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    does windows media player downgrade dvd quality?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by theorist, Oct 10, 2007.

  1. theorist

    theorist Notebook Consultant

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    hi. i read somewhere that windows media player downgrades dvd quality and that using a program like cyberlink powerdvd is actually better.

    is this true?
     
    theorist, Oct 10, 2007
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  2. DutyHunter

    DutyHunter Notebook Consultant

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    i've found my "White Chicks" DVD to be somewhat very grainy... or maybe im sitting too close... havent compare it to media center... i'll check when i get home
     
    DutyHunter, Oct 10, 2007
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  3. Andromeda

    Andromeda Notebook Consultant

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    I prefer cyberlink for DVDs, anyway because it's easier to use than WMP. I guess I am just used to it's interface.

    In terms of image quality, it would depend on the dvd decoder you are using. If you have more than one decoder, you can set one as the default and most media players will use that for decoding IIRC.

    Incidentally, the best DVD IQ I've seen has been with a combination of WMP and Nvidia PureVideo that I tried a long time ago. Unfortunately the PV was only a trial version and I didnt feel like spending money on the decoder when I already had an OEM version of powerdvd which was good enough for my needs.
     
    Andromeda, Oct 10, 2007
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  4. theorist

    theorist Notebook Consultant

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    thanks for the replies.

    i should have been more specific, i heard it was windows vista home premium edition with the built in dvd decoder that sort of sucks.
     
    theorist, Oct 10, 2007
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  5. Jalf

    Jalf Comrade Santa

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    When playing DRM-protected material, Vista is capable of downgrading video quality, yes. Whether or not it does so depends (among other things), on the policy requested by the DRM software. The DRM software may, if it detects that your computer isn't "secure" enough, tell Vista to degrade output quality.
     
    Jalf, Oct 10, 2007
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  6. theorist

    theorist Notebook Consultant

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    wow. you hit he nail right on the head. thanks!
     
    theorist, Oct 10, 2007
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  7. nizzy1115

    nizzy1115 Notebook Prophet

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    this is only true if it is a hd-dvd or a blueray dvd. correct me if i am wrong.
     
    nizzy1115, Oct 10, 2007
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  8. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    My understanding is it's only true if it's HD-DVD AND the disc's content protection flag is set AND you're outputting the signal to an external monitor without using a "secure" (HDCP) connection. But... if anyone has other information, please chime in.
     
    swarmer, Oct 10, 2007
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  9. Jalf

    Jalf Comrade Santa

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    Nah, any DRM-protected (video) material can do this. According to Microsoft, XP supported it as well.
    But yeah, HDDVD and BluRay are probably the most likely to actually use it.

    And yeah, they only normally trigger this if you're not outputting over a HDCP connection (but I'm not sure if that is always the condition that triggers it, or if that is just another policy the DRM software can require)
     
    Jalf, Oct 11, 2007
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