Cyberlink Blu-ray player is useless

[boggie]

Hi All,

I am an IT proffessional and have built a media center PC based HD home cinema but am tearing my hair out! I purchased a Pioneer BDC-202 internal BDrom to play back Bluray titles and it was bundled with Cyberlink BD solution. I installed the software and as instructed, updated it to the latest patches (which also installed PowerDVD) etc.

The cinema pc outputs to a VGA touch screen to control the desktop and the secondary monitor is an Infocus IN76 projector. When I tried to play one of the Planet Earth Bluray discs only the copyrights and logos display. When the menu or movie are accessed the projector starts flashing video white noise, only briefly displaying the desktop at 2 second intervals and I am forced to reboot to clear the fault.

I tried running Cyberlink advisor software (results are included below) but it showed no problem with any hardware. Next I tried searching their FAQ which suggested one of the problems might be the use of a dual head monitor so I made the projector the primary monitor, disabled and disconnected the touch screen and rebooted. Same problem - the movie does not display and once I had tried to play the movie or menu the projector starts displaying white noise, flashing up the desktop briefly every 2 seconds again.

I checked I had the latest firmware for my BDrom drive, installed the latest drivers for my graphics card, made sure I had all the latest Windows XP Media center updates etc etc etc but still no joy.

I have now spent 4 days trying to get this bundled Bluray software to play a Bluray disc but have run out of options / ideas. I am writing to Cyberlink as a last resort but I am doubtfull as I find it very rare to even get a reply from online technical support.

PLEASE HELP! What can I do to get this player working with their software and my hardware? I do not want to return it and buy a separate Bluray player as the whole point was to have a single box to play all but it seems the combination of Cyberlink software and the hardware is not fit for purpose, are there any decent Bluray software players?

What annoys me the most is that I am told this issue is most likely happening because of copy protection. I am trying to run a legitimate system and play legal discs but it seems the copy protection system is preventing me from doing so. What is worse is I read that the copy protection has been cracked so I assume it would be much easier to download and watch a ripped Bluray video. My job and morals (not to mention poor internet bandwidth) prevent me from taking such risks. Surely it must be easier than this to 'do the right thing'!

Any help gratefully received!
Boggie

Here are the results of the Cyberlink Advisor:

Check Item BD Ready? Info
CPU : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz Yes
__dwItemID=1001__ : szLibCPUName = Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @
__dwItemID=1002__ : dwLibClockRate = 2133
__dwItemID=1003__ : dwLibFamily = 6, dwLibModel=15, dwLibStepping=6
__dwItemID=1004__ : dwLibNumPhysicalProc = 2, dwLibNumCorePerPackage=2, dwLibNumLogicalPerCore=0
__dwItemID=1005__ : dwLibCorePerPackage = 2, dwLibTotalLogicals=2
__dwItemID=1006__ : szWMIName=Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz
__dwItemID=1007__ : szWMIManufacturer=GenuineIntel
__dwItemID=1008__ : dwWMIMaxClockSpeed=2131
__dwItemID=1009__ : bBatteryExist=0
__dwItemID=1010__ : szGuess=Core Duo TXX (Conroe)
CPU (Hardware acceleration) : No hardware decoder detected Yes
System Memory : 2048 MB Yes
Operating System : Windows XP Service Pack 2 Yes
Graphics Card : Radeon X1600 Series Yes
__dwItemID=1301__ : Adapter Compatibility: ATI Technologies Inc.
__dwItemID=1302__ : VideoProcessor: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x71C2)
Graphics card video memory : 256 MB
Graphics Card Driver : 8.421.0.0 Yes
__dwItemID=1501__ : 2D Driver=6.14.10.6727
__dwItemID=1502__ : COPP=Yes
__dwItemID=1503__ : RGBOverlay=Yes
__dwItemID=1504__ : DEVICE=N/A
__dwItemID=1601__ : Driver 0:
__dwItemID=1602__ : [E:] PIONEER BD-ROM BDC-202
__dwItemID=1603__ : eHCMDrvType=0x002c6fc7
__dwItemID=1604__ : CDRom=1 DVDRom=1 BDRom=1 HDDVDRom=0
Blu-ray Disc Drive : [E:] PIONEER BD-ROM BDC-202 Yes
Software Player : PowerDVD 7.3.3516.0 Yes
Video Connection Type : Analog Yes
Program version : 1.0.2418.0
System language : 0809 ENG English English
Time : Tue Feb 19 21:36:23 2008
Computer : Desktop
System Name : HD-CINEMA

[kpkelley]

How is your projector connected to the x1600 card?

