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* News: DVD News!
* DVD Software downloads

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* Sony’s Double Layer DVD+RW Drive DRU-700A Review Page! NEW!

* Install a internal CD/DVD drive!

* Copy a LP/Cassette to CD disk!

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DVD Software:

ImTOO DVD Ripper: DVD ripping tool easy to use with high ripping speed. Free Trial!

dvdSanta an All-in-One software that lets you copy, create, convert and burn your DVD. file.

DVD-Cloner III Backup all your DVD movies with any DVD burner. File

Copy-Dvdz World's leading DVD copying solutions. File.

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2/14/05 Time to move to burning DVDs: Hi to all you disc burning geek's out there. For the last two years I've been burning DvD's like a madman. I have a lot of my favorites movie and TV programs on DVD-R discs that I recorded off my digital satellite system. DVD disc are grate! their the same size as a CD disc, but hold six times the data. I use to backup all my data on CD discs, but now I'm moving all the data to DVD disc. If your still burning CD discs, it's time to move over to burning DVDs, you'll never go back.

P. S. Some people ask which DVD burner is the best? I've had good luck with Sony dual DVD writer.

News: The Latest DVD News-Click here!

 

The Basics of Q&A DVD

What's DVD stand for? DVD stands for Digital Versatile/Video Disc, DVDR stands for DVD Recordable and DVDRW for DVD ReWriteable.

A recordable DVDR disc holds 4.7GB of data or up to 2 hours of very good quality DVD-Video, including several audio tracks in formats like stereo, Dolby Digital and the advanced menu systems, subtitles and still pictures that can be played by many standalone DVD Players and most computer DVD-ROMs.

The movies you buy on DVD are recorded on to high density DVD's, so you can't copy a DVD movie on to one standard DVDR 4.7GB disc. You would need to copy the DVD movie on two standard DVDR discs or you can lower the video quality, then it's possible to store several hours video on a recordable DVDR using low resolution with low video quality more or less like VHS quality.

Which DVD Writer to buy? Having a problem deciding what DVD Writer to buy? There are two competing standards the DVD+R/W and the DVD-R/W one will be the winning standard and the other the betamax of DVD's writers. The third choice DVD-RAM another competing DVD Recording standards, all but died. I recommend you avoid buying the DVD-RAM Writer.

The solution: Buy a dual DVD Writer with both DVD+R/W & DVD-R/W formats in same DVD Writer, the newer dual DVD Writers supports both DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W. Sony was the first to sell a dual DVD Writer and other have release there own dual DVD (DVD+-R/W) Writers.

The Formats:

About DVD-R and DVD-RW: DVD-R was the first DVD recording format released that is compatible with most home standalone DVD Players.
DVD-R is a non-rewriteable format (record once) and it is compatible with about 95% of all home DVD players and most PC DVD-ROMs.
DVD-RW is a rewriteable format (erase & record again) and it is compatible with about 70% of all DVD home players and PC DVD-ROMs.
DVD-R/W supports single side 4.7 GB* DVD's (DVD-5) and double side 9.4 GB* DVD's (DVD-10).

About DVD+R and DVD+RW: DVD+R has more features than DVD-R/W lossless linking, CAV and CLV writing.
DVD+R is a non-rewritable format (record once) and it is compatible with about 80% of all home DVD players and most PC DVD-ROMs.
DVD+RW is a rewritable format (erase & record again) and is compatible with about 70% of all home DVD players and most PC DVD-ROMs.
DVD+R/W supports single side 4.7 GB* DVD's ( DVD-5) and double side 9.4 GB* DVD's (DVD-10) supported by the DVD+RW Alliance.

DVD-RAM has good recording features but, it's not compatible with most home DVD Video players or PC DVD-ROM drives.

DVD-MP3: is basically MP3s burned on a DVDR/W disc but, few MP3 capable home DVD Players supports it because most players verify DVDR/W as DVD-Video only.

New DVD Burners Double Capacity: Click here! - Holds 8.5 gigabytes of data, or about 4 hours of DVD-quality movies.

