Learning (too late) about HDCP

[muckymuck]

I just got my new internal LiteOn 401S this week ($119 at NewEgg - great deal). The installation went well enough, but that was pretty much where the fun stopped. I'm not sure how I missed it all, but I guess I didn't realize everything that would be required to play BD on a PC.

The PC itself should be no problem. Core 2 E8400, clocked at 3.6GHz, video card is a GeForce 8600GTS. First it was the issue with the monitor. I got an error about my display not being HDCP compliant. I'm using the bundled PowerDVD "BD Edition", an LCD monitor connected via DVI, and apparently, neither my 20" Samsung nor my 19" FujiPlus (no suprise there) monitor is HDCP compliant. I've had to resort to an analog VGA connection for the monitor. With that I can play some BD content, but never the feature movie itself. Once I get to the main menu, I can't get beyond it. And what material I can play, plays only in a small window - full-screen playback causes the bottom section of the screen to turn into a vertical blur that looks like a watery reflection of the bottom section of the picture. Oh, and I'm running XP Pro.

This stinks! It looks like I'll need a new monitor, but would even that allow me to play the actual movie? Full-screen? Is this a software issue? I'm thinking about returning the BD drive back to NewEgg and sticking to my Panasonic BD player.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by muckymuck

I just got my new internal LiteOn 401S this week ($119 at NewEgg - great deal). The installation went well enough, but that was pretty much where the fun stopped. I'm not sure how I missed it all, but I guess I didn't realize everything that would be required to play BD on a PC.

Nobody does going into the process. HDCP really is a PITA.

Originally Posted by muckymuck

The PC itself should be no problem. Core 2 E8400, clocked at 3.6GHz, video card is a GeForce 8600GTS. First it was the issue with the monitor. I got an error about my display not being HDCP compliant. I'm using an LCD monitor connected via DVI, and apparently, neither my 20" Samsung nor my 19" FujiPlus (no suprise there) monitor is HDCP compliant. I've had to resort to an analog VGA connection for the monitor. With that I can play some BD content, but never the feature movie itself. Once I get to the main menu, I can't get beyond it. And what material I can play, plays only in a small window - full-screen playback causes the bottom section of the screen to turn into a vertical blur that looks like a watery reflection of the bottom section of the picture. Oh, and I'm running XP Pro.

Your specs are fine and using VGA, you should be able to get everything working. A couple of questions, though:

You mentioned you had two monitors... are they both connected to the PC simultaneously, or just one of them? Any other video outputs that you use (video out to an HDTV, etc)? Also, you ONLY have the VGA cable connected, right? NOT both the VGA cable and the DVI cable?

Beyond multi-monitor/multi-connection issues, try this:

1) Update to the latest drivers on Nvidia's site.
2) Open the PowerDVD BD program that you got with the drive, and force it to check for updates. If it finds any, install and restart the program. Check AGAIN for updates... keep repeating the process until you're abolutely sure the player sofware is up to date.

Try at least a couple of discs again, and see if you have any better luck.

Originally Posted by muckymuck

This stinks! It looks like I'll need a new monitor, but would even that allow me to play the actual movie? Full-screen? I'm thinking about returning the BD drive back to NewEgg and sticking to my Panasonic BD player.

You should be able to get everything going with your current monitor. We just need to isolate the problem. It shouldn't be that tough to correct.

[Rojas]

[my display not being HDCP compliant.

no problem go to slysoft.com and get (AnyDVD HD) they have a demo you could try to see if it works for you. no need to purchase a new monitor because its not HDCP Compliant

[muckymuck]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Only one monitor connected, and only one connection (VGA or DVI) at a time. Having to use VGA is kind of a drag - the picture is noticeably worse on this monitor using VGA. Still, I can swap cables for BD use if I have to. I may still keep an eye out for new monitor deals - the FujiPlus never was a killer monitor anyway.

I have managed to get past the preview stuff on the discs I've tried and into the movie now - I read some of the posts here about some titles not responding to mouse clicks and tried the keyboard - that got me past the main menu. I'm already happier, because at least I can play actual movies!

Still can't get the display larger than the small window, though. I'm guessing it's probably playing at 480p. Going larger produces the blur at the bottom of the picture - this has happened on both of the discs I've tried - Pirates and Ratatouille. I've tried the update feature in PowerDVD and it doesn't seem to find anything. The nVidia drivers were the latest when I installed the card, but that's been a couple months now. They can't be very old. I'll keep trying things...

[prerich]

Originally Posted by muckymuck

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Only one monitor connected, and only one connection (VGA or DVI) at a time. Having to use VGA is kind of a drag - the picture is noticeably worse on this monitor using VGA. Still, I can swap cables for BD use if I have to. I may still keep an eye out for new monitor deals - the FujiPlus never was a killer monitor anyway.

I have managed to get past the preview stuff on the discs I've tried and into the movie now - I read some of the posts here about some titles not responding to mouse clicks and tried the keyboard - that got me past the main menu. I'm already happier, because at least I can play actual movies!

Still can't get the display larger than the small window, though. I'm guessing it's probably playing at 480p. Going larger produces the blur at the bottom of the picture - this has happened on both of the discs I've tried - Pirates and Ratatouille. I've tried the update feature in PowerDVD and it doesn't seem to find anything. The nVidia drivers were the latest when I installed the card, but that's been a couple months now. They can't be very old. I'll keep trying things...

The video should be playing at your systems set resolution. If you have a widescreen monitor - set your resolution to 1280x720 (1920x1080 if it's capable) you should be fine. I play BD's exclusively through my PC and I have the same drive as you, works like a charm.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by muckymuck

Still can't get the display larger than the small window, though. I'm guessing it's probably playing at 480p. Going larger produces the blur at the bottom of the picture - this has happened on both of the discs I've tried - Pirates and Ratatouille. I've tried the update feature in PowerDVD and it doesn't seem to find anything. The nVidia drivers were the latest when I installed the card, but that's been a couple months now. They can't be very old. I'll keep trying things...

Glad you got to the movies. If you are watching BDs, PowerDVD should be in fullscreen mode... windowed causes additional issues on various hardware while playing BDs (DVDs work fine). Open PowerDVD BD by itself (without a disc in yet), right click and select Cofiguration... then search for "start PowerDVD in full screen mode," which I believe is on the video tab. Click that checkbox, save settings, and close down PowerDVD. Restart the program and it should be fullscreen. Start up one of your BDs and see if you still have any video corruption when its in "proper" fullscreen mode.