virtualbox.org

Host: Win 7 x64
Guest: XP SP3

The issue is that that whenever video decompression is needed (Windows Media Player with/without k-lite, TV-Tunner ...) nothing is shown up, just a blank window within the player. Also if I enable 3D Acceleration and test Direct3D in dxdiag it pops up an error : "Test failed at step 8 (Creating 3D Device): HRESULT = 0x8007000e (Out of memory)". I click Ok and then the rest of the test seems to work fine, but no 3D application works, showing "Direct3D Initialization Error".

DXDiag result :
DirectDraw test results: All tests were successful.

Direct3D 7 test results: Failure at step 8 (Creating 3D Device): HRESULT = 0x8007000e (Out of memory)
Direct3D 8 test results: All tests were successful.
Direct3D 9 test results: All tests were successful.

P.S.: Is video decompression done by GPU or CPU, I mean video codec file is loaded into memory and the complex functions are executed by CPU on the video file, right ?

edit: and i forgot, if i use VLCplayer which has it's own build-in codecs works fine .. and i suppose the answer for the upper question is GPU ..

It's not the use of CPU vs GPU that's the problem here, it's the output method in use. WMP uses by default DirectX output, VLC uses whichever method is available, be it DirectX or DirectDraw. You will see the difference if you increase the video size (e.g. go to full screen), it will look blocky/blurred. What you can do, is enable 3D and install the GA with 3D option enabled (so the DX files get installed too). It's best to install it from safe mode, as system files are replaced during installation and Windows can silently restore them, rendering the GA 3D unusable.

Thx for reply but I already did that .. in safe mode .. something is fishy here as i recreated the VM for 5 times or so in all commbinations: with 3D accelereation, without, with more/less ram ...

Did you also change the output mode in the VLC settings and checked how it looks then? Instead of selecting Default, use DirectX. You can also download Media Player Classic from www.codecs.com and check the output with that.

Ok .. so i tried all video outputs in VLC and the results are :
-Default .. Ok
-YUV video output .. no video at all
-Windows GDI video output .. Ok
-DirectX video output .. Ok (i guess is DirectDraw )
-Video memory output .. no video
-Stats video output function .. no video
-OpenGL video output .. Ok
-Dummy video output function .. no video
-Directx 3D video output .. Black window
-Directx 3D video output with Wallpaper mode enabled .. VLC crash
-Color ASCII art video output .. Ok
-Enabled wallpaper mode with default output .. Video Ok but black desktop

Before these tests, I installed GA with 3D in safe mode and after reboot both d3d8.dll and d3d9.dll Sun vs in system32 were in place, windows didn't change them.

I installed WMP 11 on my VM (didn't have WMP at all) and my video played just fine in it. As soon as I increased the video size above it's 100% size, it started to get blocky, just like when in software mode (not using DirectX output or anything. This is with my VM having 3D enabled, though not yet the 3.0 GA (doh). Will update the GA and test again. I'm thinking your missing a codec or something. Maybe.

Update:
Installed the new GA, same story. It really looks like you're missing something to play the file. WMP sucks anyway IMO, the whole UI doesn't feel right compared to other players (MPC, VLC), the older WMP was a lot better.

The issue is Direct3D not working properly and the solution is waiting for a new GA with better 3D acceleration support.
The reason i needed a VM was running a prior vs of wondows (xp sp3) to be able to install a video input device that apparently requires DirectX 3D, and others, not watching movies.
Now, I'm probably the only one with this issue because of some hardware incompatibility problems or something(I have a Asus 8600GT). In the following days I'll copy the VHD and test it on another machine to see if my theory is right.

If you can't get video on WMP, and I can, it's not a VB problem. The issue lies somewhere in what you're trying to do. What I see on my WMP is that it reverts to the default low quality renderer, instead of the higher quality DirectX. I see the same in Media Player Classic.

I'm still pointing towards the codec problem. Don't go say that it works 'only because VLC plays it', because VLC doesn't use the system codecs, which are obviously missing, it has them build in. Download and install FFDShow (www.codecs.com has it) and use MPC (on the same site), and see how that goes. There is nothing MPC or VLC can't play that WMP can.

I know VLC has it's own built-in codecs being independent on system codecs, but as i sad I don't need the VM for watching videos, i can do that on the host very well. The problem is a modem phone and a TV-Tunner with driver support only for XP x32. The modem works fine on VB but the TV-Tunner's software shows a black windows exactly like WMP or VLC in DirectX output. The reason I'm sure it's not a codec problem is because I done the same thing in a fresh XP install on a new partition or in VMware(I installed a clean OS and ran TV-Tunner software with no codec installed, because like VLC has it's own codecs) and it works.

If you want and have some time you can try lunch this app on your VM without Direct3D (just replace d3d8.dll and d3d9.dll with originals) and see if you can play any video file in it (the app beside broadcasting TV analog input can also play video files as long as you have the right codec for it, just drag the file on the window ) so we can prove whatever the app requires direct3d or not .. here is the app http://leadtek.com/downloads/?lang=eng& ... tPVR%2Ezip

No need for testing anymore .. i just tried in VMware without direct3D an it works .. I have no idea why is not working in VB ...

If you have USB tv tuner and use that program to watch TV, it might be the same problem as with webcams: not perfect USB support. Since 3.0.0 they increased the performance of USB inside the VM and webcams should now work, but there are still some USB devices that require a bit more speed. The TV tuner can be one of those devices. If the software can't get the data fast enough, you will see a black screen instead of the actual video.

Yes you're right .. the device requires a USB2.0 so ... Also I've managed to run a video in tunner's soft so it's probably not because of DirectX ..
Thanks a lot for your replys