Read you DVD player user manual to see if your DVD player supports DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-MP3 and other formats some do and some don't. The newer DVD players support most all DVD-R formats.

* Three rewritable DVD formats!
* DVD-Cloner: Backup your DVD movies with any DVD burner.
* How to install a DVD CD-ROM drive
* Copy-Dvdz World's leading DVD copying solutions.

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DVD News!

* BenQ to offer LightScribe-capable 16x DVD Dual DL burner:
* Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise:
* HD DVD's Coming still in 2005 from Hollywood Studios:
* Toshiba, Memory-Tech Develop New DVD:
* Self-Destructing DVDS to Reach More People:
* New DVD Burners Double Capacity:
* Philips Launches World's Fastest DVD Burner
* Sony revs up speedy DVD burner:
* Sony develops paper DVD:

 

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- Sony, Toshiba give up on unified DVD format-paper: Tech News!

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New copy-proof DVDs on the way?: 2/15/05

Macrovision is expected to release a new DVD copy-protection technology Tuesday in hopes of substantially broadening its role in Hollywood's antipiracy effort.

The content-protection company is pointing to the failure of the copy-proofing on today's DVDs, which was broken in 1999. Courts have ordered that DVD-copying tools be taken off the market, but variations of the software remain widely available online.

Macrovision executives said that even if it's not perfect, the new RipGuard DVD technology can prevent much of the copying done with such tools and can help bolster studios' DVD sales.

"Encryption standards either work or they don't," said Adam Gervin, Macrovision's senior director of marketing, "Now the cat's out of the bag. (DVD sales) are going to be one of the main sources of revenue for Hollywood for a long time, so why leave billions of dollars on the table when you can do something about it?" More here CNET News.com.

 

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BenQ to offer LightScribe-capable 16x DVD Dual DL burner: 2/14/05

BenQ on February 3 announced that it would launch a 16x DVD Dual DL (single-sided double-layer) burner equipped with LightScribe direct-disc labeling technology, model DW1625, at the end of February. LightScribe technology has been developed and patented by Hewlett-Packard (HP).

BenQ plans to make the DW1625 burner available in the international market in March, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of US$119, according to the company.

Model DW1625 features writing speeds of 16x for DVD+R, 8x for DVD-R, 4x for DVD+RW and DVD-RW, 2.4x for DVD+R DL, 40x for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW. It also offers read speeds of 16x for all DVD formats and 40x for CD discs. (digitimes.com)

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Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise: 02/03/05 Paramount Home Entertainment has announced a May release for the first season of Star Trek Enterprise. The set will include the series in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1. The set will likely follow the format of previous Trek sets, but has some exiting new extras as well including deleted scenes, seven featurettes, outtakes and interviews. With the show struggling in the ratings, perhaps the DVDs can draw new people to the program.

Also along similar titular lines, a new special edition of the cult indie film Free Enterprise starring William Shatner is coming this spring. The Five Year Mission Addition (no typo), will include an extended cut of the film in anamorphic widescreen with audio commentaries with Robert Meyer Burnett, William Shatner, Eric McCormack, and Rafer Weigle, and a newly added "Logan's Run" sequence.

Astro Boy comes to DVD: 02/03/05 The granddaddy of all anime comes to DVD with the set of Astro Boy coming from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. All 50 episodes are coming this spring. Astro Boy tells the story of a permanently youthful robot boy modeled after the son of a research scientist, Dr. Tenma. Originally intended to be kept a secret, the atomic-powered robot becomes a renowned superhero who fights for justice and peace for humans and robots alike.

All fifty episodes including 29 not previously seen in the U.S. are in the five disc set. All the episodes are in anamorphic widescreen and are presented in English. The featurette The Making of Astro Boy is included as well.
The set will arrive on March 29th with a suggested retail price of $49.95.

