Best way to play DVDs

[m1abrams]

Ok I have been using SageTV for about a year now. However just for the PVR side of things.

I decided that I want to now also use SageTV to watch DVDs.

My requirements are that it sends Audio to my reciever via SPDIF and that the audio can support both DD and DTS.

My other requirement is that the Video is onpar with a standalone DVD (however I am using a SDTV so it should not be a problem).

I am searched the forum but have not found what people think is the best decoder to get, that work easily with SageTV. It seems many people use a video decoder like NVDVD and use AC3filter for the audio.

I noticed many of the STVs support actually running a different app for DVD playback like TheatreTek. Why do this? Seems you add another GUI to configure and also would require the use of Girder to control the other app. I currently have no need for Girder since the builtin IR software in SageTV does all I need. Would I be better off going this route of using a seperate app for DVD playback?

Thanks

P.S. Forgot, where can you get the nvidia decoders now that work with ATI video cards? The current site shows PureVideo and states that it requires an Nvidia graphics card.

[jkoutrouba]

I'm using Sage to play DVDs with the NVidia decoder. I use the same decoder for TV. The PureVideo decoder apparently has some features that require an NVidia video card, but it works just fine with my Radeon 9600 and is the latest version of the NVDVD decoder.

I think the output of my HTPC is better than my (admittedly low-end) DVD player. The contrast seems better to me. I don't remember being able to tell any difference until I got my projector, though, so a regular TV might not matter.

The Sage application does have some limitations for playing DVDs. The biggest that I found is the inability to select which drive you want playback from. This would only matter if you have multiple DVD drives, and more than one has a disc in it, though. I rip all of my DVDs to my hard drive and use the "Imported Video Files" feature to go through them like an on-demand video library. Actually, it's not LIKE an on-demand library, it IS an on-demand library. Perhaps others have experience using other DVD apps and can tell you what I'm missing.


-JK

[m1abrams]

Thanks, so the latest NVIDIA DVD decoder PureVideo will work with an ATI 9600 Pro.

I only have one DVD-ROM drive, and actually rip all my DVDs to DIVX for a movie library. However for the times I rent a movie or a friend brings one over it would be nice to just pop it in and go.

[dvd_maniac]

I use an external DVD player application to get better control and quality. I use the Hauppauge remote that came with one of my tuners. The Hauppauge remote software can be configured to control other applications as well without the use of Girder.

[mlbdude]

While I can get identical picture quality out of Sage, I like the better DVD controls I get with TheaterTek or ZoomPlayer. Sage won't even remember the last position of a DVD if you restart it while playing.

[dvd_maniac]

Can Zoomplayer play back Nero AVC files? I've been reading alot of posts about zoomplayer here and at doom9 forums. Is the quality really good?

[stanger89]

ZP is like sage in that it doesn't have any effect on PQ itself, it's PQ comes from the decoders you use. What makes ZP popular, is that it allows you to tweak each and every detail of the playback settings.

mlbdude,

Does TT remember your position in ripped DVDs also?

m1abrams,

Basically all you need is a codec installed that can deal with CSS (a "DVD Decoder") and then set Sage to use that decoder in Detailed Setup -> DVD.

[mlbdude]

Originally Posted by stanger89

ZP is like sage in that it doesn't have any effect on PQ itself, it's PQ comes from the decoders you use. What makes ZP popular, is that it allows you to tweak each and every detail of the playback settings.

mlbdude,

Does TT remember your position in ripped DVDs also?

m1abrams,

Basically all you need is a codec installed that can deal with CSS (a "DVD Decoder") and then set Sage to use that decoder in Detailed Setup -> DVD.

Yes it does (at least when I use Sage as the front end). Only the last one though I believe. ZP can be set to remember for all. Once ZP has some kind of OSD available for FS Renderless it will be super nice .

[mlbdude]

Just tried something. Anyone using Sage 3.x using FS Exclusive Mode with it sleeping and having any luck with TheaterTek? I am getting a purple screen and an ActiveMovie window from TT. I launch it from SageMC but even just manually sleeping Sage then launching TT I get the same result.

[gplasky]

Confirmed.
With Sage 3.x set for FS Exclusive and sleeping in the tray. I launch TT2 and get the purple screen Active Window. Sage must be locking onto the graphics even when sleeping. Probably should be bugged.

Gerry