Welcome to InterVideo's WinDVD, the premier DVD playback application for the PC.
The following are some notes users may find useful when starting to use WinDVD.
1) System performance requirements:
The PC has a variety of components that make up its combination of capabilities.
Software DVD playback quality and performance depends on several of these components
heavily. They include:
CPU Speed
Graphics Subsystem
Graphics Bus Type
Graphics Memory
Audio Subsystem
Audio Bus Type
System Memory
System Cache Sizes
Most important are the graphics subsystem and the CPU. Software DVD has several
playback modes. These include:
a) Software only playback, with all decode processing done by the CPU.
b) Motion compensation hardware assistance performed by the graphics processor.
c) Motion compensation and IDCT (inverse discrete cosine transforms) hardware assistance
performed by the graphics processor.
Each successive case reduces the load on the CPU, so CPU requirements can vary widely
based on the graphics processor.
In addition, there are two types of content available, one based on film
(typically Hollywood movies) and the other based on video (music videos and Betacam/
camcorder content). Film based content plays back at 24 frames per second and video
based content plays back at 30 fps or 60 odd and even fields per second. Video content
requires more horsepower to decode, and will use more CPU than its film-based cousin.
So, with all that in mind, here's what you can expect, based on some examples of
CPU types and speeds:
a) Software only playback of film content: 300A Celeron CPU
b) Software only playback of video content: 350 MHz Pentium II CPU
c) Motion Compensation assisted playback of film content: 266 MHz Pentium II CPU
d) Motion Compensation assisted playback of video content: 333 Celeron CPU
e) MC and IDCT assisted playback of film content: 233 MHz Pentium II CPU
f) MC and IDCT assisted playback of video content: 300A Celeron CPU
2) Best video playback is achieved on graphics subsystems that focus on video as well
as 3D performance.
3) To disable motion compensation hardware assistance, right click on the video
window, select Properties, select the Display tab, and uncheck the Hardware
Motion Compensation checkbox.
4) WinDVD requires the DirectX 6 runtime or higher to be installed prior to running.
5) DVD movies are created at 720x480 video resolutions. It is strongly recommended that
you set your desktop to at least 800x600 resolution.
6) Many DVD titles offer a 16x9 "Widescreen" version (also called Anamorphic). These
versions are best viewed at a desktop setting of 1024x768.
7) Make sure you have the DMA setting for your DVD-ROM drive turned on before running
WinDVD. This is accomplished by right clicking on the My Computer icon on your desktop,
selecting Properties, selecting the Device Manager tab, double clicking on the CD-ROM
device, selecting the DVD-ROM drive that is present, selecting Properties, selecting the
Settings tab, and enabling the DMA check box. If there is no DMA checkbox available on
your system, you may have a motherboard that does not support DMA, or you may need a new
set of drivers to update your motherboard support. Verify the type of motherboard that
you have and check the website of that manufacturer for an updated "chipset" driver.
Some motherboard websites are listed below:
Intel - www.intel.com
SiS - www.sis.com.tw
VIA - www.via.com.tw
ALi - www.ali.com.tw
8) After installing WinDVD and inserting a DVD disc, WinDVD should automatically detect
the disc and begin playing the movie. If this does not happen, launch WinDVD and open the
Properties dialog box, and select your drive from the Default DVD Drive drop down box.
9) Graphics subsystems based on the AGP Bus interface will perform up to 30% faster than
those based on the PCI Bus.
10) Audio subsystems based on the PCI Bus will perform up to 15% faster than based on the
ISA Bus.
11) DVD movies have a tendency to get dirty over time and this could possibly cause decode
errors. If a movie should stop randomly, please try cleaning the disc before calling
technical support.
12) 3DSound is an option, and if the button is grayed-out, this option was not included
by your OEM. In Windows98, 4 Channel and 6 Channel audio support require specific audio hardware and are also optional. In Windows2000, there is no 4 channel, 6 channel, and S/PDIF support at this moment due to Windows2000 limitation.
13) This software REQUIRES the original CD to be present to install, or re-install,
the product.
14) Re-installing the software will NOT reset the region selection options.
15) This product is being delivered to end-users as an OEM product, most often bundled
with a hardware component, or as part of the system itself. End-users requiring support
should directly contact the OEM provider of the software.
