8x DVD for $90CDN

[fourtwenty]

Is this any good? http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...A&mscsid=SSQT86KUT28P9N6SJ1WXLC2NBUT82PW0 I have no idea how to link this. It's a cierco (never heard of them) and it works out to about $60US including shipping.

 

[hatexd]

I never heard of the brand "Cicero "? Even its website has nothing.

And does this company give free shipping to USA customers?

I saw the price is $99.99CDN, not $90CDN.

 

[kami]

Cicero is future shops brand...they take other products and slap that name on them. For example, I remember one of their Cicero CD-R/W drives was really just a re-marked Mitsumi drive.

 

[fourtwenty]

You're right, it does $99.99 now, but it did say $90 earlier, I swear.

 

[Maverick319]

Looks like it's a Samsung DVD-ROM, and it doesn't mention any software. Windows 98 DVD software decoder is not rated all that high, so you may end up spending more to get a decent picture. Do you have an MPEG2 card already?

 

[hatexd]

If I want to watch DVD, what else I need to buy except a DVD drive?

What is a DVD RAM?

 

[Zulu8]

it says $90 now, damn, when Canada finally gets a semi-hot deal i have no cash!!
FAK

 

[Looney]

DVD RAM is the rewriteable DVD technology... not worth it, only holds about 4GB, and each cartridge costs like $40.

But that DVD drive is decent... quality of video playback isn't dependent on the drive at all, so no need to worry about that. You'll need a good DVD capabable vidcard, DVD software (this matters a lot too)... or get a hardware decoder if you don't want to go the software route.

 

[Looney]

BTW, i picked it up too... i'll tell you what brand it is when i get it, should only take a few days.

 

[Maverick319]

DVD-RAM is a storage solution that hasn't really caught on. To view a DVD on a computer, you need: A DVD-ROM Drive + some way to decode the MPEG stream, either a software or hardware decoder.

A software decoder uses your processor to do the work, and requires nothing more than a mid level processor to work well, say 350mhz and up. A hardware decoder is a PCI board that decodes the signal, then either sends the signal to your monitor via a jumper cable or out to a TV. Windows 98 comes with a DVD SW decoder, but If I understand it right you have to enable it.

Here is a good site to explain the differences and give some reviews of drives + both kinds of decoding. Check out the 7th Zone here.

 

[fourtwenty]

I have a voodoo3 2000 agp, is this a good card for it? If not could you reccommend one. Could you also reccomend some good software for this?

 

[Maverick319]

I ordered the Que 12X DVD-ROM from Egghead, as it was only 99.99 with free shipping. The drive comes with Cyberlink's Power DVD, which is a respected name in software decoding.

Here's the link to a thread I posted awhile back, it has all the links for the different products.

The reason I bought the Que drive was that the software is bundled with the drive, along with all the cables. So many "Deals" out there are on BARE drives, and when you get it you find out you have to buy a separate program to watch your DVDs.

 

[BAMAVOO]

He said

<< Buy SOFTWARE >>

 

[Maverick319]

Or you could &quot;acquire&quot; it, but the Mods get kind of jumpy when you say that. Nice when it comes in the box, though. No pun intended.

 

[fourtwenty]

bamavoo, what are you talking about?

 

[DukeN]

Hey

I have one of those Radeon 64MB non VIVO engineering sample cards. Do these have hardware mpeg-2 decoding (and if yes, is it adequate?) or do I need to get a video card with some kind of video in?

Thanks and really appreciate any help

Cheers
PB

 

[Lawton]

DukeN your Radeon has DVD playback capabilities that are superior to that of an H+ card. You will need either WinDVD, or PowerDVD, or the ATI DVD player (should have come on the CD with your card).

 

[DukeN]

Thanks lawton. I thought I needed a card with video in, to enjoy DVD capabilities. I'mma go order this drive ASAP. PS : on another note, future shop has the Apex 500AD for $200 (Canadian) online. If only that was the 600 or 660 (wish there were cicuit cities up here).

Cheers
PB

 

[fourtwenty]

I got this drive today but haven't tried it out yet. It does come with some software called WinDVD 2000 intervideo so I'll try it out and see what it is like. Has anyone used this software before?