Necessary Hardware for Playback

[dharris]

All,

So on the assumption (and its not an assumption since we know the product works) that I have AnyDVD running, which should free me from needing an hdcp compliant graphics card and/or hdcp capable monitor, and have also successfully ripped an HD DVD to my hard drive, what kind of hardware am I going to need to test to see if it actually plays back?

Right now, I have PowerDVD Ultra, a machine running a Pent. D 940, 2 gb of ram, but i only have onboard Intel GMA950 - and when i load PDVD and try to playback movie, i get an error "Incompatible Graphics Driver". Of course running the cyberlink advisor tells me my video is non-hdcp and so is the monitor.

Do I need an nvidia or ati card? If so, I assume I do not need one that has hdcp compliant? But for the drivers, do I need to download and pay for purevideo HD? or catalyst? Just trying to figure out minimum requirements...

Thanks

[Charlie]

You mean when using anydvd hd right? as regular anydvd doesn't require anything. You might need a higher graphics card like one of those that is listed on the powerdvd website.

http://www.cyberlink.com/english/sup...equirement.jsp

[Androo79]

If you want it to play every movie (HD and Bluray) flawlessly I would recommend the fastest Core 2 Duo you can afford and a 8800GTS. On a budget get the E6300 and overclock it to at least 2.5 Ghz.

[colinhunt]

Originally Posted by Androo79

If you want it to play every movie (HD and Bluray) flawlessly I would recommend the fastest Core 2 Duo you can afford and a 8800GTS. On a budget get the E6300 and overclock it to at least 2.5 Ghz.

Non-overclocked E6400 and 7950GT has been more than enough for every single BD/HD title so far, even ones with complex interactivity features. There's no reason to splurge for the most expensive HW just for BD/HD playback.

[RedFox]

I just saw yet another reason not to bother with HD yet. I don't have a HD compliant TV. As far as my PC, I have an AMD FX-53 & ATI X800 XT PE....so let's see, I would need a new CPU, new Video Card, PowerDVD upgrade, likely a new MOBO, & new Power Supply....oh yeah, and a DVD-HD drive....just to see a little clearer, detailed movie.

I still cannot make a backup of any DVD-HD's I would get, cause they would not fit on a Dual Layer DVD....oh yeah, I don't have one of those yet either. ROFL....spending $1,000 +++ just to watch a limited catalog of somewhat better looking HD movies......I'll pass.

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Originally Posted by RedFox

I just saw yet another reason not to bother with HD yet. I don't have a HD compliant TV. As far as my PC, I have an AMD FX-53 & ATI X800 XT PE....so let's see, I would need a new CPU, new Video Card, PowerDVD upgrade, likely a new MOBO, & new Power Supply....oh yeah, and a DVD-HD drive....just to see a little clearer, detailed movie.

I still cannot make a backup of any DVD-HD's I would get, cause they would not fit on a Dual Layer DVD....oh yeah, I don't have one of those yet either. ROFL....spending $1,000 +++ just to watch a limited catalog of somewhat better looking HD movies......I'll pass.

And here is the funny part where a Slysoft beat the curve before HD-DVD burners and many players were already on the market.

Hey, you don't have to use the product or even find it useful. Others, however, will.

In terms of upgrades... that's what Vista, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray have caused. If you want to use/see them then you want the best way to do so and that means better hardware. AnyDVD HD makes this easier.

I'm staying with XP Pro.

[Scarpad]

I have the 360 drive but my PC's definately are not hefty enough to play. I'm waiting till we have a Software which will backup the Movies to say 2 SD DVD's and then play back on the 360 drive, then I'll update.

[RedFox]

Yeah, I'm not anti-HD....nor anti-Vista....it's just that neither of them are ready for prime time....and it will be several more years before they are there....at least 2009, more likely 2010.

Once the studios sort out this latest HD version of VHS vs. Betamax, once hardware & titles to play HD are more available, affordable, and PC burners able to burn a fair use archive backup copy....I'll consider upgrading. Remember also that all the old titles were not even filmed/videotaped with 1160i+ recording cameras or media format....so HD only applies to fairly recent TV, Sports, Movies that started using the higher standards.

Vista....ummm....no thanks. Their pricing is a total ripoff, and only a fool would try any of M$'s new OS before they come out with at least their traditional SP-1 to fix all the bugs, and increase driver support.

[dharris]

I just thought i would repost since i started the thread.

I have C2D e4300 with a evga 7800GT card, 2GB of ram. I ripped a few of my HD DVDs to my network media server. Playback over my gig lan works flawlessly. No stutter. CPU utilization is only at 40%.

Im using PowerDVD 7.1

[Androo79]

Originally Posted by dharris

I have C2D e4300 with a evga 7800GT card, 2GB of ram. I ripped a few of my HD DVDs to my network media server. Playback over my gig lan works flawlessly. No stutter. CPU utilization is only at 40%.

Out of curiosity, Is the e4300 overclocked? Apparently it can do up to or even greater than a 100% overclock.