the size ( i used 1024x768 ) and choose fullscreen theater mode, scale to fullscreen.

now go test a movie, it should be working, if not just mess around with the settings, reinstall drivers etc ...

9. once you got fullscreen working, install new "7.4 catalyst drivers" but choose "upgrade" and then when asked choose "custom" .

10. when it gives you options to select , select driver update only, do not upgrade control panel.

now you are done

------------------------
I know it sounds complicated, but i had it working easily before, then i reloaded vista and could not get it working again, and after much frustration the above method is how i got it working again.

Atleast it is working in ATI, and once setup it will work forever. Nvidia has now disabled fullscreen video permanently , so ATI is the only option now.

Things to remember :

1. - with real alternative and quicktime alternative. when you install them, untick the media player classic box ( in setup menu ), you already installed media player classic with ace mega codecs and you don't want them clashing.

2. remember to set your theme to vista/windows basic.

3. players that i tested fullscreen on :

Windows media player - not working.

media player classic - working 100%

Realplayer - working 100%

just set media player classic as your default player for movies, it is way better than win media player anyway and has zoom options and less adware and spyware.

Hope this helps for anyone trying to get theater mode running. I cannot live without this feature !!!

Way to go ATI !!!

---------------

hope this helps

erm.... spyware? adware?
in windows media player? there isn't any.
there is also none in mpc either.. so it's not a case of LESS it's a case of NONE OF THEM HAVE SPY/ADWARE.
i was interested in your solution until i saw your blatant "scareware" aka "bullsh*t" statement right there in red.
it is what we call a blatantly FALSE statement... or as some say a lie.
whether this lie is said by sheer and utter ignorance or by "fanboi-ism" of some kind of no excuse.
you show me absolute proof of what you say and i'll eat my own feet uncooked.
until then that quote in red will remain as the nail in your hammer of any authority or any respect.