RAMMSTEIN DVD

LIVE AUS BERLIN (DVD) - Troubleshooting

1. The Basics

2. Starting the DVD
2.1. Under Windows
2.2. Under MacOS

3. Possible snags during the start-up procedure (Windows)
3.1. DVD does not start
3.2. Start-screen appears but...
3.3. Directory appears and not the start-screen

4. System Requirements
4.1. Windows
4.2. MacOS

5. More about DVD and Computers
5.1. General
5.2. About Windows
5.3. About MacOS
5.4. About software decoders
5.5. About hardware decoders
5.6. About DVD-computers and TV

1. The Basics

This RAMMSTEIN DVD has two parts to it: 1) a DVD-Video section (which can be viewed on a TV-set hooked up to a normal DVD-Player); and 2) a DVD-ROM section (which can be viewed via computer/monitor, and which under Windows starts up automatically (provided that the Windows AutoStart facility has not been deactivated!).
The DVD-ROM section for computer also has two parts to it: 1) the DVD-Video; 2) the "RAMMSTEIN fancontest". This DVD-ROM section can be played on both Windows and Macintosh computers. (See: 4. System Requirements)

Here now are some basic troubleshooting steps to help you track down problems such as jerky playback, pauses, error messages, etc. Please ensure that you are using the latest drivers! Driver bugs are the most frequent cause of playback problems, ranging from freezes to bogus error messages, e.g. regional codes. Visit the Support section on the websites of your equipment manufacturers and, if necessary, download the latest DVD-decoder drivers as well as the latest driver for your graphics card. Before starting the DVD, any other active programmes should be closed down. If you are using a SCSI DVD-ROM drive, it must be the first or last device in the SCSI chain. If the last, make sure it is terminated. Under Windows, DMA (Direct Memory Access) must be turned on. (Go to the System Properties Device Manager, select CD-ROM, open the CD/DVD driver properties, select the Settings tab, and make sure the DMA box is checked.)

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2. Starting the DVD

2.1. Windows
Close down all other active programmes as far as possible, and deactivate any network access to your computer. Place the RAMMSTEIN DVD in the DVD drive. It should start automatically. If, however, the AutoStart facility has been deactivated, please start the DVD program "Start.exe" yourself.

2.2. MacOS
Close down all other active programmes as far as possible, and deactivate any network access to your computer. Place the RAMMSTEIN DVD in the DVD drive. The DVD icon will appear on the Desktop.
Since there is no satisfactory way of creating a MacOS file in HFS format on a DVD-9 at the moment, it is not possible to start the program directly from the DVD. Even so, the
DVD comes with all the files necessary for playing both the DVD-Video and DVD-ROM sections. All that is missing is simply a "runnable" program that calls up and starts these files.
There are two possible workarounds:
1) Simply start your DVD-player software (most likely "Apple DVD-Player" to be found under Utilities), and the DVD-Video section will start. This procedure does not, however, bring you to the DVD-ROM section, with its "RAMMSTEIN fanontest".
2) In order to access the DVD-ROM section, you can download the DVD-Launcher from this website. With the DVD already inserted in the drive, start this program and you then have full access to both the Video and ROM sections of this DVD.

DOWNLOAD: "RAMMSTEIN DVD-launcher 1.0" (1,7 MB, MAC-ONLY)
...must be decompressed with StuffIT Expander.

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3. Possible snags during the start-up procedure (Windows)

3.1. DVD does not start after putting it into the ROM drive.
> Check that your computer’s configuration complies with the System Requirements (See 4.).

3.2. After putting the DVD ibto the DVD-drive the RAMMSTEIN start screen appears but...

a. Pressing the "Video" button has no effect.
> Check if a DVD-Player is installed. If so, start the DVD-Player from the Windows Start menu.

b. Pressing the "Video" button produces an error message such as "No DVD player installed".
> Press "Return" or any key and check if a DVD player is installed. If so, start the DVD player from the Windows start menu.

Please note: Particular workarounds may depend on whether you have hard- or software players installed. For detailed information refer to: 5. More about DVD and Computers

3.3. After putting the DVD ibto the DVD-drive, the Directory appears instead of the RAMMSTEIN start screen. In this case, doubleclick the icon "Start.exe".
> If the start screen appears, then refer to 3.2.
> If still nothing happens, then refer to 3.1.

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4. System Requirements

4.1. Windows
Windows 95/98/NT
Pentium 100 MHz
12 MB of free RAM
DVD-drive
Minimum 16-bit graphics (high colour)
16-bit sound (SoundBlaster compatible)
QuickTime 3/4

Additions for DVD-Video playback:
a. Hardware-based playback: MPEG-2 decoder with Player software
b. Software-only playback: Pentium II 300 MHz, DVD-video Player software (e.g. "ATI DVD Player")

4.2. MacOS
System 7.5
PowerPC 90 MHz
12 MB free RAM
DVD-drive
Minimum16-bit graphics (32,768 colours)
QuickTime 3/4

Extras required for DVD-Video playback:
System 8.1 (MacOS 8.1 or later can read UDF [Universal Disc Format] discs. Adaptec provides a free utility, "UDF Volume Access", that enables MacOS 7.6 or later to read
UDF discs.)

a. Hardware-based playback: MPEG-2 decoder with Player software
b. Software-only playback: PowerMac G3 266 MHz, DVD-Video Player software (e.g. Apple DVD-Player)

Please note: The QuickTime MPEG Extension for MacOS is for MPEG-1 only and cannot play MPEG-2 DVD-Video.

