Computers & Networking

[Entropy]

Weird.

It sounds to me like it might be related to the production/encoding of the DVD content (MPEG-2 isn't exactly the "best" choice for animated material, but there is no other choice for a standard DVD.)

Do you have another computer you can try?

[Reika]

Nope, no other computer. I did try it on my TV; if there were lines, I couldn't see them, so it worked fine there.

[Entropy]

What kind of TV?  NTSC is pretty low resolution, if you used composite or S-Video it would have filtered out those lines since they're pretty subtle.

[Reika]

I don't remember the brand (we gave it away this morning, we didn't really need it). It was an off brand, a brand I've never heard of, though.

[Entropy]

Unless it was an HDTV, the reduced resolution of NTSC video likely filtered out the lines.  (If they were present in the source content, it's unknown but if two different players presented those lines in screenshots I'm guessing the source content is the issue.)

[Reika]

So is there anything I can do to make the lines disappear from my media player then?

[Entropy]

I'm not sure.  Try the DVDs on another laptop (or desktop, but it needs to have an LCD monitor using DVI or HDMI, an anlog monitor might filter some stuff out) and see if they're still there.

[inutel]

Hi,

The fact is that some of your DVD movies does not have the vertical lines when played is an indication that its probably the DVD source itself is the problem, if you can try the DVD to a different PC as Entropy has suggested above and replicate the problem, by then you can only be sure that this is really a DVD media issue.

Also why not rent several DVD movies or borrow from friends and see if the vertical line exist, you have to do a process of elimination here to get into the real problem.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Hey Reika,

While it’s possible that these discs may have been poorly mastered, it’s more likely that this is simply the result of your MPEG-2 decoder (media player) or copy protection. Visual artifacts from poor mastering, upconversion and large screen sizes usually manifest as chromatic aberration, data compression and purple fringing, so it’s highly unlikely that your hardware – or the discs themselves – are to blame for the grid-like pattern you’re seeing.

If using VLC did not solve the problem though you may wish to consider trying another third-party media player. Additional plug-in decoders are also available for Windows Media Player through Microsoft’s support website, but be forewarned that many are only available for a fee!

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx

Hope this helps you out.

[Entropy]

I did mention MPCHC + Combined Community Codec Pack before.  It seems to have a better rep in terms of playback quality than VLC.  (VLC is simple, standalone, and plays nearly anything though.)