T60p Choppy (unwatchable) DVD Playback

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botond · #1 Post by **botond** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:26 am

Hey guys,

Just got my T60p about 2 weeks ago and have been pretty happy with it. Really crappy unacceptable problem though- Playing a DVD (Ive tried a few) on battery power is unwatchable. I'm playing it with Windows Media Player 11 and I have the Vista Codec package installed. The movie is extremely choppy as if I'm watching a really bad stream. Has anyone experienced this or know how to fix it? DVD's play fine if I'm running on AC power. Thanks for any input.

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-T60p 8744J2U- 2GHz T7200, 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200 HD, 15.4" LCD, 256MB ATI FireGL V5250, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Vista Ultimate

#2 Post by **gator** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:36 am

Ok, one obvious way to set this thing right is to make the CPU run at full steam (create a custom profile in power manager) even during battery usage ... but that will reduce battery life a lot. I don't know what is wrong in your setup, but my T60 (not T60p) plays DVDs great even on battery ... I suspect the issue is something else.

botond · #3 Post by **botond** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:10 am

As an update, playing a 1080p WMV video on my external WD 500gb HD connected via usb2 plays fine on battery. My current power setting on battery is max performance, it should have no problem playing a little ol DVD. Almost defeats the purpose of a Laptop haha.

#4 Post by **gator** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:21 am

hmm .. that confuses me. I think the problem might be with the s/w or the codec you are using for playback. Try using VLC player and let us know how it is. Also, make sure that you have the latest video drivers.

botond · #5 Post by **botond** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:45 am

K ill try VLC player. While its installing, question- shouldnt Vista Ultimate playback DVD's natively without installing any codecs?

#6 Post by **gator** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:56 am

I don't have vista on my T60, so I dont know

botond · #7 Post by **botond** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:17 am

I installed VLC player, no video only sound (white screen). I uninstalled Vista Codec pack and installed ffdshow, WMP11 still plays it choppy on battery.

sb37 · #8 Post by **sb37** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:04 pm

the white screen is a bug with vista and VLC. you can get around it by changing the display mode - try google for the exact method.

botond · #9 Post by **botond** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:41 am

Ok I did a clean install (biggest pain the [censored] EVER with the anytime upgrade from business->ultimate). With no codecs installed, a fresh windows ultimate, and the latest Catalyst drivers from Lenovo- on battery power DVD playback is still worthless. Can it be the drive? I still dont understand because it plays perfectly when connected to a power source.

Icee · #10 Post by **Icee** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:53 pm

Hey there botond,

I had a problem with my T60p when I first got it around a year ago, where DVDs would run, but would have a repeated slight pause every 4-10 seconds. Just enough to irritate the living crap out of anyone watching. I can't remember if it also did it while plugged into AC power.

Although my problem wasn't as bad as what you describe, you may want to try the solution that was posted here in the forums a while back. It worked for my problem.

Try disabling the "ATI HotKey poller" service.

To disable it, right click on My Computer, go to Manage, then Systems and Applications, and finally Services. Right click on "ATI HotKey poller" go to properties, and set it to "disabled".

I THINK you have to reboot to get that going too.

I've read that disabling the service above can mess up powerplay, but I haven't seen any ill effects to this day and I enjoy a DVD on the ol T60 every now and again.

I hope this helps

Chris

botond · #11 Post by **botond** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:59 pm

Icee wrote:Hey there botond,

I had a problem with my T60p when I first got it around a year ago, where DVDs would run, but would have a repeated slight pause every 4-10 seconds. Just enough to irritate the living crap out of anyone watching. I can't remember if it also did it while plugged into AC power.

Although my problem wasn't as bad as what you describe, you may want to try the solution that was posted here in the forums a while back. It worked for my problem.

Try disabling the "ATI HotKey poller" service.

To disable it, right click on My Computer, go to Manage, then Systems and Applications, and finally Services. Right click on "ATI HotKey poller" go to properties, and set it to "disabled".

I THINK you have to reboot to get that going too.

I've read that disabling the service above can mess up powerplay, but I haven't seen any ill effects to this day and I enjoy a DVD on the ol T60 every now and again.

I hope this helps

Chris

I dont have that service on my list, but thanks for the suggestion. This really sucks.

botond · #12 Post by **botond** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:21 pm

Found it-

Catalyst control center>powerplay>UNCHECK "allow refresh rate reduction".

Why this is on by default, Ill never know.

#13 Post by **gator** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:40 pm

Ah, Powerplay strikes again

That feature is enabled on battery to save power - you can also adjust it using the power manager.

#14 Post by **GomJabbar** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:58 pm

I take it you do not like ATI to Play with your Power!

T60p Choppy (unwatchable) DVD Playback

T60p Choppy (unwatchable) DVD Playback

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