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Thread ID: 24110	2002-09-03 13:07:00	New DVD drive very disappointing.. :(	dchip (1426)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
76182	2002-09-03 13:07:00	I have two issues with my DVD drive: 1. The playback is jerky and sluggish which is very unpleasant. I was expecting better. Are my pc specs to blame or can I tweak the settings and if so what do you recommend?? Specs: AMD Duron “Morgan” 1.2gig CPU ASUSTeK A7A266-E REV 1.xx m/b 256 Megabytes PC 133 SDram ASUS DVD-ROM E616 (16xMax) Gigabyte RADEON 7500 Pro AR64S-H 64mb AGP 2. Also I can only play region 2 DVD’s. This setting cannot be changed using the properties for the dvd drive in the device manager. I have tried and all the text boxes are grayed out by default and adding a new region is not permitted. Is there a way to get around this so that I can play all regions???	dchip (1426)
76183	2002-09-03 14:12:00	[b] First Region free we need to know what DVD-rom you have? But here are some links that may help. www.digital-digest.com This is great for region free its called region killer. A must have! elby.ch 2:Play back what software player do you have? I have Power DVD 4 its great. some more info on hardware and software you have can help as help you.	BootyLicious (526)
76184	2002-09-03 16:58:00	> 2. Also I can only play region 2 DVD’s. This > setting cannot be changed using the properties for > the dvd drive in the device manager. I have tried and > all the text boxes are grayed out by default and > adding a new region is not permitted. Is there a way > to get around this so that I can play all regions??? Firstly, your DVD Drive has a region lock mechanism within the drive itself. As I'm sure you are aware this means the user has 4 chances to change the region and when the region counter hits zero the DVD Drive is locked to that region. Applications such as Region Killer work on the software level and though it will make your DVD player region free it will not affect the lock mechanism within your DVD drive. The good news is you are able to reset your region counter. To do this follow the instructions below ... also note that this is NOT a hack but a legitimate use of functions that came with the E616 model. *To reset region counter for Asus DVD E616 Model: 1. Turn off your PC (not restart, but turn off). 2. Locate the "play & stop buttons" (the 2 buttons on the far right of the drive). While holding down these buttons turn on your system. 3. Keep holding down the buttons while your system goes through the boot process. When you see that your system has detected your drive OR you have held the buttons down for approx 5-6 secs after turning your PC on then let go. Your system should startup normally after that. If you find that your system is hanging then it means you have held down the 2 buttons too long ... simply restart the process. Once your O/S is loaded check to see if your region counter has reset. If not then you haven't held down the "play & stop" buttons long enough. If that's the case restart the process. Don't worry, you won't damage anything. Well, not unless you're using a sledge hammer to hold the buttons down ;). /I crack myself up .... Resetting you region counter allows you to play DVDs from different regions, and to change the regions as many times as you like.	helvista (1745)
76185	2002-09-03 21:38:00	Changing your screen resolution and colour depth can greatly improve playback on software-only DVDs (i.e, you don't have a hardware decoder). If your resolution is set at 32-bit, 1024x768 (or higher) try dropping it down to 16-bit, 800 x 600 before playing a DVD.	Biggles (121)
76186	2002-09-03 22:46:00	> 1. The playback is jerky and sluggish which is very > unpleasant. I was expecting better. Are my pc specs > to blame or can I tweak the settings and if so what > do you recommend?? > Specs: > AMD Duron “Morgan” 1. 2gig CPU > ASUSTeK A7A266-E REV 1. xx m/b > 256 Megabytes PC 133 SDram > ASUS DVD-ROM E616 (16xMax) > Gigabyte RADEON 7500 Pro AR64S-H 64mb AGP Your specs are definitely not to blame for sluggish playback. You neglect to tell us which DVD software you use, and what version. I had trouble when I first got my drive, bundled with the PowerDVD v 2. 