Did I get the right version of SoftDVD?

[AlanOgilvie]

My G400 was included with my new system, so the card was a bulk, rather than a retail package. The suppliers shipped me the SoftDVD player software on an additional CD-R. I have recently seen folks mention that the DVD player supplied with the G400 is based on the Cinemaster player. I know the Cinemaster engine quite well (OK, so I know the names of the DLLs! :-), but I don't think the player I have uses this engine (and the jerky quality of DVD playback would seem to confirm this). Is it possible I have been shipped the DVD player which ships with the G200? The README file says:

SoftDVD 2.531_1.01 Standard
COPYRIGHT (c) Zoran Corporation, 1997-1998

Is this the correct player for the G400? It doesn't look like it!!


[This message has been edited by AlanOgilvie (edited 09-18-1999).]

[SC]

Looks like he cheated you! I have a G400 DH 32 BULK and of course I only got one CD, which contains drivers for Win9x and WinNT and the Matrox DVD Player (Divicore Software Cinemaster).

It sounds very strange that you got the SoftDVD on a CD-R (sounds like illegal software).

[LrngToFly]

Yes, Zoran was distributed only for the G200.

I don't think the OEM G400's come with a Matrox sanctioned DVD player, so you haven't truly been cheated.

You can find software Cinemaster on various websites. I haven't seen DVD Max around though (or is DVD Max included in Powerdesk?)

Anyway, here's a couple of sites to look around for various software DVD players:
http://www.dvdsoft.de/
http://www.dvdutils.com/

[AlanOgilvie]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I already discovered Software Cinemaster via those two sites, so I guess I don't *really* need the Matrox-sanctioned player... Or do I? What about DVD Max? I saw a couple of posts which indicated that this feature won't work if you replace the Matrox Cinemaster DLLs in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM with the versions which come with the standard Cinemaster 1.0.32 engine. I haven't even had the opportunity to try DVDMax yet, so I can't confirm this...

It is indeed strange that I received the drivers on one official Matrox CD (labled "Matrox Installation CD 20041"), but the DVD player on a newly-burnt CD-R. The supplier is quite reputable (one of the biggest direct suppliers in the UK), so I don't *think* there's any illegal acivity here. However "SC" received a single CD with his bulk card containing both the drivers *and* the player, so why didn't I..?

Perhaps I should check with my supplier. Thanks for your help, guys...