DVD playback

[xortam]

Can the Matrox DVD player (G400) be used to play back ripped DVDs? If not, which players do you like for HDD playback? I understand PowerDVD can only play back individual .vob files from HDD. Cinemaster sounds like it will do the job but it apparently has some audio limitations. Suggestions?

[Kosh Naranek]

If all you want to do is play back ripped DVD movies then why not use The MicroDVD player. It is very small and uses the same skin as powerDVD.
I will not post any links since i got flamed last time i did that.

[fds]

CyberLink PowerDVD 3.00.1116
Win98/Me/NT 4.0/Win2000
Can only play back discs or individual VOBs
Dolby Headphone and plenty of other audio downmixing options
Built-in screenshot function
Dual subtitles (two different languages at once)

Intervideo WinDVD 3.2
Win98/Me/NT 4.0/Win2000
Can only play back discs, individual VOBs or a decrypted movie form HD if you put it in the root of the drive into a folder named VIDEO_TS, and also seems to fail when moving from one VOB part to another (after the 1GB boundary)
Dolby Headphone and plenty of other audio downmixing options
Built-in screenshot function

Ravisent CinePlayer (player 1.0.2.107 engine 2.38.1.6605)
Win98/Me/Win2000 (does not support NT4)
Has problems with SCSI DVD-ROM drives under Win9x
Can play back discs, often crashes but tries to play back individual VOBs, and can play back a decrypted movie from HD as simple as opening the VIDEO_TS.IFO file (from any folder of your choice)
Only 2 speakers or AC3 passthrough options in the player, maybe more with some tweaking (<a href="http://www.inmatrix.com">DVD Genie</a>)


Old Ravisent players like the G400 matrox player might play back decrypted movies from a hd only if you put it into the root folder named VIDEO_TS and delete some registry settings to force it to look again for the DVD drive. Works for some movies, fails at the 1GB boundaries sometimes (but not always).



[This message has been edited by fds (edited 30 December 2000).]

[xortam]

Don't worry about posting links ... I found MicroDVD through a search. I'm looking for one DVD for all my needs which includes ripped DVDs and remote playing to an RPTV: This means the player needs to support keyboard shortcuts for navigation and control. I hadn't heard about MicroDVD therefor I wonder how good it is for TV viewing ... but I'll check it out. Any other suggestions?

[xortam]

Thanks fds. I'm running Win98 with a SCSI DVD (Pioneer DVD-303S). I'm using the Matrox DVD player with an updated Cinemaster engine, 2.0.36.6145. Perhaps the SCSI problems are only with newer players and/or engines. I do want to just point at a movie folder and not have to manage VIDEO_TS roots. I'm still using my 12 year old Prologic surround processor so DD audio limitations aren't a current problem (though I hope that will change soon). Aren't there any good players that will properly play through a decrypted movie? I suppose I can live with the extra space taken up by storing the entire DVD in which case PowerDVD looks like a good choice. Is it possible that its just a matter of finding the right CinePlayer and engine versions to reliably get all of the features I want?

[fds]

I have the exact same DVD-ROM drive.

I simply use CinePlayer for playing fully copied/decrypted movies from the HD, and play real DVD discs with PowerDVD.

Yes, the old Matrox player worked fine on my 303S too. The new ones, however, do not, at least not in Win98\Me. Works well in Windows 2000 though.

I though that the MicroDVD player was for movies which were not only ripped but raped as well. Recompressed into MPEG4 AVI's and such... I might be wrong, maybe it's worth a try.

I do want to just point at a movie folder and not have to manage VIDEO_TS roots.

That's CinePlayer. Also dvdplay.exe which ships with Win98SE (the new one in Me does not allow HD playback), or the DVD DirectShow example application in the DX8 SDK.
All three are just front-ends for the DirectShow MPEG2 decoder filter installed on your system. And while WinDVD and PowerDVD both come with DS filters as well, the Cinemaster engine which comes with CinePlayer works by far more stable as a DS filter.
(Note that WinDVD and PowerDVD do not actually use their own DS filters in their original applications.)

I'm still using my 12 year old Prologic surround processor so DD audio limitations aren't a current problem (though I hope that will change soon).

There aren't really sound limitations in either of the three major players. All support AC3 passthrough, both for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. What PowerDVD and WinDVD might have in plus is for people who do not have an exernal decoder and want the software to downmix the DD5.1 sound for their four analog speakers.
I have a Cambridge SoundWorks DTT2500 (I do NOT recommend it though), so all players sound the same.. the decoding is done in the DTT2500, the players just pass the raw AC3-compressed signal to it.

I suppose I can live with the extra space taken up by storing the entire DVD in which case PowerDVD looks like a good choice.

It's not. It can only play back real DVD discs or individual VOBs. You can queue all the VOBs of a decrypted DVD to play one after another. You will still lose all the DVD features (menus, chapter selection, subtitles, etc.). Playing seperate VOBs is like playing a simple AVI or MPG. You get video and the default audio track but none of the extras of DVD.

Is it possible that its just a matter of finding the right CinePlayer and engine versions to reliably get all of the features I want?

With Windows 2000 or in Win9x with RPC2 DVD drives CinePlayer can do all what you need.

The 303S is an RPC1 SCSI drive and for some reason the new Ravisent player can't authenticate it or retrieve the keys for CSS decryption. You only get a big mess on encrypted movies. Playback from HD is OK, but there obviously you have to decrypt the movie first.

Windows 2000 simulates RPC2-like functionality in software even on RPC1 drives and it works there fine.


[This message has been edited by fds (edited 30 December 2000).]

[xortam]

Very good information indeed fds. Thanks for getting me back on track in regards to PowerDVD. I'll probably duplicate your solutions since you have my drive and are knowledgeable about the various SW/HW limitations. I just need to make sure that PowerDVD supports keyboard shortcuts since I'm viewing DVDs in a remote HT room (separate room from PC). Will PowerDVD seamlessly play a sequence of HDD hosted .vob files (without gaps) and automatically handle multiple movie directories? If the above is true then I'll be using PowerDVD to play DVD disks and HDD hosted .vob files and I'll use CinePlayer to play HDD hosted decrypted DVDs.

[fds]

Will PowerDVD seamlessly play a sequence of HDD hosted .vob files (without gaps) and automatically handle multiple movie directories?

Yes, although there is about a one second pause when switching to the next VOB.