Alternatives to PowerDVD 8 Ultra

[rileyparrish]

My HTPC is G-35 based(Asus P5E-Vm) and as such I can only use certain programs for BD playback and this must occur in Windows Vista. Intel does not make an onboard graphics driver compatible with BD for Windows XP. Reason I am using onboard is because I don't yet have a newer ATI card(I had an 8800gt but took that out so I could use hdmi for lossless audio).

I am currently using a purchased retail version of PowerDVD 8 Ultra. It is okay but I have a few gripes, not sure if this is the program or Vista or my AVR. Whenever I am at the BD movie menu my speakers make a clipping/crackling sound when I browse menu options. This only happens when I have PowerDVD outputting to "8-speaker" or "hdmi". On 2-channel I don't have this problem. I am running my HTPC through a Sony STR-DG720 A/V Reciever via hdmi.

Are there any other FREE ways to get BD and lossless audio playback besides PowerDVD so I can try and troubleshoot this problem? I always hear people using Media Player Classic but can't figure out how to play BD's on it(are they using .mkv files?). I have already dug into and tried the ripping process but It's not important enough for me to use a day of processing power just to get the film on my HDD.

Thanks!