InterVideo WinDVD

Version 1.2

End-User Release Notes

Welcome to InterVideo's WinDVD, the premier DVD playback application for the PC. 
The following are some notes users may find useful when starting to use WinDVD.

1) System performance requirements:

The PC has a variety of components that make up its combination of capabilities. 
Software DVD playback quality and performance depends on several of these components 
heavily. They include:

CPU Speed
Graphics Subsystem
Graphics Bus Type
Graphics Memory
Audio Subsystem
Audio Bus Type
System Memory
System Cache Sizes

Most important are the graphics subsystem and the CPU. Software DVD has several 
playback modes. These include:

a) Software only playback, with all decode processing done by the CPU.
b) Motion compensation hardware assistance performed by the graphics processor.
c) Motion compensation and IDCT (inverse discrete cosine transforms) hardware assistance 
   performed by the graphics processor.

Each successive case reduces the load on the CPU, so CPU requirements can vary widely 
based on the graphics processor.

In addition, there are two types of content available, one based on film
(typically Hollywood movies) and the other based on video (music videos and Betacam/
camcorder content). Film based content plays back at 24 frames per second and video 
based content plays back at 30 fps or 60 odd and even fields per second. Video content 
requires more horsepower to decode, and will use more CPU than its film-based cousin.

So, with all that in mind, here's what you can expect, based on some examples of 
CPU types and speeds:

a) Software only playback of film content: 300A Celeron CPU
b) Software only playback of video content: 350 MHz Pentium II CPU
c) Motion Compensation assisted playback of film content: 266 MHz Pentium II CPU
d) Motion Compensation assisted playback of video content: 333 Celeron CPU
e) MC and IDCT assisted playback of film content: 233 MHz Pentium II CPU
f) MC and IDCT assisted playback of video content: 300A Celeron CPU

2) Best video playback is achieved on graphics subsystems that focus on video as well 
as 3D performance.

These include the Matrox G200, ATI Rage Pro series, the S3 Savage 3D and GX2 chips,
the SiS 6326 DVD, and Nvidia TNT.

Other qualified graphics subsystems include:

The Nvidia Riva 128 series, the Intel i740 and Real3D Starfighter series, the 
3DLabs Permedia 2, and the 3Dfx Voodoo Banshee.

Support is currently being added for the NeoMagic 128 AV chip. Aside from this chip, 
graphics subsystems should have at least 4MBs of video memory.

3) When motion compensation hardware assistance is provided by the graphics
subsystem, brightness and color controls may not be supported.  On such systems,
you need to disable motion compensation hardware assistance in order to enable
brightness and color control.  This, however, may increase the CPU usage.
To disable motion compensation hardware assistance, right click on the video
window, select Properties, select the Display tab, and uncheck the Hardware
Motion Compensation checkbox.

4) WinDVD requires the DirectX 6 runtime to be installed prior to running.

5) DVD movies are created at 720x480 video resolutions. It is strongly recommended that 
you set your desktop to at least 800x600 resolution.

6) Many DVD titles offer a 16x9 "Widescreen" version (also called Anamorphic). These 
versions are best viewed at a desktop setting of 1024x768.

7) Make sure you have the DMA setting for your DVD-ROM drive turned on before running 
WinDVD. This is accomplished by right clicking on the My Computer icon on your desktop, 
selecting Properties, selecting the Device Manager tab, double clicking on the CD-ROM 
device, selecting the DVD-ROM drive that is present, selecting Properties, selecting the 
Settings tab, and enabling the DMA check box. If there is no DMA checkbox available on 
your system, you may have a motherboard that does not support DMA, or you may need a new 
set of drivers to update your motherboard support. Verify the type of motherboard that 
you have and check the website of that manufacturer for an updated "chipset" driver. 
Some motherboard websites are listed below:

Intel - www.intel.com
VIA - www.via.com.tw
ALi - www.ali.com.tw

8) After installing WinDVD and inserting a DVD disc, WinDVD should automatically detect 
the disc and begin playing the movie. If this does not happen, launch WinDVD and open the 
Properties dialog box, and select your drive from the Default DVD Drive drop down box.

9) Graphics subsystems based on the AGP Bus interface will perform up to 30% faster than 
those based on the PCI Bus.

10) Audio subsystems based on the PCI Bus will perform up to 15% faster than based on the 
ISA Bus.

11) DVD movies have a tendency to get dirty over time and this could possibly cause decode 
errors. If a movie should stop randomly, please try cleaning the disc before calling 
technical support.

12) 3DSound is an option, and if the button is grayed-out, this option was not included 
by your OEM. 4 Channel and 6 Channel audio support requires specific audio hardware and 
are also optional.

13) This software REQUIRES the original CD to be present to install, or re-install, 
the product.

14) Re-installing the software will NOT reset the region selection options.

15) This product is being delivered to end-users as an OEM product, most often bundled 
with a hardware component, or as part of the system itself. End-users requiring support 
should directly contact the OEM provider of the software.

All rights are reserved by InterVideo, Inc 1998.
