What program are you using to watch the DVD with? Make sure it is updated as well. WHat kind of Sound card (model and version)? Soundblaster cards need updated drivers once in a while as well. Any problem with other music files such as MP3's? Does the movie play ok on a regular DVD player or on another computer DVD player?
By process of elimination try to isolate the problem, keeping in mind that it could also be a faulty DVD player. Maybe you could try installing a new one to see if it fixes the problem. If the problem persists, you could see if you could return the new one. They are pretty cheap these days.
I'm glad we don't have to do all this troubleshooting on our home stereo equipment. I can't remember the last time I had to reboot my Yamaha receiver and DVD Player or protect it agains viruses. Ha!
This is a good illustration as to why dedicated Home Theater PC's are "not ready for prime time" yet. Too complex for the everyday user. That being said I think they are awesome for some things like playing MP3's and are suitable for smaller environments, college dorms, smaller apartments, etc. I like mine, but it is more of a novelty than functional.
A faulty DVD drive would not cause loss of audio sync. If the audio were gone altogether, that might indicate a faulty drive, but simple sync problems do not.
The most frequent culprit for audio sync problems is high processor load. If the computer's CPU is running a bunch of other processes in the background, it may not be able to properly decode the audio stream in sync, especially with Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS soundtracks. Close all unnecessary programs before starting your DVD. Amount of available memory (RAM) may be too low to keep the buffers updated, too.
Number 2 on the problem list would be the playback software like WinDVD or PowerDVD. Make sure you have the latest updates for it.
I'd also wonder if any Microsoft codecs could be to blame. I'm not aware of Media Player actually playing DVDs without using the API of another piece of software, but it's entirely possible that the newer versions can play DVDs on their own and have a messed up codec. I'd follow the other suggestions first though, and then see what happens.
OK, I have a GeForce2 MX200 video card. I recently upgraded to 512 Meg memory. The programs I use are Windows Media Player and Interactual Player 2.0 ( I believe both are the most recent editions) The one thing is that for sound I have a chip on the motherboard. I take it I should install a Soundblaster card. That had been on my "to do" list but I guess I'll have to push it to the front of the list.
The onboard sound may not be up to the task at hand. What chipset is it?
Question: If you resize the DVD player display to a smaller size, does the sound come into sync?
What is the speed of your processor?
Also, you could open the Performance Monitor while a DVD is playing and see what the processor is doing. If is averaging over 80-85 percent or so your processor overhead is gettin pretty high. This could be caused by other running applications/processes, or by a inadequate hardware, like a base level audio card or by a controllerless WinModem (If you are connected by dialup to the Internet).
The latest version of Windows Media Player is Version 9
That being said, some onboard sound chips seem to work ok. But you need to answer more, such as Goey's proc and chip questions. Is this XP or some other OS? Pentium 4 or 3?
I am certainly no expert in this but personally, I would not consider playing DVD's on anything less than a Pentium 4 or equivalent with XP as the OS.
Get one of the two best, WinDVD or PowerDVD, as mentioned by Zix. I am not so sure Interactual is very good. Maybe you could try using Windows Media Player and see if the problem persists there. But download the latest version on Windows Updates.
FYI, I'm running XP on a 2 Gig CPU. I'll have to try the Win DVD program. I'm going to install a sound blaster card tomorrow. We'll see how that works.
Tommy - that's good news. I assume it is a Pentium 4. I would be surprised if it is not. Therefore your onboard sound should be fine for purposes of testing your dvd's maybe you do not have your sound properties configured correctly. Go to Control Panel and go into Sounds and Audio devices. Look for advanced features or just restore defaults. Make sure your speaker settings are 2.1 or 5.1 or whatever you are using.
Soundblaster cards are good, of course. But beware of their software that comes with it. They want to have you install all kinds of junk that they would prefer you use. Creative this and Creative that. One of their "techniquues" is to cause things to start up when your computer starts up. Suddenly you have two new things in your task bar at startup. You have to fight it on every hand. These damn vendors have a lot of nerve in my opinion.
If at all possible, try to just install the drivers only for your card and maybe the EAX console and possibly the Creative Volume control which I like. Elect NOT to install their player and other unnecessary things that are not needed to obtain the sound from your card.
Anyway, I and guessing the problem is in the Interactual player. Try to uninstall that in favor of a better one.
Oh - and if you want to forget all this entire matter, just go out and buy a portable DVD player you can use by your desk and other places and uninstall the one on your comp. Ha!
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WordWolf
"Have you updated your drivers?"
(Dunno what this means, but they always ask that at this point.)
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igotout
What program are you using to watch the DVD with? Make sure it is updated as well. WHat kind of Sound card (model and version)? Soundblaster cards need updated drivers once in a while as well. Any problem with other music files such as MP3's? Does the movie play ok on a regular DVD player or on another computer DVD player?
