Windows XP x64 Professional. Home built system so none of that fun extra software Dell and the like pre-load before shipping.
When inserting the DVD it asks if I want to play it in Windows Media Player, and I click yes. WMP opens and immediately gives an error box telling me I don’t have a DVD decoder. I go to download.com and type in “DVD decoder” into the search, come up with Windows Essentials Media Codec pak, which looks promising. Install this, try inserting the DVD again, WMP launches and says “Windows Media Player cannot play this DVD because there is a problem with digital copy protection between your DVD drive, decoder, and video card. Try installing an updated driver for your video card.”
I tried reinstalling the drivers from the video card CD, which didn’t work (same error). I’ve googled for a driver update somewhere and couldn’t find anything (the video card is nVidia GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCI Express).
I don’t care about ripping DVDs or anything like that… my DVD player connected to the TV is dying, I can’t spend the money on a new one right now, and I just want to watch my stuff from Netflix. I have Windows Media Player, I have QuickTime, I have WinAmp, it plays on none of them.
Also, possibly related… a friend recently burned a DVD of photos for me, but my DVD-Rom drive can’t seem to read those either. She’s burned it twice to two separate disks, and checked them on different computers, but my computer still reads them as completely blank. WTF?
I had a similar experience with my Toshiba laptop (Vista Home Premium) and Media Player with a laughably expensive and fully kosher Myléne farmer DVD.
There was also a problem with a Zhong TingTing DVD that Media Player 11 couldn’t handle but Media Player Classic just sails through.
The built in Intervideo (Toshiba) plays it with no problem though, as does the Media Player Classic, which comes as part of the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, available from Filehippo.
Failing that they also have VLC-player that should play just about anything you can throw at it.
There was a period of time when DVD manufacturers put in copy protection so that their movies could not be played in a computer. As if that would stop people from copying movies :rolleyes: Hold down Shift when you insert the disc next time, and see if that helps.
I would google around a bit for a third party DVD player. I’ve owned several, commercial and freeware, and they’re pretty good, depending as much on how good your DVD drive and computer monitor are, and on how good the program is.
You DVD drive may be the problem, it may have a “zone identifier” (I may not be using the correct term) that doesn’t match the DVD’s zone. Again, various 3rd party DVD players might ignore that little bit, or might still apply it.
