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    Vostro 1500 stuttering sound from DVD - any suggestions?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by arklyn, Jan 9, 2010.

  1. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    I own a 2007 Dell Vostro 1500. For the last year or so, when we use it to watch DVDs, the speakers make this awful stuttering sound - kinda like static, I'm not sure how else to describe it. I've got Windows XP. I'd love any suggestions!

    Thanks.
     
    arklyn, Jan 9, 2010
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  2. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    Could be the amp for the speakers going out or busted speakers... have you tried updating the audio drivers? If you know if it's realtek or sigmatel... I can find you some new drivers.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Jan 9, 2010
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  3. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    Thanks for your quick response!

    I'm looking at the drivers list and we have the following:
    HL-D-ST-DVD+-RW GSA-T21N
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Audio Codecs
    Legacy Audio Drivers
    Media Control Devices
    Legacy Video Capture Devices
    Video Codecs

    I found the above by going to Control Panel, then Sounds & Audio Device Properties, then Hardware. When I highlighted SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC, it says the device is working properly.
     
    arklyn, Jan 9, 2010
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  4. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    H.A.L. 9000, Jan 9, 2010
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  5. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    What O/S are you using?

    Do you have any sidebar items (Vista and Win 7) that display/measure cpu usage or other metrics of your O/S? These could interfere with the sound driver and cause 'stuttering'. The same thing that CPUz does too (the latest one available).

    How much RAM do you have? Do you have integrated graphics? Can you change the amount of 'shared' RAM in your BIOS?

    Are you willing to increase your RAM (if you're not already at the notebook's limits)?
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jan 9, 2010
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  6. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    Thanks, XGX2007. I downloaded the driver and tried again, and still have the same problem. It sounds stuttery/staticky on both the speakers and my headphones, but only when watching a DVD. When I listen to music, no problems. Any other drivers I should try?
     
    arklyn, Jan 9, 2010
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  7. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    What DVD playing software are you using?
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Jan 9, 2010
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  8. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    MediaDirect - the Dell standard, I think.
     
    arklyn, Jan 9, 2010
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  9. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    Well, then we're narrowing it down then. Music doesn't stutter but movies do. Do cd's also stutter when played from the optical drive? If so you might could try a firmware update, or even try a different DVD player software.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Jan 9, 2010
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  10. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    CDs don't so do it - it's really just DVD's. Online video's fine, CDs, streaming audio, etc. Your suggestion of a different player is interesting; I'll try that out.
     
    arklyn, Jan 9, 2010
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  11. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    I tried using the Windows Media player just now and it said the following:

    "Windows Media Player cannot play this DVD because there is a problem with digital copy protection between your DVD drive, decoder, and video card. Try installing an updated driver for your video card."

    Weird. I was looking for freeware DVD players but don't know which are any good, etc.
     
    arklyn, Jan 9, 2010
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  12. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    Did your computer come with like Cyberlink PowerDVD or any kind of DVD playing software other than the Dell mediadirect?
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Jan 9, 2010
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  13. arklyn

    arklyn Newbie

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    Not that I can find. I tried using Windows Media player but when I inserted the DVD it said "Windows Media Player cannot play this DVD because there is a problem with digital copy protection between your DVD drive, decoder, and video card. Try installing an updated driver for your video card."
     
    arklyn, Jan 10, 2010
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  14. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    tilleroftheearth, Jan 10, 2010
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