Source: (dvdreview.com)

 

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HD DVD's Coming still in 2005 from Hollywood Studios: 02/03/05 Japanese Newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that Warner Bros. Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp. and Universal Studios will most likely start selling HD DVD movie titles in Japan and the U.S. in October 2005 for 2,000 yen to 3,000 yen (~$20-30).

This would make HD DVD's not much more expensive than standard DVD's. HD DVD Players are not here yet, but maybe there will be some choice then by October. So get ready to replace all your favorite movies with HD DVD!

Source: (Nikkei.Net)

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Toshiba, Memory-Tech Develop New DVD: Two Japanese companies said they have developed a DVD that can play on both existing machines and the upcoming high-definition players, raising hopes for a smooth transition as more people dump old TV sets for better screens.

Toshiba Corp. and Memory-Tech Corp. said their disc has a dual-layered surface that can store both types of data on the same side.

For consumers, that would eliminate the potential headache of having to own two types of DVD players: Both will be able to read such discs, though only the newer equipment can take advantage of the higher-resolution technology.

The discs, which took six months to develop, will be able to hold 4.7 GB in the current format and 15 GB in high resolution, Memory-Tech spokesman Masato Otsuka said.

Making the discs won't cost any more than the companies now spend on producing current DVDs, Otsuka said.

The new DVDs rely on the HD-DVD format, which has the backing of the DVD Forum, an international association of electronics makers and movie studios. New DVD players using the format are expected to hit stores by late 2005.

Its competitor, Blu-Ray, is backed by Sony Corp. its Hollywood studio and News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc. Blu-Ray has more storage space, but HD-DVD is expected to be cheaper to produce because its technology closely resembles current DVDs.

It's still unclear which will become the dominant technology. (AP)

 

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Self-Destructing DVDS to Reach More People: 11/12/04 The Christmas-themed movie "Noel" most likely won't be coming to a theater near you — but if you miss it on cable, there's always the self-destructing DVD.

The movie's producers hope its "trimultaneous" roll out this month, which starts this weekend with a theater release in just five major cities, will prove the public is willing to "rent" movies that must be tossed in the trash after just a viewing or two.

Disposable DVDs look and play like normal DVDs, except that their playable surface is dark red.

Each disc contains a chemical time-bomb that begins ticking once it's exposed to air. Typically, after 48 hours, the disc turns darker, becoming so opaque that a DVD player's laser can no longer can read it. (Discs can live as little as one hour or as long as 60 hours.)

The format has been around for a few years but hasn't generated much interest from movie studios, video rental companies — or customers — despite experiments to deliver movies direct to consumers and eliminate late fees.

Enter "Noel," an emotional Christmas story starring Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz and Robin Williams. The independent film was shown at this year's Toronto Film Festival but didn't attract interest from mainstream distribution companies.

So the Atlanta-based Convex Group bought distribution rights and is releasing the film on a few dozen screens. Then, starting mid-month, the movie will be available in the disposable EZ-D format for $4.99 on Amazon.com. On cable, it will air once, on TNT, during Thanksgiving weekend.

Convex owns more than 100 media patents and holds exclusive distribution rights to CD-ROMS that fit into the lids of soft drink cups. The company also owns Flexplay Technologies Inc., the company behind the disposable EZ-D.

The technology's backers see it as an alternative for video rental stores and Netflix-type mail-based subscription services. After the movie is watched, the consumer tosses it into the trash, eliminating late fees and the cost of return mail — but creating a potentially large new source of trash.

The potential to add to landfills may be the least of reasons disposable DVDs have so far been a dud.

The discs can be illegally copied and pirated, just like regular DVDs. And while they are made of recyclable plastic, consumers would have to mail them to a special center for processing.

Blockbuster Inc. hasn't embraced disposable DVDs because it says it does not want to confuse its customers. Instead, the company has adopted a Netflix-like subscription approach to video rentals.

"We really don't see the idea going anywhere, ultimately," Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said of disposable DVDs.

That's bad news for Convex, which bought Flexplay last month. Flexplay had provided discs to The Walt Disney Co., which has experimented with the format for the past year in eight test markets.

