Playing DVDs through SSP

Applicable SongShow Plus Versions:
This article applies to all versions of SongShow Plus.

NOTE:  DVD playback from media can still have some limitations. For the highest reliability and flexibility, it is recommended to get or convert the content to a supported video file.

SongShow Plus currently supports playback of Region 1, NTSC DVD content.  For information regarding PAL DVD content, refer to the KB Article "PAL DVD support in SSP (SSP013) "
SongShow Plus provides the capability to play DVDs directly through its user interface. Playing DVDs through SongShow Plus offers a number of advantages over playing them through other software and hardware players:

• You can specify specific start and stop points for playing back just a portion of a DVD title. The start point is automatically cued up for you. This is easier than attempting to find a start point using a typical DVD player.
• Typical software DVD players are somewhat unwieldy when attempting to play DVD through a secondary monitor. When attempting this, you may see the transport controls, or find that moving the player to the secondary screen causes the video to stop playing, to name a few.
• You can set up a number of DVD titles or portions of titles to playback quickly with a click of a button.

These things, and more, help make the playback of DVDs an enhancement and not a distraction to your service.  When playing a DVD through SongShow Plus, the DVD video stream will be sent directly to the display window. Additionally, you can also use other SongShow Plus features with the DVD playback like applying effects, transitions, and motion backgrounds.

Importing: Before playing a DVD, you will need to "import" the DVD into its own folder structure within SSP. This import process doesn't actually copy the DVD content, but instead creates a small file that references the DVD disc. Therefore, when you want to play the DVD title, you will need to also have the disc inserted into the DVD drive because SSP plays DVDs directly from the disc.
The import mechanism is accessible from the SSP control panel in the DVD Panel. For additional details on the operation of the DVD import mechanism, please refer to the DVD Support documentation found in the help documentation within SongShow Plus. 
A note on import source DVD Authoring:  All DVD titles are not created equal.  There are some limitations on importation of content based on the authoring methods used on the original content.  If the Import button in the DVD Import window is grayed out, the content currently displayed is not available for import. 

Operation Inhibited:  Certain areas of a title, such as FBI warnings or some special content, may prohibit control access.  This will cause an "Operation Inhibited" message.  This is an expected message when the "non-skippable" or "non-seekable" sections of the content are playing.  As indicated by the message, the format of the DVD content does not allow user interaction.  Typically, you just have to wait until the intro or menu is done playing so that you can actually begin playing the title before attempting to import. 

Special Content: Issues have been observed when trying to import some "extras" content.  Typically, if you can seek the content, you can import it, but that may not always be the case if the authoring prevents user interaction.  As one would expect, at minimum, you have to be able to seek the content in order to set the mark in and mark out points in SSP.

AutoPlay:  Best practices for use of the DVD import tool includes disabling the auto-play feature of the installed DVD application to prevent interference with the importer that may cause errors.  Consult your system administrator for instructions on how to do this. 

For SongShow Plus 8 and later

DVD Player Required: You will also need to ensure that a supported Windows DVD player is installed.  In many cases, this is already included with Windows.  Check article SW027 for details.

For SongShow Plus 7
The SSP DVD capabilities are provided through the DVD Support plug-in which is available when you install SSP.

DVD Player Required: You will also need to install a fully registered version of a third party DVD Player software.  Check article SW020 for details. These players provide the necessary system components needed to let SSP access and play a DVD.  During our testing we have found that the Windows Media Player add-ons such as DVD XPack and PowerDVD SE are problematic and are not recommended. We have also discovered that some trial versions are problematic as well, which understandably hampers evaluation of players.

DVD playback capability was first introduced for SSP in 2003 and had a number of limitations. The DVD support plug-in was significantly enhanced with the SSP V7 October 2006 Edition and now should support most types of DVDs.  As expected, differences in players and content may vary over time, affecting the import operation.  These factors are beyond our control.

(SSP012)