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General discussion

DVD player processor comsumption

by hunterleigh Aug 20, 2005 2:33PM PDT

I recently got a new laptop, a Sony FS series. It has a 1.6 GHz processor and a gig of RAM. I've been watching DVDs on it, but I've noticed that they seem to be using all the processing power, like 100% in the system monitor. This occasionally causes delays and stuttering, and keeps me from watching in fast forward easily.

I have tried both the VaioZone product and Interwin DVD and both take up all my processing speed. Anyone know of a nice, low-consumption DVD player that will run well on a laptop?

One weird thing to note...niether program was doing this at first, it kicked in a week ago and has been constant since.

Discussion is locked

9 Posts
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Just a few notes about such.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Aug 20, 2005 10:40PM PDT

What's never told to many is that DVD playback is going to be CPU intensive but the task manager will not be exact enough to notice that the CPU could be napping after a frame is presented. This will cause people to thing the CPU is at 100% (which it is according to Task Manager) yet other programs can still run well. I won't write more about this anomaly since it's been discussed on internet newsdays for an eon.

-> Here's one issue that few will note. If your video setting is not 32-bit color, the DVD player may be working very hard to pick colors for the pixels. Fix? Use 32-bit display colors.

Best of luck,

Bob

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Not a 32-bit color issue
by hunterleigh Aug 22, 2005 9:30AM PDT

I have my color setting on 32 True, so its not that.

Can anyone think of a reason that it would have been working fine at first, but isn't anymore? I don't think I installed any software or changed any setting that would relate. I remember now that the problem first started when I was actively watching a CD on 2x speed. Suddenly, preformance went from great to mediocre, and it has stayed that way since.

Any thoughts?

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Did you change the topic?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Aug 22, 2005 11:26AM PDT

The opening issue was CPU load. Now I detect that you may have meant to write something else?

Bob

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Not intentionally
by hunterleigh Aug 26, 2005 2:09PM PDT

Bsically I'm trying to determine why the performance of my DVD software has gotten poor. I just added more info that occured to me. But let me restart then and see if I can make it clear.

I bought a new laptop and watched DVDs on it fine for the first two months or so. The other day, when watching one DVD, the performance suddenly got worse. I rebooted, and have been noticing the same problem since. Both VaioZone and InterWin DVD are both performing badly, which has left me a little confused. The system monitor shows CPU consumption to be 100% most of the time, but I understand that this might be erroneous.

So, why is my DVD software performing badly all of a sudden? Is it my drive, or is it the software somehow? If it is a consumption issue, do you know of any low consumption players?

Thanks again, hope that was clearer.

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One thing is not the other.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Aug 26, 2005 9:36PM PDT

No offense, but when you post a top question, ask what you really want. I'll wait till this happens since... I've covered the initial question but will leave you to read and hopefully perform the procedure at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/IDE-DMA.mspx

I will not reply until I read you accomplished this task.

Bob

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Sorry
by hunterleigh Aug 27, 2005 4:41PM PDT

Not meaning to be offensive, just a little confused.

I made the DMA switch the link sent me to, and it does seem to have made things a little better, but the problem is still there. It seems to happen most when there are several layers of sounds, like background noise, foreground noise, music, etc. and also where there are bright lights or larger white sections being displayed. Hope that helps...

Thanks again.

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The next most common issue.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Aug 27, 2005 10:05PM PDT

Is that someone allowed Windows Update or Microsoft to install a driver. Find and install latest drivers for motherboard, video and sound.

Cheers, it sounds like you are on the right path now.

-> There is also the issue of SPYWARE. Email me your HIJACKTHIS log for a quick look. I don't offer full readings but it does let me see if there is an issue there to be tackled. Click on my profile link to email it.

Bob

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Done
by hunterleigh Aug 29, 2005 5:18AM PDT

I couldn't find a HIJACKTHIS file on my computer, but I ran an Ad-Aware scan and cleaned everything out. I also updated my NVidia and Realtek drivers and reverted to the original motherboard driver that came with the system. Sony doesn't list and update for the motherboard.

I loaded the program but am still having the problem though. Where to next?

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Hijack This
by Alan Copeland Aug 29, 2005 10:26AM PDT
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