M17x DVD Playback Issues on Win7

I cannot seem to get normal DVDs to play without decoding-ish errors (small blips and green strips that appear sporadically on screen). I've tried absolutely everything I could think of to fix the problem, without any luck. Has anyone else experienced something similar with the M17x?

I'm running Win7 Ultimate with all of the latest drivers, and the problem persists if I active the 9400M or my 280M SLI. I've tried playing multiple DVDs (all of which work fine in several other DVD players I have) in Windows Media Player, PowerDVD 9 Ultimate, and VLC. I've also tried installing the k-lite coded package and retesting the DVDs in all of the above players, still with no luck. I've also tried messing around with PowerDVD's settings to enable / disable HW acceleration, without any luck. Also, my Device Manager says that I have DMA enabled for ATA channels 0 and 1, but no DMA option is given for channels 2-5 (I sincerely doubt this is a DMA issue). I'm almost certain that the type of glitches I'm seeing during DVD playback are due to decoding errors, and it appears that at least WMP and PowerDVD use common Windows decoders, but I can't be sure, and I am unsure how to upgrade the decoders.. thoughts?

Other info which may be useful: I'm running the official RTM version of Win7 (not an RC), and I have a qx9300 CPU.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Did you apply the Windows 7 Patch to PowerDVD recently?

 

Some people swear by CODEC packs like K-lite. Others steer clear of them. Have you checked to see if your DVD player has a F/W update? Might want to check that first as Dell has posted a couple of F/W updates for W7.

CD/DVD F/W Updates for M17x

Video driver could also be an issue. Check the DVD F/W first...

 

I'm not sure which patch you're referring to; on PowerDVD's patch site ( http://www.cyberlink.com/downloads/support/powerdvd/patches_en_US.html), I have installed the most up-to-date- patch, but if there's a different one that I should try, I'd be all for it.

 

@BatBoy, I forgot to mention that installing the latest firmware update from Dell fails during the reflashing.. it gets about 1/4 of the way through and then says update failed, without any explanation or error code. This is for the BC-5600S 12.7mm SATA Slotload BD-Combo from OptiArc.

 

Could be an issue with your drive then. I would call Dell (they will send a replacement out to you). I have that same drive and was able to apply the F/W update without issue.

If it does end up being the drive, depending on your skill level, you may need a tech as well. You basically have to remove everything to get to the Optical Drive. See the service manual. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/M17x/

I would still try Marvie's idea as well - could be an issue with PDVD. Try reinstalling it and then seeing if it will notify you to download the patch or do it manually.

My gut tells me its the drive though - especially if you cant apply that F/W update.

 

Okay, thanks for the help.

 

Cyberlink PowreDVD Win 7 Patch