Thinking about getting a DVD player to watch DVDs on my computer, help?

Out50Stang

[H]ard|Gawd
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I want to be able to watch DVDs on my computer, do I just need a DVD-ROM to be able to play it? Also is a program of some sort needed to play the DVD? I have XP so maybe there is something intergrated?

I have never dealt with anything DVD for computers, so it's all new to me, I know my fair share of computers though :)
 
Well you need the DVD drive of course, most of todays newer hardware(videocards) can decode DVD video so there is no need for a decoder card(old days?). Windows media player might be able to play DVDs but i have never used it. Usually your drive will come bundled with some DVD playing software like PowerDVD. A word of warning though, most DVDs will look kind of grainy due to the fact that your monitor is much higher resolution than your TV. So video on your computer won't appear as crisp as it would appear on your TV, but still looks pretty decent.
 
I would get a LiteOn dvd ROM if your just wanting to playback DVD's. They are cheap and about the best.

You'll need to pick up a good dvd decoder like PowerDVD 5 Deluxe or WinDVD 5 Platinum to watch the movies on.
 
I have 2 Pioneer slot loading DVD players. Awesome drives. :) You can use PwerDVD or WinDVD or even just Windows Media Player and you're set to watch dvds on your pc.
 
Originally posted by burningrave101
I would get a LiteOn dvd ROM if your just wanting to playback DVD's. They are cheap and about the best.

You'll need to pick up a good dvd decoder like PowerDVD 5 Deluxe or WinDVD 5 Platinum to watch the movies on.

My LiteOne from newegg came with the newest version of power dvd. Only two channels of sound though.
 
From what I have experienced, Windows Media Player, by default, does not play DVDs. If you have another DVD playing software installed, it seems to work. Strange, eh?

Almost all retail drives will come with DVD playing software - I got PowerDVD and I have WinDVD from somewhere also. Just make sure to copy down the serials from the cd envelope things. It is a pain trying to reinstall without the serial:p .
 
Originally posted by Mad_Pyro
From what I have experienced, Windows Media Player, by default, does not play DVDs. If you have another DVD playing software installed, it seems to work. Strange, eh?

Almost all retail drives will come with DVD playing software - I got PowerDVD and I have WinDVD from somewhere also. Just make sure to copy down the serials from the cd envelope things. It is a pain trying to reinstall without the serial:p .

When you install those other players it probably installs codecs and things with it and that would explain why windows media player works after installing one. Try downloading the latest DivX codecs.
 
I've got a DVD drive in the mail to me, no software. Anybody fry a drive or something and have a program they're not using?
 
Just about every DVD movie I've ever played has had included playback software (on the actual DVD movie disk). It's usually like Interactual Player or something, or WinDVD. I wouldn't worry about it, there's tons of playback software out there
 
I'd go with the Lite-On brand. I have 3 Lite-Ons and they work great and I have recommended them to a lot of my friends and thiers work great too.
 
go to best buy. get the cheapest dvd rom you can, go on packetnews.com, find NVDvd or PowerDVD, download, install, and enjoy
 
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