I was all settled in for a good movie the other night when I noticed that my dvd program on my computer did not support suround sound. Now what is the point of having a 5.1 setup if the software doesn't support it. I was using Power DVD and it said in order to get 5.1 you have to purchase a seperate upgrade that costs 30 dollars. Now I don't really mind paying the 30 dollars, I just think it is kind of a cheap shot to have to buy the sound additionally.

If I am going to have to pay to be able to watch dvds on my computer with full sound then I want to at least get a quality player. Here is where I need some help.

What are some good, full, dvd players out there?
What have you used and what are your opinions?
Are there any free, quality players?

Thanks for the help.

-JiM

Bump.

Nobody has a pc for a home theatre or even watches dvds on thier computer?

--JiM

Try http://www.download.com - the site has just about every kind of freeware, shareware, or cheap software you can imagine.

dude.. iI am trying to run mythTV for a home brewed pvr/theater I will let you know how it goes.. its linux based so that probably won;t help you..

umm for windows dvd players.. I used to use the multimedia center software that came with my all-in-wonder radeon i think it had 5.1 output..

I agree with my man Paulie but also check out sourceforge.net for open source devloped software.. its mainly linux but you probably can find windows software there as well

I have a bunch of software but I am not exactly allowed to post them here...let me know if you're interested and I can get you access to my FTP site...

PowerDVD XP does 5.1...i think it may even be THX certified (7.1), but i'm not sure...y'know, there are many, MANY places to crack software ;)

but yea, to answer your question, i use a progressive scan standalone DVD player and a standalone component receiver for that stuff...

Thanks for the reponses, I have found a couple options so far.
---JiM

i'm pretty sure WMP plays surround as well...when i play a DVD through it, it displays the Dolby Digital symbol in the lower left corner...all you would need to do to get it to play all formats is to download the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.01...with that, it allows you play Divx, Kvid, DVD, and even RealAudio and Quicktime in WMP without the respective programs

heck why not abandon Windows media player all together and get Media player classic. with addins for real, and quicktime you won;t need another player.

because i'm pretty sure Windows Media Player Classic doesn't support surround sound and the original intent was finding a DVD player that does support 5.1

WMP 9 does support 5.1...you have to have a sound card to go with it..though..i'm sure you know or have that though...PowerDVD is my favorite so far...

but for a true theater experience...i have a home theater for that...i use my Laptop and PowerDVD for trips....

You know, I have never tried WMP, I will have to give that one a shot.

-=JiM