Poll: Software DVD players

[Wuming]

winDVD

 

[John]

Cinemaster used to be the king of the hill....

 

[AMB]

I like Power DVD 3, due to to its interface and above average quality of video and sound codecs.

I did use Cinemaster 2000, but found Power DVD easier to use.

 

[jaywallen]

WinDVD is best.

No, wait, PowerDVD is best.

No, they both suck. Cinemaster is best!

---

Polls, bah! Download the trial versions and TEST THEM ON YOUR OWN DANGED SYSTEM!!! It doesn't matter for spit what other users think about the DVD decoders. Different decoders perform differently on different graphics subsystems. And people have different preferences about user interfaces, too. If you're gonna spend some bucks buying software, and some time using it, don't get lazy about choosing it. Make the choice yourself. For all you know, the people answering your poll (me included) are all blind and have hairy palms!



Regards,
Jim

No, I'm not hung over. I'm always this grouchy!

 

[nEoTeChMaN]

I've used them all (PowerDVD 3 Professional, WinDVD 2000 and Cinemaster 2000) and I can tell you from my experience that PowerDVD 3 is the one.

The image and sound quality is awesome. Also, with PowerDVD...there are so much functions you can tweak.

WinDVD 2000's image is good and their sound is poor compare to PowerDVD.

Cinemaster..well..umm..what can I say...it blow.

 

[A2KLAU]

I'm using WinDVD 2.1 cracked. I downloaded it from the net and cracked it so I got the full version for free... But I know there are pleanty of newer versions out there and download them and go to warez sites and look up the cracks for them. Or you could use PowerDVD which is also a very good player. I have had experience with both of them and both are about as equally good.

SKY.

 

[Wingznut]

Jaywallen... I'm lazy? Nah. I've already checked out the big three, and I know what my favorite is. As a matter of fact, who do you think cast the first vote?

I am curious to the opinions of the people here. And isn't that what a msg board is about, posting/reading opinions?

I'm not a "sheep", and you won't see me necessarily following the rest of the herd. If you were to check out my system, you'd see that. I don't own AMD, nVidia, Soundblaster, Klipsch, etc... Which I would, if I were to simply follow along with what I read.

 

[jaywallen]

Wingznut PEZ,

Okay, I guess I understand, but the constant reiteration of A is good and B sucks gets kind of old in the reading. Surely you don't expect to learn anything from people who answer such questions with absolute certainty and without qualifying information about the systems on which they're using the software??? Looking for diamonds in the rough, eh?

Anyway, even if you're not being lazy, some other people are. I feel that people who seek to "answer" such questions without some qualification and explanation of rationale used in arriving at their conclusions are being lazy, and they stand a chance of misleading an inexperienced reader of the thread into buying the wrong software. Hence, my admonition to try before buying. Sorry that it was misdirected in your case. That wasn't clear to me from the way you phrased the original question.

Regards,
Jim

 

[Wingznut]

I hear ya, Jim.

I really do like to hear other's opinions. I visit forums more than other websites, and I listen to talk radio more than music.

The only problem I see with threads like this one are from certain people who state things like "Product A is the best, Product B sucks", but have only used Product A. They aren't unbiased, and basically just want to reaffirm that they made the correct choice... As if there were one "correct" choice for every user.

Btw, which is your favorite? :Q

 

[HappyFace]

Windvd 2000.. Image quality is top notch, yet I'm getting freeze ups sometimes. I haven't heard of these type of framerate drops in other systems, so maybe my computer needs an upgrade!

 

[jaywallen]

Wingznut PEZ,

Which is my favorite? Heh-heh!

Okay,

For PERSONAL use, I only use DVDs for movie playback on ONE computer, my Dell Inspiron 7500. If I really wanna see a movie on DVD, I watch on my home theater system. But, to relieve boredom when traveling, I use a PIII, 500 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 12 GB, SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) set for 32 bit color depth. (I know the screen won't display it, but 32 bits is easier for the subsystem to process than 24 bit and it does look better than the 16 bit setting.) The graphics subsystem is ATI Rage Mobility P with 8 MB on board. The OS is Windows 2000 Pro, SP1.

And now for the winner... (drum roll, please)

WinDVD 2000, version 2.3. It seems to work best with my graphics subsystem and the in-built ESS sound system, IMHO. (The speakers on this thing are putrid. But a good pair of headphones gives me very good sound.) I get excellent color, motion, synchronization. Have never had a problem using any commercial DVD movie disc, though I have been careful to avoid installing any of the optional "special features" software included on some of them. I've tried Cinemaster (under Win98SE) and PowerDVD (several versions, under both Win98SE and W2K) for my own comparisons. I also tried installing a couple of other decoder / player packages on a trash W2K partition, but I discarded those immediately without even trying them because I didn't like the way they fiddled with the OS.

Regards,
Jim

 

[natedog]

What about SoftDVD Max 4? It's pretty sweet.

 

[thermite88]

Creative SoftDVD based on the WinDVD 2000 engine. It is voted the second Top DVD Player at Digital-Digest.

The best feature is that it is free with the WinDVD quality. The second best feature is multichannel support with SB Live!

 

[Shanteli]

PowerDVD 3.0 all the way

 

[Taz4158]

Power DVD 3.0 or Cinemaster.

 

[jrichrds]

If you have Win2k and Sound Blaster Live!, and want 4 speaker support, there is only one choice: PowerDVD 3.0

 

[Zucchini]

happyface,

Well, you might try the newest version 2.3.. older versions were a tad unstable

 

[Madcowz]

You guys SERIOUSLY seeing/hearing any different between WinDVD 2.3 and PowerDVD 3.0 (latest versions)? I have both and I don't notice any difference whatsoever... they both look good all the same to me... then again, I might not have supersensitive ears/eyes like some of you guys do

 

[jrichrds]

The things I noticed with WinDVD 2000 2.x and PowerDVD 2.x

WinDVD had much better bass response, probably only noticeable if you have a speaker system with good low-end response. With my 2 subs (one for front, one for rear), there was clearly a difference between the two programs.
PowerDVD had crappy 4 speaker implementation...the rear speakers would always make a soft crackling noise.

With PowerDVD 3.0, problem with rear speaker crackling noise disappeared, besides it being the only DVD program to support SBLive! 4 speaker in Win2k. Don't know how the bass response of v3.0 compares to WinDVD since I don't use WinDVD anymore.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Power DVD 3.0 in w2k and wME ...

i ran the ATI one for a while (until i got my s3 viper II card) .. that was like 13 months ago .... and it was ok ..

PDVD all the way though