Disney has released a number of films on the discs, including "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." The movies are sold in unconventional outlets, such as convenience stores, and are generally made available weeks after they first appear on DVD.

For films with less backing, disposable DVDs may be an option.

"Noel" director Chazz Palminteri hopes Convex's unique marketing approach will generate a buzz, calling it "really the only way you can compete with the Christmas movies that have $30 million budgets."

While the novelty of a fading DVD may attract some buyers, Convex chief executive Jeff Arnold said it won't take off without studios releasing films in the format. "People aren't enamored of technology. They are enamored of content," he said. But Convex ran into a wall of opposition from the major theater chains, none of which wanted to show a movie that would also appear on television and be sold on DVD at the same time.

The average studio release is in theaters for five months before it is released on DVD, according to the National Association of Theater Owners. So Convex will be showing "Noel" at smaller theaters in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Atlanta and Chicago. Ironically, Regal Entertainment Group theaters, which refused to show the film, will be promoting the movie on soda cups and on mini-DVDs called "Lidrocks" embedded in soda caps.

Regal has a deal with Convex to use its Lidrocks product. Studios haven't given up trying alternative routes to get DVDs into the hands of consumers more quickly. Some studios release DVDs, even of hit blockbuster films, after less than four months in theaters. Five studios operate an Internet-based service called "Movielink," which lets consumers download films, usually after they have appeared in video rental stores. McDonald's has even installed DVD vending machines in more than 100 Denver-area restaurants, where they rent for $1 per night with a credit card. But studios have little interest in the kind of near-simultaneous releases being used for "Noel."

"I just don't see a lot of studios rushing to do it," said Tom Adams of Adams Media Research. (AP)

 

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Companies Approve New High-Capacity Disc Format: A group of consumer electronics makers said on Wednesday they approved the format for a new generation of discs that can store five times the data of DVDs at the same cost -- enough to put a full season of "The Sopranos" on one disc.

The group, called the Blu-ray Disc Founders, said it has approved version 1.0 of the BD-ROM format and made it available to disc manufacturers.

Blu-ray, so named because the standard requires a blue laser instead of the red one used for DVD reading and recording, is designed to store 25 gigabytes of data on a single-layered disc.

It is aimed at recording and storing high-definition video which studios, video renters and retailers see as a major growth opportunity for the home video market in coming years.

The founders' group has 13 members comprising the leading names in consumer electronics and computing, among them Sony Corp. Philips, Thomson, Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

The Blu-ray format those companies are backing is expected to compete with another blue-laser standard, HD DVD, backed by NEC Corp. and Toshiba Corp.

Players, computer drives and software compatible with the Blu-ray format are expected on the market by the end of 2005. Microsoft Corp. said last month the next generation of its Windows operating system would be compatible with HD DVD. At the time, it did not commit one way or another on Blu-ray.

 

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Philips Launches World's Fastest DVD Burner: Philips Electronics has launched the world's first 16-speed DVD writer, which can burn a disc in less than six minutes, the Dutch group said.

U.S. computer maker Dell will be the first customer for the new DVD burner, sources familiar with the Philips activity told Reuters. Philips and Dell have a partnership to supply each other with products.

Philips said it planned to produce 600,000 of the devices every month. Computer makers will pay between 80 and 90 euros ($97-$109) per DVD writer when buying in large quantities, while consumers will have to pay around 180 euros.

The product, which has two layers that take the maximum storage capacity up to 8.5 gigabytes or four hours of DVD quality video, will be a mainstream feature in personal computers by the end of 2004, Philips said.

Until now, eight-speed burners were at the top of the range.

DVDs were designed to store film and video. With the advent of digital video cameras and still cameras, consumers are increasingly interested in editing their videos on a personal computer, then burning them on a DVD for storage or for sending to other people.

Philips' optical storage unit, which was also the first with an eight-speed DVD burner last September, returned to profitability in 2003 after heavy losses as a result of Asian competition.

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* DVD-Cloner: Backup your DVD with any DVD burner.

