DVD players on PCs

[Steve Crook]

Does anyone here use anything to get around the number of times you can change region in the DVD player in most PCs?



I've seen some like DVDIdle's DVD Region+CSS Free Lite but wondered what it was like



Steve

[Wolfgang]

Have you tried VLC player? It can often bypass regional codings. My WinDVD only allows me to change my region settings four times but VLC plays my region 1 disks fine without having to change my region setting:



VLC media player - Overview

[smudge]

name='Steve Crook']Does anyone here use anything to get around the number of times you can change region in the DVD player in most PCs?



I've seen some like DVDIdle's DVD Region+CSS Free Lite but wondered what it was like



Steve

I use this Steve and I've had no conflicts or problems with it. I just plonked it on and have forgotten about it. It does the job just fine as far as I am concerned. It just works in the background and automatically kicks in when you put whatever region DVD in the drive.



It has got to be 'idiot proof' if I can use it... :



Smudge

[DB7]

name='Wolfgang']Have you tried VLC player?

I've found that the best for playing any format, and the playback quality is better than the likes of Power DVD.

[Jim]

I thought all this 'digital' stuff was supposed to be crystal clear - when I play dvd on the pc it is fuzzy to say the least!

[silverwhistle]

name='DB7']I've found that the best for playing any format, and the playback quality is better than the likes of Power DVD.

I also use VLC (on Mac) as it allows me to make ScreenCaps.

[Nick Dando]

Yes, Doc M is correct. It's much easier to use to create screen grabs than DVD Capture. The latter would take a lot of post-production work to achieve a good image.



Nick

[penfold]

I've just loaded VLC on my PC, and it works nicely....just one thing, it doesn't seem to be able to rewind as it were.....

Anyway, how do I screengrab using it.....(Prepare to be dealing with a technofool here...)

[DB7]

name='penfold']I've just loaded VLC on my PC, and it works nicely....just one thing, it doesn't seem to be able to rewind as it were.....

Anyway, how do I screengrab using it.....(Prepare to be dealing with a technofool here...)

Video > Snapshot

[penfold]

name='DB7']Video > Snapshot

Just found it, thanks!!.....but is there any way to rewind?? Odd that there isn't anything obvious...

[aaron]

name='Steve Crook']Does anyone here use anything to get around the number of times you can change region in the DVD player in most PCs?



I've seen some like DVDIdle's DVD Region+CSS Free Lite but wondered what it was like



Steve

Have you tried this small free utility...? VideoHelp.com - Tools - DVD Region Killer It works fine for me using 'power dvd'..



By the way, i agree VLC player is definitely worth installing, plays lots of stuff other players struggle with....

[MarkG]

name='Jim']I thought all this 'digital' stuff was supposed to be crystal clear - when I play dvd on the pc it is fuzzy to say the least!

How are you playing it? DVDs are only 720x576 or 720x480, so if you play that back at full-screen on a 1600x1200 display it's definitely going to be fuzzy.

[DB7]

name='penfold']Just found it, thanks!!.....but is there any way to rewind?? Odd that there isn't anything obvious...

No. A mixture of Shift/Alt/Ctrl + left key will rewind but only in different length jumps. I think you can cofigure these as hotkeys.

[penfold]

name='DB7']No. A mixture of Shift/Alt/Ctrl + left key will rewind but only in different length jumps. I think you can cofigure these as hotkeys.

Cheers.....better than chapter leaps, anyway....

[Jim]

name='MarkG']How are you playing it? DVDs are only 720x576 or 720x480, so if you play that back at full-screen on a 1600x1200 display it's definitely going to be fuzzy.

Since my monitor is smaller than the TV how does that work then?

[susanduic]

Does anyone know if getting an external DVD player will overcome the Region coding restrictions?



I've tried installing my software onto my external hard drive but it 'recognises' that it's also on the computer's main hard drive! I suspect the same may happen with a new dvd player?



I have tried the methods suggested previously/above but they don't work for me and I'm too scared of losing all access to start downloading 'code' etc.



(I'm 'stuck' in R1 which is fine for 90% but I want to capture some shots from a R2disk.........)

[DB7]

Are you using a Mac?

Have you tried VLC player?

[susanduic]

No not Mac.

I've tried vlc unsuccessfully?

[DB7]

So you've two hard disks? An internal and slave external?

[susanduic]

I'm not sure what a slave is... I have an internal hard drive and another one attached via USB 2