Adobe Encore DVD: In the Studio

Playing DVDs

OK, enough postponing the main event: it’s time to actually play the DVD. In this section, we’ll cover three different tools: Microsoft’s Windows Media Player 9, CyberLink PowerDVD, and InterVideo WinDVD. These provide different features to explore the disc, play its content, navigate the menus, and view alternate audio and subtitle streams. While exploring these three players, however, we will discuss the structure of a typical DVD.

Warning

Be sure you have the latest version of Windows Media Player. To check your version of Windows Media Player, select Help → About, and look for at least version 9.0. To update an older version, select Help → Check for Player Updates, or use the Windows Update feature of Internet Explorer (Tools → Windows Update). For more about Windows Media 9 series technology and tools, see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia.

Windows Media Player

First, let’s start up Windows Media Player for Windows XP. You can typically find this in All Programs → Accessories → Entertainment → Windows Media Player. This software, which either comes with your operating system or is freely downloadable from Microsoft Windows Update, provides a nice interface for playing commercial DVDs. In reality, however, Windows Media Player is much more than this. Windows Media Player is a kitchen-sink tool for organizing and playing digital media, including ripping and burning audio CDs, downloading to portable devices, and searching, playing, and renting clips over the Internet. ...