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    PowerDVD

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by cavicster, Mar 15, 2006.

  1. cavicster

    cavicster Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hello.

    My E1705 is due any day now and I am curious about DVD playback. On my order confirmation, PowerDVD is listed but according to a Dell rep, it is only a 6 month trial. Is this true or is the Dell rep confused? This is hard to believe.

    BTW. The OS on my laptop is XP Pro and I intend to call and request the restore media.

    Thanks much.
     
    cavicster, Mar 15, 2006
    #1
  2. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    Unless they recently changed it, it is an OEM version - not trial version , so it will never go out of date. I think we don't have all of the functions of a full version, but i'm not sure.

    If you reformat your computer, you have to call dell and request the Cyberlink PowerDVD.
     
    Amber, Mar 15, 2006
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  3. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    i don't think it's a trial version (does powerdvd even have a trial version?). even if it was, there's a million excellent (and better than powerdvd) freeware players out there.
     
    drumfu, Mar 15, 2006
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  4. cavicster

    cavicster Notebook Enthusiast

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    Got any recommendations?
     
    cavicster, Mar 15, 2006
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  5. nathanhuth

    nathanhuth Notebook Evangelist NBR Reviewer

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    Yes. Thirty days, thirty mintes per.
     
    nathanhuth, Mar 15, 2006
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  6. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    Trial version is on their website.

    Personally I like PowerDVD but that is just me.
     
    Amber, Mar 15, 2006
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  7. Lil Mayz

    Lil Mayz Notebook Deity

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    Even if it is a trial version, does it really matter. Can't Windows Media Player handle DVD's perfectly. I unistalled the Dell Media Direct siftware that came with my inspiron. I'm not quite sure, but it's kinda odd that it is a trial version, did you pay for it? If you did, I think you should request the disc. My inspiron came with an OEM version, (full) of PowerDVD but that was a long time ago? 2000 or 2001? Can't remember.
     
    Lil Mayz, Mar 16, 2006
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  8. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    No, WMP can't handle DVDs. You have to have some kind of dvd decoder and that is what PowerDVD does. Like drumfu said, you can just get a free decoder off the web like WinDVD/Interactual
     
    Amber, Mar 16, 2006
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  9. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Personally use VideoLan. It works well and plays most anything.
     
    ZaZ, Mar 16, 2006
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  10. zerowind

    zerowind Notebook Geek

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    The latest PowerDVD is good. WinDVD allows you to make animated gifs from DVDs which is a fun feature.
     
    zerowind, Mar 16, 2006
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  11. sarathan

    sarathan Notebook Enthusiast

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    The PowerDVD version that was included with my E1705 was not a trial version. I think that rep is wrong!
     
    sarathan, Mar 16, 2006
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  12. cavicster

    cavicster Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for the feedback everyone. I talked to them again and it was a language barrier issue. "Trial" meant limited functionality OEM version.
     
    cavicster, Mar 16, 2006
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  13. Brando551

    Brando551 Notebook Enthusiast

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    You also will want to beat them over the head with your purchase price to cet a copy on disc... I forgot all about the codecs when I reformatted, and am still using the trial version until they send me a copy :(
     
    Brando551, Mar 20, 2006
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  14. mjpartyboy

    mjpartyboy Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm going to do a clean install, so have been making sure I have all the discs and the PowerDVD one arrived today from Dell, but the version on it is 5.5 and the factory installed version is 5.7. What's the difference? Can 5.5 be updated to 5.7 with downloads?
     
    mjpartyboy, May 13, 2006
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  15. bestco

    bestco Notebook Consultant

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    Not without paying I guess.

    The easier solution, just call Dell and tell them they sent you the wrong version of PowerDVD (you have 5.7 in your system), I'm sure Dell will send you the right one in a couple of days.

    Good luck.
     
    bestco, May 13, 2006
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  16. NissanSupraGTR

    NissanSupraGTR Notebook Evangelist

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    Quick Q: Where exactly do I request the cd with powerdvd on it?
     
    NissanSupraGTR, May 13, 2006
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  17. MarkMcK

    MarkMcK Notebook Evangelist

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    It was posted elsewhere recently that TH581 was the correct part number for PowerDVD 5.7

    hth

    Mark
     
    MarkMcK, May 13, 2006
    #17