XL302 BLU RAY PERFORMANCE ISSUES

[colneedham]

I've just purchased an XL302 which is connected to a Sony KDL-46X2000 TV via HDMI. I've applied the latest software updates through to today and have made no other changes to the system.

I'm disappointed with the blu ray playback performance across my entire collection of purchased discs. Playback is jerky at best and often stalls completely for upto a second on discs with high bit rates. The sound also drifts out of sync with the video too. Does anyone have any ideas on boosting the performance either by software or hardware upgrades? The system came with Windows Vista pre-installed.

Before starting WinDVD BD I already close down all other applications and I close as many of the utilities hiding in the system tray as possible. The outright pauses in playback appear to be the CPU hitting 100% utilisation, however, playback is not particularly smooth even on lower bit rate titles such as 'Flightplan (2005)' where the CPU usage mostly hovers around 40-50% in the opening scenes. The system is basically unwatchable as a blu ray player even though I'm by no means a perfectionist. I just want the discs to play smoothly.

Playback of standard DVDs via the Media Centre application are fine.

As well as performance improvement suggestions, it would be interesting to hear from other XL302 owners so I can understand whether this is just an isolated case or whether everyone is affected.

Aside from this issue, the machine is working great. I'm coming up to my 10th year of owning products in the VAIO range and would really like to stick with this system rather than have to dump it for a separate dedicated player and separate media centre PC.

Thanks in advance,

Col

[kee-lo_]

I know what you mean Col, all you want is a decent BD player with no stuttering.

Have you tried PowerDVD? My friend uses it instead of WinDVD and he's seen considerable performance from it. At first, the blu ray disks, especially with Tru-HD and high bitrates and uncompressed audio were very stuttery (well, there's a lot of decoding to go on), but now it works nicely.

[achster1]

Hey, I'm a new owner as well.
The Power DVD is a goodway to go, but do try these:

Update the HDMI driver FIRST
Update the NVIDIA driver via the NVIDIA website

Turn off Aero

SpeedBoost also helps (put a 2gb sd card in the front of the machine)

Hope this helps

[kee-lo_]

Turning off Aero is a good idea

[yons]

As well as performance improvement suggestions, it would be interesting to hear from other XL302 owners so I can understand whether this is just an isolated case or whether everyone is affected. 



I've got the same issues, and have been dealing with Sony support, but going back to an advised system recovery hasn't made any improvement with WinDVD BD playback. I'm desperate for some answers.

[andysp5]

Sorry to be ignorant, but what is Aero?

[jamesbramsdon]

Have you tried AnyDVD? There is a free demo version to download.

It is software which sits between the Drive and your DVD viewing software, and cuts out lots of the rubbish/copy-protection etc, allowing the movie to play smoother.

I use it with my external USB Xbox HD Drive to watch HDDVDs, and the CPU usage is now only 60% ish and very smooth. Without AnyDVD it was 99% and stuttering - almost unwatchable.

Cheers

[andysp5]

Somebody said Turn off Aero. What is Aero?

[FHB]

Aero is the name of the new glossy look of Windows Vista - the transparent window frames for example.
Basically, it's a desktop theme that defines how graphic elements like windows, buttons, etc. will look on the desktop.
These graphic effects are very demanding and might slow down the computer.

[yons]

Thank you JRB628, I've just downloaded the most recent Win DVD BD update, dated 3rd Jan 08, if that fails to improve both audio and video quality I'll try your suggestion.

Andy, Aero is automatically turned off when you select the Win DVD BD program, you should get a pop up alert advising that colours have been turned to basic mode (ie Aero OFF)