Windows 11 24H2 EVR DRM Playback Regression and Release Preview Fix

Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 24H2 servicing wave has introduced a disruptive compatibility regression: users report Blu‑ray, DVD and digital‑TV applications freezing, showing black screens or returning copyright/protection errors when attempting to play DRM‑protected content after installing the August preview (KB5064081) and the September cumulative rollup (KB5065426). Microsoft has acknowledged the regression and is staging a targeted remediation via the Release Preview channel while advising caution for content‑critical systems.

Background​

Microsoft shipped an optional non‑security preview for Windows 11 24H2 on August 29, 2025 (delivered as KB5064081), and incorporated the same servicing changes into the September 9, 2025 cumulative update (KB5065426). Within days of the preview and after the broader rollup, reports surfaced from consumers, HTPC users and software vendors that specific playback scenarios for protected content were breaking. Symptoms include copyright or “protected content” error dialogs, repeated playback interruptions, freezing frames and black screens when using applications that rely on legacy protected rendering paths.
Microsoft’s public messaging on Release Health and support channels confirms the issue is a known regression affecting certain Digital TV and Blu‑ray/DVD applications on Windows 11, version 24H2; engineering is working on a corrective update and a targeted repair was staged to Release Preview in mid‑September.

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Why this breaks playback: EVR, HDCP and the protected media chain​

The legacy rendering path at the center of the problem​

At the technical heart of the regression is the Enhanced Video Renderer (EVR) — a long‑standing Windows component used by older DirectShow and some Media Foundation playback paths to composite video frames on trusted Direct3D surfaces. EVR has historically participated in Windows’ protected media pipeline, which is required by certain types of licensed content that demand platform‑level enforcement to prevent unauthorized capture or exposure of decrypted frames. When EVR fails to obtain the expected secure rendering surface or the handshake with other DRM components fails, the platform intentionally “fails closed” and blocks playback.

HDCP and platform DRM: why playback stops instead of degrading​

Two distinct but related technologies are involved:

• HDCP (High‑bandwidth Digital Content Protection) — a handshake protocol between the PC (GPU/output path) and the downstream sink (display or capture device) that guarantees the secure path for high‑value content.
• Platform DRM (AACS, PlayReady and related enforcement) — the OS and driver coordination that ensures decrypted audio/video frames are never exposed to ordinary process memory or capture channels.

If any link in that chain fails (for example, a protected Direct3D surface cannot be allocated with required protections), the platform must prevent output entirely to comply with content licensing rules. The result for affected users is not degraded visuals but an error, a black screen, or frozen playback. Recent servicing changes appear to have altered a low‑level interaction in this chain, breaking the EVR ↔ DRM ↔ graphics driver handshake in some configurations.

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Timeline and Microsoft’s response​

1. August 29, 2025 — Microsoft publishes the optional preview update KB5064081 (OS build 26100.5074). Early community reports link playback failures for EVR‑dependent apps to this preview.
2. September 9, 2025 — The September cumulative rollup KB5065426 (OS build 26100.6584) rolls the changes into mainstream servicing, widening exposure.
3. Mid‑September 2025 — Microsoft publicly acknowledges the behavior on Release Health / Windows Q&A and stages a targeted remediation to the Release Preview channel (community reporting references a package in the 26100.671x family, commonly referred to in vendor forums as KB5065789). Engineering advises affected customers to delay installing the implicated updates on content‑critical systems while the repair is validated.

Microsoft’s stated approach is to preserve the security and servicing improvements introduced by the updates while delivering a surgical fix that restores the protected media path for legacy EVR scenarios. That staged flight to Release Preview is consistent with a security‑first remediation strategy that minimizes rollback of broader hardening work.

