Free DVD Decoder?

I bought my laptop forever ago, and it has a DVD Burner/Reader. Unfortunately though, I cannot actually PLAY DVD's due to not having a decoder...without having to go out and buy one, is there a free solution on the web?

mplayer classic. You can find it on www.sourceforge.net

ZippyV wrote:

mplayer classic. You can find it on www.sourceforge.net

Will it play DVDs without a decoder already installed?

VLC!

I havent found a file it wouldnt play yet

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Pace wrote:

VLC!

I havent found a file it wouldnt play yet

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Augh...  that's what I meant.

(where'd VNC come from...  must be in a remote access mood or something.)

Only one is VNC VLC.  It's really slow, though, so I don't know if it will work for you.

CannotResolveSymbol wrote:



ZippyV wrote: mplayer classic. You can find it on www.sourceforge.net

Will it play DVDs without a decoder already installed?

Yup

ZippyV wrote:



CannotResolveSymbol wrote:  ZippyV wrote: mplayer classic. You can find it on www.sourceforge.net Will it play DVDs without a decoder already installed?

Yup

With MPEG2 decoders, things get a little strange. My GPU already has hardware MPEG2 decoding, so why do I need to purchase a software decoder? How exactly does this work?

And why doesn't Windows XP include a DVD decoder as it ships? Does Windows Vista even?

BTW, VCL VLC's DVD decoder isn't legal in the USA as they didn't pay the license fees the DVD Forum

true... but it still plays every file that you throw at it

gets a thumbs up from me

Hells yah! VideoLAN pulled through . . . works like a charm.
Thanks guys!

PLEASE HELP I DONT NOW  HOW TO INSTALL THE DECODER ..........................................................................

W3bbo wrote:



And why doesn't Windows XP include a DVD decoder as it ships? Does Windows Vista even?

XP doesn't because Microsoft didn't want to license a codec (DVD drives weren't common when XP launched, so it was an unnecessary burden to pass on to consumers).

Vista Ultimate does and so does Home Premium I think.

Heck you can create DVDs in Vista, watching them is a mere trifle.

Try watching a DVD from the 1990's on Windows Vista.  bet the pictures all fuzzy.

corona_coder wrote:

Try watching a DVD from the 1990's on Windows Vista.  bet the pictures all fuzzy.

Excuse me while I laugh at you.

W3bbo wrote:



With MPEG2 decoders, things get a little strange. My GPU already has hardware MPEG2 decoding, so why do I need to purchase a software decoder? How exactly does this work?

I believe commercial DVDs are MPEG2s, but they are encoded w/ a scheme called CSS. And CSS is licensed to hardware manufacterers & software makers (it's why WinXP didn't come w/ one & you have to buy for $20).

W3bbo wrote:


And why doesn't Windows XP include a DVD decoder as it ships? Does Windows Vista even?

I know Vista Ultimate plays DVDs out-of-the-box with Media Center so, yeah, I guess they ponied up.

corona_coder wrote:

Try watching a DVD from the 1990's on Windows Vista.  bet the pictures all fuzzy.

Welcome back Mr. Helper.

corona_coder wrote:

Try watching a DVD from the 1990's on Windows Vista.  bet the pictures all fuzzy.

Try watching a DVD from the 1990's on Linux.  Bet it doesn't work at all without violating the DMCA and stealing Macrovision's intellectual property (CSS).