How to be sure sound is max for movies?

I'm not even sure what specifics I need to tell you folks ... or if this belongs in Software :blush:. I have a Dell Inspiron 8600 with XP Home; the DVD player (I'm just copying from Device Manager in my ignorance) is _NEC DVD+-RW ND-6500A.

When we watch movies, I use a setup from previous (dead) computer, an AltecLansing system with 2 speakers. It works great.

I also see SigmaTel CODEC - have no idea what to call my sound card or if that is it.

What I'd like is to be able to watch DVD's with the laptop alone, eg in another location, but when I play movies using only the computer, the sound is usually too soft for anyone to hear unless s/he is right in front of the laptop. Will it only be so loud with the onboard speakers, or is there a way to boost the volume? (Other than turning all the volume controls up.) What info do I need to tell you folks so you can answer the question -- and where do I look for the required info?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide ... even if it's only to say,"Get used to it, sistah."

 

It may be that your laptop's speakers are too weak to produce a good sound, but we should at least check ALL volume controls before arriving at that conclusion. There are so many, it can get confusing.

1. The hardware volume controls. Should be the volume controls ON the laptop itself. I'm sure you've checked this. Either a dial, or volume up and down buttons, typically.

2. System volume. Here's how to access:
- Open Control Panel
- Open 'Sound And Audio Devices'
- Ensure 'Device Volume' is set appropriately
- Check under the 'Advanced' button as well

3. Application Volume. This depends on the software you're using to play the DVDs, but most apps have some sort of volume control. Make sure that is set appropriately. If you're unsure how, post back with the name of your program, and we can likely find instructions.

That's about all I can think of. Maybe someone else has more/better suggestions. If this isn't enough to produce a decent sound, then maybe a small set of powered speakers might help?

 

Thanks for your reply. Yup, I checked the first two again and it's all the way up. [When we got our first Dell with, I think it was, Win98 we couldn't get ANY sound and called TechSupp who explained the little speaker icon on the taskbar which was set to Mute All. It was our 3rd computer but that was a new one to us!]

I'm having a bit of trouble getting the PowerCinema from Dell to open. But that's not related to the output problem as we've used the DVD player forever and this balking at opening the Dell Media Centre is a recent tussle.

Do most laptops just have kinda weak speakers? If so, that's probably it. No big deal, really, but it would be nice to watch movies in the kitchen or at someone's house or whatever, without being hooked up to the whole box & speakers routine.

 

Here's what I'm using:
Dell Media Experience (PowerCinemaDVD, I think) Audio Settings:
choice of Speaker Config = 2,4,or6 Speakers (I use 2), SPDIF, Headphone
Mode = Stereo (I use that) vs. Dolby (or "Dobbly" if you are in Spinal Tap)
Dynamic Range Compression = Noisy Environment (my choice), Normal, or Quiet

Is there anything I need to look at in Device Mgr to see about possibility of beefing up onboard speakers? If not, guess I'm stuck with having to be in my room to connect to Altec set-up if I want to watch stuff with other people. I can play audio CDs just fine and enjoy the sound fairly well although plugged in to the speaker set it's much better, but on movies, when they speak quietly, you lose a lot of it and sometimes we watch close captioned for that reason.

Thanks for your patience with me on this one. It's not an earth-shattering need, but a source of minor frustration.