I want to watch DVDs on my notebook

[Shrek]

I've got a Dell Latitude and they offer a DVD ROM with an 8x transfer rate. Is that fast enough to watch a movie?

How much RAM will I need? And how much video RAM?

How much power do these things consume? Will my battery last long enough to watch a 2- or 3-hour movie during a flight?

I'm reluctant to spend any money on this unless I know it'll work. Thanks to anyone who can give firsthand info!

[FlashHarry]

1. They consume a lot of power

I have a pretty new HP notebook and watching a DVD will kill my battery in 2 hours or so. Not sure about the RAM. I would guess if you have at least 128MB of RAM and 32MB of VRAM, you should be okay.

[HERVEPA]

2. Read a book instead (n/t)

[FlashHarry]

3. Now, that wasn't very helpful, was it?

[HERVEPA]

6. Too much audio and video stimulation

The pleasures in reading a good book and imagining the voices and the surroundings contained in it are manifold.

[FlashHarry]

8. That wasn't the question, however.

I'm an avid reader, too. But the poster was asking a question on how to view DVDs on his/her computer. BTW, I happen to agree with you.

[Shrek]

5. Reading is actually my preference.

But I'm a fast reader and I often finish my book before the flight's over. And lately I've noticed that for some reason I get headaches if I read for too long at a time (only on planes, though, which is a little strange).

I was just looking for another way to relieve the tedium.

[HERVEPA]

7. Ok. Sorry if I sounded obnoxious.

I'm just overloaded with too much technology around me and people's overreliance on it.
(don't get me started on cellphones or "leaking" earphones on bus or subway or almost anywhere).

But I'm just a dinosaur (mainframe programmer), so what do I know?

[Shrek]

9. Not to worry.

You didn't come off as obnoxious, at least not to me.

And as a fellow "dinosaur" I can certainly commiserate (although my mainframe days are long behind me now). We're drowning in technology these days -- I'm frequently amazed at the stuff my son takes for granted, and he gets really tired of the "Why, when I was your age" speech :-).

Nothing beats a good book.

[LuminousX]

4. Yes, it is fast enough

We have Dell Latitudes here at work and the standard notebook they sell plays DVD's with no problem.

RAM should always be greater than 128 if not 256 nowadays, not for movie purposes, just for other applications. Battery life is always an issue, but we've had no problem running up to 6 hours on the battery when it is brand new.

[E_Zapata]

10. I saw a guy with a basic portable DVD player on a plane.....

Maybe that would be cheaper and better on the energy use.

Seems like it was just a DVD player exclusively.....which would probably do a lot better job in conserving the batteries.....and probably needs just regular batteries from the store.

[E_Zapata]

11. Check out this link

http://www.portabledvdstore.com/

Who's to say which model is best.....the price range is wide.

[Shrek]

12. I gave that some thought

But I've already got the notebook, and I have to take it with me for work reasons. So for me it would be more efficient and cost-effective to add a lightweight DVD and just lug it along in my carrying case. That way I can get some work done on the notebook if I need to, or pop in a movie if I don't.