55. I have since upgraded (definitely upgraded) to PowerDVD XP v4, and have not had sluggish playback since then. I also noticed vast improvement when I tried (any) versions of WinDVD. Try changing your player software. With your machine specs, screen resolution shouldn't be a factor. My machine is an Athlon 750 and I have no trouble (now) running at 1024x768 and 32bit (on a 32mb TNT video card - not even close to a good one!) > 2. Also I can only play region 2 DVD’s. This > setting cannot be changed using the properties for > the dvd drive in the device manager. I have tried and > all the text boxes are grayed out by default and > adding a new region is not permitted. Is there a way > to get around this so that I can play all regions??? Have you ever been able to play anything other than region 2 DVDs, or was it like that when you got it from the shop? If it was like that from the shop, then take it back as it's been set to the wrong region (should be region 4 for NZ). DVD Drives should give you 5 changes before it locks onto a certain region. Mike.	Mike (15)
76187	2002-09-03 23:00:00	>With your machine specs, screen resolution shouldn't be a factor. My machine is an Athlon 750 and I have no trouble (now) running at 1024x768 and 32bit (on a 32mb TNT video card - not even close to a good one!) I had the same sluggish, jerky performance issues on my DVD (Samsumng) runnign on a Dell PIII 1Ghz with 256Mb Ram. Changing screen resolution and colour depth made the problem disappear instantly. That was with WinDVD. So it might depend on the software/DVD combo used, more than the CPU/RAM/Video card. Either way I do think chnaging resolution and colour depth is worth a try.	Biggles (121)
76188	2002-09-03 23:05:00	True - definitely worth a try, and a much cheaper alternative to upgrading the player software. Lower res shouldn't give any difference in the video output (none that I"ve noticed anyway). Mike.	Mike (15)
76189	2002-09-04 06:25:00	Sorry it has taken me so long to update this thread but I posted it before going to bed last night and I’ve just got home from work now. As for the directions for resetting the region: Followed the directions and it has reset the counter to 5 but I can’t select a region at the moment as I don’t have a disk of my own to try, but I assume that once I get one it will work ok. (Excellent-Thankyou very much :0) As for the questions concerning software and hardware settings, I have both AsusDVD v3.0 and PowerDVD v4.0 installed and have tried them both with pretty much the same result. My Display settings are: 800x600 Medium16bit color 75 Hertz (Normal size)96dpi Direct 3d: Main Settings = Balanced Anisotropic Filtering = Application preference Anti-aliasing = Application preference ,Quality=checked Texture preference = High Quality Mipmap detail level = High Quality Wait for vertical sync = Application preference Direct 3d Compatibility Settings: Support W-buffer = Enabled Support 32bit Z-buffer depth = Disabled Alpha dithering method = Error diffusion Support DXT texture formats = Enabled Alternate pixel center = Disabled OpenGL: Main Settings = Balanced Anisotropic Filtering = Application preference Anti-aliasing = Disabled Texture preference = Quality Mipmap detail level = High Quality Wait for vertical sync = Always off OpenGL Compatibility Settings: Force Z-buffer depth = Disabled Alpha dithering method = Error diffusion Support KTX buffer region extension = Disabled Are these settings what they should be?? PS. Video card came with instructions for updating the bios, will I need to do that and would it help??	dchip (1426)
76190	2002-09-04 12:24:00	When I experienced jerky play when playing a DVD I lowered my res to 16 bit, 800 x 600. Still got a jerky play back. I became so frustrated with the performance of my DVD drive I decided to put my DVD drive on the same IDE channel as my hard drive. Originally I slaved it with my CD burner on the secondary channel. Now its slaved on the primary channel. I'm not suggesting that this was the cause for the jerky play back but it did seem to work. My DVD's play fine now.	helvista (1745)
76191	2002-09-04 20:28:00	Here's a thought. If changing your res didn't help is "hardware acceleration" enabled in your player option? My player doesn't seem to have that option. Either that or I'm not looking hard enough ... but of course I no longer have a playback problem anymore.	helvista (1745)
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