DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?

OK, here is a common question: can a DVD ROM drive in a AMD K6-III PC (500+ mhz) produce as good a video output as a tabletop DVD player on a TV that has composite video and SVideo inputs? Or do I need a hardware decoder? I have a Diamond Viper II that has TV out from a SVideo jack.

1. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
lbyard May-12-01 05:00 PM
In response to message 0

You might get away with the software decoder that comes with the Viper II. The last time I did anything like this was with Diamond Viper V770 Ultra in a 650 Mhz Athlon system (http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/buildcom/athlon/ath_1.htm), and I used a Creative hardware decoder. The output was stunning, but I have no tabletop DVD player to make a comparison. If I were to make a choice for TV viewing, I would probably buy a tabletop unit simply because they are probably easier to use and setup than putting a PC in my living room, etc. I understand that prices for these units should be around $140 by the end of the year (http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Article.asp?IR=N&ClassID=100&datePublish=2001/05/04&pages=05&seq=31). Larry

2. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
copperpipe May-12-01 10:04 PM
In response to message 1

Thank you, Larry.
I know the tabletop unit makes more sense from an economic and functional standpoint. But I like to tinker around....I might be in the market for a new CD ROM drive but was thinking about DVD since it can read CD ROMs, too.

3. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
lbyard May-14-01 03:19 PM
In response to message 2

There are units that can write to CDs also. Larry

4. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
deerslayer May-22-01 02:46 PM
In response to message 3

I am thinking the same thing. Cant make a decision on wether to get one for the PC or living room. Spend alot more time in front of the PC but monitor is a 19 sony compared to a 32 sony tv and a nice home theater system in living room.
Pentium 3 1000 @ 1178, Abit bx-133, 128 Mb Mushkin Rev.3 cas 2-2-2, Visiontek GeForce 3 Air Cooled.

5. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
lbyard May-22-01 03:33 PM
In response to message 4

LAST EDITED ON May-22-01 AT 03:49 PM (GMT)
I have temporarily setup PCs in my living room for product reviews of TV cards, etc. and found it quite inconvenient to run movies that way. Who wants to run (trip) over to a computer and manipulate a mouse and keyboard to setup and run a movie? Not I. Of course you could get an IR keyboard and mouse and put them on a coffee table, but I rather like to put other things on my coffee table, such as coffee or wine—both of which have a supernatural affinity for mice and keyboards. The last thing I want to do, after I have called it day in my shop/office is to “play” with another computer. And I can picture doing it with company over for the evening—all of them telling me step-by-step, before I can even get to the next step, how to do it… My VCR is challenging enough... Besides computers eat-up a lot of power, take time to boot, make noise, and will certainly break just when the movie gets interesting. Finally, I can’t afford the price of another PC as compared to that of a DVD player. Oh, yes, I have run a DVD movie on a computer with a rather large monitor and surround sound speakers, but stopped the movie before it really got going because my shop/office environment is just not a good place to relax with one-way entertainment for a long time. Larry (old couch potato)

6. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
copperpipe May-22-01 04:46 PM
In response to message 4

I am going to just get a tabletop unit - saw some at Costco over the weekend from $135 (Pioneer).
If I got a PC DVD drive, the price would be about the same if you add in the price of a hardware decoder for watching on a TV.
Operability would be much easier with a tabletop unit, and I'd have to carry the PC downstairs and hook it up to the TV since my computer room is not a very comfortable place for watching a 2 hour video.
The only thing I'd miss out is tinkering around on the PC trying to tweak and resolve Windows problems.

7. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
lbyard May-22-01 06:26 PM
In response to message 6

"Tinkering around on the PC trying to tweak and resolve Windows problems" sounds like work to me, although it took me many years of PC fanaticism to realize it. Larry

8. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
lbyard May-22-01 06:51 PM
In response to message 6

It just occurred to me, after visiting Costco’s web site and reading some of the tabletop DVD specs, that you could buy one of these units and plug it into a TV card on a PC. It would sure be easier to lug one of these around instead of a PC. I guess, after waiting for many years, the laser optical disk movie player has finally arrived. Larry

9. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
copperpipe May-23-01 08:01 AM
In response to message 8

LAST EDITED ON May-23-01 AT 08:17 AM (GMT)
That sounds good, Larry. Send me one of those ATI AllinWonderland boards and I'll try it out when I get my DVD player.

10. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
lbyard May-26-01 05:19 AM
In response to message 9

State Street Discount has a Philips DVD player on sale this weekend for $99. Larry

11. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
deerslayer Jun-21-01 01:16 PM
In response to message 10

I got a Delta 12x dvd player for my birthday. I am quite pleased with it. I have it in my better system now, with the gf3 video card. I have a tv out so I can watch it on the TV in the bedroom if I want. I have a 19 sony so it really doesnt make a big difference using tv ou to a 20 in tv. I am not using a decoder card. Win dvd seems quite nice!!! playback is great!! ( though it is better with the Radeon 64ddr)

Pentium 3 1000 @ 1185, Abit bx-133, 256 Mb Mushkin Rev.3 cas 2-2-2, Leadtek GeForce 3 Air Cooled.

12. RE: DVD ROM drive vs. Tabletop DVD player on TV?
copperpipe Jun-21-01 10:44 PM
In response to message 11

LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-01 AT 10:46 PM (GMT)
LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-01 AT 10:45 PM (GMT)
Well, folks, my AMD Thunderball upgrade in my Antec SX830 case will have to be put on hold for a bit. I bought a Panasonic tabletop DVD player...it was not cheap but I decided on it after reading various evaluations + the mp3 playback capability + the fact that it was made in Japan.
My first impressions: the picture quality on my TV even with the S-video input is just a little better than what I am accustomed to..the tv is the limiting factor here. Also, I don't especially care for the widescreen format because of the wasted screen space. But the biggest difference is the sound: absolutely awesome.

deerslayer,
Glad to hear that your DVD drive works great. I've heard about someone having a problem with the Delta 12X drive when using it as a CDROM drive to play a particular game (I forget which one)....and he had some problems upgrading the BIOS on the drive due to poor documentation at the Delta website.