can anyone recommend a free software package i can download to play dvd's on my pc? my machine isnt the fastest in the world but not the slowest either.
No dvd player software came with your DVD Rom? I recently lost all my bookmarks, so I don't have my usual suggestion anymore. You can try at www.download.com or www.versiontracker.com for freeware or shareware. You'll probably find something there. Good luck!
Here is what I use and it's FREE. Works very good, plays ripped DVD files or DVD discs. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
That's what I was gonna suggest-but use this version-0.8.5-svn-20051202-0000 (wx Widgets interface), it supports h.264 and almost everything else. Enjoy