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DVD Decoder card or not?

S

soundbarrier

Junior Member
Hello everyone.

I intend to buy a Pioneer 106s slot dvd drive next week, and I understand that to view DVD movies full screen at maximum resolution, a dvd decoder card is needed.

I was wondering if a decoder card actually makes a significant difference? I dont intend to connect the pc to a TV anyway. So, should i go for a decoder card now, or just upgrade my GF to a GF2-gts later on? I plan on upgrading my cpu and motherboard sometime in august, when i have some more $$ 🙂

A geforce2 gts should be better than the decoder right? Or which vid card would do the job well?

My system specs:
Dell Dim XPS T500
P3-500 ---> will go soon
256 MB (100mhz/128MB + 133Mhz/128MB)
100Mhz Mobo (dont know which) ---> will go soon.
promise ultra ata100 pci controller
WestDig ata66 20 GB HDD
40x cdrom
8/4/32x philips cd-rw
***first generation Geforce 256 SDR***
sb live


Thanks in advance.
 
with high power cpu today, you dont have to use a decoder card.
about vid, ATI has good products for DVD play back, not really good for game.

 
Decoder cards really serve to send the image to the TV. So if you don't want to do that, you don't need one.

Your card should be enough for the moment, and PowerDVD should do the trick... the least you can get is WinDVD. Other software players are much less powerful and won't use your combined graphics card and processor speed as efficiently.
 
i have a TNT2 and mmy dvd playback on screen is great. i have an athlon 700 though.Try out playing your DVD's wothout a DVD decoder, and if its OK then no need to get one.

just a side note, i had a P133 with 32MB of edo RAm and a 4MB graphic s card and with a decoder card it played DVD's perfectly!
 


<< I understand that to view DVD movies full screen at maximum resolution, a dvd decoder card is needed. >>

Not true at all with any reasonably modern computer.
 
If you intend to watch DVDs on your monitor and you have a powerful enough computer (which you seem to), you don't need a decoder -- the picture quality is just as good if not better when using the graphics card.

If you intend to watch DVDs on your TV, a decoder card would usually be better.
 
Actually from what I've read a scan converter works better for playing DVD's to your TV. And what about a tv out card? The best thing a hardware decoder is for is for a very slow PC. But what's the sense? Spend >$50 on a card that you wont want in your next upgrade, or spend the money on a real upgrade.
 
If you are just going to play DVD movies a software DVD player will work just fine. You have PLENTY of power to run a DVD full screen. However, there are a few DVD games out there and if are going to play ANY of them I suggest you get a hardware DVD decoder because the software solution just plain sucks! 😉
 
Something else that no one else has mentioned: if you plan on doing some multitasking while playing a DVD movie you may want a decoder card. It will take tons of stress off of the CPU/video card and let you multitask very effectively. I can play a windowed DVD and surf the web, do homework, etc and none of it messes up the DVD playback. I use Toshiba 12X and an H+.

Some food for thought 😀
 
Good point DougK62, but I think people should try the software solution first. Taking up a PCI slot on top of the extra money is a big deal to me, and I have 6 PCI slots. Anyway I multitask while watching. Infact I can encode, download 3 different ways, etc all while watching a DVD. The biggest drawback is just a very infrequent pause in the picture or a very short scene that is out of sync with the audio (On a K7 classic @1Ghz/ or 700Mhz). I never bothered changing the priority on the encoding, but I'm sure that would help. Watching a DVD can slow down the encode, but if you're able to multitask, and leave your PC on for long periods, I don't think this is a problem. What kind of multitasking can you do while watching a DVD anyway? I'm sure not gonna web browse or game at the same time.
 
I mostly surf the web and do coding while watching a DVD. Compiling C++ code doesn't even make it hiccup badly. Most people probably don't do much while watching a DVD, but I have a dual monitor setup with a Radeon VE so I have plenty of screen space 😀
 
Its simple.

If you have a fast enough CPU and dont want to spend money, no need for a card as WinDVD 2000 has great quality.
If you dont have a fast enough CPU (500 or less), get a hollywood plus on this board for 35.
If you have a fast cpu and dotn want a card but want the best quality dvd with a video card..go with a radeon which has iDCT.
 
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