HDDVD Playback

[gurmukhp]

Hi

Hopefully someone can help me. Due to the demise of the HD DVD format, all hardware and discs have become really cheap, so thought I'd make use of my LCD tv hooked up to my pc to play HD quality films. I've got the HD DVD reader and I've got my discs. I have tried to play the films on PowerDVD (version 7.3) and also Windvd Plus. The films all play fine, with sound, exactly as expected, BUT the video is very choppy in full screen mode, if I resize the window smaller, then the choppiness goes away. I'm trying to figure out if this is a hardware or software issue.

So I ripped the HD DVD to my hard disc and used the same players to play the film, thinking the read speed or the disc was dirty, same result, they were still choppy at full screen (only 720).

MY system specs are:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 (1.86GHz)
2GB DDR2 PC2-4200 (2 x 1GB)
250GB SATA
GeForce 7300SE PCI-E 64MB (up to 512MB with Turbocache)

The only thing I can think of is my graphics card. What are your thoughts?

Maybe there is a lightweight HD DVD player?

Please help!

Thanks

[yoda313]

Make sure you update your video card drivers. 64mb may be a bit underpowered for high def graphics.

Also make sure you aren't running any background apps to ease the load on the cpu. Even though you have a dual core processor high def video is cpu intensive.

Honestly I ended up buying a ps3 for smooth bluray playback because even upgrading to a dual core amd processor didn't smooth the playback.

I have the best of both worlds - a hddvd addon for my xbox 360 and a ps3 so I have two solid dedicated high def playback formats.

You might want to check ebay for hd-dvd settop players. You can probably find an unopened one for less than the price of a new fancy graphics card.

[gurmukhp]

Thanks for your help yoda! I did a bit of research and used Cyberlinks HD compatible advisor program and it suggested that my video card is prob not up to scratch. So I've just ordered a geforece 512mb 8500 sLI pci graphics card for £30, apparantly these cards take the whole load off the cpu and process it directly. Wish me luck! I'll post my findings!

Thanks v much again

[yoda313]

Well I guess I was wrong about the price of an adequate video card! What is 30 pounds? Like 50 or 60 USD? That isn't bad at all for a 512mb card. Though you can probably get a settop hddvd for under a 100.00USD on an auction site. Probably not that good of a price though and shipping would be more since its a heavier unit than a graphics card.