Fix: Wrong resolution when re-syncing HDMI from Media Centre

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Robbo

My setup: Windows 7, nVidia G210 HDMI, Marantz SR6004, Panasonic plasma.

If the amp is put into standby and then turned back on, often the media centre will output a low resolution once everything syncs. The fix for this is to go through the display settings wizard in media centre whilst it looks wrong, correct the res there, then save it.

I don’t get this when resuming the media centre from sleep, only when it has been on and effectively disconnected by the amp being powered off.

All credit here: http://richardstk.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/incorrect-screen-resolution-when-resuming-from-sleep-with-windows-media-center/

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ATi Catalyst 10.6 does not work with 4870×2 cards or Crossfire

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Robbo

The Crossfire problem is quite well known, but not many people are mentioning the issue with the 4870×2 – quite possibly it is broken with all x2 cards, furthermore it’s probably exactly the same issue as these are two GPUs on one card. Anyway, roll back to 10.5 until ATi fix it. My symptoms included all source engine games causing a flickering screen followed by a blue screen caused by the driver getting stuck in a loop. Also BFBC2 would only show a white screen instead of loading correctly.

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Set default search in Chrome to google.co.uk without it defaulting to a UK search

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Robbo

Why do you care? Because if you’re a UK internet user, sometimes you will want to click on the “show results from sites in the UK” button. And if you’re a chrome user, sometimes this button won’t be there because it keeps sending you to google.com by default.

Continue reading →

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Why Cyclists Run Red Lights

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Robbo

It’s perhaps only cyclists who will have any sympathy for this – but as a pedestrian, driver, and cyclist in London, I happen to agree with it entirely. Any thoughts?

http://onthelevelblog.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/stop-at-red-the-ethics-and-politics-of-cyclist-red-light-running/

Edit, oh, and this: http://thebikeshow.net/the-physics-of-running-red-lights/

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DICE are still doing it right

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Robbo

DICE have confirmed that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on PC will stick to the tried, tested, favoured formula of using dedicated servers for on-line play. Infinity Ward / Activision’s recent hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had dropped support for such servers, to outcry from the PC and pro gaming community.

In my opinion DICE will see both Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 embraced by the community in exactly the same way that Battlefield 2 was – and still is some four years after release – with prize-winning tournaments still prevalent such as at the recent i38 gaming event.

http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/battlefield_bad_company/archive/2009/10/26/dedicated-to-our-pc-players.aspx##

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Using DirectShow Video Acceleration for mkv VC-1 / h.264

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Robbo

Marc has written a ferocious guide on how to take the load off your CPU when watching HD rips on Windows Media Centre. Check it: http://marcroberts.info/2009/11/dxva-and-mkv-in-windows-7/

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ATi driver support is still boring

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Robbo

Is it so unreasonable to put a consumer grade graphics card into a computer running Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2? ATi seem to think so as they offer absolutely no driver support for either platform if using one of their myriad of Radeon cards. You might think you could just use the Vista or Windows 7 versions, what with them being the same driver model? But no, the installer just crashes on load. nVidia Geforce cards just work.

Furthermore, like a complete plum, I bought an ATi 4550HD for my new media centre. Well now every time I take the TV out of stanbby I have to reset the HDMI connection by either running a clever app or powering the TV off and back on . Why? Because ATi can’t be bothered to fix the issue with their drivers.

The lesson here is never move away from nVidia. They are just much better at supporting their products and customers. I’ll be replacing everything ATi both home and at work with nVidia as soon as I can.

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blinkbox.com launches Paid Streaming

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Robbo
blinkbox logo
blinkbox.com has launched paid streaming with over 1,100 movies from Warner Brothers and Universal available to stream instantly.
It’s actually pretty good, you know.
Continue reading →
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[woob]Robbo at i36 SF4 Final

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Robbo

A couple of vids below (remember to click HQ), of me getting beat by Affro in the i36 Street Fighter 4 final. Good banter throughout, though if he’d landed that super-taunt into ultra I think we would have fallen out. Last time I let him do one of those for the crowd :)

Posted in Gaming, Vids | 1 Comment

SkyHD update fixes single feed woes for flat dwellers

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Robbo

Hooray! Sky have added a single feed mode to SkyHD boxes for those of us stuck with just one cable coming into our living rooms.

This is a Good Thing. Many many customers have been crying out for this for a couple of years, so it’s about time.

Here’s how you do it: Sky article on how to put SkyHD into single feed mode

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