How To Use Dvd Laptop

Introduction

The term DVD stands for digital video disc, but most are unaware that it is also known as a digital versatile disc. For the longest time, DVDs were commonly associated with movie releases after showing at movie theatres for a few months. Consumers rarely had any other uses for DVD media in the early days of this technology, except for inserting the disc in a set top DVD player and pressing the Play button.

Eventually, PC manufacturers began to include DVD drives on newer models. This became one of the hottest selling features for a new desktop or laptop computer, because that meant that owners could use the system for movie entertainment, in addition to productivity with a word processor or simply browsing the Internet.

The versatility of DVD technology really began to take off with computer users when they gained the ability to create their own personal discs, storing both movies and other types of digital data on the disc. If you are unfamiliar with the various ways to use DVD on a laptop, you can consider the following five ways to leverage the versatility of DVD media.

Step 1

Use your laptop as a "portable DVD player." These electronics devices retail for as much as $50 to $100, or even more than set top players. You paid for both the DVD drive and DVD playback software in the original purchase price of the laptop, although it's hard to tell how much. Don't let this valuable feature go to waste.

Also, if you are watching a TV series on DVD on your laptop, most DVD playback software programs will keep you last activity or history in memory, so that you don't have to try and remember where left off.

Step 2

Back up your personal files on your laptop using the DVD burner, if available. This is an alternative to using an external hard drive or USB flash drive to back up your data for safekeeping.

Step 3

Backup the Windows operating system on DVD discs using your laptop. This is slightly different from backing up your personal files. Using the native Backup utility in the operating system, you can save all of you customizations in Windows, in the event that your computer crashes and you need to reinstall the OS. After getting back up and running, you don't have to go through every part of Windows, reapplying your personalized settings.

Step 4

Create your own personal DVD with your laptop of family occasions, such as weddings and birthdays. If there is enough room, you can put several occasions on one disc, including the addition of background music and professional looking menu options.

Step 5

Create a photo slideshow on DVD using your laptop. You can then send the disc to anyone with a DVD player, such as a set top player, and it will show up on the TV as a slideshow.

Tips

Most of the DVD software programs that you need to perform the functions mentioned above are included from free in the Windows operating system, if it is in use on your laptop. For example, Windows Media Center can burn and play DVDs.

Comments