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Three rewritable DVD formats!

 

The DVD Dilemma - Three rewritable DVD formats are duking it out for your dollars. Is it time to buy? Both DVD-R/RW and DVD-RAM drives have already appeared (Pioneer's DVD-R/RW $799 DVR-A03 and Panasonic's DVD-RAM/DVD-R $549 LF-D311N DVDBurner). But today the battle is truly joined, as the much-anticipated DVD+RW format debuts in Hewlett-Packard's $599 DVD100i drive. All three camps will have new VCR-like DVD recorders this fall, too, priced from $1500 to $2500.

The format offering the best compatibility with existing DVD-ROM drives and movie players should win. Unfortunately, it's still too early to tell which format that will be. The early favorites seem to be the DVD Forum's DVD-R/RW and DVD+RW from the DVD+RW Alliance.

DVD+RW - Although it's the last of the trio to reach store shelves, DVD+RW brings 4.7GB capacity, superior speed, and lower cost to the table.

The offspring of an alliance between originally six, now eight, major companies, DVD+ RW took a while to get to market. The companies pulled the plug on a near-shipping 3GB product after hearing DVD-RAM and DVD-R were upping capacity to 4.7GB. Two more years and much hype later, a prototype of HP's DVD+RW drive has come our way.

The HP drive costs roughly $200 less than Pioneer's DVR-A03 DVD-R/RW model. Media prices are competitive, too: DVD+RW discs now sell for about $15 each. (DVD-R discs cost about $8 each and DVD-RWs are around $18 apiece.)

The DVD100i's - The interoperability with legacy DVD-ROM drives and DVD movie players (those made before 2000) that DVD+RW's developers wanted has proved impossible to achieve. Just as they do with DVD-RW discs, many legacy DVD-ROM drives and movie players misidentify a DVD+RW disc as a dual-layer DVD-ROM and simply sit there, scratching their laser-laden heads.

DVD+RW media fares much better with newer players: Seven of the ten current movie players could read it. If you bought a DVD player within the last 10 months, odds are it will work with DVD+RW.

On to DVD-RW While DVD-R and DVD-RW are the official DVD Forum formats, they've been developed and marketed almost exclusively by Pioneer Electronics. Drives have been available for several years but were prohibitively expensive until last winter, when Pioneer released its DVR-A03 DVD-R/RW drive (or SuperDrive, as Apple calls it).

Microsoft has decided to support one of two competing formats for popular DVD recording technology, a decision that is intended to make the storage devices as easy to use as current CD burners and floppy drives.

At its annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), Microsoft plans to demonstrate software and to provide technical documentation for incorporating the DVD+RW format into its Windows operating system, according to a Microsoft Web site detailing the schedule for the conference.

DVD-RAM? The DVD Forum's DVD-RAM has been around for several years. It was the first format to be used both in PC drives and in a DVD recorder for the living room. Though it has some advantages as a backup medium, DVD-RAM stands little chance of dominating the burgeoning DVD market because it has more-limited speed and compatibility than the other two rewritable standards.

The DVD drives--and definitely the DVD recorders--are still too costly to find widespread acceptance, but prices should come down over the next two years. For now, although the HP DVD100i drive is faster and cheaper, the Pioneer DVR-A03 it writes DVD-R, which is supported by most drives and players.

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DVD Software Downlaods for your PC!

DVD Shrink: is software to backup DVD disks.

DVD Region-Free Watch all region DVDs on your region-locked DVD drive!

DVD Master Backup backup of your DVD movies to fit it on a standard 700MB CD.

* DVD-Cloner: Backup your DVD with any DVD burner.

DeepBurner is a free new CD/DVD burning software.

Zoom Player is a robust Media and DVD Front-End Player.

DivX: watch movies, create DivX files from DVDs, using DivX MPEG-4, free!

cladDVD XP! - a DVD ripper that can pretty much rip any DVD just the way you want it as it uses vStrip.

DVD Decrypter - a freeware tool which enables you decrypt and copy a DVD to your PC's hard disk.

