Re: Can I watch DVDs on my old laptop?

There are USB capture devices available for under $50 (and, used, under $20). And that's what you will need, because your old Dell has only USB 1.x ports. So if the question is "can it be done", the answer is yes. But you won't like the results (video via USB 1.x is really bad. Recognizeable, but bad).

If you have a laptop with a DVD drive and a processor of about 400MHz or faster, you can play the DVD directly on the laptop, no external DVD player required. Machines with these specs became common in about 2000 to 2002.


Better_spread_than_dead wrote:

You're right, Justme, "compatible" is the wrong word. If they were
compatible, a simple USB cable from DVD player to laptop would do the
trick.

What I should have written is, "is it possible for my laptop to
recognize video input from an external DVD player. If this is in fact
possible, does my 6-yr old Dell meet the necessary requirements?

Through my research today I've found that it is definitely possible,
through something called a "video capture device". They're fairly
expensive though, not much less than a cheap TV. So it appears that
I'm better off just buying a TV and plugging the DVD player into that
with the standard video cables.

If anybody knows of an easier or cheaper or better way, please educate
me.

Thanks,
Nelson




Justme wrote:> "Better_spread_than_dead" <gerraf2002@xxxxxxxxx> wrote
in message

news:1157342368.316739.147710@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have a Panasonic DVD player (model DVD-S35) and a circa 2000 Dell
Latitude laptop running Windows 98SE. Are they compatible? If so,
what cables, drivers, etc. might I need to hook them up?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Nelson


You couldn't do that if the laptop was circa 2006. "Are they compatible"?
Ones a laptop and the other is a DVD player.


.

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