View Full Version : DVDs choppy on seemingly adequate hardware
Kevin Wolff
05-19-2005, 06:01 PM
I'm trying to get DVD playback working on my dad's computer. (He never bothered, but mentioned it to me yesterday.) His specs are:
Pentium 3 866MHz
384MB RAM
GeForce 4MX 4000 (driver version 71.84)
Windows XP SP2 (reinstalled a few months ago)
Now....today I noticed that in the BIOS setup, the AGP speed was set to 2x. So I changed it to 4x...but nVidia's control panel (desktop right-click > properties > settings > advanced > GeForce MX 4000) keeps switching from telling me it's 4x and 2x (between reboots).
I'm using VLC Player. I've tried all the different rendering modes (DirectX, OpenGL, etc.) and a bunch of settings, and it's never more than moderately choppy. The only thing I didn't do was turn off overlays, which certainly wouldn't help. Not to mention that after a minute or so the system crashes if you try to use a program menu.
Now, certainly this machine should be powerful enough to watch a DVD on. Typical system requirements for DVD software are like P2/350, and I've seen DVD playback on a 450MHz Power Mac. I would thus assume it must be a software or driver problem.
(By the way: Don't say get a new computer. I've already predicted that response and decided, "not right now." Not to mention that this computer should play them fine.)
NutWrench
05-19-2005, 06:49 PM
Is there any anti-virus software running on the computer?
Have you switched off the Indexing service?
How much space is available on the hard drive?
Is it defragmented?
What are the swap space settings?
KillerByte
05-19-2005, 06:50 PM
Which IDE cable is the DVD player on? Is it on its own cable or is it a slave to the hard drive? I've noticed a difference in performance between each alternative on lower end machines. It may be worth trying the opposite to what you currently have set up.
My DVD burner is set on the Primary Master, but that's because I've been using SATA for my hard drives (except for the WD 250 GB which is IDE. Raptors and the other drives are SATA). I've played DVDs on a Radeon 9000 Pro with my old HP, which is sort of similar to the card you have. RAM should be lots. I'd guess background stuff. Cut all the background running programs you don't need. Also make sure that the DVD drive is on a Master channel and is on the highest DMA mode available. Not sure about this one, but having 16-bit colors might help over 32-bit colors. Since you've got XP Home, you might want to use the classic Windows theme instead of the fancy XP theme. Turn off the bells and whistles too like fading menus...
Kevin Wolff
05-19-2005, 07:31 PM
Is there any anti-virus software running on the computer?
No, not since I reformatted it.
Have you switched off the Indexing service?
Yes.
How much space is available on the hard drive?
8.5GB.
What are the swap space settings?
512MB for both min and max.
Kevin Wolff
05-19-2005, 07:36 PM
KillerByte said:
Which IDE cable is the DVD player on? Is it on its own cable or is it a slave to the hard drive? I've noticed a difference in performance between each alternative on lower end machines. It may be worth trying the opposite to what you currently have set up.
I just looked (hell of a cabling job...ugh) and it appears that the hard drive and...some other drive share an IDE cable (he's got an 8x DVD-ROM, and a 6x CD-RW/4x DVD-ROM). I can't tell which it's sharing with, but this'll explain the craptastic hard drive performance he's been having http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif But I wouldn't think the DVD drive would be slown down much. I notice in Task Manager that CPU usage goes right to 100% anyway. If I switch the cables around, then the hard drive would share with a Zip drive...that's probably not too great either. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/redface.gif
Kevin Wolff
05-19-2005, 07:38 PM
I'd guess background stuff. Cut all the background running programs you don't need.
I'm a god at that, rest assured. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Not sure about this one, but having 16-bit colors might help over 32-bit colors.
Way ahead of you.
Since you've got XP Home, you might want to use the classic Windows theme instead of the fancy XP theme. Turn off the bells and whistles too like fading menus...
It's XP Pro. And I turned off all the effects except for drop-shadow desktop icons.
I'm stumped. Upgrade the firmware maybe?
Inanimate Carbon Rod
05-19-2005, 08:08 PM
Reinstall the dvd decoder. One can be found for free in the K-Lite mega codec pack, you have to manually select it during the installation process.
This will fix your problem.
NutWrench
05-19-2005, 08:10 PM
You can also tell which IDE cable the DVD player is on in the Device Manager.
BTW, is DMA enabled for both the hard drive and the DVD drive? Check both the primary and secondary channels if you have more then 2 drives (of any type).
Kevin Wolff
05-19-2005, 08:32 PM
Inanimate Carbon Rod said:
Reinstall the dvd decoder. One can be found for free in the K-Lite mega codec pack, you have to manually select it during the installation process.
This will fix your problem.
This is on a fresh install of VLC Player, which uses its own decoder (libdvdcss).
Kevin Wolff
05-19-2005, 08:34 PM
NutWrench said:
You can also tell which IDE cable the DVD player is on in the Device Manager.
This used to be easy in 95/98...but in XP it doesn't seem as clear cut. I can't tell.
BTW, is DMA enabled for both the hard drive and the DVD drive? Check both the primary and secondary channels if you have more then 2 drives (of any type).
Yes, DMA is on for everything. The hard drive is set at Mode 4, and the DVD drive at Mode 2. (Not up to spec obviously, but this computer is pushing 5 years after all.)
Inanimate Carbon Rod
05-21-2005, 02:16 AM
Mabye you should try what i suggested.
Tedski
05-21-2005, 12:54 PM
Problem may be VLC player. I've seen posts elsewhere where people are having problems with it yet the media plays fine in standalone players. Someone suggested trying to use an earlier version of it, which appears to have worked for some.
I'd also try installing the K-lite codec pack as suggested earlier in the thread.
Kevin Wolff
05-21-2005, 12:57 PM
Why would the decoder from K-Lite be so much better than what I'm using? Not to mention that using PowerDVD 2.5 (back in the Win 98 days) seemed just as bad.
Inanimate Carbon Rod
05-21-2005, 01:08 PM
Instead of catagorically denying that it may work, you should try what I suggested. It will work.
What is the problem with trying it?
Kevin Wolff
05-21-2005, 04:47 PM
Alright, I installed it, and DVD plays in WMP now. Technically, you're right - it works. But it's still jerky and I get green dots all over the video.
Therefore, I have declared this a power supply issue (it's 250W, with a recent video card and all 4 PCI slots used, and 3 USB ports used constantly, and 2 optical drives + zip drive...you get the idea). We ordered a 350W one and will wait for that before going on.
Tedski
05-21-2005, 05:28 PM
Kevin Wolff said:
Alright, I installed it, and DVD plays in WMP now. Technically, you're right - it works. But it's still jerky and I get green dots all over the video.
Therefore, I have declared this a power supply issue (it's 250W, with a recent video card and all 4 PCI slots used, and 3 USB ports used constantly, and 2 optical drives + zip drive...you get the idea). We ordered a 350W one and will wait for that before going on.
3 USB ports going constantly? That could conceivably be causing issues depending on what else is running. Thinking back on what you've said, I'd also be inclined to point the finger at the zip drive as a nasty interfering piece of work too. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
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