By process of elimination try to isolate the problem, keeping in mind that it could also be a faulty DVD player. Maybe you could try installing a new one to see if it fixes the problem. If the problem persists, you could see if you could return the new one. They are pretty cheap these days.
I'm glad we don't have to do all this troubleshooting on our home stereo equipment. I can't remember the last time I had to reboot my Yamaha receiver and DVD Player or protect it agains viruses. Ha!
This is a good illustration as to why dedicated Home Theater PC's are "not ready for prime time" yet. Too complex for the everyday user. That being said I think they are awesome for some things like playing MP3's and are suitable for smaller environments, college dorms, smaller apartments, etc. I like mine, but it is more of a novelty than functional.
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Zixar
A faulty DVD drive would not cause loss of audio sync. If the audio were gone altogether, that might indicate a faulty drive, but simple sync problems do not.
The most frequent culprit for audio sync problems is high processor load. If the computer's CPU is running a bunch of other processes in the background, it may not be able to properly decode the audio stream in sync, especially with Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS soundtracks. Close all unnecessary programs before starting your DVD. Amount of available memory (RAM) may be too low to keep the buffers updated, too.
Number 2 on the problem list would be the playback software like WinDVD or PowerDVD. Make sure you have the latest updates for it.
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Mister P-Mosh
I'd also wonder if any Microsoft codecs could be to blame. I'm not aware of Media Player actually playing DVDs without using the API of another piece of software, but it's entirely possible that the newer versions can play DVDs on their own and have a messed up codec. I'd follow the other suggestions first though, and then see what happens.
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TOMMYZ
OK, I have a GeForce2 MX200 video card. I recently upgraded to 512 Meg memory. The programs I use are Windows Media Player and Interactual Player 2.0 ( I believe both are the most recent editions) The one thing is that for sound I have a chip on the motherboard. I take it I should install a Soundblaster card. That had been on my "to do" list but I guess I'll have to push it to the front of the list.
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Goey
Tommy,
I think you may have nailed it.
The onboard sound may not be up to the task at hand. What chipset is it?
Question: If you resize the DVD player display to a smaller size, does the sound come into sync?
What is the speed of your processor?
Also, you could open the Performance Monitor while a DVD is playing and see what the processor is doing. If is averaging over 80-85 percent or so your processor overhead is gettin pretty high. This could be caused by other running applications/processes, or by a inadequate hardware, like a base level audio card or by a controllerless WinModem (If you are connected by dialup to the Internet).
The latest version of Windows Media Player is Version 9
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igotout
That being said, some onboard sound chips seem to work ok. But you need to answer more, such as Goey's proc and chip questions. Is this XP or some other OS? Pentium 4 or 3?
I am certainly no expert in this but personally, I would not consider playing DVD's on anything less than a Pentium 4 or equivalent with XP as the OS.
Get one of the two best, WinDVD or PowerDVD, as mentioned by Zix. I am not so sure Interactual is very good. Maybe you could try using Windows Media Player and see if the problem persists there. But download the latest version on Windows Updates.
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TOMMYZ
FYI, I'm running XP on a 2 Gig CPU. I'll have to try the Win DVD program. I'm going to install a sound blaster card tomorrow. We'll see how that works.
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igotout
Tommy - that's good news. I assume it is a Pentium 4. I would be surprised if it is not. Therefore your onboard sound should be fine for purposes of testing your dvd's maybe you do not have your sound properties configured correctly. Go to Control Panel and go into Sounds and Audio devices. Look for advanced features or just restore defaults. Make sure your speaker settings are 2.1 or 5.1 or whatever you are using.
Soundblaster cards are good, of course. But beware of their software that comes with it. They want to have you install all kinds of junk that they would prefer you use. Creative this and Creative that. One of their "techniquues" is to cause things to start up when your computer starts up. Suddenly you have two new things in your task bar at startup. You have to fight it on every hand. These damn vendors have a lot of nerve in my opinion.
If at all possible, try to just install the drivers only for your card and maybe the EAX console and possibly the Creative Volume control which I like. Elect NOT to install their player and other unnecessary things that are not needed to obtain the sound from your card.
Anyway, I and guessing the problem is in the Interactual player. Try to uninstall that in favor of a better one.
Oh - and if you want to forget all this entire matter, just go out and buy a portable DVD player you can use by your desk and other places and uninstall the one on your comp. Ha!
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TOMMYZ
I plugged in the Soundblaster card and things are going better. I didn't install specific drivers, I'm using the ones XP set up.
So now that's fine and the only problem I have is that people forgot my birthday ! (May 12)
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