Overview, Regional Playback Considerations

DVD Software Support for Compaq Portables

Overview

NOTE:

DVD Express is only supported under Microsoft Windows 95 OSR-2 or Windows 98. Windows NT 4.0 is not supported, as this operating system does not include the native components necessary to support DVD. Playback of other multimedia video formats such as AVI and MPEG1 are supported under Windows NT 4.0 on Compaq Armada and Prosignia portables.

DVD, which stands for Digital Versatile Disc, is the next generation of optical disc storage technology. It's essentially a bigger, faster CD that can hold video as well as audio and computer data. DVD aims to encompass home entertainment, computers, and business information with a single digital format, eventually replacing audio CD, videotape, laserdisc, CD-ROM, and perhaps even video game cartridges. DVD has widespread support from all major electronics companies, all major computer hardware companies, and most major movie and music studios.

To meet customer requirements for a complete Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) solution, Compaq has chosen to augment the Armada and Prosignia family of notebook computers with DVD Express, a software playback solution. This industry leading software has been optimized for playback of MPEG2 (Motion Picture Experts Group specifications) encoded video clips as well as encrypted Hollywood DVD movie titles. Decoding digital MPEG2 video is accomplished through software only, eliminating the need for more expensive hardware. Although the software will function on Intel 233-266MHz Pentium

IIbased notebooks, playback quality is reduced since loss of video frames (video images look as though they’re skipping sections of the movie) during playback may occur. Software playback performance on platforms faster than Intel’s 300MHz PII processors may sustain 30 fps (Frames Per Second) on certain titles which approaches the quality of most hardware playback solutions.

DVD Express offers:

!A High performance software DVD player for the PC that:

•Supports DVD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and VideoCD formats

•DirectShow® compatible

•Contents Scramble System (CSS) enabled for Hollywood movie playback

•Decodes -

-MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video streams

-Sub-picture streams

-AC-3 (Dolby Digital®), MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-3, and normal CD audio

•Dolby Level C Certified

•True consumer-quality audio and video playback

•Significantly reduces cost of enabling PCs with DVD capability by avoiding the purchase of additional hardware components

•Backwards compatible to MCI (older MPEG2 formatted content) command set

•Optimized for MMX®-based processors

Regional Playback Considerations

Playback of Hollywood DVD movie titles involves decoding MPEG2 video, digital AC3 audio and decryption of CSS protected content. CSS (sometimes called copy guard) is the name given to the content protection scheme adopted by the motion picture industry to satisfy a need to protect against unlawful content duplication. DVD Express is able to read movie content encrypted using CSS, which obligates Compaq, as a licensor of CSS technology, to satisfy legal obligations embodied in the CSS license agreement.

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