i have a sony optiarc 7190s OEM dvd writer drive. the drive sees my dvd movie (and other dvds like Crysis) but when i go to try and play them in CyberLink PowerDVD, the program crashes (asks me to send the error report) before a picture or anything can be displayed  
 
do i need a certain decoder for my particular optical drive? or maybe updated firmware? if so can you point me in the right direction? ive had no luck on google
 

Try a different SATA/IDE cable.  IDE cable has a Pin 1 and must be installed correctly.  Be sure the jumper is set to Slave/Master correctly.  Maybe the drive is bad, RMA.

One other thing, if SATA be sure to connect the SATA cable to a 'common' SATA MB header and not to a 'special' RAID designated MB header.

it is properly connected or else my drive wouldnt work with everything else (like installing crysis)
still in need of help..

 
You said the drive 'sees' other DVD's like Crysis, not that the drive installed it.  

it did install it, i must have forgotten to mention it
its just that dvd playback doesnt work

So you installed Crysis and can play the game with no system crashes?

the crysis dvd is required to play crysis and it detects it
weve established that
the drive has a problem with dvd movie playback is all

 
does the computer 'crash' when you are doing other tasks or trying to run other software or programs?  Or only when you use power DVD?

the program that i try to open my dvd movies in crashes (windows media player and PowerDvd)

 
I didn't ask if the drive detects the CD.  I asked if you can play Crysis on the machine with no system crashes?  List your specs so someone can help you.

sony optiarc 7190s dvd/cd writer
 
it is obvious that the problem here is with my dvd writer  
 
evga 780i
e8400 @ 3.00 stock
8800gtx
a-data 2gb ram
seagate barracuda hdd
fsp 700w

I would RMA the player and buy a new DVD-RW.  Microcenter has 20x DVD-RW with nero 7 express for 29.99.  Newegg has same the for about $30 also.  Just try another DVD player.

thanks for the help (or lack thereof)

Might have something to do with Windows video codec. I think VLC uses it's own set of codec and can do DVD playback so you might want to give it a try.

 
A DVD ROM cost 20 bucks and you don't have the sense to try a different DVD ROM.  That is stupidity.  You built a new system and the system won't load software?  Ask your questions here bonehead.
 
http://www.answermejesus.com/ask.asp

Try playing the DVD with VLC.
www.videolan.org
It wouldnt be a problem with the windows codec... as windows doesnt come with a codec. More likely a software issue with cyberlink.

not everyone has the time to rma things, some of us want to be sure of a hardware defect and not jump to conclusions
dont be calling people names cuz you dont understand the questions you answer (or attempt to)
 
p.s. im trying vlc now, thanks for the suggestion

No kidding, the punk comes and asks for help, then bitches when he doesn't follow directions and can't figure out the problem. Obviously, the problem lies in your DVD codecs. You can figure it out from there.

follow directions? he gave no such help
he had no idea what he was talking about, specs were not a concern
i had already pinpointed the problem but he hadnt the power to recognize it in my post

You didn't mention if it was a new install or if it had previously worked for movies. Either way, uninstall and then reinstall the software and then check for and install updates and try things again.
 
Edit: While your at it, might as well uninstall the drivers too so they can reinstall just in case that's an issue.

tried CCCP?