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iDVD.ca -
Learn about DVD
Burner hardware, DVD discs, and the DVD formats including DVD-R,
DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM. Read on for more
information!
By:
Emil Malmberg
Software decoders and CPU requirements
In the past, when computers were less powerful,
decoding MPEG2 movies in real-time required specialized hardware.
Watching DVD movies on your pc was expensive and complicated. With
modern processors, however, this is no longer the case. Today, all
you need is a DVD-drive, a descent CPU and a good DVD software. Does
this sound to good to be true? It is.
The source of the problem
While a dedicated hardware decoder only has to
do one thing, decoding movies, your CPU is involved in almost
everything going on inside your computer. Even though modern CPUs
are fast, they can't do everything at once. The solution is called
multitasking. By rapidly switching between different tasks, the
operating system gives you the illusion of doing many things at the
same time. Each running task gets a small slice of CPU time before
the CPU is handed over to the next task. If your DVD decoding
software doesn't get enough of those slices, it won't have time to
decode all the frames in your DVD movie at high quality. The result,
as you probably know, is dropped frames, stutter and other annoying
artifacts.
The solution
What can I do about prevent the DVD decoding
software from running out of CPU time? There are a few things you
should always do before watching DVD movies on your computer:
1. Reboot the computer before you begin to make sure the operating
system is completely stable.
2. Terminate all programs that aren't absolutely necessary (Ideally
everything except the DVD software and some system processes). Use
WinTasks to terminate as many processes as possible (Using WinTasks,
you can terminate many background processes that don't show up in
the CTRL+ALT+DEL dialog, as long as these are not system processes
or anti-virus programs they can usually be stopped as well for even
better results). When you have terminated all unnecessary processes,
save the current process configuration to a preset (available in
WinTasks 4.00 or later), this way you can simply click the preset
button to stop and start the right processes before playing DVDs.
3. Make sure you have the latest version of DirectX and DX Media.
4. Try increasing the priority of the DVD software. You may have to
try a few different settings before you find the optimal priority
for your system. Priority settings can also be saved to a WinTasks
preset (version 4.00 or later).
5. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your DVD drive.
6. Lower you screen resolution and color depth to 800x600 and 16 bit
color when playing DVDs (32 bit color may be preferable on some
graphics cards).
Written by Emil Malmberg, Senior Software
Developer for LIUtilities
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