pasusan
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We got a Toshiba Satellite laptop this summer to take traveling. We use it for mapping and when we are parked and hooked up we use it for watching DVD movies.
We noticed that some movies have jerky parts where the action stops and starts in quick jerks. I don't know if we're losing frames or what.
I did read about upping the process priority while googling the problem and have changed the priority in the task manager to "High". But - then sometimes I'll go back in the task manager and check the priority and it has slipped back down to "Above Normal".
Anyone have this problem or have an idea what's causing it?
Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks...
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BillArf
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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One place to start is to download and install the most current 'driver' for your laptop's CD/DVD player.
Software Update if needed the software that you are using to play the DVD movies.
When viewing DVD movie have the laptop plugged in.
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Jacksons
columbus,ohio
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most common problem is a dirty dvd, fingerprints etc
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Healeyman
Carrollton, TX
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Your computer needs more RAM memory or Video RAM depending on how your computer routes the video stream to the screen.
Your computer does not have enough memory to seamlessly load the video for viewing so it breaks the video stream into segments then shows one segment, emptying the RAM before it loads another segment into RAM for viewing.
It's like taking a driving a trip with a small fuel tank. You have to stop more often to refill the tank than with a large fuel tank.
Tim
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BillArf
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Healeyman wrote:Your computer needs more RAM memory or Video RAM depending on how your computer routes the video stream to the screen.
Your computer does not have enough memory to seamlessly load the video for viewing so it breaks the video stream into segments then shows one segment, emptying the RAM before it loads another segment into RAM for viewing.
It's like taking a driving a trip with a small fuel tank. You have to stop more often to refill the tank than with a large fuel tank.
Tim
You'd like to think a new (few months old) laptop would have adequate RAM to play a DVD but indeed some off the shelf laptops do not. Indeed, inadequate available RAM memory and or available Video Ram will cause issues like mentioned by the OP. So far all responses here to the OP are on the mark lets say.
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tatest
Oklahoma
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It might help to turn off the WiFi (it uses CPU cycles and gets priority), and kill any active mode antivirus programs running. You don't really need to have every packet of data from the DVD scanned for viruses before it is decoded.
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pasusan
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tatest wrote:It might help to turn off the WiFi (it uses CPU cycles and gets priority), and kill any active mode antivirus programs running. You don't really need to have every packet of data from the DVD scanned for viruses before it is decoded.
Thanks - turning off the WiFi sounds like a reasonable thing to try. I don't have any antivirus stuff running...
I also am downloading a couple of different DVD player programs and will see if they do any better than the Toshiba player.
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tatest
Oklahoma
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Don't forget about the antivirus. Checking all the mpeg encoded video coming off your DVDs against 30,000 or more binary data sequences identified as "virus signature" is going to take a up a lot of processing power that could be used for decoding and displaying the video. Identifying a video packet as a virus, and blocking it, will cause a stutter.
I have a lot of experience using scientific applications that read in tens of gigabytes of scientific data, and have learned that there are lots of random streams that look like a "virus signature." They might be a virus in a different context, but active virus scanners do not do well recognizing context, just bit patterns in whatever comes across.
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