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Scope: who is affected (and who is not)​

• Likely affected:
  • Home Theater PC (HTPC) setups using third‑party Blu‑ray/DVD playback software that still rely on EVR or DirectShow protected sinks.
  • Digital TV/tuner and capture applications that depend on OS‑level HDCP enforcement and platform DRM for audio/video.
  • Certain archival, kiosk or capture workflows that rely on legacy rendering stacks.
• Likely not affected:
  • Modern streaming clients (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube) and most Windows Store/UWP apps that implement app‑managed DRM and use newer rendering pipelines (for example, the Simple Video Renderer (SVR) surfaced via MediaPlayer and IMFMediaEngine APIs). These modern paths generally bypass the EVR protected sink and were not broadly reported as impacted.

This split narrows the population affected but magnifies the impact for households and professionals who rely on physical media or broadcast TV applications.

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Symptoms reported in the field​

Users and vendors across community forums and industry outlets reported a consistent symptom set shortly after the implicated updates were installed:

• Immediate copyright/protected content error dialogs when attempting to play Blu‑ray or DVD discs.
• Black video windows while audio may continue, or both audio and video blocked depending on the DRM envelope.
• Repeated freezes, stutters or aborted playback until the problematic update is removed or the targeted remediation is installed.

Those behaviors are reproducible in many reported cases and are consistent with the protected‑path handshake failing to initialize.

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Verifying claims and what remains unverified​

Multiple independent technical outlets and community reports corroborate the timeline, KB identifiers and the description that EVR + HDCP/DRM scenarios are affected. The file and forum evidence reviewed shows consistent references to KB5064081, KB5065426 and a Release Preview repair flight around mid‑September.
However, a specific claim that circulated in some summaries — that the August update previously caused SSD failures during large file transfers — is not corroborated in the available reporting and community files we reviewed. That assertion appears in some brief recaps but lacks linked investigation records or vendor confirmations in the dataset searched here. Treat that SSD‑failure claim as unverified until concrete telemetry, vendor advisories or Microsoft documentation confirm it. Users who see unusual storage behavior after updates should collect logs and contact hardware vendors and Microsoft support for a formal investigation.

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Root‑cause analysis: what likely went wrong​

The evidence points to a servicing change that altered how the OS initializes or validates protected media paths used by EVR. Possible technical vectors include:

• Initialization ordering changes in DRM/graphics subsystem that prevent EVR from allocating a protected Direct3D surface with the required flags.
• A tightened validation in the platform DRM stack that rejects existing driver behavior or surface negotiation sequences used by older playback apps.
• Interaction regressions between the servicing payload and specific GPU driver implementations that surface only on certain hardware/driver combinations.

Because platform DRM and HDCP enforcement must “fail closed” to remain compliant with content licensing, even a minor mismatch yields the user‑facing block rather than graceful degradation. That design choice protects content owners but penalizes legitimate users when the underlying platform logic changes unexpectedly.

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Microsoft’s remediation and testing approach​

Microsoft elected to:

• Publicly document the regression on Release Health / support channels and acknowledge the behavior.
• Stage a targeted remediation to the Release Preview channel (community reporting references a small cumulative fix family referenced as KB5065789 in Release Preview builds) so Insiders and pilot customers can validate the repair on representative hardware.

This staged flight approach preserves the security fixes in the original servicing update while providing a surgical fix for the media path regression. It’s the standard approach when a servicing change produces a narrow but impactful compatibility regression. However, it does require administrators and HTPC owners to actively pilot the Release Preview repair instead of waiting for a broad rollout.

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Practical guidance for affected users and administrators​

If your system is content‑critical (Blu‑ray, DVD, digital TV, capture workflows), take these steps:

1. Identify whether your playback application uses EVR or legacy DirectShow/Media Foundation paths. If vendor documentation is unclear, test in a safe environment.
2. Delay installing KB5064081 or KB5065426 on production HTPCs until Microsoft’s validated remediation is broadly available.
3. If you already installed the updates and observe failures, consider:
   • Rolling back the implicated update on the affected machine (use Windows Update uninstall options or System Restore where appropriate).
   • Piloting the Release Preview remediation on a non‑production machine to validate restored playback before deploying widely.
4. Keep GPU drivers and vendor middleware (Dirac, capture drivers, tuner software) up to date — some compatibility issues require vendor driver fixes coordinated with Microsoft.
5. Collect logs and application diagnostics (event logs, playback app logs, GPU driver traces) and share them with Microsoft and your application vendor if problems persist — field data helps accelerate a durable fix.