DVD Genie 4.10 - DVD Genie allows you to modify the region code for popular software-based DVD Players such as Software Cinemaster, PowerDVD, and WinDVD.

WTG Software review list

CLICK HERE -> TO DOUBLE YOUR INTERNET SPEED
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Related: More How to Reviews Index Page!, How to install a DVD driver, How to safely store CDs & DVDs.

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DirectDVD: Orion Studios has just released the latest version of their DirectDVD player. The features and technology in DirectDVD take the PC theatre experience to a new level. Beyond the standard functionality, DirectDVD's advanced features give you total control over the properties on your system which translates to unsurpassed audio/video quality. It offers MPEG-2 video support, and has the ability to bring new features such as DVD-to-MP3 conversion, a 16-band EQ, and MP3 functionality. DirectDVD also supports new audio filters, such as Digital Theater Systems (DTS) and Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS). Closed Captioning is included, and SubPictures in 32 languages are also built inside the engine. here!

1 PowerDVD: (My Choice!) looks good - can start full screen - Total sound control - DVD playback's fine (as soon as you have PentiumII 400+ MHz) - captures DVD frames as .BMP - can downmix 5.1 channels to 4 speakers - press play, stop, play again -> here!

2. Ravisent Cinemaster: it works and installs itself OK with ATi Rage Pro and TNT2 cards !) - fullscreen/default window size 'ala WinDVD' : double click on DVD window makes view change ! - regional control 'ala PowerDVD' is now implemented : you can change region within player (of course it asks for 5 changes max !) - a few new video cards (w/Motion Compensation) as S3 Savage series are now supported - you can use Ravisent's newest decoding engine with player 1.6 (w/QI logo) - newer Cinemaster'99 w/Getaway/QI logos contains files for NT4 ! This player should work under NT4

3. WinDVD 3.1: WinDVD combines great picture and sound with advanced features only possible on a PC: time stretching lets you watch movies faster with natural audio, thumbnail bookmarks to instantly find your favorite scenes, fully-adjustable zoom and pan, and much more. With comprehensive audio support, including Dolby Digital decoding for 2 to 5.1 channels, Dolby Headphone Surround for personal or on-the-road viewing, S/PDIF digital outputs for home theater integration, and optional DTS decoding, WinDVD lets you enjoy an unmatched theater experience.. www.intervideo.com - Windows 95/98/Me/NT/XP/2000
License: Shareware.

 

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DVD-rom drive!

 

DVD-rom drive is an internal or external device that will allow your computer to be able to read DVDs, as DVD-video, DVD-rom discs and maybe later DVD audio discs. Right now, DVD drives are on their third generation. Although some manufacturers say they have 4th or 5th generation drives, their wasn't any changes on DVD-rom drives technology since the third generation. DVD-rom drives are available in different speeds : 6x, 8x & 10x. Do not worry to much about it, all drives will read DVD-video perfectly. The last thing you have to know is that some drives are sold region locked, other region free. Some region locked drives can be unlocked others cannot.

One of the most important thing when choosing a DVD-rom drive, is to make sure the drive will be able to read DVD-video from all 6 zones. I put together the list of all DVD-rom drives available in the world with information on the ones that region free, the ones you can unlock and the ones that region locked forever. So, the first thing you have to do is read the DVD-rom locklist. You then have to decide wether you want a DVD-rom drive with a tray or a slot-in drive (a slot-in drive is a drive with no tray, no door).

Next important thing, the controler format. Is your computer equiped with a SCSI controler, an IDE controler or both? SCSI DVD-rom drives are more expensive but they use the SCSI technology that requires less processing power from the CPU. If you don't know the answer to that question, your computer must be equipped with an IDE controller. Finally, you have to make a choice. It can be based on the price or the brand of the product, we still can recommend these drives to you for their excellent performances and stability, and especially because they are region free.

1. The Samsung and Hitachi drives for they are all region free and work great.
2. The Pioneer 103S for it is an excellent slot-in drive.

