Recommendations for DVD viewing software?

[leo8877]

Hey all, I just ordered a CD-RW/DVD ROM combo drive and I'm wondering what software I'll need to be able to watch DVDs.  I think the drive comes with something (It's OEM, so who knows), but I wonder if there's anything else out there that's rock-solid?  Any recommendations?

Edit:  Does WMP 10 do all of this anyway?

[stiffler]

I use the OEM version of PowerDVD, which came with something I bought.   It plays DVD's, and that's really all I was looking for.  It has all the features I could possibly want.  Seems to be the most popular bundle, so chances are this is what yours came with.

I don't know about WMP 10, but when I tried watching a DVD with WMP 9 it was a frustrating experience.

[disarm]

i've been using PowerDVD for several years now and it's the best i've found...works great and is loaded with features.  a lot of people also like WinDVD, but i gave that one a shot and wasn't as impressed.  either one of them will do a good job though...and i can just about guarantee that one of those two is what came with your drive.

[mori]

I use DirectDVD.  I prefer it to PowerDVD as far as features and stability goes.  But I did have a problem with it tonight trying to play Lost In Translation so I had to use *shudder* Media Player.  The other problem is you will probably have to pay for it while all the other players are bundled with something else you already have.

[dbt1949]

I bought PowerDVD about 6 months ago and have been happy with it ever since.

[Daehawk]

PowerDVD...I love it's frame capture hotkey for those..errr...special scenes.

[hitbyambulance]

Media Player Classic does it for free, if that's what you're looking for... and it's very stable.

[warning]

Media Player Classic does it for free, if that's what you're looking for... and it's very stable.

That's all I use.

[stiffler]

Media Player Classic does it for free, if that's what you're looking for... and it's very stable.

I was trying to use that myself (since I hadn't installed PowerDVD yet), but had trouble using the title/chapter navigation.  I was trying to watch Shrek 2 and it gave me all kinds of fits with the ads and stuff.  Might just be this particular movie, though.

I use MPC for everything else, but still haven't figured its DVD viewing out.  I guess I need to better review the docs/hotkeys.

[Rich in KCK]

I run AnyDVD in the background and use TheaterTek with FFDshow to view and upconvert the DVD picture to 1080i. I should note that I'm outputing the picture to my TV via a DVI/Component output adapter on my video card.   Zoomplayer is free but lacks a codec and is a pain in my opinion to get to run with FFDshow.  Also you need a lot of CPU to run these together.

With all of this running I now get to see HDTV DVD's.