Here's another extremely strange one.   Tonight I tried to burn a show to DVD for the first time since "upgrading" to Vista and Media Center crashed (ehshell.exe).  After Media Center crashed and restarted, then the Media Center Extensibility Host crashed (ehexthost.exe).

When I check the event logs I also see that SBEServer.exe has also crashed due to a faulting module "atidvcr.dll".

When I let the Problem Reports and Solutions do its thing, it pops up with a "solution found" with the following information:

Download updates for ATI Multimedia Center

This problem was caused by ATI Multimedia Center. ATI Multimedia Center was created by ATI Technologies, Inc..

A solution is available that will solve this problem.

Solution

---

 

A tool is available from ATI Technologies, Inc. that will help solve this problem. This tool is available at the ATI Technologies, Inc. website.

ATI Technologies, Inc.

Download instructions

1. In the File Download dialog box, click Run or Open. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Follow the steps in the installation wizard.

The ATI Technologies, Inc link takes me to the following ATI website:  http://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&questionID=21348

This website tells me to first install the latest DirectX 9.0c Microsoft Updates from http://www.microsoft.com/directx, followed by downloading and install a whole bunch of updates to the "ATI Multimedia Center 9.13".

This makes absolutely no sense since I don't have the ATI Multimedia Center installed (whatever that is) and on top of that, the release date on the patches I am being told to install are all from January 2006.  These files are from before Vista was even released!!!

What is going on here???

BTW, this whole scenario is repeatable.  All I have to do is attempt to burn a DVD again.

Note that I do not have any additional DVD software installed at all.  This is a basic Vista Home Premium install with all of the latest WHQL drivers installed (except I'm running ATI's Catalyst 7.7 since 7.8 completely corrupts AGP based systems, especially Vista's Media Center).

Here is an old thread where others were experiencing a very similar situation:

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/192888.aspx

I'm inclined to think my problem is somehow related to the ATI video drivers, possibly related to corruption caused by installing Catalyst 7.8 on AGP hardware (that many of us have experienced).

Here are the error logs:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        Application Error
Date:          30/08/2007 3:14:03 AM
Event ID:      1000
Task Category: (100)
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      HTPC
Description:
Faulting application SBEServer.exe, version 0.9.0.0, time stamp 0x4549b672, faulting module atidvcr.dll, version 9.14.0.4873, time stamp 0x461a4f2f, exception code 0xc000001d, fault offset 0x0004e7e2, process id 0x70c, application start time 0x01c7ead54a2fd93e.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Application Error" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>100</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2007-08-30T07:14:03.000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>83175</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>HTPC</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>SBEServer.exe</Data>
    <Data>0.9.0.0</Data>
    <Data>4549b672</Data>
    <Data>atidvcr.dll</Data>
    <Data>9.14.0.4873</Data>
    <Data>461a4f2f</Data>
    <Data>c000001d</Data>
    <Data>0004e7e2</Data>
    <Data>70c</Data>
    <Data>01c7ead54a2fd93e</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

Log Name:      Application
Source:        Windows Error Reporting
Date:          30/08/2007 3:14:29 AM
Event ID:      1001
Task Category: None
Level:         Information
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      HTPC
Description:
Fault bucket 12145042, type 5
Event Name: CLR20r3
Response: None
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: ehshell.exe
P2: 6.0.6000.16386
P3: 4549b55e
P4: mscorlib
P5: 2.0.0.0
P6: 4536f11f
P7: 4072
P8: 27
P9: System.InvalidCastException
P10:

Attached files:
WER1EE1.tmp.version.txt

These files may be available here:
Report0adf42d4
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Windows Error Reporting" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="0">1001</EventID>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2007-08-30T07:14:29.000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>83176</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>HTPC</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>12145042</Data>
    <Data>5</Data>
    <Data>CLR20r3</Data>
    <Data>None</Data>
    <Data>0</Data>
    <Data>ehshell.exe</Data>
    <Data>6.0.6000.16386</Data>
    <Data>4549b55e</Data>
    <Data>mscorlib</Data>
    <Data>2.0.0.0</Data>
    <Data>4536f11f</Data>
    <Data>4072</Data>
    <Data>27</Data>
    <Data>System.InvalidCastException</Data>
    <Data>
    </Data>
    <Data>WER1EE1.tmp.version.txt</Data>
    <Data>Report0adf42d4</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

