I've got the i8600 with Hitachi screen WSXGA+ and the 64mb 4200 video card and have played the terminator 2 both regular and HD version without that issue. I did have a couple frame skips with the HD version but they do recommend a 128mb video card so I'll allow them that. I didn't have any skips with regular DVD version and no streaks with either.

I had the same problem with my i8600 and the same screen. Solved it by installing PowerDVD instead of the included WinDVD. Now I can enjoy full screen DVD with no hickups. I don't understand why WinDVD doesn't work properly.

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@dekkeh wrote:
I had the same problem with my i8600 and the same screen. Solved it by installing PowerDVD instead of the included WinDVD. Now I can enjoy full screen DVD with no hickups. I don't understand why WinDVD doesn't work properly.

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Same solution. Fiddling with powermizer also helped. It didn't like the Max Battery setting.

I have the exact same problem, which happens only when Powermizer is in battery saving mode. I noticed it the first day, so the first thing I did is install PowerDVD, which didn't make a difference, the problem was still there. The problem occurs while playing any video from any player, as long as the video is zoomed as wide as the screen. This is a hardware "overlay" problem on the GeForce FX 5650.

I got Dell to replace my 8600 with a brand new one, and the new one does the exact same problem! I have both laptop right in front of me and both doing the problem. I found it strange that Dell set Powermizer to full performance on battery, now I know why: Because that's the only way to avoid the lines problem!

This is not a solution, because with Powermizer set to full performance while playing a video file, the battery is discharged twice as fast. I got this laptop to be able to play video files or dvd's in the train/plane/etc, and obviously I need it to last as long as possible on the batteries (I have the modular battery as well).

Dell, DO SOMETHING!!!

I am having the same problem with my 8600. I was running on AC power, so I can't see how it has to do with the battery and powermizer. I have 1.6 Ghz, 5650, WSXGA screen. When I play the DVD, there are small horizontal lines. ONLY in fullscreen mode. Using both the supplied WinDVD, and the Friendly player that comes on the DVD movie. So far I have taken to just stretching the window to almost fullscreen, but then you have the annoying title bar and all that....

Will the new video driver they just released fix this?

I also have this problem with 2 laptops! Dell sent me a replacement because I noticed it 2 days after receiving my 1st one. If there isn't a solution soon, they're going to be sitting on 2 slightly used laptops.

 

A couple of times, the lines appeared all over my screen when I first turned it on, and once I burned a dvd and the screen was completely unusable. I'm guessing they are overdriving the video card and it's not meant for this resolution.

Put it in the balanced mode for powermizer, In all modes there is clock-gating, so technically the same amount of battery should be used. I also recommend speedswitchXP for making sure speedstep is configured properly (max perf. for AC, battery-optimized/Max battery for DC).

Ok, I just messed around with the Powermizer settings, and I see the WHOLE screen filled with horizontal lines when I move the slider down to Balanced. When I have it set to Max Performace, there are only about 4-5 horizontal lines tearing through stuff. The Speedswitch I installed didn't make any difference to anything. So if everyone else is seeing the HUGE horizontal breakup, you may be able to fix that with the Powermizer setting. But I still have some tearing when it is in fullscreen, and nothing I tried would fix it. Do you think the new video drivers would do anything or did they only fix the DOS prompt thing they mentioned in the notes?

 

 

Ok, and I just downloaded the trial version of PowerDVD. I no longer see the horizontal lines, but now the picture if sorta grainy....

What does this mean in terms of what the problem is, if software can stop it from happening?

BTW, PowerDVD doesn't enable hardware decoding by default. As soon as you enable it, you'll see the lines again. I was able to make them disappear in WinDVD by disabling the hardware also, but then the picture isn't as sharp.

The laptop I received today came with the latest drivers and firmware..same problem. 2 hours of stupid random guessing with Tech support didn't yield anything. They're going back while I reconsider where to locate my $2300 bucks. I have a 5 year old laptop that can play DVDs better. Unacceptable for their "multimedia machine"

Ack Phooey!

I only get those lines in max battery (powermizer) and originally didn't have them at all... wierd... You can just turn off hardware acceleration in powermizer to remove the lines.

Message Edited by Nerdtalker on 09-27-2003 01:32 AM

Ok, how do you turn off hardware acceleration in Powermizer? I have 2 sliders in my Powermizer menu. AC and Battery. Max performance, Balanced, or Max Power Savings... No matter what, if I lower the slider lower than max performance, i get the WHOLE picture full of horizontal white lines off the video. If I raise it to max performance, I get 4-5 white lines randomly....

That's what I see also.