Introduction to DVD Playback
Zoom Player's strength when playing DVD content is its ability to mix and match audio/video decoders from different vendors and open-source projects and combine them with Powerful post-processing filters to provide the ultimate PC DVD playback experience.


Zoom Player supports three DVD Playback methods:

Standard
The standard method is the most simplistic (and unreliable) method of DVD Playback for Windows (used by Windows Media Player). It lets DirectShow (microsoft code) decide which audio/video decoders to use. It is very prone to failure or obscure errors and is only available in Zoom Player for compatibility testing. Do not use this method unless other methods fail. This method is identical to the method used by Windows Media Player to play DVDs.


Smart (Recommended)
This is the easiest and most reliable method to play DVDs. Simply point & click at the DVD audio/video components currently installed on your system.

Video Decoder
The Video decoder is the component used to decode DVD Video content. To configure the selected video decoder, press the little "C" button on the top-right corner of the decoder list. A recommended Video decoder is "DScaler". For more information on DVD decoder setup, click here.

Audio Decoder
The Audio decoder is the component used to decode DVD Audio. Most audio decoders provide the option to output the audio digitally though the S/PDIF or HDMI BitStreaming interfaces. To configure the selected video decoder, press the little "C" button on the top-right corner of the decoder list. A recommended DVD Audio decoder is the "DScaler" decoder or "AC3 Filter". For more information on DVD decoder setup, click here.

Audio Renderer
The audio device used for DVD playback. For more information on audio renderers, click here.

Video Renderer
The video rendering technology used for DVD playback. For more information on video renderers, click here.

Additional Filters
DVD Smart Playback provides a powerful method to post-process the DVD's audio/video. The 'additional filters' interface is used to specify post-processing filters (components) to enhance the audio/video experience (scaling, sharpening, noise-reduction, etc). Please note that some filters may be incompatible with all Audio and Video Decoders. When Playing a DVD, Zoom Player will inform you of any filter conflicts preventing DVD playback.

DVD Navigator Filter
Zoom Player allows you to select the DVD Navigator filter. The Microsoft DVD Navigator filter is considered the most stable and reliable, but other filters are provided as an option.

Set Video Color Space
Selecting the Video Color Space may conserve a bit of CPU power, fix contrast-range issues and possibly even correct some color tinting problems. Only use this setting if you are experiencing visual issues.

Disable Internal Audio DSP
While Zoom Player can run its Equalizer DSP on the DVD Audio, its not recommended. As such, the "Disable Internal Audio DSP" setting is enabled by default (preventing the Equalizer, PreAmp and Re-Sync DSP modules from working when playing DVD content).

Hide unregistered decoder profiles
By default, Zoom Player only lists decoder profiles that are currently registered with Windows. Unchecking "Hide unregistered decoder profiles" will list all profiles, including ones that are not currently installed.

Verify Selected Setup
The 'Verify Selected Setup' button double checks if the selected filters (decoders/renderers) are properly registered with Windows.

Register Selected Filters
The 'Register Selected Filters' button is only useful when the "Hide unregistered decoder profiles" checkbox is unchecked. With all profiles listed, clicking on the 'Register Selected Filters' button causes Zoom Player to scan your system for the filter files associated with the selected profile and register the files with Windows. Please note that OEM versions (custom-built versions for specific computer vendors) of some decoders may be installed on your system but unrecognized by Zoom Player.


Manual DVDGraph Profile
Manual DVD Graphs provides a method for manually creating DVD Graphs. Creating new DVD graph files is complex and the reason this method was superseded by the "Smart Play" method. There should be no reason to use this interface. It is only being included for backward compatibility.


See Zoom Player's Frequently Asked Questions for more information on DVD playback.