Laptop for DVD Playback
 

What is the most important thing needed for DVD playback on a laptop? Vid card, processor type/speed, RAM, DVD drive speed, HD speed?? Anything else to consider?

Im shopping for such a laptop (13 - 15" screen), but do I need to spend $1500 - $2000!!?? Its not for gaming, or graphic apps, or anything else high-end, I just want it to play DVDs well. (Already looked at the dedicated portable DVD players, ruled out).

Can anyone suggest a good XP laptop buy for this purpose, say $750 - $1000 range.

Thank you..

Why did you rule out dedicated portable dvd players?

I could be wrong, but the screens are only something like 8 or 9 inches; plus I have a digital camera that I'd want to download images onto, as well as use Word to transport documents. And browse the web occasionally.

The most important thing for a laptop that you are going to play dvds on is battery life. The HDD is irrelevant, it doesnt take *that* much CPU, and same for the RAM. The problem is that spinning the DVD sucks down the battery. On my IBM t40 centrino, I can watch one movie (about 2.5-3 hours) on one battery. You may want to look into a car charger for the laptop.

I dont want to give numbers for the laptop, but anything recent should play them fine.

Thanks alot, sailor...

Conversely, Is there any feature I *shouldn't* bother paying extra for?