AW: AW: 2.9 and wmv video?

[Richard Gaskin]

Mark Schonewille wrote:
> On my very old PC, I only got sound, no picture. After doing several  
> tests, some of which in Windows Media Payer, I was eventually able to  
> play WMV files that I couldn't play before.
> 
> I am not sure that the problem is caused by Revolution. It might be  
> Media Player, Windows or my graphics cards.

In the "Read Me" that used to accompany the old MetaCard installation, 
Scott Raney wrote:

   MetaCard is very good at exposing bugs in the drivers for
   graphics cards.  These problems seem to be most frequent
   in Windows 98, but can plague any Windows system.  The most
   common symptom are images or cursors that draw in the wrong
   colors or with the mask and data reversed, and bits of
   windows left on the screen when they are closed or moved.
   Be sure you have the latest drivers from the vendor of your
   graphics card.  If the problem still exists with those, try
   turning acceleration to its lowest level.  If that doesn't
   fix the problem (or even if it does), please report this
   bug to the vendor of your graphics card.


When I first read that opening line I thought, "What an arrogant SOB, 
since my customers are reporting that all of their other apps work fine 
but the one I built with MetaCard!"

But in working through these issues with my customers, I found that 
"everything else works fine" usually means the only other apps they're 
using are Microsoft apps, and for years the APIs MS used internally were 
not always the ones they publish for other developers so they don't make 
a good comparison.

But moreover, I found that when I was able to get the customers to 
update to the latest drivers for their video card, in 99% of the cases 
the issue went away.

So in the end I have to admit that Dr. Raney was right: the engine is 
indeed very good at exposing bugs in the drivers for graphics cards. :)

That's not always the answer, but updating drivers to the latest 
versions will at least rule out the possibility, allowing you to 
investigate other options with greater confidence.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
  _______________________________________________________
  Rev tips, tutorials and more: http://www.revJournal.com