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Best Software DVD Player

post #1 of 20
2/15/06 at 6:30pm
Thread Starter 
I swear I have seen a thread similar to this a while back. After scrolling through 40 pages of threads I figured I mine as well post it. Also, the search function wasn't working for me.

Right now I am using WinDVD 7 Platinum. Before that I used PowerDVD 6 Deluxe. I have also tried TheaterTek + Nvidia Purevideo Decoder, TheaterTek + FFDshow. It seems that a lot of people like MPC + FFDShow as well. So, what do you guys think is the best software dvd player or the best combination.

One of the reasons I am using WinDVD is because the setup it is so simple and straightforward and I believe the PQ is better than PowerDVD 6 or TheaterTek by itself. I would like to use MPC + FFDShow because of the simplicity and lack of clutter. MPC and FFDShow is supposed to be amazing when set up properly. The only problem is I don't know how to set up FFDShow to use its full potential and I wouldn't even begin to know how to properly calibrate the colors using MPC (or however I am supposed to calibrate them). The reason I don't use TheaterTek + Purevideo is because the color settings in TheaterTek are all F'd up and I can't seem to adjust to make them look good. I would really love to get the most out of my XPS Gen 2 and its 7800 Go GTX. The PQ seems great in WinDVD, but I know there are other options out there to make it look even better!
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post #2 of 20
2/15/06 at 6:48pm
I'm currently using MPC + ffdshow with awesome results on my WUXGA. Basically, I've set up ffdshow according to this guide:
http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_4

Then, just enable ffdshow in MPC's override section in the options.

I've already done the color correction for my LG monitor with PowerStrip.

EDIT: AFAIK, ffdshow does not utilize your graphics card, just the CPU. And it does use up a lot of CPU power on my i9300...
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post #3 of 20
2/15/06 at 11:22pm
Vlc.
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post #4 of 20
2/15/06 at 11:38pm
People on AVS forum swear by TheaterTek+FFDShow. I find Zoom Player very good. WinDVD is quite decent, and so is PowerDVD.
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post #5 of 20
2/15/06 at 11:53pm
What does TheaterTek + ffdshow offer that MPC + ffdshow doesn't, since ffdshow is doing the video decoding? Curious...
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post #6 of 20
2/16/06 at 12:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by odious_m
What does TheaterTek + ffdshow offer that MPC + ffdshow doesn't, since ffdshow is doing the video decoding? Curious...
Dunno..check AVS forum.
But they pretty much have a consensus that TheaterTek is the best DVD player available, and there are some people I respect that concur.
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post #7 of 20
2/16/06 at 1:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SSJiffy
Vlc.
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post #8 of 20
2/16/06 at 2:45am
I get the best results with WinDVD.
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post #9 of 20
2/16/06 at 5:22am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by odious_m
I'm currently using MPC + ffdshow with awesome results on my WUXGA. Basically, I've set up ffdshow according to this guide:
http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_4

Then, just enable ffdshow in MPC's override section in the options.

I've already done the color correction for my LG monitor with PowerStrip.

EDIT: AFAIK, ffdshow does not utilize your graphics card, just the CPU. And it does use up a lot of CPU power on my i9300...
Odious, could you possibly post all your color settings in PowerStrip here. I have tried calibrating them pretty much all day today and I really am just making things worse. I would appreciate it so much if you would do that
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post #10 of 20
2/16/06 at 6:03am
I use ZoomPlayer and NVIDIA's PureVideo DVD Decoder.. looks better than ffdshow to me.
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post #11 of 20
2/16/06 at 9:12am
media player with Nvidia purevideo
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post #12 of 20
2/16/06 at 2:24pm
MPC, just for the chromeless window. I can watch a 3" movie in the corner of my screen and keep on working, and no space is taken up with control buttons, seek bar, menus, etc.
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post #13 of 20
2/16/06 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nocturnal418
Odious, could you possibly post all your color settings in PowerStrip here. I have tried calibrating them pretty much all day today and I really am just making things worse. I would appreciate it so much if you would do that
Here you go!

Gamma: 1
Brightness: +15%
Contrast: -50%
Temp: 5,400 k

Like I said above, I have an LG screen. And it's not the fabeled WC222 , it's the J9662. It's very blue right out of the box. So, if your screen is not the same make/model as mine, then these settings may not work for you.

