DVD questions

General Questions
#1

I just got a new computer, with a DVD drive. I’m a bit disappointed; I thought a 12x DVD drive would be fast enough to play movies smoothly on my computer, but, while it does a decent job, it does hesitate every minute or so. Is there any known product I can use to make it perform better? The software I’m running for it is Intervideo WinDVD, an Athlon 750 machine running Windows ME with 128 MB of RAM and a video card with 32 MB of RAM.

This has also made me think of some questions about the format:

  1. What made DVD take off while laserdiscs turned out to be unpopular? Aren’t they essentially similar?

  2. Since DVDs are the same size as CDs, why are they packaged in those oddly-sized cases rather than standard CD jewel cases? I was thinking this might be so that they could use the same artwork for the DVD case as for the video tape case, but since most films have a soundtrack CD out, it doesn’t strike me that there would be an extra expense in producing a CD-sized case for a movie.

#2

DVD 12x speed is not directly related to overall DVD performance as DVD videos play back at 1X speed. The issue is typically whether the the decoding is hardware or software based and how good your video card is at handling the data stream.

It sounds like you have plenty of hardware horsepower. You probably need better playback software. I would recommend ATI’s software. Also make sure there isn’t some background task stealing CPU cycles like a virus checker etc.

#3

You have a crappy DVD player that uses software decompression. This means that the player software has to do some hardcore number crunching while the movie is playing. If there are other background apps running simultaneouslly, the DVD software has to compete for processing time.

I don’t know if there’s much of a difference between the various software products. To get flawless DVD playback, you need a hardware decoder card (and a drive that supports one) or a component DVD player to hook up to your TV.

#4

DVD 12x speed is not directly related to overall DVD performance as DVD videos play back at 1X speed. The issue is typically whether the the decoding is hardware or software based and how good your video card is at handling the data stream.

It sounds like you have plenty of hardware horsepower. You probably need better playback software. I would recommend ATI’s software. Also make sure there isn’t some background task stealing CPU cycles like a virus checker etc.

#5

Piggybacking on astro’s post–

I am NO expert, I just read alot.

DVDs are a lot more popular than laserdisc because they’re a lot smaller. No, really, that’s a big reason. Easier to carry, easier to store. PLUS–there’s a different compression system.

also it’s a matter of timing. They came along at a time where people had extra money for home theater systems.

More if I think of it…

#6

Weird…I also have WinDVD and my computer is only a PII 450, Win98, 128 MB Ram, and all my DVD’s play back flawlessly. I have not had one problem with the twenty-odd titles I have played so far. A few times I have played DVD’s with my virus checker and my email running, still no problems. Are you playing rented DVD’s by any chance? They might be dirty or otherwise not pristine.

#7

The DVD FAQ: http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

Lots of details in a single 500-k web page.

Others have mentioned software versus hardware DVD decoding, so I won’t.

My impression is that those icky DVD cases were designed to visually differentiate DVDs from CDs in the store. I also wonder whether they wanted a degree of size compatibility with VHS cases, rather like the old CD ‘longboxes’, which were designed to fit LP display racks.

Mercifully, CD longboxes disappeared early, at least in my country. I wish the DVD makers would switch to the standard CD jewel boxes as well.

#8

Chaim, find a computer-knowledgeable friend to take a look at the computer and see if your DVD drive is decoder-card compatible. If it is, buy a decoder card. If it isn’t… well… at the Windows Desktop, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and close any non-crucial programs running (brand-name computers often come with loads of running-in-the-background programs that can take up half of a system’s resources).

In addition, you can right-click on your My Computer icon, select “Properties” (which will bring up a window displaying the basic stats of your computer), then select the “Performance” tab at the top of the window. There should be a “System resources” listing… ideally, you want to keep this over 80% when you’re not running any overt programs. This will tell you if there’s a huge drain on system resources or not.

#9

To some extent, you’re right; my understanding is that the DVD makers wanted a balance between the size of a standard VHS cassette, which people are used to associating mentally with “movie”, and the slimness of a CD case. Hence, the DVD case, which comes in many varieties (Amaray Keepcase, Snapper, Alpha, one I call the “finger-eater”…).

And bite your tongue about those jewel boxes; I would never trust my DVDs to those fragile little shatter-factories. Besides, how are you supposed to fit a decent booklet in there?

About your computer, Chaim: first thing I’d do is hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE to get the ol’ task list on screen and see what all’s running. The problem you describe is, in my experience, consistent with some rogue program/utility placing a periodic demand on the system and diverting its attention from the DVD playing.

#10

You’ve got more than enough horsepower in your system to use a software decoder. Make sure DMA is enabled for your DVD drive. This is done under the ‘System’ applet in Control Panel if you are running Win98. I’m not sure if it’s the same in WinME however. Perhaps another ME user can verify if the procedure is the same?

#11

My 2 cents on why DVD is more popular than LD (I own both):

  1. Convenience. LD are 12 inch platters, and you have to flip them over (player does this automatically but it’s a little break in the action) partway through the movie (neither encoding scheme - CLV or CAV - allows for 90+ minutes to fit on one side of a LD). The size of the discs is also important, 5 inch DVD is simply handier than LD platters. These aren’t huge issues, but they don’t hurt DVD’s chances.

  2. Cost. DVD is properly marketed, priced to sell. Until the very end, LD were fairly pricey - around $40+ for a new movie, often well over $100 for cool import titles and special editions. You aren’t going to sell many of those, especially when VHS and DVD are in the $20 range. DVD players hit the market at around $500 but dropped very quickly (probably don’t need to change much in your manufacturing plant that pumps out CD players - drop in a different laser), now you can get 'em at discount stores for $100-150. LD players never got into that range.

  3. Good marketing. DVD ads on TV, magazines, setups in the stores, all pushing picture and sound quality, showing a familiar medium (“It’s just like a CD!”). While LD players came out in the 70s, I just don’t remember seeing many ads for them (there were a few).

  4. Industry support. Dunno about LD for certain, but DVD was developed cooperatively by a number of big players in the computer & consumer electronics biz, and they all marketed the bejeesus out of the format.

  5. Time is right? Partly a matter of luck, partly a matter of previous marketing, but the whole “home theater” thing with big TVs and surround sound format was not an uncommon idea when DVD hit the scene, so easier to sell the concept.

OK, so that’s more like ten cents than two cents…

John

#12

dzray:

Well, I looked at the System applet, went to “Device Manager”, checked the “Properties” on my DVD Drive, and didn’t see anything mentioning “DMA.” Am I going to the right place?

In the meantime, I should say that I got rid of a lot of what was running in the background and that helped considerably.

Chaim Mattis Keller