Every so often I download a new movie to watch either in the Theatre room, or on the TV via HDMI or even on the laptop. The last few have given me grief as they have audio, but it is really faint. We thought at first was something with one of the outputs or drivers, but then when I looked back at some previous movies they didn't have this issue.
So it seemed that it wasn't the laptop but something with the downloaded video. When you look at how they are recorded there are various audio and video formats used. I have come to learn that codecs often hold the secret to success. I updated my XVid Codec but to no avail. Then in looking through the properties I realized the Audio codec was AC3 Filter. I searched for this codec, installed it and walla! Great sound again.
We watched the movie Thor and I liked it. Sure it was kind of cheezy, but entertaining for me. I am a sucker for a good action movie, and I like when a super hero saves the day. Ok..hunky dood with a magic hammer, but hey, what's not to like!?
Our current system of gathering movies to watch is not all that great. I currently burn them to play downstairs. Plus our dvd player seems to have a habit of stopping a movie near the end. I could be making things up but it seems to be any movies over 1.5gbs. Thor was 1.7 and the last time watching the terrible Tales of an Ancient empire it puked it out as well. Although in that case it was a bit of a god send. I am not sure how much more we could have watched the vampire chicks with the terrible dollar store teef!
So there is always some new challenge keeping up with technology, but it is always nice to figure something out, especially when the solution is free.
I do have a suggestion, it does cost a few dollars though but is useful in many ways. Get a BluRay player that has a USB and Wireless access. I've been downloading movies in MKV format, typically a BluRay rip. Keeps the 1080P resolution and sound is awesome. I just download the movies to a USB stick and connect that USB stick to the BluRay player and without fail it works. This is what I got. http://www.amazon.ca/Sony-BDP-S580-Blu-ray-Player-Black/dp/B004YXE9AQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1315451228&sr=8-5
ReplyDeleteThanks Shaun for the recommendation, something like that sounds great. My current method is getting kind of old school and its a waste to burn dvds.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite character from Tales of an Ancient Empire was the staring girl. We really learned a lot about her and got deeply in to her back story through her constant staring off in to the distance at stuff.
ReplyDeleteHunky dood with a magic...ahem...hammer...just what kind of movie were you watching?
ReplyDeleteI think she was staring off into the distance because she was looking for her top. I think it was cold out and she needed to cover her vampire boobs!
ReplyDeleteMy own solution for years now has been a dedicated media pc. It's not perfect because, well... computers crash, and suck in all sorts of unpredictable ways. But unlike a DVD player, it doesn't require a firmware update or some crazyness to play a new format, a computer can always do anything (well.... an old computer can't play 1080P but other than that)
ReplyDeleteNot saying its the best solution, and its certainly not the free-ist, but that's what I do :)