Log Name:      Application
Source:        Windows Error Reporting
Date:          30/08/2007 3:15:01 AM
Event ID:      1001
Task Category: None
Level:         Information
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      HTPC
Description:
Fault bucket 51685916, type 5
Event Name: CLR20r3
Response: None
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: ehexthost.exe
P2: 6.0.6000.16484
P3: 4642675b
P4: SonicMCEBurnEngine
P5: 6.0.6000.0
P6: 4549bdd6
P7: 3d
P8: a9
P9: System.InvalidCastException
P10:

Attached files:
WER5022.tmp.version.txt

These files may be available here:
Report091bbf18
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Windows Error Reporting" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="0">1001</EventID>
    <Level>4</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2007-08-30T07:15:01.000Z" />
    <EventRecordID>83177</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>Application</Channel>
    <Computer>HTPC</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>51685916</Data>
    <Data>5</Data>
    <Data>CLR20r3</Data>
    <Data>None</Data>
    <Data>0</Data>
    <Data>ehexthost.exe</Data>
    <Data>6.0.6000.16484</Data>
    <Data>4642675b</Data>
    <Data>SonicMCEBurnEngine</Data>
    <Data>6.0.6000.0</Data>
    <Data>4549bdd6</Data>
    <Data>3d</Data>
    <Data>a9</Data>
    <Data>System.InvalidCastException</Data>
    <Data>
    </Data>
    <Data>WER5022.tmp.version.txt</Data>
    <Data>Report091bbf18</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

Since the "offending" file that seems to have started this whole issue is "atidvcr.dll", I searched the hard drive for it.  It is located in:  C:\Program Files\Common Files\ATI Technologies\Multimedia.

I assume this must install as part of the ATI video driver, who knows which version... (since the ATI driver doesn't uninstall properly with X1950 cards - http://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&questionID=27466).

Further trying to figure out what this file is for, my search came upon a dxdiag.txt file on my hard drive that I previously sent to ATI (trying to sort out the lack of DXVA).  In it, this file is listed in the DirectShow Filters section (many times):

DirectShow Filters:
ATI MPEG Audio Decoder,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI EZShare Server,0x00200000,1,0,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI EZShare Client,0x00200000,0,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Time Shift Splitter,0x00600000,1,2,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Time Shift Reader,0x00600000,0,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI MPEG File Writer,0x00200000,1,0,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI MPEG Video Decoder,0x005fffff,1,2,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI VCR Video Converter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Video Format Converter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI CC Multiplexer,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI MPEG Audio Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI VCR Stream Sink,0x00200000,0,0,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI MPEG Video Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI MPEG Multiplexer,0x00200000,2,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Audio Delay Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Video Scaler Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI CC Splitter Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Noise Reduction Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Audio Pitch Correction Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI Video Rotation Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI VCR Stream Source,0x00600000,0,0,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI FM-On-Demand Filter,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873
ATI MPEG Audio Encoder,0x00200000,1,1,atidvcr.dll,9.14.0000.4873

So my next question is why on earth is an ATI directShow filter being used when attempting to create a video DVD?

How do I get rid of all this ATI junk that installs along with the video drivers and make my Vista installation functional again?

Jessica, or anyone on the ehome team,

Have you had a chance to read through this issue?

We have 2 unprotected shows that I've promised to burn to DVD for my mother in-law, but DVD burning isn't working and I don't know how to fix it.  For her, its two episodes of "the most important soap opera" she missed and for me its embarrassing that our "high end" Media Center can't write to the DVD burner.

Is Microsoft's recommended fix (first post above) really supposed to fix this issue (installing patches to software that I don't even have installed, and was released a year before Vista was released)?  I'm trying to keep the Vista installation as clean as possible and this doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

I believe I have resolved the DVD burn problem.

It turns out that Catalyst 7.8 installs by default the AVIVO codec package.  I suspect since the uninstall didn't work properly, it left some of the codecs installed when I uninstalled 7.8.

To fix the problem I first installed the AVIVO package for Catalyst 7.7 (it still wouldn't burn at that point) and then uninstalled it.  This removed all of the ATI codecs and DVDs then started to burn properly again.

JessZahn:

Interesting. I'll pass along the info to the DVD burning team. Thanks.

Something interesting and very annoying I discovered tonight.

