Beyond TV and Vista - My Experiences

[mrlumpy]

I've been using Vista since last year, all the way up to RC2. I used Vista 64-bit as my "main OS". I eventually did, however, reformat the hard drive and install a fresh clean copy of XP. First time I've ever "downgraded".

There are lots of driver problems with Vista. Because of DRM, my sound card (which has a perfectly working 64 bit driver) will not easily install into Vista because it is "unsigned". I have to press F8 EVERY time I start the OS because the sound card is unapproved. They can deprecate support for this "F8" fix at any time, and they eventually will. So that leaves me with a $300 brick instead of a sound card.

The manufacturer of the card (HDA Digital Mystique 7.1 AC3 card) will not be providing an update because 1) the current driver works perfectly 2) even if they went to the trouble of getting the driver approved, none of the features of the driver could be activated - see the next paragraph...

As stated above, ASIO and individual audio stream access has been removed from the Vista driver model (kernel access). That means your fancy audio card can do virtually NOTHING to the sound to improve it because it can't get the raw data it needs, just the "final mix" that has already been re-sampled by Vista. $%$^ing pathetic.

That's just what I KNOW about. Who knows what other DRM nightmares are hidden. I read something about SPDIF being disabled for "premium" content so that would mean TWO outputs for your card, analog (ugh) and SPDIF "when they allow it".

Trust me guys, Vista is not ready for primetime yet, at least for Beyond TV-type users.

[mlomker]

Originally Posted by mrlumpy

Trust me guys, Vista is not ready for primetime yet, at least for Beyond TV-type users.

Well, DRM only effects protected content and that's pretty much restricted to high-def DVD's and cablecards at the moment. BTV doesn't record using any DRM so it also plays back just fine.

Not to knock your hardware choices, but if you were using a Creative X-Fi or an Intel onboard audio card then it'd undoubtedly be working. One of the great advantages of a Mac over a PC has been hardware support...every operating system release is guaranteed to support their own hardware. PC users have gotten in the habit of buying no-name stuff to save a few bucks and then they run into problems.

[Zaap]

Originally Posted by mlomker

PC users have gotten in the habit of buying no-name stuff to save a few bucks and then they run into problems.

Exactly what "no-name" sound card to "save a few bucks" costs $300?

Also, skip the PC vs. Mac noise. On EVERYTHING but the most expensive Mac Pro towers, a user doesn't even have the option of upgrading internal audio or video hardware. Of course the (very lackluster if you get right down to it) stock hardware "just works" with the OS- there's no other choice.

[mapleleaf]

I have SB Audigy 2 and with Vista all hardware acceleration is disabled and 5.1 speaker system wont work for me at all, I gat only 2 front channels. Two rear channels are listed as a separate sound card in Vista. I might as well keep using built in crappy MOBO sound chip.
I haven't tested SPDIF just yet with Vista, I wonder how that works...

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by mapleleaf

I have SB Audigy 2 and with Vista all hardware acceleration is disabled and 5.1 speaker system wont work for me at all, I gat only 2 front channels. Two rear channels are listed as a separate sound card in Vista. I might as well keep using built in crappy MOBO sound chip.
I haven't tested SPDIF just yet with Vista, I wonder how that works...

No Dolby Digital for me with Sounblaster Live and Vista, just another reason not to upgade for me.

[turls]

Originally Posted by mlomker

Well, DRM only effects protected content and that's pretty much restricted to high-def DVD's and cablecards at the moment. BTV doesn't record using any DRM so it also plays back just fine.

Not to knock your hardware choices, but if you were using a Creative X-Fi or an Intel onboard audio card then it'd undoubtedly be working. One of the great advantages of a Mac over a PC has been hardware support...every operating system release is guaranteed to support their own hardware. PC users have gotten in the habit of buying no-name stuff to save a few bucks and then they run into problems.

Whoa--had to jump in here. The Mystique is a FAR better solution than SB products for HTPC use--not the least of which is Dolby Digital Live support, which SB has missed the boat on. It was going to be my next soundcard for my next HTPC--now the question is will that HTPC be Vista exclusive or am I going to have to dual-boot to keep XP available. Of course the DirecTV MCE boxes will only work with Vista, I'm sure.

[JoeMay]

The 32-bit version of Vista does not require the driver be signed.

The 64-bit version of Vista is a bit more "hardcore" in that respect. It is known that it is less compatible and most tech sites are currently recommending that you do not use it unless you have a real reason to (i.e. using >4GB RAM, or have apps that really benefit from it).

On a HTPC, I don't think 64-bit will make a hoot of difference. So my advice would be to use the 32-bit version and save some headaches if you are planning on using Vista at all.

On a side note, I have Vista on my main machine now and it is enjoyable to use for me. BTV Link has issues, but I believe those are being resolved in 4.6. My BTV server can stay on XP forever for all I care though. It's not like I have to look at it :-)

[mlomker]

Originally Posted by turls

The Mystique is a FAR better solution than SB products for HTPC use--not the least of which is Dolby Digital Live support,

It isn't 'better' if the vendor doesn't have the programming staff or financial resources to provide a working driver. Both of my machines have an Intel spdif on them and it works out of the box with Vista.

I'm sure if you're a gamer or audio producer then the fancier cards have something to offer but I just need it to pass sound from a DVD or HDTV program. Intel's onboard audio works fine for that.