playing dvds on my computer

ceridwen

Can someone please recommend a good link for a free "thingie" to input to my computer so that I can play dvds on it.?

Its a bog-standard Vista computer - but now a 64 bit (rather than 32 bit - as per when I bought it) after I had a computer repair guy swop the hard drive when it "blew" I've had a few problems since then because of this 64-bit scenario stopping me being able to use some free links I wanted to.:mad:

I gather the technical name for what I need is a "mpeg-2 decoder".

Thanks.

david39

Windows Media Player will play DVDs - should already be on your computer if you have Vista.

If not, download it for free from

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1d224714-e238-4e45-8668-5166114010ca

or many other sources on the web - just Google Windows Media Player.

Marty_J

Try VLC. It'll play just about anything.

Percy1983

If you have visat home premium or ultimate then use media centre.

interzen

Marty_J wrote: »

Try VLC. It'll play just about anything.

Seconded.
Although I don't use VLC for Windows (I run Linux exclusively on all my machines) it has no problem playing DVDs. That said, the Windows version does pass the 'so simple that my father can use it' test

ssc_dougal

Personally I would suggest downloading the K-Lite mega codec pack (just google it and you should find it)

This pack has codecs for virtually allmedia formats both audio and visual.

it will install an old version of windows media player onto your computer but you dont have to use it.

this is what i use and i have neva had any problems with it

cooki2222

ssc_dougal wrote: »

Personally I would suggest downloading the K-Lite mega codec pack (just google it and you should find it)

This pack has codecs for virtually allmedia formats both audio and visual.

it will install an old version of windows media player onto your computer but you dont have to use it.

this is what i use and i have neva had any problems with it

id be careful when downloading this pack have seen a few virus full versions of this, to be safe id go with vlc player its the dogs balls plays everything and it very simple to use, plus its only a few mb compared to the k-lite codec.

Also i wouldnt worry about it being 64bit my last laptop was a 64bit machine, 32bit programs should run no problem on 64 bit machines

poziflip

Changing the hard disk is not going to change your computer from a 64-bit one to a 32-bit one. You'd need to change the processor and most likely the motherboard too.

flokie

LOL - I don't expect ceridwen is running an Itanium server, just a standard x86_64 PC with a fairly recent CPU.

You can install either 32-bit or 64-bit operating systems on the majority of computers nowadays, so it looks like the repair guy replaced the hard drive, and installed Vista 64-bit on it, rather than the original Vista 32-bit.

Unless you've got more than 4GB RAM or more than 2TB storage, 32-bit computing should still be fine for all tasks.
I haven't played with 64-bit OSs much, so I'm not sure whether many programmes still have compatibility issues, but a 64-bit OS should be able to run most 32-bit applications.

ceridwen

david39 wrote: »

Windows Media Player will play DVDs - should already be on your computer if you have Vista.

If not, download it for free from

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1d224714-e238-4e45-8668-5166114010ca

or many other sources on the web - just Google Windows Media Player.

Thanks....'tis Windows Vista I have. I'm not sure whether what I have counts as the "genuine" they mention - it was when I bought the p.c. - but I dont know how things went when Mr Repairman swopped my hard disc.:cool:

Looks like its going to be VLC from what I can see from the various replies then - thanks for that.

I cant think why my Windows Media Player thingie wouldnt work for this - the friend who tried with this is pc-literate enough that he gets paid for computer work by other people - but he wasnt sure what was the best website to go to to download a free DVD "thingie" that WOULD work. Hence my request as to what other people use.

ceridwen

flokie wrote: »

LOL - I don't expect ceridwen is running an Itanium server, just a standard x86_64 PC with a fairly recent CPU.

You can install either 32-bit or 64-bit operating systems on the majority of computers nowadays, so it looks like the repair guy replaced the hard drive, and installed Vista 64-bit on it, rather than the original Vista 32-bit.

Unless you've got more than 4GB RAM or more than 2TB storage, 32-bit computing should still be fine for all tasks.
I haven't played with 64-bit OSs much, so I'm not sure whether many programmes still have compatibility issues, but a 64-bit OS should be able to run most 32-bit applications.

Thanks flokie - the language was more "technical" than I understand - but from what I DO understand - I reckon you've got my position summed up:T