Powerbook G4 15" Battery Life Viewing DVDs

redmen34redmen34
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I am curious for those of you who have a 15" Powerbook G4 and have used it to watch DVDs what your battery life has been. I am looking to use mine to watch a movie on a flight in March. I got my Powerbook in June '05 so I'm sure it will not last as long as a brand new one, but what do you think I should be able to expect for battery life? I'm hoping I can make it about 2 1/2 hours but I'm sure that is pushing it. I have just never had a reason to try this out yet. Thanks for you comments.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    You would be better off copying the DVD to your hard drive and watching it from there. This will use less battery power then having to spin up your optical drive.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    redmen34redmen34 Posts: 8member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PBG4 Dude

    You would be better off copying the DVD to your hard drive and watching it from there. This will use less battery power then having to spin up your optical drive.



    That sounds like a great idea. I am assuming there is a program that I will need to complete that process. Do you recommend one that I use?
  • Reply 3 of 9
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    DVD backup, MacTheRipper, Handbrake...



    I get about 1.5 hours with DVD. around 4 without.



    I don't have a 15". Mine is a 14" G3.



    EDIT: Spelled Handbrake wrong.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,180member
    My 15", 1.5 GHz G4 will last for a complete DVD ... and the battery is about 9 months old.



    I haven't actually TIMED it, but i can watch a complete DVD ... so 2 hours or so ... I don't know if it would make it through an epic 2.5 hour movie though



    VersionTracker will get you to "Handbrake" ... which will rip DVD's to your HD... you should be able to get at LEAST 3 hours that way.



    Also... power outlets at your seat are becoming more common on airplanes.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    brclark82brclark82 Posts: 182member
    I get about 2-2 1/2 hours when watching DVD's. Yes, like everyone has said using handbrake is a great way to increase battery life, and also to not have to worry about bringing the actual disk with you. But, one suggestion I do have for anyone wanting to get better battery life is to run the battery updater that was recently released for the 15" PB's. This is a great utility that actually helped my battery life. I have a fairly new PB but coconutbattery said I went from 79% original capacity to 99% after.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    I don't think you have to decrypt a commercial DVD in order to play it on your laptop. That's only if you want to burn a playable DVD or play the DVD in a different region.



    I could be wrong though, but you should be able to just copy the DVD to the laptop hard drive, then use the "Open TS_Video Folder" option on DVD Player to watch the movie.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PBG4 Dude



    I could be wrong though, but you should be able to just copy the DVD to the laptop hard drive, then use the "Open TS_Video Folder" option on DVD Player to watch the movie.



    If "copy" means drag-and-drop, then it does not work. You do need special software to do that, like DVDBackup or MacTheRipper.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Almost all commercial DVD's are encrypted. However Apple DVD player automatically finds the decryption key and uses it behind your back. End result = You never knew it was there.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    bmwintoxicationbmwintoxication Posts: 106member
    2.5 hrs



    usually a movie and some last min fourm checking before i go to bed..
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