[ppisciot]

Just installed Windows Media Center on an AMD Phenom II X6 system with an LED 1920 x 1080 display. Whenever I put in a movie to play, it gives me the message Cannot Play DVD. The DVD may be in use by another program... The DVD is NOT in use by another program but the screen switches to a lower resolution which I think is the problem. I don't know how to prevent it from switching. I ran the WMC configuration utility and set it to the correct resolution but still the same thing. As soon as I exit, it switches back to the higher res. I also installed VLC which works fine but I want to get WMC to work also. Other posts suggest installing some Codecs, however, I installed the same package on a different system (different motherboard, CPU and video card) and it worked fine so I'm assuming the included Codecs are correct. Still another post suggests update the video driver. It is an integrated ATI Radeon 3000 chip and when I go to the ATI website, none are listed. Doing a search for the driver from Device Manager says that I have the latest driver from Microsoft.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Pete

 

[omprakashkalal]

Please restart windows media centre and insert the DVD again. ... When you do rip files and try to use them in the way you are dont you need to mount the drive being used?

 

[ppisciot]

I will try to rip them and see if that works, however, I shouldn't have to do that. I just want to play a movie. These are commercial movies so they may not even be able to be ripped. Besides, it works perfectly in my other computer and also in VLC Media Player. Something is up with WMC.

 

[OldGrayGary]

I don't use Windows Media Center myself, so at the moment I can't test things myself. But I've heard a little about the changes to DVD playback in Windows 8, so I'll pass along a few things.

I imagine you've already seen these two pages over on Microsoft sites:
Codecs: Frequently asked questions
FAQ - DVD playback and Windows Media Center in Windows 8 - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

Especially interesting to me are the last two paragraphs from the second link:
Why doesn't Windows Media Player support DVD playback even after installing Media Center?
Based on the above discussion, it should be clear that we cannot enable DVD playback all the time in Windows Media Player. Given the ongoing feedback to avoid feature overlap and to avoid the complexity of behavior changing for a previously installed component, we only enable DVD playback in Media Center once it is installed.

If I upgrade in place, can't I just use the codecs that were already purchased with Windows 7?
The usage rights to these codecs needed to play DVD do not carry forward to a new version of Windows after you upgrade. These terms are defined by the licensors of these technologies, not Microsoft or OEMs.

Just as a first quick-fix try, if your current DVD drive came with a DVD playing program (I know you've already installed the free VLC player), try installing that one as well (but if you don't like it much, don't let it become the default player during installation - or change it later). I find that the Cyberlink programs commonly installed by major-brand manufacturers include most all necessary codecs. I don't know if VLC includes as many or not. If you have a copy of Nero, Roxio, Sonic, or other recording software, these also often include codecs for DVD playback - you can try adding them back into the mix if you've an installation DVD around from your earlier Windows 7 system. [I'm assuming that you have the upgrade edition of Windows 8].

Another area of the FAQs pages mentions that the codecs need to be in a matching bit-depth for them to work in Windows 8. So, if your Windows 8 Pro is a 64-bit version, you'll want to add the 64-bit versions of the codecs. I suppose that could be a possible hurdle as well.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

 

[ppisciot]

Thanks Gary for your suggestions. Yes, I had already seen the first link but not the second. I had an old copy of PowerDVD but it was not compatible with Windows 8. This machine is for a customer and I have to deliver it tomorrow, so I guess they will have to live with VLC for now. I just like to know why things work or don't work. Thanks again for your help.

Pete