Which video types are considered secure/trusted by Windows Vista Media Center?

Question

I've been working to set up a Windows Vista Media Center and I noticed that when I play certain DVDs, the video is scrambled. After watching this video, I think it is because Windows Vista considers Component Cables to be untrusted and therefore scrambles the video.

The video says that VGA is a trusted video type, but I was curious of which other types are trusted? If I were to use a DVI to HDMI cable, would that be trusted?

Edit: Scrambled as in: The video looks like a rainbow checkerboard. The audio plays as expected. I'm using component cables for the connection to my TV.

Answer 1

It appears that your video card is applying Macrovision protection on certain DVDs. Not all Video cards do this and not all of them do this at all resolutions. It could also be some kind of HDCP issue but usually Media Center will display an error message to that effect.

Here is a web page that describes some of the Macrovision issues with ATI cards.

Generally speaking running Component Video from a PC to an HDTV is a bad idea. Getting the timings and resolution right can be a painfull process. The order of preferences for connecting a PC to a TV should be:

1. HDMI
2. DVI -> HDMI
3. DVI -> DVI
4. VGA -> VGA
5. Component