PC Players that can disable video? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Coleman]

Here's an odd question - I hope I've got it in the right forum.

Does anyone know of DVD player software for Windows computers that allows you to "turn-off" the video display? It's an odd feature to want but essentially I have a number of live concert DVDs which I really enjoy and would like to listen to them on my PC. Problem is the video zaps a lot of system resources during playback - causing slow refreshes of the screen and breaks up the sound if I start doing something on the computer.

I've tried minimizing the window and also reducing the size of the play back window both with no effect. It would be really great if once I got the title runnning I could click a button and have the DVD no longer process the video aspect of the disc?

Anyone heard of this feature? Or am I completely out to lunch on this one?

Thanks,

Ryan Coleman

 

[MichaelAW]

Can't help you, but I like the idea, and am curious if there's an option.

I'd like to be able to listen to an audio commentary while I work on my PC, rather than listen to a concert video, but it's the same idea.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Depending on your OS and system configuration, this sounds more like a problem with the PC than anything else. I'm not sure that adding a "feature" like this to playback software is the answer. Adding more RAM, preventing resource wasting programs from loading at start-up (every icon in the lower right-hand corner of your screen represents a program running in the background that is sucking down resources on most versions of Windows) or adding a hardware DVD playback card (instead of letting your CPU and main system RAM handle the task) might be better solutions.
Tell you what. If you're running Windows 95, 98 or ME, boot the PC up, don't open any programs and right-click on the "My Computer" icon. Go to the "performance" tab and see what percentage of system resources are free. If it is anything less than 80% I would expect you to have problems not only with your DVD playback, but with other programs including general lock-up problems. If you have 98 or better this is relatively easy to fix, and you can e-mail me or send a PM and I can give you the procedure. If you're running Windows 95 - WHY?
Once this problem is fixed you should be able to get the result you're looking for by simply running your concert DVD and minimizing the playback window.
BTW, this post might get more suggestions in the PC area than here.
Regards,
Joe

 

[Ryan Coleman]

Thanks Joe,

I'll give that a look... RAM shouldn't be an issue (running 394MB) but it's entirely possible my PC has problems (running WinME...).

I'll give this a go and maybe repst in the PC forum - Didn't even see that one on a first look.

Ryan

 

[DougWright]

Does anyone know if it would be "fair use" for him to use a program to extract the audio off the DVD and MP3 it, for his own use only? Then he could have all his concerts on his HD all the time. I only have Hell Freezes Over and Metallica S&M and I had both on CD before the DVD, but if I had of purchased the DVDs first (they were not out then) I would have foregone buying the audio CDs.

Just a thought.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

...it's entirely possible my PC has problems (running WinME...)

Yeah, "running WinME" often equals "having problems" You don't have to repost, BTW, just drop an admin a line and ask to have the current thread moved.
Check those resources and let me know what you find. I'd be surprised if they weren't low, and that can cause a multitude of problems.
Regards,
Joe

 

[Keith Helms]

Does anyone know if it would be "fair use" for him to use a program to extract the audio off the DVD and MP3 it, for his own use only?

Yes, it's fair use. It's only illegal if he starts giving copies to people or posts it on the web.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Does anyone know if it would be "fair use" for him to use a program to extract the audio off the DVD and MP3 it, for his own use only?

a solid maybe. in the 9th Circuit (AZ, AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA), at least, "space-shifting" (making copies from one medium to another for personal use) is settled as fair use. I'm unaware, however, that it has been held as being the case in any other circuit in the country, and, of course, the Supreme Court hasn't given such a ruling. the problem with the fair use doctrine is that it isn't a body of settled rules. it is, instead, a guideline of principles for courts to consider. so while courts will make flat rules now and then (for example, the U.S. Supreme Court allowing "time-shifting" in recording TV shows with a VCR for viewing by that person/family at a later time as fair use), there isn't always a lot of settled law to deal with. so while I would feel fairly safe about making personal copies, anyway (who in the world would sue? the expense would outweigh the benefit), I'd hesitate to state flatly that it is a fair use.

DJ

 

[Greg_Y]

And there *are* utilities out there that will rip the audio from a DVD. I can't remember the most popular one, and we probably shouldn't get into technical specifics anyway. But you should be able to find information on the web by searching for "dvd rip audio", etc. on the web, if that's the route you decide to take.

 

[Chris Sypal]

I have a RealMagic card, and you can "turn off" the video on it by switching to the TV out. The card itself takes up most of the processing so you shouldn't get that much of a performance hit.