All DVD-ROM drives (and home DVD movie players) can read dual-layered DVDs holding 17GB of data--even the first-generation drives. However, not all drives have front-panel audio jacks and volume controls, which could be a problem if you like to plug your headphones into your drive. Discs from the current crop are often labeled "DVD-ROM III" or "third generation." They are typically rated at 4x, 4.8x, or 5.2x in speed, compared to 2x for second-generation drives. (4.8x means that the drive spins discs 4.8 times faster than the original DVD-ROM drives. Some super-cheap kits might have second-generation drives, so watch for the "x" rating when buying.) Because DVD-ROM drives can also read CD-ROM, you'll notice separate speed specs for CD-ROM--typically 24x or 32x on a 5x DVD-ROM drive.

DVD decoder card There are only a few cards available on the market. Most of them are alike because using the same decoders (either from Sigma Designs, C-cube,...).A DVD decoder card's software is region locked and it must be 'cracked' in order to make it region free. In order to know if the card you are planning to buy can be made region free, check our region free DVD decoder's list

1. Asus V3800 Fix for Asus V3800 - Driver 2.25 - disables Macrovision.
2. ALi M3309 ALi M3309 (AGP Video Controller) Region Free Tools.
3. DXR2 Creative Labs DXR-2 region free solutions.
4. RealMagic hollywood 2 REALMagic hollywood 2 (MPEG-2 PCI cards).

A sound card: a simple sound cards will be enough to listen to a DVD video's soundtrack. If you want Dolby Digital output, you will need a newer sound card with onboard coaxial or optical Dolby Digital out. Also a good pair of quality PC Speakers, to output the audio signal. TIP: You can also plug the audio output directly into your home stereo.

DVD decoder: hardware or software. The DVD decoder : The video stream on a DVD video disc is encoded in a video format know as MPEG-2. In order to decode this stream, you need a DVD decoder. If your computer is recent and fast about a Pentium at 400Mhz, then you can use software to decode your DVD.

If your computer is old and slow, you will need a hardware DVD decoder. A hardware DVD decoder card will gives you the ability to decode any DVD with older CPU processors. A good decoder is the Hollywood Plus from Sigma Design. DVD movie studios control the distribution of their films, they have divided the world in 6 different commercial zones and implemented a protection on every single DVD titles except adult DVD movies. You can only view DVDs from your zone.

There are ways around this, if you are using a PC and a older DVD-Rom drive!. In order to decode a MPEG or a DVD video stream full screen 30 frames per scants, you either need a powerful CPU and a software DVD decoder or a DVD decoder card and the corresponding software. It's simple you either have a CPU slower than 350 Mhz and will need a decoder card OR you need to be able to playback DVDs while running other applications and need a decoder card to free some of the CPU power. If you only want to playback DVDs and have a CPU faster than 350 Mhz then you do NOT need a DVD decoder card

January 1st 2000, every DVD-Rom drives sold after 1st January 2000 will be region locked ! So if want to view DVDs from other zones try to find a old DVD-Rom drive. There are many software DVD decoders to choose from and all of them can be made region free. Remember come back to WebTechGeek.com for more computer help!

 

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The Links Below Will Further Help You!

DVD Ripping guide for you Penguins out there. Click here to visit Big J's Linux Site!

DIGITAL DIGEST - DVD!

DVD Rippers : WebTechGeek.com does not feature any downloads for DVD rippers. If you want to obtain these rippers, you should try this web site.

DVD Region free Players: If your looking for a Region free DVD Players, 6 zone DVD players are carefully modified to allow you to play DVD movies from all regions. here!

CD/DVD Utilities: CD Media World

Copy-Dvdz World's leading DVD copying solutions.

 

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Related: More How to's, Software Reviews and computer help pages. Index Page! - All about DVD's - Connect a DVD Player - Burning CDR's! - How to safely store & repair CD's - What to do with old CD's - How to install a internal CD-RW drive! - How to burn a LP or Cassette to CD!

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