DVDs on the Dinosaur.

[Joe]

While I've got my old Windows 98se system rigged up I've been playing with it's DVD-ROM.

This was a spare which I acquired and had previously bunged it on that as it being as good a place to store it as any. I did try to play DVDs on it but couldn't and it never seemed worth messing about with.

After a bit of fiddling I can report the following:-

Windows Media Player claims there's no disc in the drive
VLC Player plays the sound but with no picture
Media Player Classic works acceptably

When I first tried MPC it was like watching a slide-show as instead of fifty frames a second I was lucky to get one. A few adjustments to its settings, not that I've a clue what I'm doing, has got it to about the standard of an old silent film.

Enabling DMA for the drive in Device Manager causes it to disappear from both that and Windows Explorer after re-booting.

I've no desire to watch DVDs sitting at a desk when I can watch them in bed on my lap-top on a better display. It did get me thinking as to how much power there is in a stand-alone DVD player though. This system has a 500MHz Celeron processor and 512MB or RAM and isn't up to it.

I know it's said that a calculator has more power than the main computer on Apollo 11 and I'm wondering if there's something similar here.

- Joe

[Mark Hennessy]

Though it's a modest system, it's not a lack of processing power - rather it sounds like a variety of configuration issues, most of which you've succeeded in overcoming. But there's no denying that rather than decoding MPEG 2 in software running on a fairly general-purpose CPU, it's better to use bespoke hardware - that's what DVD players use, and some PC graphics cards are able to assist in the task, which leaves the main CPU free for other tasks.

You're clearly enjoying the computing lark

[Joe]

Yes, Mark, it's all good fun. As well as being a Recovering Railway Enthusiast I'm a Recovering Computer Nerd. It started innocently with "I only want to send a few files over; it's nothing I can't handle. I could give it up any time I want" and now look at my workshop:-

   

The Servisol was handy as one of my old mouse buttons needed cleaning.

- Joe

[pwdrive]

It looks like I.T. central, and positively tidy compared to mine, where's the radios....

Lawrence.

[Joe]

This is the Electrical, Mechanical and Woodwork workshop, Radios and Electronics is downstairs, and Turning and Grinding is in the porch.

- Joe

[pwdrive]

Sounds organized Joe.

Lawrence.

[Joe]

SOUNDS it, yes but that's about all!

- Joe

[Skywave]

This is the Electrical, Mechanical and Woodwork workshop, Radios and Electronics is downstairs, and Turning and Grinding is in the porch.
- Joe

Ooooh! Someone has indoor workshop facilities! I've just gone a funny shade of green.

Al.

[Joe]

This is where the radios are done:-

   

In case you hadn't guessed I'm single.

- Joe

[pwdrive]

Nice'n light.