Can't play DVD on laptop

taurusgb
taurusgb Posts: 909 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
in Techie Stuff
Just bought a new laptop running Vista, when I insert a DVD (prerecorded film) Windows media player opens, it lists the scenes in the DVD but says it cannot play. When I click the help button I am redirected to an online help page at microsoft which suggests buying a decoder:-

CinePlayer™ DVD Decoder for Windows Vista is the one - it says it offers:
  • The highest quality DVD playback engine on a Microsoft Windows Vista™ PC
  • The industry's best DVD navigation
  • Enables playback of DVD, MPEG-2 and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital files in Windows Media Player
  • Supports a variety of VGA cards
Roxio's CinePlayer DVD Decoder Pack for Windows Vista version 1.0 is designed exclusively for Windows Media Player and is world renowned for its remarkable video quality and superb audio clarity for DVD playback on your Windows Vista system

It says I need:
  • 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 512 MB of system memory
  • Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory
  • DVD-ROM drive
  • Audio output
So........please anyone - is this the way to go and how do I know if I've got support for Directx 9 graphics?

Cost is £9.99.................help anyone please?
People Say that life's the thing - but I prefer reading ;)
The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell jnto the Thames it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity - Benjamin Disreali

Comments

  • faerie_girl
    faerie_girl Posts: 461 Forumite
    yes you do need a codec. does it tell you what you need, this could be a name or numbers and letters. have a search on google, im sure you can find a free one.
    OR does you laptop come with a DVD player software such as PowerDVD? you dont have to use media player to play dvd's
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,605 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Free codec pack at www.filehippo.com - K-Lite Codec Pack 3.30 (Full) under Audio and Video.

    If that doesnt work, download VLC Media Player 0.8.6c from the same site under Audio and Video too.
  • taurusgb
    taurusgb Posts: 909 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
    faerie_girl wrote: »
    OR does you laptop come with a DVD player software such as PowerDVD? you dont have to use media player to play dvd's


    doesnt seem to have - I have powerDVD XP 4.0 on my desktop but no disc and I don't know if i would run on vista?
    People Say that life's the thing - but I prefer reading ;)
    The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell jnto the Thames it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity - Benjamin Disreali
  • taurusgb
    taurusgb Posts: 909 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
    pgilc1 wrote: »
    Free codec pack at www.filehippo.com - K-Lite Codec Pack 3.30 (Full) under Audio and Video.

    If that doesnt work, download VLC Media Player 0.8.6c from the same site under Audio and Video too.

    Thank you SO much - I just love this site!
    People Say that life's the thing - but I prefer reading ;)
    The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell jnto the Thames it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity - Benjamin Disreali
  • Donnie
    Donnie Posts: 9,862 Forumite
    Of course it didn't come with DVD player software. That's why they are trying to get him to pay a tenner. :)

    Some use Cliprex; http://www.cliprex.com/ I haven't tried it before, as I have PowerDVD 7 installed.

    If you decide to go for the VLC player, go via their website for more info; http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
  • taurusgb
    taurusgb Posts: 909 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
    pgilc1 wrote: »
    Free codec pack at www.filehippo.com - K-Lite Codec Pack 3.30 (Full) under Audio and Video.

    If that doesnt work, download VLC Media Player 0.8.6c from the same site under Audio and Video too.

    VLC downloaded, installed and playing Miss Coneniality as I type....WOW it's brilliant!
    People Say that life's the thing - but I prefer reading ;)
    The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell jnto the Thames it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity - Benjamin Disreali
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,605 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    taurusgb wrote: »
    VLC downloaded, installed and playing Miss Coneniality as I type....WOW it's brilliant!

    Yes, lots of really need free stuff on filehippo. :D
This discussion has been closed.
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