I've been having an issue with my external DVD drive connected through a 4-port Acer hub to my laptop. When I try to play a movie, there's absolutely no audio, but if I connect the drive directly to the laptop, the sound works perfectly. I'm using PowerDVD 21 for playback. Can anyone explain why this is happening? Any solutions? I'm flummoxed! Also, I seem to have temporarily fixed it by unplugging the drive for a minute and plugging it back in, but I'm unsure what caused it initially.
1 Answer
This issue is pretty common with DVD players and USB hubs. It usually relates to High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). Basically, you often need to connect your DVD drive directly to your laptop for proper audio output. If you're determined to use a hub, look for one that's HDCP compliant.
That makes sense! I unplugged the drive and plugged it back, and now everything's working fine through the hub. No more crackling or audio issues!