Netflix/Video Driver help

[Lynchmeister]

Hey Guys,

Well I'm now thoroughly enjoying the DVD mailer aspect of Netflix, but haven't yet been able to take advantage of the instant play movies on my PC. The problem appears to be my video driver...sound familiar Rich and Chip?

Anyways, I have a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop and am looking for suggestions on a reputable place online to download a free video driver for my laptop (if such thing as a free downloadable video driver upgrade exists).

Thanks much!

[moses]

Cory,

Are you trying to do this in windows, or linux?

[RichGem]

Corey,

I can't even imagine what you mean by a video driver problem .

My first stop for an update would be the card manufacturer's website, followed (if needed) by the Dell website. Then, last resort, a google search.

Actually, try the Dell site first, then the manufacturer's.


Good luck!

[DarkCanuck]

Here is a link for drivers.

[analog_kid]

You mean they actually have stuff worth watching online? Last I checked the pickings were pretty slim.

As for the video problem, I personally have never had an issue, but it seems like every time I do find something worth watching online, they have a upgrade for their software that you have to download. You may want to check the site to see if you can get a roll-back codec to download from Netflix if you are sure the problem isn't on your end. If you are running Windblows, you might want to try updating media player.

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by moses

Cory,

Are you trying to do this in windows, or linux?

Good question. I'm using windows.

[DarkCanuck]

Also, if it's playback issues i'd suggest you try VLC Player.

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by DarkCanuck

Also, if it's playback issues i'd suggest you try VLC Player.

Yes, it seems to be a playback issue. I'm getting just a green screen. Eventually an error came back saying it was probably a video driver issue, but I just downloaded one from Dell and that didn't seem to fix the problem.

I'll check out this link now. Thanks.

[moses]

Originally Posted by DarkCanuck

Also, if it's playback issues i'd suggest you try VLC Player.

That's a great player, but not gonna work for Netflix instant watching, which is the issue.

For that, you HAVE to be in Windows, HAVE to be using IE, and HAVE to use the latest version of Windows Media Player. I'm pretty sure there is no other way. (Well, possibly if you could get IE and WMP to work in an emulator running in Linux....)

So, before fighting too long on the driver issue, I would suggest making sure you have the latest upgrades for IE, and have upgraded to Version 11 of WMP. Also, if you are using a 64 bit version of Windows, you need to be using the 32 bit IE, not the 64 bit.

Oh, if it is a driver problem, and the driver from Dell did not work, do you know what the actual video card is? Not sure about Dell, but my IBM laptop, for example, uses and ATI card. So, if you can find out the maker and model number of your graphics card, then go to their website and download the latest driver for it. Might be more current than what Dell has published.

-Mo

[analog_kid]

Originally Posted by Lynchmeister

Yes, it seems to be a playback issue. I'm getting just a green screen. Eventually an error came back saying it was probably a video driver issue, but I just downloaded one from Dell and that didn't seem to fix the problem.

I'll check out this link now. Thanks.

Are you getting sound? Have you tried the easy stuff like dumping the chache?

[rabidpotatochip]

I think Mo pretty much covered all the things I was going to say. You may have to install some DRM updates for WMP as well, they usually show up in the Windows Update list.

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by analog_kid

Are you getting sound? Have you tried the easy stuff like dumping the chache?

Actually, yes. During the last attempt, I did get sound, which was a new development.

As far as the latest versions of this and that...to be honest, I have no clue what I'm running as I use Firefox exclusively for web browsing. I'll look for the updates.

First, I'll dump the cache, though.

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by moses

That's a great player, but not gonna work for Netflix instant watching, which is the issue.

For that, you HAVE to be in Windows, HAVE to be using IE, and HAVE to use the latest version of Windows Media Player. I'm pretty sure there is no other way. (Well, possibly if you could get IE and WMP to work in an emulator running in Linux....)

So, before fighting too long on the driver issue, I would suggest making sure you have the latest upgrades for IE, and have upgraded to Version 11 of WMP. Also, if you are using a 64 bit version of Windows, you need to be using the 32 bit IE, not the 64 bit.

