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600 DVD Player
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 3:22 pm
by jcnj6
Greetings
I recently had to use the system recovery disc to reformat my Thinkpad 600
My 600 came with a CD-DVD drive
I noticed that there is no DVD player software included in the factory install.
Does someone know if the original software is availiable?
or
a simple (free/cheap) DVD player that I can download?
Thanks to all who respond
Rich J
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 9:21 pm
by sktn77a
I don't think the 600 (or 600E below 300MHz) could support a software DVD decoder so the computer probably had a margi card with it's own player/decoder software. The 600 series that came with a software decoder used DVD Express but it wasn't the greatest player. It's available from Thinkpads.com on the FTP download page. You will need to update it and also install the latest versions of DirectX, Audio and Video drivers.
Free players that can be downloaded are:
http://www.cliprex.com/
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Once the decoders from these players are installed, you should also be able to use WMP9.
Good luck!
Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 12:53 pm
by phineasfreakears
The cliprex is bogus as it is bundled with all kinds of adware and search/toolbars. Check this out, it worked for me.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=26047#26047
Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 3:15 pm
by MadeInJapan
Yes, 600 series of 300mhz or below won't support a software DVD player. My 600E did supports software DVD player just fine. Trick is the CPU....recommended is 400mhz, but with all other programs turned off, will run with mid 300's CPU but not 300mhz or below.
I would recommend PowerDVD. Usually comes bundled with DVDroms from Liteon and other companies. Ask around...I'm sure someone (hopefully even your friends) have a copy.
Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 6:58 pm
by RRHODY
I have a TP600E 366 running PowerDVD XP. It does fine if I reduce the resolution and the color level. If I stay at 1024 and true color it is jerky, but smooth enough at the reduced levels.
Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2004 3:38 pm
by Rob Mayercik
MadeInJapan wrote:Yes, 600 series of 300mhz or below won't support a software DVD player. My 600E did supports software DVD player just fine. Trick is the CPU....recommended is 400mhz, but with all other programs turned off, will run with mid 300's CPU but not 300mhz or below.
I would recommend PowerDVD. Usually comes bundled with DVDroms from Liteon and other companies. Ask around...I'm sure someone (hopefully even your friends) have a copy.
Really? Guess no one told my 600 that it couldn't do that. My 2645-45u (PII-300) seems to do fine with PowerDVD XP, which surprised me at first. Of course, I don't have all that much stuff running in the background, I'm running 98SE, and I have the RAM maxxed (288MB).
YRMV, so give it a try. After all, what have you got to lose?
Rob
Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:15 am
by sktn77a
IBMs minimum hardware specification for DVD video playback is 300MHz. So it is possible (as you have demonstrated). But most people would have problems with TSRs, etc. My expereince with marginal hardware setups is that VLC player performs the best.
Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:24 pm
by gb
If you want I can send you a copy of powerDVD player.
Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 4:15 pm
by Rob Mayercik
sktn77a wrote:IBMs minimum hardware specification for DVD video playback is 300MHz. So it is possible (as you have demonstrated). But most people would have problems with TSRs, etc. My expereince with marginal hardware setups is that VLC player performs the best.
That's what I suspected - my combination of HW, SW, and OS just happened to be the right one to make things work.
That bit about IBM's minimum spec is interesting - something to file away in the back of my mind.
Rob