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Q:
Can
I use "software DVD" to play DVDs on my CD-ROM drive ?
A:
These type os software are called Software DVD players, but
they do not allow you to play DVDs on regular CD-ROM drives.
DVD movies are encoded in MPEG-2 format and therefore needs
a decoder before you can view them. In the old days, hardware
DVD (MPEG-2) decoder cards were used, but since CPUs have
become so fast, many people are opting to use software solution
for decoding (using the CPU to decode the MPEG-2 video/audio)
- this is where software DVD players come in to the picture
(no pun intended). Decoding the video once it is read by a
DVD-ROM drive is all that a software DVD player can do. CD-ROM
drives cannot read DVDiscs because DVDiscs use much smaller
"pits" to store information and the laser on CD-ROMs cannot
read this small pit (not sensitive enough).
Q:
I have just bought a DVD-ROM drive without any software or
hardware decoders. What do I need to play movie DVDs on it?
A:
If you plan to watch DVDs mainly on your monitor, or if you
have a video card with a good TV-out function, then all you
need is a software decoder. You can obtain such a decoder
from DVD Digest Downloads (part of the DVD Digest chain of
sites). With a software decoder, a suitable level of CPU power
is required. Most efficient soft-decoders require at least
a Celeron 300A and a video card that supports DirectX Overlays,
which most graphic cards made recently have as standard. Cinemaster,
WinDVD and PowerDVD are leading examples of software DVD solutions.
However,
if you want to watch DVDs mainly on your TV and you don't
have a video card with good TV-out, then you need a hardware
decoder. This is usually a PCI card that requires a sort of
"pass-thru" to your video card. What this means is that you
will have to connect your monitor to the output of your decoder
card, while using a supplied "pass-thru" plug, connect the
output of your video card to the input of your decoder card.
Voodoo 1 and 2 users should be familiar with this setup. Very
little CPU power is required for hardware decoder cards, as
most of the decoding in done on the onboard processor. You'll
also get the option of digital audio, in the form of an SPDIF
output plug. However, because of the use of the pass-thru
plug, general video quality is degraded when viewing on a
monitor. The most popular brand of hardware decoder is the
Creative DXR-series and Hollywood+, which both use the same
type of decoding chip.
Q:
My
DVD-ROM drive only reads CDs. How can I fix this ?
A:
If
your DVD-ROM is of the IDE variety, then this is most likely
a problem with your Windows bus mastering / HDD controlling
drivers. Make sure that your DVD-ROM drivers are installed
properly (they should be provided if they are needed - also
check the manufacturer's website for the latest drivers).
If possible, reinstall the Windows bus mastering drivers by
going into "device manager" (control panel => system => device
manager tab) and deleting the entries in the "Hard Disk controllers"
tree".Reboot and Windows should detect new drivers for your
bus mastering (Windows CD required). If you DVD-ROM is SCSI,
then an reinstall of the latest SCSI drivers might be in-order.Be
warned, messing with Windows settings is alway hazardous to
the health of your computer
Q:
Windows will not start if my DVD drive is connected to it.
How can I fix this ?
A:
This is most likely the same problem as above, ie. problems
with your Windows bus mastering / HDD controlling drivers.
Follow the above suggestions and things should work out.Be
warned, messing with Windows settings is alway hazardous to
the health of your computer
Q:
When DMA mode is turned on, my Software DVD player doesn't
work properly. What's wrong ?
A:
For some strange reason, certain software DVD players in combinations
with certain DVD discs do not like DMA to be turned on. The
key to this issue is "if it works, then great. If it doesn't
then turn it on/off". This seems to be related to the mastering
method used in certain DVD discs.
Q:
What does the S/PDIF socket do on my DVD-ROM drive ?
A:
The S/PDIF socket on your DVD-ROM is used to allow a digital
audio stream to directly flow from Audio-CDs to your sound
card. It has nothing to do with DVD decoding and will not
increase performance or quality by any significant margin.
Older Sony and Panasonic CD-ROMs had this socket, but it hasn't
been very popular since.
Q:
I have SCSI hardware in my system and DVD access
and playback is faulty. Is there a fix ?
A:
The most common fix is to reinstall your SCSI drives. You
SCSI drivers are frequently overwritten by other software
which you install. While your normal SCSI operations are not
effected, it might affect your DVD-ROM drive setup and usage.
Q:
I get an ASPI error when I try to run a DVD.
What's going on ?
A:
ASPI stands for Advanced SCSI Programming Interface - it is
used in SCSI devices and/or for CD Writer software.Currently,
the latest version of the files should be 4.60 (1021).
Q:
General tips on fixing software DVD problems
A:
These tips general will solve your DVD problems
:
- Reinstall
DirectX and the DX Media run time pack.
- Check
that you have the latest versions of the DVD software in
question.
- Check
that you have the latest drivers for your DVD-ROM, graphics
card, sound card ...
- Close
any other programs that you don't needo Check bus mastering
drivers (see question/answer above)
- Lower
your screen resolution/color rate. 800x600 @ 16bit color
is a good level to play DVDs at.
- Make
sure that the correct settings are set (eg. regions). Use
DVD Genie (Region Selector) to do this.
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