DVD Movies on Windows 98: More trouble than it's worth?? \ VOGONS

DVD Movies on Windows 98: More trouble than it's worth??

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First post, by adultlunchables

Posted on 2017-12-17, 18:01

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I just finished building a nice Windows 98 SE machine, specs below. I'm wondering, what do I have to do to play DVD movies on this thing? I've poked around Google and it seems you need a dedicated DVD decoder card, however, I feel like my system should have enough raw power to software decode (maybe I'm wrong about that). Another thought is that shouldn't my graphics card have a decoder built in? How do I use that with Win98SE? Anyway, any info about how to play DVD movies would be much appreciated... Or if anyone has a link to Win98SE software decoding for DVD that would be cool. Thanks!

Pentium 4 3.2Ghz 1MB cache, 800 bus speed
512 DDR400 RAM (1 stick)
GeForce 5200
CD ROM Drive
Toshiba DVD Drive

Reply 1 of 16, by MERCURY127

Posted on 2017-12-17, 18:24

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Cyberlink PowerDVD possible have HW MPEG2 acceleration on FX5200... but not MPEG4/AVC, sure.

Reply 2 of 16, by adultlunchables

Posted on 2017-12-17, 18:30

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MERCURY127 wrote:
Cyberlink PowerDVD possible have HW MPEG2 acceleration on FX5200... but not MPEG4/AVC, sure.

I'm not too sure what that means, what's the difference between MPEG2 and MPEG4/AVC? Are some DVD movies made in MPEG2 and other newer ones in MPEG4?

Reply 3 of 16, by MERCURY127

Posted on 2017-12-17, 18:40

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no. all real DVDs (disks, contains 1-5 *.ts files up to 1 GB sized) is MPEG2 only.

Reply 4 of 16, by akula65

Posted on 2017-12-17, 18:48

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The combination of your CPU and graphics adapter IS far more than enough for DVD playback. You simply need to find a version of a suitable DVD playback application that is new enough to take advantage of the GeForce 5200 and old enough to still support Windows 98 SE. Older versions of Cyberlink PowerDVD and Intervideo WinDVD are two such commercial applications, but there are non-commercial applications that you can use as well. VLC is one such application (note that you need KernelEX or an older version of VLC from their FTP archive in order to use it with Win98 SE):

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

You may have been confused by references to Windows 98 DVD Player which is a Microsoft application that ships with the OS.

Last edited by akula65 on 2017-12-17, 19:18. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 5 of 16, by adultlunchables

Posted on 2017-12-17, 19:13

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I was able to download and install CyberLink PowerDVD 6 along with DirectX 9b and DVD movies play just fine now! I'm not sure if this is accessing the GeForce FX 5200's MPEG encoder but it's smooth so I'm thinking it is. Either way, it works! Thanks a lot guys.

Reply 6 of 16, by BeginnerGuy

Posted on 2017-12-17, 19:18

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akula65 wrote:
The combination of your CPU and graphics adapter ARE far more than enough for DVD playback. You simply need to find a version of a suitable DVD playback application that is new enough to take advantage of the GeForce 5200 and old enough to still support Windows 98 SE. Older versions of Cyberlink PowerDVD and Intervideo WinDVD are two such commercial applications, but there are non-commercial applications that you can use as well. VLC is one such application (note that you need KernelEX or an older version of VLC from their FTP archive in order to use it with Win98 SE):

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

You may have been confused by references to Windows 98 DVD Player which is a Microsoft application that ships with the OS.

This is a super easy and reliable route IMO, I use KernelEX and vlc media player.. quick and easy.

BTW I get nice smooth playback on a Pentium III 800 + Geforce 3, so surely you'll do fine.

Sup. I like computers. Are you a computer?

Reply 7 of 16, by adultlunchables

Posted on 2017-12-17, 19:57

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Wait, what is KernelEX? I tried downloading and installing older versions and current versions of VLC and I can't install them in Win98SE, the older versions throw errors like "a device attached to your system is not functioning properly".

Reply 8 of 16, by MERCURY127

Posted on 2017-12-17, 19:59

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http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/175276-kernel … s-index-thread/

Reply 9 of 16, by BeginnerGuy

Posted on 2017-12-17, 20:03

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adultlunchables wrote:
Wait, what is KernelEX? I tried downloading and installing older versions and current versions of VLC and I can't install them in Win98SE, the older versions throw errors like "a device attached to your system is not functioning properly".

It allows you to run win 2000 / XP software on windows 98. This way you don't have to dig around on the net for older versions of VLC. It's nice to have anyway because it opens up the ability to use a ton of other programs you may be interested in using.

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Reply 10 of 16, by akula65

Posted on 2017-12-17, 21:09

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Version 0.8.6 of VLC should install and function properly on a Win98 SE system:

http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/0.8.6/win32/

Reply 11 of 16, by gdjacobs

Posted on 2017-12-18, 00:15

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akula65 wrote:
Version 0.8.6 of VLC should install and function properly on a Win98 SE system

/thread

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Reply 12 of 16, by oeuvre

Posted on 2017-12-18, 13:48

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For VLC in 9x, make sure you install unicows.exe first. Extract it to windows/system

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/deta … ls.aspx?id=4237

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Reply 13 of 16, by buckeye

Posted on 2017-12-18, 16:21

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Just for the record, a P3 450 with a diamond viper ultra 770 runs PowerDVD 6 fine on Win98 - not buttery smooth though. I too looked into decoder cards but figured since I got it working via software why bother going further with it.

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Reply 14 of 16, by schmatzler

Posted on 2017-12-18, 20:13

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K-Lite Codec Pack 3.4.5 should be enough to play all kinds of file formats directly in Windows Media Player.

It's the last version still supported by Windows 98/ME.

https://web.archive.org/web/20141116072239/ht … klcodec345f.exe

"Windows 98's natural state is locked up"

Reply 15 of 16, by Jo22

Posted on 2017-12-19, 00:35

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I believe it's possible to use at least 5.90 Mega via manual "installation", too.
It requires Win9x and KernelEx (compatibility mode has to be set to Windows 2000 SP4).
An earlier version must exist, and has to be overwritten by the 5.90 folder (retrieved from another PC or a VM).

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In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

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Reply 16 of 16, by gdjacobs

Posted on 2017-12-19, 05:54

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schmatzler wrote:
K-Lite Codec Pack 3.4.5 should be enough to play all kinds of file formats directly in Windows Media Player.

It's the last version still supported by Windows 98/ME.

https://web.archive.org/web/20141116072239/ht … klcodec345f.exe

Earlier versions of CCCP work, as well.

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