PowerBook G3 and DVD module

[Perry]

What's the oldest model of the PowerBook G3 that can accept a swappable
DVD drive module (I'm assuming it would need the related DVD decoder PC
Card in order to play back movies on the PB's LCD screen) ?

I was contemplating purchasing a PowerBook G3 Series II (233 MHz) and just
wondering if I could add a DVD module to this thing...

best regards,
Perry

[JiP]

in artikel [email]emailmunged-0407031143250001@wnpgmb01bby-ac03-p11-134.mts.net[/email]
schreef Perry op [email]emailmunged@nospam.none[/email]t op 04-07-2003 18:43:

> What's the oldest model of the PowerBook G3 that can accept a swappable
> DVD drive module (I'm assuming it would need the related DVD decoder PC
> Card in order to play back movies on the PB's LCD screen) ?
>
> I was contemplating purchasing a PowerBook G3 Series II (233 MHz) and just
> wondering if I could add a DVD module to this thing...
>
> best regards,
> Perry

Yes, it works in a 233 G3 powerbook as well in the wallstreet I as it does
in the II, I have tried them both.

Johan

[Perry]

In article <BB2BA492.1BB35%jip-frl@wanadoo.nl>, JiP <jip-frl@wanadoo.nl> wrote:

> Yes, it works in a 233 G3 powerbook as well in the wallstreet I as it does
> in the II, I have tried them both.
> Johan

I assume you need the Apple DVD (MPEG) decoder card in one of the PC Card
slots in order to actually watch the DVD then? Or am I mistaken, is that
just so one can watch the DVD playback on the PB's LCD screen, instead of
external monitor?

best regards, Perry

[Dan Geer]

Be warned that a G3 PB cannot play DVDs while running OS X;
this is a policy decision at Apple. It is frustrating as
their original declaration was that the G3s running OS X
would have drives, so I bought a $400 aftermarket DVD drive
for my daughter. I also bought OS X versions of the video
software she needed as a film student. She now has to reboot
(swapping 9.x for 10.x) about 20 times a day.

--dan

[Watt]

Dan Geer wrote:

> Be warned that a G3 PB cannot play DVDs while running OS X;
> this is a policy decision at Apple. It is frustrating as
> their original declaration was that the G3s running OS X
> would have drives, so I bought a $400 aftermarket DVD drive
> for my daughter. I also bought OS X versions of the video
> software she needed as a film student. She now has to reboot
> (swapping 9.x for 10.x) about 20 times a day.
>
> --dan
>

This is certainly frustrating. AFAIK it has to do with the specific
video card + hardware DVD decoder in the Lombard being unsupported in X
(the Pismo aka Firewire G3 PBs can play DVDs in OS X - newer video card
+ software decoding). Since support for DVD playback did eventually come
to towers of similar vintage to the Lombard (and which also had hardware
decoding), I wonder if there's a hack to enable it? Or is there some
slim chance of support finally appearing in Panther?

Anyone?

(This is a relatively minor issue for me. I simply leave the PB in OS 9
because almost all it's used for now is DVD playback and TV via iRez,
which will likely never have an OS X driver.)

[Paul Fuchs]

Watt <watt@knott.house> wrote:

> Dan Geer wrote:

> > Be warned that a G3 PB cannot play DVDs while running OS X;
> > this is a policy decision at Apple. It is frustrating as
> > their original declaration was that the G3s running OS X
> > would have drives, so I bought a $400 aftermarket DVD drive
> > for my daughter. I also bought OS X versions of the video
> > software she needed as a film student. She now has to reboot
> > (swapping 9.x for 10.x) about 20 times a day.
> >
> > --dan
> >

>
> This is certainly frustrating. AFAIK it has to do with the specific
> video card + hardware DVD decoder in the Lombard being unsupported in X
> (the Pismo aka Firewire G3 PBs can play DVDs in OS X - newer video card
> + software decoding). Since support for DVD playback did eventually come
> to towers of similar vintage to the Lombard (and which also had hardware
> decoding), I wonder if there's a hack to enable it? Or is there some
> slim chance of support finally appearing in Panther?
>
> Anyone?
>
> (This is a relatively minor issue for me. I simply leave the PB in OS 9
> because almost all it's used for now is DVD playback and TV via iRez,
> which will likely never have an OS X driver.)