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5. More about DVD and Computers

5.1. General
You need software that can read the MicroUDF file system format used by DVDs. In addition to a DVD-ROM drive, you must have extra hardware to decode MPEG-2 video and Dolby Digital audio, or your computer must be fast enough to handle software decoding. Decent software-only playback requires a 300-MHz Pentium II or a G3 Mac.
Certain MPEG decoding tasks such as Motion Compensation and IDCT (Inverse Discrete Cosine Transformation) can be performed by additional circuitry on a video graphics card, improving the performance of software decoders. This is called hardware-decode acceleration or hardware-motion comp.
DVD-player applications (using either software or hardware decoding) are virtual DVD-players. They support most DVD-Video features (menus, subtitles, etc.) and emulate the functionality of a DVD-Video-player remote control. Many player applications include additional features such as bookmarks, chapter lists, and subtitle language lists.

5.2. About Windows
Microsoft Windows 98 includes DirectShow 5.2, which provides standardized support for DVD-Video and MPEG-2 playback. DirectShow can also be installed under Windows 95. (DirectShow 6.0 is available for download.) DirectShow provides a standardized framework for DVD playback, but a third-party hardware or software decoder is still required. Windows NT 4.0 supports DVD-ROM drives for data, but has very little support for playing DVD-Video discs. Margi DVD-To-Go, Sigma Designs Hollywood Plus, and the related Creative Labs Dxr3 are among the few hardware decoders that work under NT 4.0. InterVideo WinDVD software also works under NT 4.0 (Mediamatics DVD Express and MGI SoftDVD Max also work under NT 4.0, but are not available retail.) Windows 2000 uses essentially the same WDM drivers and DirectShow software as Windows 98, so it will support movie playback and DVD applications.

5.3. About MacOS
Some models in the Macintosh PowerBook and G3 range can be ordered with DVD-ROM drives and hardware decoders. DVD-ROM upgrade kits and decoder cards for Macs are made by, for example, EZQuest (BOA Mac DVD), Fantom Drives (DVD Home Theater Kit: DVD-ROM or DVD-RAM drive with PCI MPEG-2 card), and Wired (Wired 4DVD, Sigma EM8300 chip, which is the same card as the Hollywood plus, MasonX).

5.4. Software Decoders
Software decoders and DVD-player applications for Microsoft Windows PCs are made by CyberLink (PowerDVD), InterVideo (WinDVD), Mediamatics (DVDExpress), MGI (SoftDVD Max, formerly from Zoran), NEC, Odyssey, Ravisent – formerly Divicore, formerly Quadrant International – (Software CineMaster), Varo Vision (VaroDVD), Xing
(Xing DVDPlayer), and others. The only software decoders available for retail purchase are PowerDVD, WinDVD, Odyssey DVD Player, and Xing DVDPlayer; the others are bundled with OEM DVD-PCs. A special low-cost version of the CineMaster software decoder is available for download from the ATI web site for use with ATI video cards. CyberLink and Odyssey decoders do not yet support DirectShow.
Software decoders require at least a 233 MHz Pentium II and an IDE/SCSI DVD-ROM drive with bus-mastering DMA to achieve about 24 frames/sec film rates, or require over 350 MHz for 30 frames/sec video (NTSC). An AGP video card and hardware video acceleration improve the performance of software decoders.

5.5. Hardware Decoders
Hardware decoder cards and DVD-ROM upgrade kits for Microsoft Windows PCs are made by Creative Technology (PC-DVD Encore Dxr3, Sigma EM8300 chip; PC-DVD Encore Dxr2, C-Cube chip), Digital Connection (3DFusion, Mpact2 chip), E4 (Elecede) (Cool DVD, C-Cube chip), IBM (ThinkPad laptops, IBM chip), LeadTek (WinFast 3D S800, Mpact2 chip), Margi (DVD-To-Go, ZV PC card for laptops), QI (Hardware Cinemaster, C-Cube chip), Sigma Designs (Hollywood series, Sigma EM8300 chip), Samsung (Revolution, Samsung SD 606 6x, Sigma Hollywood Plus card), STB (DVD Theater, Mpact2 chip), Toshiba (Tecra laptops, Toshiba chip), and others. Sigma Designs' decoder card is used in decoder upgrade kits from Hitachi, HiVal, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, and Toshiba. The advantage of hardware decoders is that they do not eat up CPU processing power, and they often produce better quality video than software decoders.

5.6. DVD-computers and TV
Unfortunately, even though computers have the potential to produce better video than set-top DVD-Video players by using progressive display and higher scan rates, many current systems do not look as good as a home player hooked up to a quality TV. If you want to hook up a DVD-computer to a TV, the decoder card or the VGA card must have a TV output (composite video or s-video). Alternatively, you can connect a scan converter to the VGA output. The quality of the video will depend on the decoder, the TV encoder chip, and other factors, but will usually be somewhat inferior to a good consumer DVD player. The RGB output of the VGA card in computers is at a different frequency than standard component RGB video, so it cannot be directly connected to most RGB video monitors.

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