The only way to watch DVD movies on your computer
Written: Dec 09 '01 (Updated Dec 15 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use, Faster than s/w decoding, great resolution, great compatibility different DVD/Video card combos
Cons: Not completely plug and play, uses pci slot, instructions a little sketchy.
The Bottom Line: Great hardware DVD decoder card, works out of the box, great option to software decoding, requires a little fiddling to work perfectly, however.
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| rdeleon1's Full Review: Sigma Design REALmagic Hollywood Plus PCI Video Ca... |
I had originally used the software decoder shipped with my ATI RAGE 128 card. I had continual trouble with my computer locking up or slowing down when using the software solution to getting DVD on my computer. I finally gave up and got the Hollywood plus decoder board.
My computer is a AMD K6-2/450 Mhz with 160 Meg of ram, a Pioneer DVD-115 (16X) DVD-ROM, and a ATI RAGE XPERT-128 card. All the software manufacturers tell you that all you need is lots of RAM and a minimum of 300 MHZ and windows 95 to perform software decoding. I am here to tell you that this is not true. You have to shut all applications down to run movies with the software solution.
I gave up on this solution after experiencing multiple hang-ups and slowdowns and finally got the Real Magic Hollywood plus DVD decoder card after checking out reviews on the product. After I changed operating systems, I tried to let Windows ME find the card. It had trouble so I had to add each card on my machine one at a time manually. So this card is not 100% plug and play (IMO).
After I got it working, I was immediately able to play movies. However, I was unable to precisely control my bass on my analog movie while playing the movies so I dont know if this is the fault of my soundblaster live card, my configuration or the Realmagic card. I was unable to hear any bass from my bass speakers while playing movies. I will wait until my digital speakers come in to let you know if this situation improves.
Updated 12/15/01 After installing the Cambridge FPS2000 digital speakers with my soundblaster live value card, the sound was tremendous with killer bass quality. Playing the movie "The Matrix", for example, resulted in excellent theater-like sound quality. I have to say that my bass problem was due to my cheap speakers, not the RealMagic card. I highly recommend the FPS2000 speakers, but, sigh, that is another review.
The plus side, great video with no freezes or hangups. The software included with the card gives precise control over where in the movie you want to jump to. There are options on the card to connect to S-Video or composite video on your television.
Outputting to television is highly recommended as playing it on the computer ties down CPU resources and lets face it, wouldnt you rather watch a movie on a 25" TV screen than a cramped 15" or 17" computer screen? Also, the TV resolution was crisp and and video quality is easily controllable with the application software.
This is a great package but will cost you a PCI slot. A small price to pay for all the benefit the card gives.
The instruction are sketchy, and requires a little patience, but adequate. Note: When you install this card in order to play DVD movies, it is best that you connect the stereo output to the line input of the sound card and control the sound through it rather than using the other audio output options from the RealMagic card, as the instructions state.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 45
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Epinions.com ID:
rdeleon1
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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