I find that the DVD player in OS X works much better than the OS 9 one
in my Pismo. Know this doesn't help with your Lombard problem, but not
all G3 PB's have this problem.
--
Paul Fuchs
paulfuchs-at-attglobal-dot-net
Sitting on a small rock (St. John) in the Caribbean

[Watt]

Paul Fuchs wrote:

> Watt <watt@knott.house> wrote:

>>(the Pismo aka Firewire G3 PBs can play DVDs in OS X - newer video card
>>+ software decoding).

>
>
> I find that the DVD player in OS X works much better than the OS 9 one
> in my Pismo. Know this doesn't help with your Lombard problem, but not
> all G3 PB's have this problem.

Yes, I know :) And I prefer the OS X player as well...on my iMac. It
can play discs that the 1.x series players (for OS 8.6-9.x on Lombard)
routinely choke on, and do neat things like play from a video_ts folder
located on the hard drive.

While it'd be nice to have my old PB fully OS X aware, I bet that Apple
looked at the following:

Number of Lombards still in service

Number of those which are the user's primary/sole DVD player

Number of those whose users could be expected to buy an OS X license for
that machine and use it for DVD playback.

....and concluded that it wasn't worth the trouble of fully supporting
what is an oddball (or transitional, if you will) machine. Although it
affects me personally, I have to admit that the logic makes sense,
especially if the final number is, as I suspect, not even in the five
figures.

[Watt]

Brian Moore wrote:

> I have the Wallstreet DVD kit. Sounds like the same deal as the Lombard.
> For some reason, it forgets its region setting each time the computer's shut
> down or the PC card's removed and reinserted. I don't use OS X on it, so OS
> X DVD playback's not an issue to me. Any idea why it seems to forget the
> region setting? Could the PC card be damaged?
>

I don't know the answer to your question, but I can tell you the
Lombard's a completely different ball game. The 400 MHz model had
on-board hardware decoding and shipped with a DVD-ROM module, no PC card
required. The 333 MHz model had CD-ROM only and no on-board decoder,
though I've heard of people playing DVDs on them by using a
Wallstreet-style PC card setup.

> Brian Moore
>
> On 7/18/03 7:14 AM, in article kfFRa.18859$vM4.6425@nntp-post.primus.ca,
> "Watt" <watt@knott.house> wrote:
>
>

>>Paul Fuchs wrote:
>>

>>>Watt <watt@knott.house> wrote:

>>

>>>>(the Pismo aka Firewire G3 PBs can play DVDs in OS X - newer video card
>>>>+ software decoding).
>>>
>>>
>>>I find that the DVD player in OS X works much better than the OS 9 one
>>>in my Pismo. Know this doesn't help with your Lombard problem, but not
>>>all G3 PB's have this problem.

>>
>>Yes, I know :) And I prefer the OS X player as well...on my iMac. It
>>can play discs that the 1.x series players (for OS 8.6-9.x on Lombard)
>>routinely choke on, and do neat things like play from a video_ts folder
>>located on the hard drive.
>>
>>While it'd be nice to have my old PB fully OS X aware, I bet that Apple
>>looked at the following:
>>
>>Number of Lombards still in service
>>
>>Number of those which are the user's primary/sole DVD player
>>
>>Number of those whose users could be expected to buy an OS X license for
>>that machine and use it for DVD playback.
>>
>>...and concluded that it wasn't worth the trouble of fully supporting
>>what is an oddball (or transitional, if you will) machine. Although it
>>affects me personally, I have to admit that the logic makes sense,
>>especially if the final number is, as I suspect, not even in the five
>>figures.
>>

>
>
>
> Sent using the Entourage X Test Drive.
>