When I downloaded Catalyst 7.8 directly from ATI's web site, the file was 71.3MB in size and when installing it, the file that caused DVD burning to fail, "atidvcr.dll" installed automatically, along with the driver.

Now, at the exact same link on the ATI web site there is a new Catalyst 7.8.  It is listed as the same driver version, with the same file date, etc., except it is now only 39.7MB in size and when I extract the files and look inside, it does not include "atidvcr.dll".

ATI has clearly made changes to the driver and released it again at the same revision.  Searching the ATI web site there is no mention anywhere of an updated Catalyst 7.8 being released.

How can ATI get away with this?  Shouldn't they acknowledge some of the issues caused with the original release of Catalyst 7.8 and let us know what was fixed with the new Catalyst 7.8?  Shouldn't the new one be released as 7.81 if it fixes some of the issues (like installing codecs that conflict with Media Center, installing TV Tuner drivers for hardware that doesn't exist causing Media Center TV recordings to fail, etc.).

Not only did ATI not admit to this problem, but they quietly fixed the driver and quietly replaced the available download on their web site.

If anyone finds this hard to believe (I do), this post http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=580789 contains, about 2/3 of the way down, a discussion on the size of the driver being 71MB.

Currently on the ATI web site http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/vista32/common-vista32.html (the same location I downloaded Catalyst 7.8 from originally), the file is now 39.7MB.

Actually, here is Google's cache of the ATI download link above showing the 71.3MB file http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ati.amd.com/support/drivers/vista32/integrated-vista32.html+drivers/vista32/integrated-vista32.html

You can also do a Google search for "Catalyst 7.8 71.3MB download" and you'll find lots of links to the 71.3MB version.

I don't think I'll try this new version of Catalyst 7.8, but I suspect it fixes both the Media Center TV tuner issues as well as the Media Center DVD burning corruption.

And I'll make sure Chris Matichuk sees this post, as he owns our relationship with ATI. :-)

The ATI graphics drivers come in 2 flavors. One for Graphics only and another for a Graphics card with a built in Tuner (AIW). The flavor with the Tuner is *not* intended to be used with MCE (I'll elect to not digress into the AIW issue here). I'm guessing that they posted the wrong flavor of the update, and it's perfectly reasonable that they have 2 flavors.

By the way, I saw PVR-250 listed above somewhere...You should know that Hauppauge is not activelly supporting the PVR-250 and PVR-350 on Windows Vista. The tuners should work just fine...but there are a few issues (again, I'll elect to not digress into these issues here) that will likely not get fixed. If the tuners are working fine for you, then great. But you may want to upgrade to the PVR-1600.

ChrisMatichuk:

The ATI graphics drivers come in 2 flavors. One for Graphics only and another for a Graphics card with a built in Tuner (AIW). The flavor with the Tuner is *not* intended to be used with MCE (I'll elect to not digress into the AIW issue here). I'm guessing that they posted the wrong flavor of the update, and it's perfectly reasonable that they have 2 flavors.

By the way, I saw PVR-250 listed above somewhere...You should know that Hauppauge is not activelly supporting the PVR-250 and PVR-350 on Windows Vista. The tuners should work just fine...but there are a few issues (again, I'll elect to not digress into these issues here) that will likely not get fixed. If the tuners are working fine for you, then great. But you may want to upgrade to the PVR-1600.

Chris,

Thank you for the clarification.  I still feel ATI should have publicly made a statement with regard to their mistake and recommend that customers using Media Center download and install the appropriate install package.  They also should have provided a method to properly uninstall the incorrect 7.8 and install the correct one.  In my case, with the original Catalyst 7.8 installed, Media Center could not access the PVR-250.  Whenever it tried, the Media Center services would crash or the recording would simply fail.  There are many posts by myself and others in these forums who experienced the same problem.  On top of that, the original 7.8, as mentioned in this thread, compromised the ability to burn to DVD in Vista.

ATI's approach to quietly releasing a new version that doesn't have these issues isn't exactly ethical.  The incorrect version was hosted for at least a week and is still available for download all over the web.  On top of that, ATI hasn't offered any real solutions to issues caused by the error and ATI's tech support doesn't even seem aware that a non-MCE compatible version of Catalyst 7.8 was ever released. 

