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From...
Be first on your block with DVD for your PC...
June 30, 1998
Web posted at: 1:36 PM PT
by Stan Miastkowski
In an industry filled with hype, nothing tops Digital Versatile Disc. A disc that looks like any CD-ROM holds gigabytes of data, letting you run ultra-high-quality motion pictures, incredibly realistic games, or data-rich programs.
Surprisingly, we're on the brink of this bliss. The latest
DVD drives have largely eliminated the performance
and compatibility problems of early drives. Prices of
DVD upgrade kits have dropped to the $350-$500
range. And normal folks can (with patience) carry out
the installation.
| ALSO: |
|
Why you shouldn't buy a rewritable-DVD drive
|
The path to nirvana isn't complete, though, since DVD applications are still hard to come by. Oh, you can find hundreds of DVD movies at your local Circuit City, and they work just fine in PC-based DVD drives and deliver video and sound that's stunningly better than videotapes. You also can find some impressive games. But if you want to use your PC for something other than games or movies, you'll have to be patient. Few applications are available now, but many consumer titles are expected by this holiday season.
You can get DVD drive kits from any of several sources, including Creative Labs, Diamond Multimedia, Hi-Val (www.hival.com), and Sony. A leading example is the Creative Labs PC-DVD Encore, which handles the current generation of 4.7GB discs and produces full-screen, high-resolution MPEG-2 video that you can view on your PC monitor or, for best quality, on an external TV monitor. You can also connect it to a Dolby Digital receiver for ultimate sound. The Encore reads CD-ROMs at speeds up to 20X and works with discs made by CD-Recordable drives (earlier DVD drives didn't).
DVDs demand powerful systems, with a Pentium-133 or faster CPU; Windows 95; a minimum 16MB of memory (32MB for some kits); a graphics card that displays at least 800 by 600 dots per inch with 16-bit color; a PCI slot; a Sound Blaster or compatible sound card; a 5.25-inch drive bay; and an EIDE connector.
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Early DVD kits thoroughly earned their reputation for difficult installation. And installing a DVD drive remains far more complicated than setting up a CD-ROM drive. You install not just the drive, but an MPEG add-in card to decompress DVD video. You also have to deal with a tangle of cables for interconnecting the drive, MPEG card, audio card, graphics card, and (optionally) external television monitor or surround stereo system. But Plug and Play MPEG cards and improved software are making the job easier. If you want your DVD now, here's how to get it.
1. Check Your PC
Make sure your PC is completely trouble-free before you start; even minor incompatibilities that never gave you grief before can sabotage your DVD installation. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-click the System icon, and click the Device Manager tab. If you see exclamation points next to any of the device entries, select Start, Help, Find, search for Help's hardware troubleshooter, and follow the directions given there.
Because installing a DVD drive will substantially change your software and hardware settings, do a complete back-up of your PC.
Then select Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-click the Display icon, click the Settings tab, and set your display to 800 by 600 dpi and high color (16-bit).
2. Install the MPEG Board
Turn off your PC and remove the cover. Find a free PCI expansion slot and remove the metal slot-cover plate behind it. Ground yourself by touching the case. Unplug the PC. Then carefully insert the MPEG card into the slot, and secure it with the screw you removed when you took off the slot-cover plate.
3. Install and Hook Up the Drive
If your PC has both a hard drive and a CD-ROM drive, the hard drive is probably hooked up to the primary EIDE connector on the motherboard, and the CD-ROM drive to the secondary EIDE connector. If this is so, set the DVD drive jumper to "slave" and hook it up to the extra connector on the wide data cable that goes to the hard drive. Don't use the extra connector on the cable that's hooked up to the CD-ROM drive; if you do, the DVD drive won't work at full speed. Make sure that your hard drive jumpers are set to "master" (this might require removing the drive). Jumper settings are usually labeled on the drive. If they're not, consult your manual.
If both your hard drive and your CD-ROM drive are on a single data cable connected to the primary EIDE connector, use the secondary connector for the DVD drive. Set the DVD jumper to "master" and use the data cable that came with your DVD kit to attach the drive to the motherboard EIDE connector.
Plug the power cable into the DVD drive. You may need to use a Y-connector if your PC doesn't contain extra power connectors.
Install the DVD drive into a 5.25-inch drive bay. Some cases require special rails; with others you just secure the drive in the bay by using screws supplied in the DVD drive kit.
4. Hook Up the Sound and Video Cables
Read your DVD installation manual carefully, since there are various ways to cable together the DVD drive, MPEG card, existing sound card, and existing CD-ROM drive (if any).
Here is a typical approach:
Connect the internal audio cable from the rear of the DVD drive to the first audio-in connector on the MPEG card. If you find an internal audio cable from your existing CD-ROM drive fastened to your sound card, disconnect that cable from the sound card and plug it into the MPEG card's secondary audio-in connector.
Next, connect an audio cable from the audio-out connector on the MPEG card to the sound card's internal audio-in connector. Remove the monitor connector from your graphics card and plug it into the appropriate connector on the rear of your MPEG card. Find the VGA loopback cable included with your DVD kit. Attach one end of it to your graphics card and the other to the input connector on your MPEG card.
If you want to use a TV monitor with your DVD drive, link the video-out connector on your MPEG board to the monitor's video-in connector.
5. Install the Drivers and DVD Software
Still with us? Power up your PC. Windows 95 will detect the MPEG board and ask you for a driver. Insert the driver floppy that came with your DVD kit and click OK. You may need to restart your PC before proceeding.
After the driver is installed, insert the DVD player application CD-ROM that came with your kit into the DVD drive. Follow its directions to install the software for controlling DVD discs. During the installation, you'll need to specify a regional code; enter 1 for North America.
6. Tweak the Settings and Get DVDing
Put the cover back on your PC. Insert a DVD disc into your DVD drive. Follow the directions that come with the software; starting up a DVD movie usually involves clicking the player icon. You may need to configure the DVD video alignment for your graphics card and monitor, though most DVD player software does this automatically. Read the manual!
If you have problems, double-check that all cables--especially audio cables--are properly connected. And be sure to check Windows 95's volume control by choosing Start, Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, Volume Control.
If problems persist, check the data and power cables, and try reinstalling the driver. If that doesn't fix things, take a few deep breaths and call tech support.
Stan Miastkowski is a PC World contributing editor.