Lots of good color calibration info and color charts (and links to color charts) at:
http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html
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post #14 of 20
2/16/06 at 7:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maine_Coon
Dunno..check AVS forum.
But they pretty much have a consensus that TheaterTek is the best DVD player available, and there are some people I respect that concur.
That is because they use it with their HTPC, and Theatertek has a good interface for a REMOTE, that is the reason most choose that. Theaterteks interface isn't good with a mouse.
As for picture quality, I think WinDVD 7 is the best. Tried PowerDVD, PureVideo, ffdshow etc, and WinDVD PQ kicks ass, especially with TrimensionDNM enabled, it is incredible.
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post #15 of 20
2/16/06 at 7:37pm
Thanks. Now that I've spent all week tweaking ffdshow, I guess I'll have to give WinDVD with TrimensionDNM a try. :P
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post #16 of 20
2/16/06 at 9:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by odious_m
Here you go!

Gamma: 1
Brightness: +15%
Contrast: -50%
Temp: 5,400 k

Like I said above, I have an LG screen. And it's not the fabeled WC222 , it's the J9662. It's very blue right out of the box. So, if your screen is not the same make/model as mine, then these settings may not work for you.

Lots of good color calibration info and color charts (and links to color charts) at:
http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html

Thanks for the settings!
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post #17 of 20
2/16/06 at 9:57pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysaor
That is because they use it with their HTPC, and Theatertek has a good interface for a REMOTE, that is the reason most choose that. Theaterteks interface isn't good with a mouse.
As for picture quality, I think WinDVD 7 is the best. Tried PowerDVD, PureVideo, ffdshow etc, and WinDVD PQ kicks ass, especially with TrimensionDNM enabled, it is incredible.
Thank you for the suggestion of turning on TrimensionDNM with WinDVD7. The PQ is absolutely incredible. I haven't seen anything like that before. It is quite near the quality of high definition.

I am having a problem though. In WinDVD7 you have to go into setup and disable "Use Hardware Decode Acceleration" and "Use Hardware Color Acceleration" to enable TrimensionDNM. I did that and whenever those options are disabled I get huge amounts of tearing in fast paced scenes. This is the case if I am using TrimensionDNM or not. When I have "Use Hardware Decode Acceleration" and "Use Hardware Color Acceleration" enabled, it seems like it degrades the PQ and somewhat changes the color scheme, and has more artifacts and slight tearing occasionally. Do you guys know why this might be happening and if there is a solution.

I have played with the settings in WinDVD and nothing seems to help this. My XPS Gen 2 stats are :

2.13ghz PM
2gb ram
7800 Go GTX
60gb 7200rpm
DVD R/RW Drive
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post #18 of 20
2/16/06 at 10:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nocturnal418
Thank you for the suggestion of turning on TrimensionDNM with WinDVD7. The PQ is absolutely incredible. I haven't seen anything like that before. It is quite near the quality of high definition.

I am having a problem though. In WinDVD7 you have to go into setup and disable "Use Hardware Decode Acceleration" and "Use Hardware Color Acceleration" to enable TrimensionDNM. I did that and whenever those options are disabled I get huge amounts of tearing in fast paced scenes. This is the case if I am using TrimensionDNM or not. When I have "Use Hardware Decode Acceleration" and "Use Hardware Color Acceleration" enabled, it seems like it degrades the PQ and somewhat changes the color scheme, and has more artifacts and slight tearing occasionally. Do you guys know why this might be happening and if there is a solution.

I have played with the settings in WinDVD and nothing seems to help this. My XPS Gen 2 stats are :

2.13ghz PM
2gb ram
7800 Go GTX
60gb 7200rpm
DVD R/RW Drive
Enable VMR when using TrimensionDNM, it reduces tearing.
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post #19 of 20
2/16/06 at 11:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysaor
Enable VMR when using TrimensionDNM, it reduces tearing.
I have always had VMR enabled. I really wonder whats going on. I supposed I could try it with it disabled and see what happens. Do you know of anything else that might be causing it?
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post #20 of 20
2/17/06 at 3:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by odious_m
Thanks. Now that I've spent all week tweaking ffdshow, I guess I'll have to give WinDVD with TrimensionDNM a try. :P
Gave WinDVD with TrimensionDNM a go and I'm not overly impressed. Screenshot comparisons (56k warning) at:

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=134855
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