dcunneen Posted June 15, 2001 Share Posted June 15, 2001 Hi guys, I have a question: I use PowerDVD 2.5 to watch movies (it came with the computer) and it's cool except for 2 things: 1) it's not quite as smooth as tv or video - it doesn't actually *jerk* as such, just judders slightly when there's supposed to be smooth movement 2) the colours are slightly funny - if there's a sunset or something the gradations aren't smooth, i can clearly see the layers of colour, as if i'm in a low-colour mode or something (which I'm not). Do I need to get a hardware decoder (like a Hollywood Plus) to fix these problems, or are they simply part of watching DVD on computers? I have an Athlon 1200, 128MB DDR RAM, and a Hercules Geforce 2 GTS 64MB. my monitor I watch movies on is a 19" flat Viewsonic. If anyone reading this can shed some light on the matter, please don't hesitate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted June 15, 2001 Share Posted June 15, 2001 windvd.. powerdvd.. one worked better for me and I cant remember. Ill try em out and let ya know. I usually have no problem playing DVD on my comp. You should not have to get a DVD card with that vid card ------------------ 1GHz TBird Abit KT7A-RAID Kingmax 256MB PC150 256MB PC133 Infinion Annihilator2 32MB GT§ Intel Pro100+Management NIC Promise Ultra100 IBM 75GXP 45GB ATA100 Maxtor DMP6800 27.2GB ATA66 Plextor 16X10X40A §ony 12X DVD §BLive! 5.1 AOpen HX08 Full Tower 300W §ony CPD-G400 19" Triny ProMedia 4.1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted June 15, 2001 Share Posted June 15, 2001 PowereDVD plays the sound better.. windvd has crackling but I think WinDVD might have better image quality.. As for you Problems.. Don't know what to say. Have you checked for different options? try the VideoMode option on AutoSelect if it is not. Let me know what happens.. email me if you need more help. Might need to uninstall and reinstall it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted June 18, 2001 Share Posted June 18, 2001 Hollywood plus definitely makes a huge difference to the load on your system but unless you are tryin to do other things on your system at the same time you shouldnt need it. What resolution are you running at to play the DVD's? I noticed on a Celeron based system that in 800*600 mode it played back perfectly but fell over badly at 1078*762. You may also want to play with colour depth. 16 bit / 24 bit - depends on the video card and driver as to which will work better. On the subject of drivers check out you have the latest versions for your video card - it can make a huge difference. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted July 21, 2001 Share Posted July 21, 2001 Well, GeForce cards are pretty bad at playing DVDs. They use software DVD decoding and that stresses the CPU a lot. The Radeon has hardware DVD decoding, and currently the Radeon has the BEST DVD playback on the PC and does not need a decoder card. For a GeForce card, I would recommend getting a decoder card for DVDs. ------------------ Computer: AMD T-bird 1.0GHz@1.0GHz AOpen AK73 Pro 2x 128MB Mushkin High Performance REV3 222 IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30GB AOpen DVD-1640 Pro (16X DVD/40X CD) ATI Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO Hercules Game Theater XP Samsung SyncMaster 900IFT CSW DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Digital Home Theater: TV: Sony KV-ES34M91 (34" FD Trinitron WEGA) DVD: Sony DVP-S9000ES Receiver: Sony STR-V555ES Speakers - Center: Klipsch RC-3 Mains: Klipsch RF-3 Surrounds: Klipsch RS-3 Subwoofer: Klipsch KSW-12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterus Posted August 10, 2001 Share Posted August 10, 2001 Hi dcunneen, My Hercules Prophet DDR DVI video card (GeForce 256 DDR) also came with PowerDVD 2.5. I had no problems playing DVDs on my PC and the colours were splendid, especially after I did just a minor amount of playing with the video card settings - the overlay tweaks etc. Playing DVDs was great - no separate hardware decoder used. (Caveat: one DVD movie did have a minor amount of jerkiness on one particular scene) But that's my experience, as it would appear that others may have had problems as well when you consider KaiN64's observation. Anyhow, I've just replaced my video card with Leadtek's GeForce II Ultra - I've yet to try playing DVDs on this card (using, this time, PowerDVD 3.0) and hopefully that will be ok. Regards, Asterus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asterus Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 Hi folks, Tried a few DVDs using my new Leadtek GeForce 2 Ultra video card and it works fine - 'bout the same as my older Hercules Prophet DDR DVI - maybe a bit better. Ciao, Asterus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 i like power dvd the most. however, it seems like win dvd has teh best picture. i just like all the features of power dvd, it is just more powerful. ------------------ -justin I am an amateur, but if it is professional help you want contact Amy. Email Amy IM Amy Or pick up that phone and call right now Toll Free: 1-888-554-5665 ------------------------- Just do me a favor and run up my counter... I know that sounds sad but so is my site! http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/berry/88/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 get the latest power dvd, it is great! and free? mine was! he he he ------------------ -justin I am an amateur, but if it is professional help you want contact Amy. Email Amy IM Amy Or pick up that phone and call right now Toll Free: 1-888-554-5665 ------------------------- Just do me a favor and run up my counter... I know that sounds sad but so is my site! http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/berry/88/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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