The kit enables DVD playback on a TV screen or a PC while running applications.
Dubbed Jammin' DVD II, the kit includes a Toshiba DVD-ROM drive and remote control and an MPEG and surround-sound card based on technology from C-Cube.
The playback card is VGA card-compatible and also plays CDs. Its TV-out function lets users view a DVD movie on a television set or on the PC while simultaneously running computer applications.
Toshiba's drive is compatible with CD-ROM, DVD, AND CD-RW (recordable).
At $379, the kit falls into the cheaper end of the DVD kit pricing spectrum. Sony and Philips Electronics offer kits with the Sigma Designs decoder for $599. Diamond Multimedia's DVD kit sells for $399.95, and Creative Technology sells its kit for $380.
Jammin' DVD II also is sold without the drive, for $199. The products will ship later this month.