DVD playback pauses every second or two

[kevlarsti]

I just built two (nearly) identical systems for my kids and they both exhibit the same problem with DVD-movie playback. There is a brief pause about every second or two, coinciding with the "busy" light flashing on the DVD drive.

I'm using the ATI DVD Player version 7 that came with my ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder card.

Turning on DMA in the device settings helped but the pauses are still there. I've tried another movie title and the same thing happens.

I've installed the latest motherboard (VIA chipset) drivers, have my BIOS memory settings at the fastest settings, and I just don't know what else to try.

I could overclock my Duron, but I don't expect the processor is the bottleneck here.

Any ideas?

My system description:
- ABIT KT7A (non-raid)
- Duron 800 (not overclocked, yet)
- Thermaltake Volcano II cooler
- 256MB Crucial PC-133 CAS 2 SDRAM (Host+PCI Clk = 133MHz)
- Pioneer DVD-115GA DVD-ROM (16x/40x, 512KB buffer), alone as master on secondary IDE
- ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder 32MB
- SB Live MP3+ 5.1 Sound card
- Maxtor 30GB 7200RPM disk drive

Thanks in advance!

 

[thorin]

What software are you using to play/decode the movies?

Have you tried playing an Audio CD or VCD in the drive?

Do you have any problems playing MPEGs or MPEG2s off of your HD?

Thorin

 

[kevlarsti]

As I said in my first post, I'm using the ATI DVD Player version 7 that came with the ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder Card.

No, I haven't played an audio CD or VCD (don't have one) yet.

No, I haven't tried playing MPEGs off the hard disk.

I forgot to mention the OS -- fresh install of Windows ME (retail, not upgrade).

 

[Namuna]

Right off the bat I'm thinking you've got an issue with your VIA drivers.

Are you using the 4in1 drivers? Which version are you using? 4.28 or 4.29?

And MOST importantly, are you running Win2k on these machines?

The VIA Busmaster drivers have been known to have issues with DVD and CDRW drives, especially on Win2k boxes.

I suggest you try uninstalling the Busmaster drivers and using the default Microsoft IDE drivers and see if that works for you.

Good luck!

 

[thorin]

"As I said in my first post, I'm using the ATI DVD Player version 7 that came with the ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder Card"

Sorry My bad I missed that one.

Have you tried any other DVD Software like PowerDVD or WinDVD? It really shouldn't make a difference but it's worth a try.

"No, I haven't played an audio CD or VCD (don't have one) yet."

You don't have an Audio CD?

Also make sure you have the latest Firmware for your DVD player. And make sure you aren't testing it with all double layered DVDs (like Alien).

Thorin

 

[StormRider]

I had a similar problem with a new Gigabyte G-5AX v5.2 system I had just built. I was using a 5x DVS DVD drive and it would pause every 3 or 4 seconds while playing a DVD or running 3D games on my Cardex Geforce2 MX.

The DVS DVD drive had a utility to set it to run at Ultra33 or a lower DMA mode but it made no difference.

To make a long story short, I swapped out the DVS drive with a 10x EPO DVD drive and that fixed it. I now have super smooth DVD playback.

So, my guess is that there is some sort of compatibility problem with your DVD drive and Via IDE drivers...

 

[rmblam]

Which RADEON drivers are you using? Did you install the Radeon drivers AFTER the via 4in1? Try one of the newer beta Radeon drivers.

Definitely remove the ATAPI support drivers to see if it improves. If not then try a newer 4in1.

Try Win98se if no luck. ME sucks that way (does not like some hardware).

Try a different DVD player like WinDVD...

 

[NuovoTech]

Have ya tried disabling AGP4X? That worked 4 me...