Question about Radeon and Soft DVD player...

[Spoooon]

I've got a Radeon, 12X DVD player, and a SBLive! hooked up to a 4 channel speaker system with a sub. I've tried both Ati's DVD player and PowerDVD. Is it worth it to buy WinDVD for it's superior picture quality? Also, what's the best way to set the sound? (ie, 4 channels, dolby surround, etc).

 

[Quickfingerz]

The superior picture quality in windvd is due to it's software playback. in your case, the radeon has a hardware player and the two programs you just mentioned i know take advantage of the device.

 

[Sugadaddy]

Actually, I think PowerDVD has better image quality. WinDVD beats for sound though.

 

[Comp10]

I've tested all the software DVD players with the Radeon and found that I like the ATI DVD player the best, however I use an external dobly digital decoder so I don't have to worry about 4 speaker support. In your case (assuming your speaker system does not have a Dobly Digital decoder) then WinDVD would be your best option because it allows 4 speaker downmix, and it also supports the Radeon's iDCT hardware exceleration, which PowerDVD does not. Picture quality wise i've found the ATI player and WinDVD to be about equal, so the only reason to go with WinDVD would be if you want to use the 4 speaker downmix option.