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  • #1

    G400MAX/Hollywood+/DVD Question(s)

    I use WinDVD to playback my DVDs on a Pioneer 303s. Occassionally I'll get a stutter here and there, and it seems random. (Each DVD will experience it, though)

    I spoke with Intervideo (WinDVD) and they told me to try lower monitor resolutions. 1280x1024 and 1024x768 both had the stutters, but 800x600 didn't. (Looked horrible, though)

    My question is whether WinDVD is using my Hollywood+ for the decoding? If it is, why would I be getting the stutters?

    If it's not, I assume the G400MAX is being used to assist in the decoding instead of the Hollywood+. In this scenario, why would I still be experiencing stutters?

    Any light shed on this subject would be appreciated.

    System Specs:
    Pentium III 450
    Asus P3B-F BIOS 1005
    Matrox G400 MAX
    Matrox Rainbow Runner G-Series Addon
    4x128mb ECC 133mhz Crucial SDRAM
    Adaptec 2940U2W
    Seagate 9.1gb Cheetah 10k RPM U2W
    WD Expert 20gb
    WD Caviar 30gb
    WD Caviar 8.4gb
    Plextor Ultraplex 40x Wide
    Yamaha 8424sz CDRW
    Pioneer 303S DVD-ROM
    Realmagic Hollywood Plus! DVD Decoder
    Intel Pro 100/B NIC
    Soundblaster Live! Value
    Sony CPD-G200 (Flat-screen 17")
    Sony SAVA-7 Multimedia Speakers
    Windows 2000/Windows 98 SE Dual Boot
    Addtronics 6890A
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but for the Hollywood+ to be doing decode, you'd have to have it plugged in in-line with the G400's vid output. Take it out of the loop if you think it's doing the decoding.

    Best DVD players I've found for the G400 are the included player (which is missing features), and PowerDVD 2.55. PowerDVD required DX7 to work properly, though. I've used PowerDVD on the G400, G200, and V3-2000 with excellent results. I watch on my 19" monitors, and it has the best visual quality of any other solution I've tried.

    Just my $0.02

    The pessimist says: "The glass is half empty."
    The optimist says: "The glass is half full."
    The engineer says: "I put half of my water in a redundant glass."

    Comment

    • #3
      Unfortunately, my DVD drive is OEM and I did not receive any manual with it (or the decoder). I did not know that I had to connect the decoder and the g400max. Care to explain with a little more detail?

      [This message has been edited by isochar (edited 22 April 2000).]

      Comment

      • #4
        Hmm...

        The Hollywood+ comes with a cable to connect to your vid card, and a vid card output. You plug the 15pin end of the cable into the vid card, the round end into the H+, and the monitor cable into the 15pin connector on the H+

        H+'s software is at www.sigmadesigns.com . It is possible that the software does not come configured to output to the monitor. Make sure you set that.

        The DVD-ROM's only connection to the H+ may be the audio cable, as the H+ has a passthrough for audio from CD-ROM to compensate for the lack of internal inputs on most sound cards.

        Right now, if your monitor is NOT connnected to the H+, you're not using it for DVD decode.
        The pessimist says: "The glass is half empty."
        The optimist says: "The glass is half full."
        The engineer says: "I put half of my water in a redundant glass."

        Comment

        • #5
          Would this be the cable? http://www.sigmadesigns.com/pic/vga_cable.gif

          Like I said, my card is OEM and didn't come with anything. So I'll probably have to buy it from a vendor.

          Is there a drawback to running the monitor through the decoder? Will dual-head be disabled? Will clarity be affected?

          Thnx for your help.

          (Second edit in a row, I just can't type today =)


          [This message has been edited by isochar (edited 22 April 2000).]

          Comment

          • #6
            I use the same combo. Right now though, I only have one monitor so I ran my H+ decoder through the second head so I don't have to bother with it. It helps DVD playback imensly, but it also makes your dislplay look like shit at high res. The most I could decently get it running at was 1024x768. 1600x1200 + was unbearable with foggy images and illegible texts. Yes, that is the cable you need. I think I have an extra one lying around that you could have if you want. Uhh, this is going to sound dumb maybe, but does the cable that came with your MAX fit on the H+ card? I don't have my comp now so I can't look to see if they are the same, but give it a try I guess?

            On another note, (it may be kind of obvious, but it took me a couple seconds to figure out why I had no DVD out from my H+ ) if you use your H+ card, you need to plug a monitor in to it for it to work. You can't just use it to decode things and play it on itself.... Believe me, I didn't realize when I set it up that I looped it through the second head of my MAX and I was like, WTF!?! My DVD card died. LOL

            Dimitri
            "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed"
            --- Albert Einstein


            "Drag racing is for people that don't know how to brake and downshift at the same time."

            Comment

            • #7
              Hmmmz...

              The SigmaMagic Hollywood + will only kick in if u uses it SigmaMagic Desktop DVD player to run DVD movie.

