Hi,
You should know the ultimate mpeg2 card for dvd playing with a computer : The "hollywood +".
One of the best pictures for dvd playing ( with a s-vhs video outpout ) and a coaxial outpout for outing the dolby digital, dts and pcm sound.
But...
The drivers don't yet allow the card to out the dts sound of dts audio cd's. The card plays dts cd's as if they were basics audios cd's and doesn't out the signal throught the coaxial outpout.
it seems that Sigma designs, the constructor, don't care about the dts audio cd's playing.
If you want them to modify their drivers send them some mails asking the dts audio cd's supporting.
thanks a lot

Sigma Designs support center :
[email protected]

ps: scuse my english but i'm french

Some players just don't play DTS cds. My Sony wouldn't play them. My Toshiba SD-5109 does play them & HDCDs. I got the Police's greatest hits DTS cd & it sounds great. I'm not suprised your pc won't play them. I'd be suprised if it did. My question is, if you're listening to your dvds in DTS 5.1 sound, WHY are you watching them on a PC. I've got a 21" Trinitron monitor & it's just not the same. I looked at Bug's Life just to see what it looked like, but I'd never sit & watch a whole movie on the pc (also because I have a 65" Toshiba HDTV). Or if you're hooking your pc to your tv, don't you have to keep your computer pretty close to the tv. That and no remote would make me splurge on a regular dvd player. Since you're only using s-video (I guess thats what s-vhs is) & not Colorstream even a cheap player would produce the same results.

i'm not watching my dvd on the pc screen, the card as a s-vhs outpout witch is connected to my ( big ) tv ( 72 cm ). And all i can say is that the picture look better than most of the home dvd players.
It's a mpeg2 card not a simple software to play dvd with a pc.
I've already watch dts dvd ( i've got a technics sh-ac500d DD/dts processor and a technics Sa-ax720 amplificator 5*100watts ), with this hardware, watching a dvd with a computer is really the same thing than watching a dvd with a good home dvd player.

How close do you have to be to the tv? I've been wanting to try playing some of my games on my HDTV to see how they look, but it seems like a pain to move all the stuff so close to the tv. How long do they make the cords? I just got a new computer right before the HDTV & it's 700Mhz, 128MB RAM, with a 32MB video card that has an out for tv. The games look incredible on the 21" monitor, but I'd really like to see them on the HDTV. I guess I'd need a long extension for my keyboard & mouse also? On the other hand, when I watched part of Bug's Life on the pc, it just didn't look right. It looked too pixelated/blocky (yet still smooth somehow) during motion, which made it look more like watching an .mov file or something. Maybe they look better when you use the tv out. Did you try playing a DTS cd on your player yet? As a test before I got my new player, I tried playing the DTS audio-only bonus track on Eagles' Hell Freezes Over & the player wouldn't play it, it kept going back to the menu. My JVC-RX1028 receiver says it won't play DTS audio, however now that I got the progressive scan player it does (maybe the player's decoding it?). I can't figure out why a player that plays DTS w/ video couldn't play just DTS sound? I got 2 cds from Silverline (1 jazz, 1 classic) that have DTS & DD that have always worked because they added little slide shows during the music. The jazz sounds really great in DTS 5.1 with the horns. There aren't a whole lot of DTS cds out right now- although there's way more than the yet to be seen DVD-audio. The Police's greatest hits is definitely the one to get.

My TV is near my pc. My hollywood + card don't out what's on screen but only the mpeg files ( DVD and VCD ). So, it's like a home dvd player and the picture quality is far better than with a tv out of a graphic card.
I repeat, a good mpeg2 card is just like a expensive home dvd player no more no less ( it's the same hardware of uncompressing ).
My card don't allow to play dts cd's because it's not link to a mpeg file, but with a dts dvd the sound out throught the coaxiale sp/dif cable. Connected to my technics DD/DTS processor and then to a technics amplificator it sound really great.
There is a wrong idea that pc dvd playing is not as good home dvd playing but with a such hardware there is no difference ( my sound hardware isn't a pc one but a home dvd hardware : 5*100watts ), i've got 4 sony big home cinema speakers ( 150 watts each ), a JBL center speaker ( 100 watts ), then a yamaha subwoofer.
So PC or not the dts sound is unbelievable.
I've seen some home dvd players with a not as good picture ( tokay, sony, and some pionneer ). So, it's true looking a dvd without hardware card ( only in software : xing, powerDVD, ... )on a pc screen, with a 2.0 sound is really not as well as homme dvd playing but with a good harware, it's amazing.
I've never listen dts audio cd's but i've watch daylight in dts and really the DD is far behind in therm of quality, realism, and audio texture.
That's why i'm waiting for playing dt cd's..
the live is hard

Nope, the HW+ won't play DTS CD's. I don't know the specifics, but I do know the Sigmadesigns rep on their newsgroups has said so, that I remember. They do have a new card coming out offering component/progressive out, DD/DTS onboard decoding and the like, though I do not think this has been officially announced yet.

I really doubt that they'll add this to their current card, be it a driver limitation or hardware, but I'd bet they will add it or consider it for their new one. The current HW+ could have better downconversion of Anamorphic DVD's to 4:3 screens, but for 40 bucks you really can't top it.