PC vs Standalone Player for DVD?
May 31, 2002 at 10:40 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

Duncan

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Yesterday I upgraded from an Iiyama 9017E 17" montior to a Iiyama A901HT 19" monitor (for a great price of £120)... so thought i'd also treat myself to an upgrade from WinDVD 3.0 Plus to 4.0 Plus, and it has to be said that the picture definition, color... heck everything... is fantastic on this 'combo'... I'm watching all of my DVDs over again... the extra definition on offer over standard TV just has to be seen to be believed!!

So, A definite thumbs up from me... but, is that just because i've got a great quality CRT to back it up?

Do you prefer watching DVDs on TV... or CRT/LCD... its your call (but preferably with some words of wisdom to back up your vote?!)

Thanks
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May 31, 2002 at 10:47 PM Post #2 of 11
Duncan, there are a lot of hardcore movie buffs that use their computers/monitors as their DVD player because PC/DVD players already operate in progressive scan mode. That's something you don't get in the external player world without a supporting HDTV, composite cables, and a progressive scan DVD player. i.e. it costs a LOT more.
 
Jun 1, 2002 at 12:23 AM Post #3 of 11
I've also go a 19" monitor. Why would I watch DVD's on it??

I've got a 35" Sony in the living room complete with full bore suround system.

I should watch a 19" with a sh**ty sound system, or use my HD600's which sound wonderful, but in no way begin to put out the sound of the big system for movies. Watching movies is what all the surround stuff and big screen TV is for.

I sometimes watch movies when I'm on the road on ny N5270 15" using my TA and KSC35's. But, that's for boring nights in a motel.
 
Jun 1, 2002 at 12:38 AM Post #4 of 11
I just can't picture my family sitting around the little 19" computer screen to watch a movie. Especially since all the comfortable furniture is in the family room.
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Jun 1, 2002 at 6:18 AM Post #5 of 11
Well I would prefer to watch DVDs on my 36" Vega over my 19" monitor. True the computer will look better as long as you have a hardware decoder simply because of the resolution capabilities of the monitor and the fact that a computer DVD drive make it a prgressive scan DVD player. If you were to get an XGA Plasma T.V. and a progressive scan DVD player you would not be able to tell a difference, I can't between my computer and my Vega.
 
Jun 1, 2002 at 8:25 AM Post #6 of 11
I watch on my 32" TV. Because I have surround sound there and not on the computer. I also didn't realize that it's possible to get a better picture here. I don't have HDTV or a progressive scan DVD player. The picture is fine for my tastes, or at least was until you guys said all that about computer DVD picture capability. I do feel the sound really makes or breaks a movie though, so I will continue to use the television.
 
Jun 1, 2002 at 9:19 AM Post #7 of 11
Before opening the thread I thought this was a discussion of whether to use a computer or a regular computer to play DVD on your TV. Can a computer offer progressive scan through a video card TV out to a TV?
 
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Jun 1, 2002 at 10:32 AM Post #8 of 11
Joe,

I think the answer is yes.

Either Home Theater or Stereophile Guide to Home Theater ran a series on building a PC based home theater. They essentially built a PC specifically for HT use, and it had some serious bells and whistles.

Not sure of the web addresses, but you should be able to find them with a search.
 
Jun 1, 2002 at 5:26 PM Post #10 of 11
I've noticed this a couple of times... people mentioning decoder cards...

I used to have one, a Creative DXR3 (Hollywood Magic Clone) and its picture quality is far and away poorer than WinDVD 3 or 4

Was that just a really poor quality card that I had??
 
Jun 1, 2002 at 5:30 PM Post #11 of 11
I know what you mean. When I was building my dual processor machine I thought I would need a decoder card so I bought the Creative bundle. That decoder card sucks. Now I run AsusDVD and a Toshiba DVD drive and DVDs look great, but ATI video cards have built in decoders and they look great when playing DVDs. It all really depends on what decoder you get. If you have only one processor I would suggest a decoder card because the playback sometimes gets choppy or you may get a degraded picture unless you have a pretty fast CPU.
 

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