Admin checklist (quick):

• Confirm Windows Update deferral policies for affected device groups.
• Pilot Release Preview remediation in controlled ring.
• Maintain rollback images for HTPCs/capture systems.
• Coordinate with capture/tuner vendors for driver updates.

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Broader implications: servicing risk vs. platform security​

This regression illustrates a persistent tension in platform maintenance:

• Servicing updates regularly introduce security and reliability hardening that benefit the majority of users.
• Legacy codepaths (EVR, DirectShow) still in active use by prosumers and professionals remain sensitive to low‑level changes. When secure, licensing‑sensitive chains are altered, the system must block output — a behavior that protects intellectual property but can lock out legitimate owners.

Microsoft’s decision to preserve core security changes while staging a surgical remediation is technically defensible: rolling back a security hardening would re‑expose systems to risk. But this incident also highlights the operational cost for specialized user groups that run legacy media stacks; those groups must now maintain stricter testing and staged deployment practices to avoid being caught by platform servicing regressions.

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Strengths and weaknesses of Microsoft’s handling​

Notable strengths​

• Transparency: Microsoft publicly acknowledged the regression on Release Health and support channels and named the affected update families (KB5064081, KB5065426).
• Targeted remediation: Staging a focused repair to Release Preview minimizes rollback risk and preserves security fixes while validating the media path repair.
• Vendor coordination: The approach allows OEMs and driver vendors to validate and push compatible driver builds without reversing broader servicing improvements.

Potential risks and weaknesses​

• Operational burden: The fix requires affected users to pilot Release Preview builds or delay updates — a nontrivial operational burden for home users and enterprises relying on physical‑media workflows.
• Narrow but high‑impact surface: The regression’s narrow scope belies its high impact; a small affected population can experience severe disruption (loss of access to legally purchased content).
• Residual unknowns: Where specific third‑party apps or hardware combinations remain untested, customers may still encounter edge cases that need additional coordination between Microsoft and vendors. These demand continued monitoring and log collection.

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What consumers and prosumers should learn from this episode​

• Maintain a simple testing ring for content‑critical systems. HTPC owners and media professionals should not be first adopters of optional servicing previews unless they can tolerate and quickly remediate regressions.
• Keep middleware and driver stacks current. Some compatibility holds in 24H2 were resolved only after OEM/driver fixes reached Windows Update, demonstrating the co‑dependency between OS servicing and vendor drivers.
• Understand that streaming services use different DRM paths. The majority of streaming clients were reported as unaffected because they use app‑managed DRM and modern renderers rather than EVR. That distinction helped limit the impact to a niche set of use cases.

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Conclusion​

The Windows 11 24H2 servicing wave and its constituent patches (notably KB5064081 and KB5065426) unintentionally disrupted protected‑content playback for applications that rely on the legacy Enhanced Video Renderer and OS‑level HDCP/DRM enforcement. Microsoft has acknowledged the regression, staged a targeted repair to Release Preview, and advised cautious deployment for content‑critical systems. While the affected population is relatively small, the impact is acute for anyone who depends on physical media or broadcast capture in Windows.
For now, the safest course for affected users is cautious testing: delay broad installation of the implicated updates on HTPCs, pilot Microsoft’s staged remediation in Release Preview, keep vendors’ drivers and middleware updated, and collect diagnostics if you experience failures. The speed and completeness of Microsoft’s broader rollout will reveal how effectively the company balances servicing security with compatibility for legacy media workflows.

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Source: RaillyNews https://www.raillynews.com/2025/09/windows-11-guncellemesi-blu-ray-ve-tv-uygulamalarinda-yeni-sorunlar/