Playing DVDs

[Angelstardust]

WE often use the computer to play DVDs, but today one that had played perfectly well in Media player failed to start and another gave me a load of stuff about copyrights. The one also failed in DivX and I go a message about a missing dll.

I got the one to play in DivX by going in via the My Computer and the other via NVDVD.

Ideas, preferably with links to relevant sites welcome.

[mikkh]

WMP is poor IMO

Any media player is only as good as the codecs you have installed, so it's those rather than the pretty front end a media player displays that are doing the job.

If you left WMP on it's default settings, it checks for licences and all other kind of things before it plays a file and without the right codecs doesn't want to play much at all apart from it's own file types anyway.

You need k-lite mega codecs pack or similar, which supplies every known codec to the media player(s) and it comes with MPC (media player classic) as a non bloated front end to play the files.

I would uninstall both DivX player and NVDVD as unnecessary bloat myself and just use WMP or MPC to play videos with

K-lite is updated frequently and the latest one came out yesterday (6.5.0)

www.majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack_d5230.html

(be careful of the adverts if you don't use adblock, the real links are the ones under 'Download Locations' (written in yellow writing) NOT any big flashy buttons that say Download - those are adverts to trick the unobservant)

If you want a third option, you could try VLC

www.majorgeeks.com/VLC_media_player_d4674.html

(same site, so the same warning applies)

[Angelstardust]

Thanks. I feel I would like to keep the two other programs, but I will download the new codec pack.

[ken]

Thanks for that Mikk, I was still running K-Lite 6.3.0

I use WMP 11 or whatever it is that comes with Windows 7 and it does everything I want out of it. You get it whether you want it or not, so I might as well use it. I did try Win7 Enterprise without the Media Player and what a useless OS that was. It was made purely for offices when the boss dont want you having any fun and I couldn't even get VLC to install on it.

[mikkh]

I don't think I've seen enterprise yet - apart from on star trek

I have seen the starter edition on some netbooks but it's a bridge too far for the single core Atom based ones with 1 GB of RAM. It's like trying to run XP on a Pentium 1, or attempting to play the latest games on on-board graphics i.e. a complete joke

Nearly as bad as the cut down versions of Linux some have

[ken]

I'm running Starter on an Atom N450 with 1 gig RAM and its not super fast, but its not too bad either. The 16 gig of flash memory for the Ready Boost makes a big difference. It goes for about 6 hours on its battery in the pub, on performance settings and so I'm never in a rush. I only really use it as a portable jukebox on Spotify anyway, its easier on my fingers than my Demonoid based mobile and twice as fast. I never use it on power saver, that slows it down, and makes very little difference to the battery life.

[mikkh]

Aha, so readyboost is good for something then ;o)

It seems very fussy about which ones it will accept when I've tried it - which brand do you use?

It must make a big difference because two I've looked at recently have stretched my patience to the limit and it takes a lot to annoy me

[ken]

I've got a 16 gig Sandisk SDHC in the built in card reader Mikk. I have to remember to put it back before rebooting, as I take it out when I put the netbook in its case. It sticks out a bit and I dont want to break it off.

[martytoo]

Oct 21, 2010 4:34:33 GMT @ken said:

Thanks for that Mikk, I was still running K-Lite 6.3.0

I use WMP 11 or whatever it is that comes with Windows 7 and it does everything I want out of it. You get it whether you want it or not, so I might as well use it. I did try Win7 Enterprise without the Media Player and what a useless OS that was. It was made purely for offices when the boss dont want you having any fun and I couldn't even get VLC to install on it.

Win 7 Enterprise does include Media Player, Enterprise is the top end version of 7 and is virtually the same as Home Premium, I know I'm using it so whichever version of 7 you tried it wasn't Enterprise.

[ken]

I'm a Technet member and I have every flavour of Windows 7 there is. Enterprise N is a version without WMP made for companies who dont want their employees enjoying themselves listening to music. Comparing Enterprise to Home Premium is a strange comparison, seeing that Home Premium is at the bottom of the desktop food chain. I say desktop as Starter is only for netbooks.

[martytoo]

Should have said Ultimate sorry

[ken]

Thats OK, but its quite a good idea to know what OS your running on your computer.