[essinger]

Originally Posted by boggie

Hi All,
I downloaded the latest firmware for my BDrom drive

Where did you get updated firmware for this drive? I've got the same drive and haven't seen a firmware update yet. Mine actually came with WinDVD LE 8 instead of PowerDVD, and it plays blu-ray pretty well (even new titles) through an ATI 2600 HD with DVI to HDMI link. Software crashes about once a movie though.

[boggie]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

How is your projector connected to the x1600 card?

Hi Kpkelley,

HDMI cable. Both the card and projector are HDCP compliant.

Thanks.

[Don Blish]

First, I believe I saw somewhere that only single monitor systems will be supported at full res, and DVI/HDCP only, at that.

Second, the BDA is so concerned about the PC open architecture, it may never be easy to home build a machine. I built one for video editing and it plays my content, but I never expected it to play Hollywood content.

Sorry

[gulle]

First of all, the cyberlink solution is the only real working solution, far better than intervideo. Secondly, indeed, dual monitors might not be supported, this is a limitation of the HDCP. I encountered the same problem.
Another problem once encountered (with Intervideo) was an older Java run time lib. The original got overwritten by installing some software package.

[boggie]

Originally Posted by essinger

Where did you get updated firmware for this drive? I've got the same drive and haven't seen a firmware update yet. Mine actually came with WinDVD LE 8 instead of PowerDVD, and it plays blu-ray pretty well (even new titles) through an ATI 2600 HD with DVI to HDMI link. Software crashes about once a movie though.

Thanks Essinger,

Apologies - Im my rant I have mixed my words. I meant to say - I checked I had the latest firmware. Like you I looked and found non. I have edited the post.

Your WinDVD LE8 suggestion sounds an interesting option. I wonder if it will work with a straight HDMI output as opposed to DVI? I can get the movie to play out of the VGA connector just fine but the HDCP compliant HDMI is the problem.

[essinger]

One other thing to check. Do you have InCD installed? XP needs it to read the file structure from a blu-ray, BUT it borked my Blu-Ray playback. Unistalling didn't help, I had to do a system restore to get a working setup again.

[boggie]

Originally Posted by gulle

First of all, the cyberlink solution is the only real working solution, far better than intervideo. Secondly, indeed, dual monitors might not be supported, this is a limitation of the HDCP. I encountered the same problem.
Another problem once encountered (with Intervideo) was an older Java run time lib. The original got overwritten by installing some software package.

Thanks Gulle,
I cant get the video to output from HDMI even if I set the HDMI as primary, make it the only display, physically unplug the VGA monitor and reboot. What did you do to get over the problem or did you give up?

[boggie]

Originally Posted by essinger

One other thing to check. Do you have InCD installed? XP needs it to read the file structure from a blu-ray, BUT it borked my Blu-Ray playback. Unistalling didn't help, I had to do a system restore to get a working setup again.

I assume XP MC can read the file structure as the forced play headers work fine as they are not encrypted. Movie playback is when the issue begins.
Thanks

[DC_Street]

i didnt know the x1600 was hdcp and if it is then i don't think it can handle the resolution you are trying to do. that is a really old card, i think it came out before the format war. yes it might be able to do hd in games but i am quite sure it can not handle the power necessary to play a blu-ray. i would highly reccomend upgrading to a x3850 if you are a ati guy or a 8800gt if you are a nvidia guy. both are really cheap cards and will make a huge difference in PQ and resolution.

[Curumo]

i have excellent experience with CL PDVD and LG BD/HDDVD combo drive...
using dell 2407 and ati x2400 with Vista or nv 8800gt with XP on other pc... really nice solution for some region A BDs that won't play on my PS3 and Samsung 1080p... ati card has hdmi out also but i didn't try...

