Important Information About Apple DVD Software

This document contains important information about your Apple DVD software not included in the printed information you received with your DVD player or the Apple DVD Player Help. This includes information about compatibility with other products, tips for using the Apple DVD Player Controller, and troubleshooting.

Turning off virtual memory

Using the Apple DVD Player Controller

Delays starting a DVD disc

Using parental control

Continuing after the FBI Warning appears

Selecting language preferences

Leaving the DVD disc menus showing

Selecting disc menu options using the keyboard

Opening Apple DVD Player Help

Improving the viewing quality

Using the entire display

Connecting your computer to another monitor, television, or stereo receiver

Using external speakers

Turning off sleep

Receiving error messages while playing a disc

Compatibility issues for Power Macintosh G3 users

Turning off virtual memory

DVD discs play better with virtual memory turned off. If you have problems playing a DVD disc, try turning off virtual memory. To turn off virtual memory, use the Memory control panel.

Using the Apple DVD Player Controller

If a button on the Apple DVD Player Controller is not working as you expected, keep these points in mind:

• The Controller provides some features that DVD discs may not use.
• You can only use the Next Chapter, Previous Chapter, Scan Forward, Scan Backward, Step, and Slow Motion buttons while a disc is playing.
• You cannot navigate a disc while it is paused or stopped.

Delays starting a DVD disc

You may notice a short delay when you start playing a DVD disc because the drive is spinning up the disc.

Using parental control

Using the Preferences dialog box, you can set the Parental Control preference to any Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating: G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17. If a DVD disc supports the parental control feature, you cannot play the disc if its MPAA rating is for a more mature audience than the rating you selected in the Preferences dialog box.

If parental control is turned on, some DVD discs display a message to which you must respond to play the disc.

Some DVD discs may not play unless you set the Parental Control preference to the MPAA rating of the disc. For example, a G-rated disc may not play even though the Parental Control preference is set to PG-13. To play the disc, set the Parental Control preference to the rating of the DVD disc.

Continuing after the FBI warning appears

Some DVD discs use a still picture for the FBI warning. If a disc appears to pause when the FBI warning appears, press the Return or Enter key to continue playing the disc.

Selecting language preferences

Many DVD discs provide the soundtrack and subtitles in several languages. You can select the default language for the soundtrack and subtitles by choosing Preferences from the Edit menu.

Your default language preferences for the soundtrack and subtitles become effective when you start playing the disc again or when you quit and open Apple DVD Player again.

Because the soundtrack and subtitle languages provided on DVD discs can vary, the default language you select may not be available on a specific disc. In this case, use the disc's interactive menus to select a soundtrack or subtitle language.

Leaving the DVD disc menus showing

If you leave the interactive menus of a DVD disc showing for more than 10 minutes, you may need to start the disc again.

Selecting disc menu options using the keyboard

Some DVD discs do not support making selections in the disc's interactive menus using the mouse. Buttons in the disc's menus may not highlight when the mouse passes over them or they may not respond to mouse clicks. If you cannot use the mouse to make selections in a disc's menus, use the arrow keys to highlight a button, then press the Return or Enter key to select it.

Opening Apple DVD Player Help

If you have 32 megabytes (MB) of random-access memory (RAM) installed in your computer, you may need to turn on virtual memory to open the Apple DVD Player Help. To turn on virtual memory, use the Memory control panel.

Improving viewing quality

For the best viewing quality for your display, choose Normal Size from the Video menu.

If you choose Fill Screen from the Video menu, you may have acceptable viewing quality as well.

With widescreen titles, the black bars above and below the image are normal, even if you choose Fill Screen.

Viewing quality is optimized for screens that are 800 x 600 pixels or larger and display 256 or more colors.

If you are using a Power Macintosh G3 computer, choose the "Best for Video" option from the TV Mirroring portion of the Control Strip for the best display of DVD video on a television.

Using the entire display

To use the entire display to view a DVD disc, choose "Present Video on Screen" from the Video menu then choose Fill Screen.

If you are using a Power Macintosh G3 computer, choose the Overscan option from the TV Mirroring portion of the Control Strip to obtain the largest possible image on your television.

Connecting your computer to another monitor, television, or stereo receiver

DVD discs are designed to work only on your computer's display, or a television or NTSC monitor attached to the video output port on your computer. If your Macintosh has either an RCA (composite) or S-Video NTSC output port, you can display DVD discs on an external monitor or television that has a composite or S-Video input port.

Note: You need to provide the necessary cables to connect your computer to an external monitor or television.

The optimum resolution for viewing DVD video on a television is 720 x 480 pixels.

If you are using an external monitor, you cannot view the disc on both the primary and the external monitor at the same time.

Using external speakers

Because soundtracks for theatrical release movies are mixed for presentation in theaters, they have a wide dynamic range and the difference in volume between dialog and sound effects may be extreme. To fully appreciate the soundtrack of such a movie when viewing it on a DVD disc, you should use an external speaker system connected to the audio output port (stereo mini-jack) or, if available, the RCA audio jacks on your computer.

Note: You need to provide the necessary cables to connect your computer to external speakers or a stereo system.

You can control the volume of the audio output port using the DVD Controller or the Control Strip.

The RCA audio outputs are for use with a stereo receiver or other audio device with its own volume control. You cannot control the volume of the RCA audio outputs using the DVD Controller or the Control Strip.

You may find that stereo headphones connected to the audio output port provide an acceptable listening experience.

The audio output port (stereo mini jack) of the Macintosh can be connected to your TV or stereo receiver if it has audio input jacks.

Turning off sleep

If your computer goes to sleep while playing a DVD disc, the Apple DVD Player will quit when you wake up your computer. You must open the application again and start playing the disc from the beginning, not from where you left off when the computer went to sleep.

To prevent this, you may want to turn off sleep. To turn off sleep, open the Energy Saver control panel and move the option labeled "Put the system to sleep after it has been idle for" to Never.

Receiving error messages while playing a disc

DVD discs are susceptible to problems due to scratches, dust, and imperfections in disc manufacture. In addition, differences in disc authoring can result in errors in disc navigation. If you see an error message when playing a disc or experimenting with the features of a particular DVD disc, make sure the disc is clean and free of scratches. If you continue to see the same message, use the disc's interactive menus to select options.

In addition, some delay is normal when playing dual layer DVD discs if the disc changes to a track on a different layer.

Compatibility issues for Power Macintosh G3 users

If you are using a Power Macintosh G3 computer, you may experience compatibility problems between the Apple DVD-Video and Audio/Video Card and other hardware and software installed in your computer.

Apple Remote Access 2.1 software

Apple/Global Village modems can be slow to shut down with the Apple Remote Access 2.1 software. If the software is set to answer calls on a Apple/GV 56k modem, up to twenty seconds may be added to the time of a shutdown command. That delay goes up to over a minute if the modem is not installed.

Apple Telecom software

Installing Apple Telecom software for GeoPort/Express modems will remove the Internal Modem sound source option from the Control Strip. Removing the Apple Telecom software will not restore this option.

PlainTalk software

Apple's PlainTalk speech recognition software is not compatible with the Apple DVD-Video and Audio/Video Card.

Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products.

Updated June 29, 1998