What is a good program to play dvds on your computer

MPC is great, small, and free. I've recently switched to Zoomplayer (which is free as long as you are using slightly unstable beta versions) as a trial, and I like it a lot. Pretty much the same type of thinking as MPC, but with a few more bells and whistles.
 
PowerDVD, Nero Showtime, VLC Media player.. tons of options, pick one.
 
Yet another vote for Media Player Classic with DScaler5. Throw in ffdshow and you can pretty much play any video or audio format.
 
I just use VLC nowadays (I love being able to open image files without even having to bother mounting them)
 
Does MPC and VLC have that thing powerdvd has which changes the resolution and lines of dvd so it looks good on computer monitors?
 
PowerDVD for watching DVDs, and Windows Media Player Classic all other video types, REAL Media Files, and QuickTime files.
 
The decoders and software video processing within VLC is very good; but, depending upon the format of the video and the correct settings, I find that hardware deinterlacing/upscaling/filtering performed by the newer video cards in connection with WMP11 also looks pretty darn good-- especially DVD playback with the NV PureVideo decoder.
 
so, what's the best way to make your PC play a DVD and have it look as good as a standard DVD player + TV?

I haven't even achieved standard definition yet with my 6800nu on WMP, VLC, MPC w/ fdshow or any other shit. OR, it'll look good but won't do 5.1!

/subscribes
 
If the discussion is focusing on comercial movie DVD played back on a computer monitor, I don't believe FFDshow is necessary (especially in light of the time and effort involved in getting it right). IMO the OP should get good results with the PureVideo decoder and a video card vintage 2005-06. I never used WMP for anything but music until I deleted the WinDVD decoder that came with WMP and installed the NV decoder instead. Run DXDIAG to confirm that Direct X video acceleration is enabled (using a directX9 card); ensure that the NV DVD decoder is connected and has priority over any other DVD decoder; confirm that your operating system is Windows XP Service pack 2 with all the latest updates; confirm your using the latest drivers for the video card, etc. Since you are having such bad playback with every player, perhaps you should go to square one by taking a carefull look at each component of your system (involved in video playback) to make sure that each part is working correctly and in harmony with each other-- you know the basics that we somtimes forget in our haste to reach the moon.
 
rblews said:
...I deleted the WinDVD decoder that came with WMP and installed the NV decoder instead.
Click to expand...

How?

rblews said:
Run DXDIAG to confirm that Direct X video acceleration is enabled (using a directX9 card);
Click to expand...

Did this, but I don't see "Direct X video acceleration"

rblews said:
ensure that the NV DVD decoder is connected and has priority over any other DVD decoder
Click to expand...

How do I make sure it has priority?

rblews said:
confirm that your operating system is Windows XP Service pack 2 with all the latest updates; confirm your using the latest drivers for the video card, etc.
Click to expand...

Done and done.


Will WMP play 5.1 w/ DVDs?

Thanks for your help, very helpful post. Just next time break it up a little bit, makes it easier to read! :)
 
WinDVD decoder: I found that it conflicted with the NV decoder by not allowing it to take priority in WMP DVD playback; and the only solution was to remove the entire WinnDVD player in Add/Remove Programs. If you have other than WinnDVD 7, it is outdated anyway and the 5 or earlier versions don't allow a free upgrade so you're not loosing much.

Running DXDIAG: Direct X Files> Display tab : You should see 3 separately listed Direct X video acceleration features, each marked as "enabled".

NV Decoder in priority position: Install the Microsoft Windows XP Video Decoder Check-Up tool available at Microsoft/Media/Downloads. It is free and an easy install. This tool should show the NV decoder to be in the top position amoung the others shown, and there should be some green check marks next to it.

5.1 sound:I'm using Logitech Z4 2.1 sound for now, but plan to upgrade to their new 5.1 sound channel system sometime soon; but wouldn't expect that you would have any problems with 5.1 sound.

Let us know if you still can't get good PQ. It should be as good as DVD playback using a stand alone upconvert DVD player in an HD display; however, don't expect HD DVD playback.
 
One more thing: In the Video tab setting of your NV PureVideo Decoder, make sure the Hardware accereration is checked. I use "Smart" for De-interlacing Control, and VMR for De-interlacing Mode (Prefer VMR9).
 
Well I got it working. I'm using the PureVideo codec, but didn't realize that they charge so much for it. You have to get at least the "Gold" edition which is $29 to get 5.1. I'm using the 30 day trial version, and it's working great so far. Good enough picture quality, but it's no standalone player w/ TV quality though. Really simple to use, I didn't uninstall anything before I did it... and I know it's working because I can see the changes I make and it pops up in the system tray when I open WMP 10.

Thanks for your help. :)
 
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