Hardware vs. Software DVD Decoding

[KevinH]

Hey guys, I've been using a Dxr3 for the last few months on my computer. Anyways, my friends is using Power DVD and I must say I can't tell the difference between the two. Does hardware decoding even have a place anymore considering the horsepower people are sporting in their CPU's? I mean, I would LOVE to free up a PCI slot (the less the better IMHO). Opinions?

Kev

 

[Facin]

WinDVD or PowerDVD are the way to go. Not only do you get a free board slot, but you will also get better quality. WinDVD and PowerDVD are constantly updated and every reviewing site always gives them the nod for quality in picture and sound. You do not need a decoder board unless you have some old Pentium. If you want to do multitasking while you are watching a movie, get a video card like the ATI Radeon and use WinDVD 2.3. I play movies in the background while I am working all the time and never have a skip (well maybe if a I am printing or something that has heavy interrupt requests...your decoder board would have the same problem).

 

[KevinH]

Tx for the advice, I think I'm going to lean strongly in that direction now.

 

[potz]

you don't need a decoder. i ditched my dxr3 (creative) because powerdvd is more stable and it looks better. plus, it only uses 30% cpu on my system. not to mention that software solution is cheaper.

 

[ndee]

Another disadvantge of the Dxr3 Board is, that you have a loop-through cable, which is not very high quality, and so the 2D also gets worse. I sold my Dxr3 board.