Is there any FREE DVD playing software out there?

[MichaelD]

Hi all,

I spent this morning at Circuit City and some other places looking to purchase Win DVD. Apparently, it's rarer than hen's teeth.

Just wondering if there was a free version out there somewhere?

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'm surprised your DVD drives didn't come with software. I have copies of WinDVD and PowerDVD from my gf3 and fx5900 video cards, liteon and Asus DVD-ROMs, Pan A06 burner, Asus mobo, and Herc GTXP soundcard.

Also, Mwave and probably newegg sell the OEM versions for under $10 in their software section if you're buying the rare drive that doesn't bundle it.

I don't know of any free software though, since the DVD Overlords charge a royalty on decoder software. Even MS' media player must piggyback itself on whatever other decoder you've installed.

 

[Nothinman]

mplayer rocks =)

It's one of the nice benefits of being one of the 'illegal linux h4x0rs'.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi guys. My LiteOn LTD163 did come w/Win DVD; I don't have it w/me. I'm not home right now...far away.

I remember seeing it in the stores and saying "psh, right! Who'd buy it? It comes free with everything!" Now I'm a whiny little bitch b/c I don't have mine w/me.

 

[onelin]

I hate it, but windows media player should handle DVD playback fine...at least under XP. If you need a fast solution, Core mediaplayer is only $10 to register and get dvd playback.

 

[Nothinman]

but windows media player should handle DVD playback fine...at least under XP

Only if you have a MPEG2 codec installed, which is what you really pay for when you get DVD software.

 

[JackBurton]

Use "Fraunhofer video and audio codecs - allows DVD playback in WMP." Go here to get it.

 

[Jayczar]

never used this but it is free. You can be the guinea pig

 

[kaesile]

Media Player Classic works on my system, though I don't know if it's using PowerDVD's codecs (as some others have mentioned).

It's free and I use it as my main video player, though, so DVD playback is bonus for me.

 

[mrbass]

VideoLAN is free GPL.

You can use dvdshrink but it doesn't de-interlace nor do menus well at all but for basic watching the movie is nice. It's how I see many easter eggs. Like that one on LOTR fellowship extended edition with that Jack Black guy in the circle of the ring.

 

[hasu]

If there is a royalty for DVD decoder, then how can there be so many free DVD players (esp in Linux)?

 

[Nothinman]

If there is a royalty for DVD decoder, then how can there be so many free DVD players (esp in Linux)?

In the US (and where ever else the patents apply) they're probably illegal, which is the reason most of them are developped outside of the US (for instance mplayer was started in Hungary).

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks much, guys. I will DL those codecs.