              The cable tat links the G400 and the H+ is called Overlay. Same analogy as the voodoo card. Basically, the best compatibility between the decoder with arrays of video cards is to use overlay instead of the Video feature connector which is located just on top of the card.

              G400 will only kick in if u use software DVD player. Stuttering can be of many reasons. Busmastering issue is one example.

              Comment

              • #8
                Seems everyone is better informed about using the decoder card for playback. At this point I'm a little lost... let's see if I've got it straight =)

                The setup I have right now, with the monitor plugged into the g400, and the decoder card just filling a PCI slot is not taking advantage of the decoder card. Even if I use the DVD software that came with the H+, the decoder card is worthless, RIGHT?

                If I use the cable to externally connect the g400 to the decoder card, and use the DVD software that came with the decoder card; the decoder card will be used. However, if I use WinDVD 2000 then it'll just use the G400's built-in DVD assist, RIGHT?

                If I have it all correct up to this point, then that means WinDVD is a software DVD player and it will never use any decoder card. Is there a software package out there (other than the DVD station that came with the H+) that will use the H+?

                If there is no other software that can use the decoder, then the H+ is worthless on my system?

                I need more nfo, but I'll wait for the replies to this information before I ask anything else =)

                tia

                Comment

                • #9
                  - You need the vid card to output the H+ display to a monitor (unless you use composite/S-Video to VGA converter).

                  - You can use the decoder without the vid card link if you choose to output the video to a composite/S-Video source.

                  - There are supposed to be a few programs out there that can utilize the H+ card, but why bother? Use their software. It's a free download.

                  - Rumor has it that a future release of the G400's drivers will allow DVD playback on the second head (video overlay). If that should happen, it's conceivable that you could use the H+ on the second head via the passthrough cable.

                  The whole point of a DVD decoder card is to offload DVD decoding from the CPU, and provide S-Video out and audio out. If your CPU and your main vid card are sufficient, you don't need one (unless you need separate outputs).
                  The pessimist says: "The glass is half empty."
                  The optimist says: "The glass is half full."
                  The engineer says: "I put half of my water in a redundant glass."

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    The software bundled with the decoder card is horrible. It's filled with bugs and I can't get it running on my system. From what I saw in the support groups, half the people who try using the software encounter trouble.

                    I wouldn't mind using a software decoder. My system specs are high enough to handle it. For some reason the system stutters randomly.

                    Ultimately I just wanna watch my DVDs! =) Doesn't matter which way I get there...

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Ok, for starters, lets try and get your DVD to not be choppy before you decide whether or not you would like to use your decoder card. HOLY SHIT! I just read your sys specs at the top. YOU HAVE A LOT OF HD SPACE!!! Anyway, double check that DMA is enabled on your DVD player. Also, make sure you are not running seti in the background. I couldn't figure out what was up with mine until I noticed that. I too had stutters sometimes.

                      Also, my H+ software is just fine on my system. Try a later version of it and maybe that will help.

                      Dimitri
                      "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed"
                      --- Albert Einstein


                      "Drag racing is for people that don't know how to brake and downshift at the same time."

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Dimitri,

                        The HD space is for all the games that I make VCDs out of. (I hate cracks and I hate swapping CD-ROMs" Would you believe I have under 20 gigs left? By the way, as always with computers, you can never have enough space and/or speed, and the price can never be too low =)

                        As for the DVD. First let me mention that I use it under Win2k. So using the H+ software is out of the question. (It gives me probes in Win98SE, too)

                        Here's a link to my post about Win2k & Realmagic: http://forums.murc.ws/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001769.html

                        As for the DMA. If you looked at my system specs you'd notice that all cd/dvd drives are scsi. SCSI drives do not use/have DMA. I never ran/used an SETI programs, so I know that's not influencing it either.

                        Any other ideas?

                        isochat

                        PS. I looked for help in the Realmagic FAQ but it barely touches Win2k or SCSI DVD drives.
                        http://www.realmagic.com/faq_hwplus.htm

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Oh, yeah. SCSI. Good point. Sorry.

                          No more ideas. Never worked with win2k, so I'm useless (although that was known already)

                          Dimitri
                          "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed"
                          --- Albert Einstein


                          "Drag racing is for people that don't know how to brake and downshift at the same time."

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Don't be sorry. At least you tried to help. Hopefully someone out there has the information I'm looking for.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Hi there

                              I am running W2k also and own a G400 16 mb + a Realmagic H+ (Don't have as much disk space as you though ;-)) and it just rules.

                              1) Did you finally manage to get the cable that goes from the Matrox to the H+? This is, is your monitor connected to the H+ instead of to the Matrox?

                              2)Download this software: http://www.sigmadesigns.com/download_hw+w2000.htm

                              Be sure you read carefully the instructions if you have older versions of this software installed.

                              Comment

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