Oh, if it is a driver problem, and the driver from Dell did not work, do you know what the actual video card is? Not sure about Dell, but my IBM laptop, for example, uses and ATI card. So, if you can find out the maker and model number of your graphics card, then go to their website and download the latest driver for it. Might be more current than what Dell has published.

-Mo

Here's what I've found. I have IE 7 and WMP 11, but I'm not clear on which version of Windows and or IE I'm using in terms of 32 or 64 bit. How do I find this info? Thanks.

[rabidpotatochip]

You'll probably have to use IE instead of Firefox to watch the movies just because of how IE is integrated into Windows.

Also, if you have to ask which version of Windows you're running it's probably 32-bit.

30 seconds later edit: Yeah, I'll give some useful feedback too. If you were running 64-bit Windows XP (unlikely on a prebuilt system) you'd have two different Internet Explorers to pick from. They would literally be named "Internet Explorer (32-bit)" and "Internet Explorer (64-bit)". Further to that, if you thought you had a hard time finding drivers for Linux... let's just say I regret adopting XP 64-bit and it came free with my processor.

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by rabidpotatochip

You'll probably have to use IE instead of Firefox to watch the movies just because of how IE is integrated into Windows.

Also, if you have to ask which version of Windows you're running it's probably 32-bit.

30 seconds later edit: Yeah, I'll give some useful feedback too. If you were running 64-bit Windows XP (unlikely on a prebuilt system) you'd have two different Internet Explorers to pick from. They would literally be named "Internet Explorer (32-bit)" and "Internet Explorer (64-bit)". Further to that, if you thought you had a hard time finding drivers for Linux... let's just say I regret adopting XP 64-bit and it came free with my processor.

So we've narrowed down that all of my system requirements are there (yes, I've been using IE for this purpose) with the exception of my video driver being the potential problem. Grrrr.

Quick thought. Would a wireless connection have any bearing on this? I'm using WiFi, but my connection is broadband and pretty good. My signal strength is excellent and the speed is 11.0 Mbps. For whatever that might be worth.

[moses]

Connection shouldn't matter. It may not help, but you could try calling Netflix tech support. I did that once, and they were helpful. Warning, though, they will want to remote into your machine, if you can't easily work it out. Which is way more efficient, but just a heads up in case that bothers you. (Obviously you can say no, but then maybe not so much point in calling them.)

-Mo

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by moses

Connection shouldn't matter. It may not help, but you could try calling Netflix tech support. I did that once, and they were helpful. Warning, though, they will want to remote into your machine, if you can't easily work it out. Which is way more efficient, but just a heads up in case that bothers you. (Obviously you can say no, but then maybe not so much point in calling them.)

-Mo

Thanks for the heads up, Mo. I'm going to cut my losses and call them tomorrow to see what they can do.

After the Linux Mint disaster, it's nice to know I still have friends around these parts.

[RichGem]

Originally Posted by Lynchmeister

Thanks for the heads up, Mo. I'm going to cut my losses and call them tomorrow to see what they can do.

After the Linux Mint disaster, it's nice to know I still have friends around these parts.

Corey... that's "learning experience", not "disaster". Go on , repeat after me... LOL.

After all, what are friend for?

I wish I coulda been more help on this issue, but I've really checked out on Windoz... I have to use it for work, but I've not taken the time to learn anything new about it and am slowly forgetting what I did once know. I'm not finding that a bad thing all-in-all.

[rabidpotatochip]

Originally Posted by Lynchmeister

Thanks for the heads up, Mo. I'm going to cut my losses and call them tomorrow to see what they can do.

After the Linux Mint disaster, it's nice to know I still have friends around these parts.

For better or worse we're here for ya.

[Lynchmeister]

Originally Posted by RichGem

Corey... that's "learning experience", not "disaster". Go on , repeat after me... LOL.

After all, what are friend for?

I wish I coulda been more help on this issue, but I've really checked out on Windoz... I have to use it for work, but I've not taken the time to learn anything new about it and am slowly forgetting what I did once know. I'm not finding that a bad thing all-in-all.

Originally Posted by rabidpotatochip

For better or worse we're here for ya.

...famous last words. (you'll soon see what I mean. )