One of the biggest issues with the original Catalyst 7.8 is that with X1900 and X1950 hardware, it fails to uninstall properly on some systems (mine included - mine would BSOD during the uninstall), leaving the extra tuner drivers, codecs, etc installed. This renders the computer in a non-functional state.  ATI KB27466 discusses this issue.  Currently there is no solution offered (other than their suggestion to download and run in Vista, Driver Cleaner Pro 1.5 for XP).  I spent many hours manually cleaning portions of the registry and deleting files prior to getting the system to work properly again.  Even after that, as mentioned in this thread, I had to install AVIVO 7.7 and uninstall it again before I managed to clean out the extra codecs (that conflict with DVD burning).

In reality, this entire X1950Pro video card has been a Vista nightmare.  The card is Vista Certified and the box includes the certified for Vista logo, yet when I bought it there were no drivers that would function in Vista.  Eventually drivers were released, but DXVA has never worked at all, even though supporting DXVA is one of the core Vista certification requirements.  The one and only reason I purchased this card was for DXVA under Vista.  Also, ATI recommended this card to me specifically for my application (dedicated HTPC running Vista's Media Center).  Now 8 months into Vista's release, my 3+ month old support requests are still completely unresolved.  Their 2nd last reply states that AGP doesn't provide enough bandwidth for DXVA under Vista and this is a hardware limitation (note that DXVA works fantastically with this card when I boot into MCE2005).  The most recent argument is that ATI didn't actually certify this card for use with Vista, however when I talked to Sapphire (the card is a Sapphire X1950Pro 512MB AGP), they tell me that ATI is responsible for drivers that are compliant with the certification.  After that last exchange, Sapphire won't even reply to my e-mails or support requests (almost 3 weeks without any response).

In addition to that, this card is still unable to output spec compliant 720p and 1080i through component output.  Again this is a core requirement for Vista certification that once again has not been met yet.

Chris, could you elaborate on the Vista Logo and WHQL programs? 

Who actually performs the certification for Vista and WHQL certification for video drivers? 

Is there a phone number or e-mail at Microsoft I can call to discuss the non-compliance of this product?

Are vendors allowed to claim compliance if they promise to fully comply with the specifications in a certain period of time through driver updates? 

If so, how much time to they have?

Chris,

Are you able to answer any of my questions above?

BTW, since I am still having issues with ATI's 7.7 drivers (no DXVA and crashing of Media Center & Media Player when ATI codecs are used), I decided to download the latest Catalyst 7.8 drivers from the ATI web site and take a look at them.  To my surprise they are actually different drivers, not just a different driver package.

Not only do the files compare differently, but the actual build numbers are different.

The original Catalyst 7.8 drivers have a build number of 50974.  The ones I downloaded yesterday have a build number of 52020, even though they are packaged within a package with an apparent build number 50974 and have the identical driver version number (Catalyst 7.8) and external file name.

Most importantly, while the original 7.8's caused my system to be completely unstable, my TV tuner to fail, Media Center to crash, and many other system troubles; the new 7.8's work resolve all of these issues.

The new 7.8's also are the first drivers for this card that provide spec compliant 720p and 1080i output through component video.  Not only does it do this, but it also properly handles scaling of all standard resolutions to perfectly fill the screen (once custom resolutions for 720p and 1080i are created that fill the screen).  I'm very pleased to see this, since it has been one of my big complaints since I replaced my Nvidia 6800 with the ATI X1950Pro.

Unfortunately the new 7.8's don't do anything for DXVA.

ChrisMatichuk:

Sorry, I don't have answers on the graphics side. My familiarity ends with the TV Tuner. Maybe there's someone from the graphics side on this forum that can answer your questions?

I'm wasn't looking for technical help with my card. 

What I was wondering about is how things can get this messed up (certified hardware that somehow was certified without performing to spec), and if there was anything I could do to pressure the parties responsible to put some priority on fixing DXVA in Vista.

HT Silder: When you download and install the ATI software Catalyst 7.8 , do not install AVIVO.

When you install ATIs CC 7.8 use custom not express, that will give you the option not to install AVIVO.
You have to remove all ATI software first, I think (not sure) that's in Add and Remove or its in the ATIs Catalyst 7.8 software on the main install page of Catalyst 7.8

Edit too add:  Sorry I did not see all of the posts, I see you have fixed it.