4 replies to this topic

[captainlorax]

What should I select for Video Decoder, Audio Decoder, Select Audio Renderer, Select Video Renderer?
(I do have Sigma Tel High Definition Audio Codec)

Also, should I be downloading better decoders?

(I really don't understand any of this stuff)

[ehathgepiurhe]

Hi captainlorax,

Click the "Switch to Advanced Mode" button first. That will enable us to see if "Smart (Recommended)" is enabled. Then, make sure all the Zoom Player Install Center codecs are installed (what version of Zoom Player is that by the way, if it is more than v6, you should have the Install Center). Lastly, here is mine:

http://img801.images...ipboard01io.jpg

Unless you have Win7, there will be no Microsoft entry. So, go for ffdshow as the video decoder and AC3Filter as the audio decoder. Leave the audio renderer alone. The video renderer - well, you will likely get a different effect with each one, depending on what system you have (what works well on one PC might not work well with another). If you have Vista or Win7, you could try EVR, otherwise VMR should be fine. If you go into the Video options when you click the Advanced button, there is a '?' button beside the renderer field which gives you some more detail on each one if you are interested.

Regards,

ehat

[captainlorax]

Thank you for the detailed response. It was very helpful.

I had to download ATI drivers before I could get the zoom player to work. Oddly, they weren't already installed on my computer. Even with the new driver installed ffdshow gives me an error for some reason so I chose one of the other video decoders.

I have Home Max 7.00 and Windows XP

Is there any other options that might be useful to fiddle around with and check/uncheck before I watch a DVD or some other video files?

[ehathgepiurhe]

Hm - what was the ffdshow error? Either of the other two should work - DScaler does say no CSS beside it (i.e. won't play anything with copy protection, such as MacroVision protected DVD's, which is most commercial DVD's), but I understand that the description may not be accurate for the latest version (in other words, it apparently will handle CSS). I have noticed myself though that DScaler's de-interlacing does not work all that well compared to ffdshow, so depending on the material you play, you may get a weird horizontal line effect if you use it. The WinDVD one should work ok, you must have - or at least had - a version of WinDVD installed on your system. Anyway, there should be no problems there. As for the audio decoders, either of the three you have listed should work, I tend to use AC3Filter as I find the audio to be louder than with DScaler or ffdshow. As for DVD settings, I tend to leave them alone after setting the audio and video decoders. There are a lot of settings you can play with though, if you go here:
http://www.inmatrix....r/options.shtml

And click on each of the DVD settings in turn (DVD, DVD Settings, DVD Values, DVD Tools, Auto AR, Parental Control, External), you will see some descriptions of them. Really, the only place you should need to check is DVD Settings (the others are of interest in more specific situations I suppose rather than just general playing), and the only setting I change on the DVD Settings page is to enable 'auto load selected bookmark on play'. The reason for this is you can set bookmarks of various spots throughout a DVD, and if you set one to auto-load, it loads when you start the DVD. Why is this interesting? If you set the DVD menu as a bookmark, and set it to auto-load, when you pop the disc in, Zoom will jump right to the menu, bypassing all those useless mini-videos (piracy warnings, FBI warnings, mini-previews of upcoming films etc) that tend to play before you get to the menu itself.

You might also find this page useful:
http://www.inmatrix....s/playdvd.shtml

I can't think of anything else right at the moment, but booga might be along too as well to offer some tips on DVD playing.

[boogafreak]

Just 3 more notes :
1. ATI latest drivers are important.
2. Install all of ZP's install center codecs.
3. Use DVD mode, not media mode (F10 to switch)

If there are any specific problems afterwards, tell us.