[Curumo]

Originally Posted by DC_Street

i didnt know the x1600 was hdcp and if it is then i don't think it can handle the resolution you are trying to do. that is a really old card, i think it came out before the format war. yes it might be able to do hd in games but i am quite sure it can not handle the power necessary to play a blu-ray. i would highly reccomend upgrading to a x3850 if you are a ati guy or a 8800gt if you are a nvidia guy. both are really cheap cards and will make a huge difference in PQ and resolution.

good lord those are not CHEAP cards... they are best buy mid-to-high range, but not cheap!! if only interested in HD playback on pc, excellent and really cheap choice are ati 2400/3400 or nv 8400/8500...

[essinger]

Originally Posted by boggie

I assume XP MC can read the file structure as the forced play headers work fine as they are not encrypted. Movie playback is when the issue begins.
Thanks

I mean for reading the actual M2TS files from the command line, file explorer, etc. You'd probably know if you installed it. As you are not interested in "ripping" your blu-rays you probably didn't.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Curumo

good lord those are not CHEAP cards... they are best buy mid-to-high range, but not cheap!! if only interested in HD playback on pc, excellent and really cheap choice are ati 2400/3400 or nv 8400/8500...

I concur. I would also make sure that you do not have the profile 1.1 update on your computer - its causing some freaky things to happen. I uninstalled that update and I've been running fine ever since (similar problem - would play all the previews but wouldn't play a movie).

[rarredoa]

I recently solved a similar problem with Cyberlink PowerDVD. My issue dealt with half the screen distorted when i had PowerDVD in full-screen mode, half the image was severly distorted, but when the window did not fill the entire screen it played fine. I have 2 monitors a dell 24" LCD (HDCP) and my Samsung 1080P DLP via HDCP connection (8800GT). I ran the Advisor and all requirements were met, and this frustrated the hell out of me! This problem was solved when I used the WHQL version of the driver. At the time of the malfunctioning, i was using a BETA driver (newer than the WHQL at the time) from NVIDIA. I am not sure which driver YOU are using, i just thought i'd throw this out in case u were running a BETA driver. Hope this helps

[Don Blish]

Originally Posted by essinger

One other thing to check. Do you have InCD installed? XP needs it to read the file structure from a blu-ray, BUT it borked my Blu-Ray playback. Unistalling didn't help, I had to do a system restore to get a working setup again.

I also had to remove this Nero product to load the Cyberlink packet reading software that came with my bluray burner. You do not need to do a full restore to get rid of it though. There is a "CleanTool" on the Nero site.

[DC_Street]

Originally Posted by Curumo

good lord those are not CHEAP cards... they are best buy mid-to-high range, but not cheap!! if only interested in HD playback on pc, excellent and really cheap choice are ati 2400/3400 or nv 8400/8500...

$220 is not that bad, my friend spent over $440 for his x2950xt card

[prerich]

Originally Posted by boggie

Hi All,

I am an IT proffessional and have built a media center PC based HD home cinema but am tearing my hair out! I purchased a Pioneer BDC-202 internal BDrom to play back Bluray titles and it was bundled with Cyberlink BD solution. I installed the software and as instructed, updated it to the latest patches (which also installed PowerDVD) etc.

The cinema pc outputs to a VGA touch screen to control the desktop and the secondary monitor is an Infocus IN76 projector. When I tried to play one of the Planet Earth Bluray discs only the copyrights and logos display. When the menu or movie are accessed the projector starts flashing video white noise, only briefly displaying the desktop at 2 second intervals and I am forced to reboot to clear the fault.

I tried running Cyberlink advisor software (results are included below) but it showed no problem with any hardware. Next I tried searching their FAQ which suggested one of the problems might be the use of a dual head monitor so I made the projector the primary monitor, disabled and disconnected the touch screen and rebooted. Same problem - the movie does not display and once I had tried to play the movie or menu the projector starts displaying white noise, flashing up the desktop briefly every 2 seconds again.

I checked I had the latest firmware for my BDrom drive, installed the latest drivers for my graphics card, made sure I had all the latest Windows XP Media center updates etc etc etc but still no joy.

