Strange video playback issues

[TheGame240]

Quick run up to this point...
My 660Ti would detect my TV but wouldn't output any video/audio to it. So I decided to pick up a 210 since they were cheap and I wouldn't have to worry about having multiple display drivers installed. That worked fine in Windows 7, but caused OSX to need over a minute to boot and another 1-2 minutes to become responsive after boot. So I figured I'd pull the 210 and use the HD3000 graphics for the TV. That worked except HDMI audio will only work with the integrated GPU set as primary in the BIOS. So I've ordered a longer optical cable to use the motherboard audio with the integrated video.

Here's where the weirdness comes in. MP4 videos won't play on the TV. I get sound, but no video. I can play the videos on either monitor hooked up to the 660Ti, but the same videos won't play to the TV. AVIs and MKVs will play, just not MP4s. This is using either Windows Media Player or Media Center. MP4s will play using VLC, but the colors are slightly off.

So far I've tried 3 different driver versions; one from Gigabyte, one from Windows update, and the latest driver from Intel. I've also updated all my codecs and tried Quicksync acceleration enabled/disabled in the codec settings.

I'm completely unsure whether this is a driver issue, codec issue, or Windows issue. The way the files will play on the monitors connected to the 660Ti leads me to believe it's the HD3000 that's the issue, but at the same time since they will play in VLC it seems like it might be a codec/WMP issue.

I've ordered a DVI to HDMI adapter. I'm hoping I can move one of the monitors to the display port and get video to the TV through the 660Ti and avoid having to solve this issue. If that doesn't work, I'll need something else to try to correct the issue on the HD3000.

 

[Mpegger]

You are correct that this is most likely a codec issue. VLC uses its own built in software codecs, so it doesn't use any of the W7 built in codecs or any others you may have installed.

Have you tried Media Player Classic Home Cinema with other codecs, such as FFDShow? MPC-HC can edit the codecs/filters it uses so that you can manually try and find the culprit codec, as well as find one that works with your setup.

[edit] Just remembered as well. The HD3000 may also have a picky hardware decoder that expects certain file formats encoded in a specific complaint manner. Anything encoded with different settings, even if it is a mp4, may have issues. Either way, because MPC-HC can uses whatever codec you want it to for specific formats, you should be able to figure out if this is the problem. [/edit]

 

[TheGame240]

The DVI->HDMI adapter worked. Surprisingly I also get audio through the converter so the audio cable I ordered was a waste. I still find it weird that I get no video through the HDMI port, but through the DVI port with the adapter everything works fine. I know the HDMI port works since I get video to my U2410 with the same cable.

Thankfully I won't have to solve the HD3000 issue. I'm leaning towards a HD3000 quirk for anyone who stumbles upon this thread later.