Playback and Picture Quality is Poor When Viewing TV and DVD Movies

Playback and Picture Quality is Poor When Viewing TV and DVD Movies
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In this document:
Video playback pauses briefly (stutters) and the sound is not synchronized
Step 2: Turning off or customizing the power management settings
My TV display is black and white
A white or gray line appears on the screen
This document applies to HP Media Center computers using Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition.
Use the solutions listed below to resolve poor picture quality problems on Media Center computers.
Before you begin, make sure that the problem is not with the DVD movie, video file, or TV signal itself. If possible, make sure the DVD disc and video file can be played on another system and there is no problem with the TV signal.
Video playback pauses briefly (stutters) and the sound is not synchronized
Most playback problems can be resolved by updating the video and sound driver and freeing up the system resources.
Step 1: Updating the video and sound drivers

Playback software driver:

Media Center and Windows Media Player - Get the latest updates for Media Center and Windows Media Player using Windows Update . Updates contain the latest fixes and feature enhancements.
InterVideo WinDVD - To download the latest versions of WinDVD included with the HP Media Center computer go to HP Software and Driver Download Web Page . To upgrade to a full version of WinDVD or for updates use InterVideo's Web Site (in English).
TV tuner card driver - Go to the HP Software and Driver Download Web Page , enter the model name of the HP Media Center computer and download the latest TV tuner driver.
Graphics card driver - Go to the HP Software and Driver Download Web Page , enter the model name of your HP Media Center computer and download the latest graphics card driver.
Sound card driver - Go to HP Software and Driver Download Web Page , enter the model name of the HP Media Center computer, and download the latest graphics card driver.

Step 2: Turning off or customizing the power management settings
For more information about setting power management options, go to Power Management Overview (Windows XP) . To turn off or customize your power managment options, follow the steps below:

Open the Control Panel. Click Start on the taskbar, and then click Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance and then click Power Options to open the Power Options Properties window.

Click the drop-down arrows to select your power managment options.
Click Apply, and then click OK to save your settings.

Step 3: Freeing up system resources
The computer system has limited resources. Running other programs while playing movies will use up these resources and may affect the picture quality. Use the following HP support document for details on how to make the computer run quicker and more efficient: Increasing System Resources Without Adding Memory

My TV display is black and white
Reinstall the TV tuner driver.
Restart the computer. Do not open any software programs, especially the Media Center software program. If you have any programs that start up automatically make sure you close them.
Click Start, All Programs, PC Help and Tools (or hewlett-packard, hp pavilion PC Tools, and then HP Application Recovery.
Select Driver Installation, and click Next.
Select the name of the TV tuner used on the computer (eMuzed or Hauppauge or Conexant).
Click Install, and then click OK after the driver has finished installing.
Click Quit to close the HP Application Recovery program and restart the computer.
Connect to the Internet and click Start, All Programs, and then Windows Update.
Install a new tuner driver from the list of driver updates. Select the name of the TV tuner that came with your computer and install the new driver.
Restart the computer.

A white or gray line appears on the screen
If your PC model includes a GeForce 6600 graphics card, a white or gray line may appear on the screen when using the playback controls while viewing a DVD in Media Center.
To resolve this issue, try a different graphic mode, or press the Back button in Media Center, and press the OK button on the remote control.