I have now spent 4 days trying to get this bundled Bluray software to play a Bluray disc but have run out of options / ideas. I am writing to Cyberlink as a last resort but I am doubtfull as I find it very rare to even get a reply from online technical support.

PLEASE HELP! What can I do to get this player working with their software and my hardware? I do not want to return it and buy a separate Bluray player as the whole point was to have a single box to play all but it seems the combination of Cyberlink software and the hardware is not fit for purpose, are there any decent Bluray software players?

What annoys me the most is that I am told this issue is most likely happening because of copy protection. I am trying to run a legitimate system and play legal discs but it seems the copy protection system is preventing me from doing so. What is worse is I read that the copy protection has been cracked so I assume it would be much easier to download and watch a ripped Bluray video. My job and morals (not to mention poor internet bandwidth) prevent me from taking such risks. Surely it must be easier than this to 'do the right thing'!

Any help gratefully received!
Boggie

Here are the results of the Cyberlink Advisor:

Check Item BD Ready? Info
CPU : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz Yes
__dwItemID=1001__ : szLibCPUName = Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @
__dwItemID=1002__ : dwLibClockRate = 2133
__dwItemID=1003__ : dwLibFamily = 6, dwLibModel=15, dwLibStepping=6
__dwItemID=1004__ : dwLibNumPhysicalProc = 2, dwLibNumCorePerPackage=2, dwLibNumLogicalPerCore=0
__dwItemID=1005__ : dwLibCorePerPackage = 2, dwLibTotalLogicals=2
__dwItemID=1006__ : szWMIName=Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz
__dwItemID=1007__ : szWMIManufacturer=GenuineIntel
__dwItemID=1008__ : dwWMIMaxClockSpeed=2131
__dwItemID=1009__ : bBatteryExist=0
__dwItemID=1010__ : szGuess=Core Duo TXX (Conroe)
CPU (Hardware acceleration) : No hardware decoder detected Yes
System Memory : 2048 MB Yes
Operating System : Windows XP Service Pack 2 Yes
Graphics Card : Radeon X1600 Series Yes
__dwItemID=1301__ : Adapter Compatibility: ATI Technologies Inc.
__dwItemID=1302__ : VideoProcessor: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x71C2)
Graphics card video memory : 256 MB
Graphics Card Driver : 8.421.0.0 Yes
__dwItemID=1501__ : 2D Driver=6.14.10.6727
__dwItemID=1502__ : COPP=Yes
__dwItemID=1503__ : RGBOverlay=Yes
__dwItemID=1504__ : DEVICE=N/A
__dwItemID=1601__ : Driver 0:
__dwItemID=1602__ : [E:] PIONEER BD-ROM BDC-202
__dwItemID=1603__ : eHCMDrvType=0x002c6fc7
__dwItemID=1604__ : CDRom=1 DVDRom=1 BDRom=1 HDDVDRom=0
Blu-ray Disc Drive : [E:] PIONEER BD-ROM BDC-202 Yes
Software Player : PowerDVD 7.3.3516.0 Yes
Video Connection Type : Analog Yes
Program version : 1.0.2418.0
System language : 0809 ENG English English
Time : Tue Feb 19 21:36:23 2008
Computer : Desktop
System Name : HD-CINEMA

UPDATE - I've got profile 1.1 up and working!!!! Did a new installation and its working better than ever - I aslo have Uncompressed LPCM 5.1 audio @ 6912Kbps!!!! Make sure you are using the full version of PDVD Ultra not the OEM version. Also make sure you use the full installation of Profile 1.1 thats what I had to do - the patch didn't work well with me but a new installation did.

[boggie]

Thanks All, much appreciated.
It looks like I need to consider a new graphics card, the card was specified by the vendor as:
Sapphire X1600 Pro HDMI/SPDIF 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO HDTV/HDCP/DVI
However it turns out that Overclockers.co.uk have a reputation for misleading sales and not accepting returns. Should have done my homework rather than believing their sales guy! This card is as correctly pointed out above - not HDCP. Doh!
Time to start a new thread for some PROPER advice!
Cheers, Boggie