laptop, dvd, low audio

hi, I have a laptop with XP SP2 that came with a dvd player installed.
When I use media player classic to watch a dvd the audio is so low that
even with maxed out volume in control panel i can still barely hear the
sound from the dvd. my MP3s work fine in mpc, just not dvds. any ideas
why?

lrbtav wrote:
> hi, I have a laptop with XP SP2 that came with a dvd player installed.
> When I use media player classic to watch a dvd the audio is so low that
> even with maxed out volume in control panel i can still barely hear the
> sound from the dvd. my MP3s work fine in mpc, just not dvds. any ideas
> why?


How do they sound using a real dvd player program such as PowerDVD?

MPC is still a beta.

using "hp dvd play" pos software that came with this laptop yields the
same shitty sound output provided i ensure max volume is attributed to
both programs.

Is there a software solution that will force some sort of sound
amplification for my DVDs, or am i sol? Thanks

lrbtav wrote:
> using "hp dvd play" pos software that came with this laptop yields the
> same shitty sound output provided i ensure max volume is attributed to
> both programs.
>
> Is there a software solution that will force some sort of sound
> amplification for my DVDs, or am i sol? Thanks

The only other thing I can offer is try updating your sound drivers.

(from HP, of course)

A workaround would to be to put powered speakers into the audio out
plug.

lrbtav wrote:
> using "hp dvd play" pos software that came with this laptop yields the
> same shitty sound output provided i ensure max volume is attributed to
> both programs.
>
> Is there a software solution that will force some sort of sound
> amplification for my DVDs, or am i sol? Thanks
>

This is a pretty common complaint.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/archive.../t-455389.html

See 3.6.4 and 3.6.5 here. There is mention of a feature called
"dynamic range compression" or "midnight mode" in 3.6.2. That
may help bring up the level of quiet passages.

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

You can see a mention of a feature like that, for playback, here:

http://www.intervideo.com/jsp/Press.jsp?mode=05-08-2002

"Dolby Dynamic Range Compression: Listen to DVDs without bothering
the person next to you. WinDVD 4 reduces the dynamic audio range
of movies to improve audibility in noisy environments, like airplanes,
and to avoid bothering others in quiet settings – at night, for example."

According to this, certain kinds of audio CDs are suffering from
the exact opposite problem:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_race

Paul