The Ultimate BLU-RAY player software faceoff (4 different computer software packages)

[HDTV1080P]

** The following PC build plays standard 2-D and 3-D Blu-ray's just fine **


*** Warning, it’s impossible to play native 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs on this PC since almost every single piece of hardware needs replaced because the new encryption system is locked down in hardware instead of using software (The desktop computer monitor will work, and most likely the power supply and case also.) ***

** Playing back 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray movies on a PC is going to become a very niche market for the next several years, since literally almost everyone on the planet earth needs to buy a new computer if they want to play the new format. **


Everyone in the world needs to literally purchase a new PC to play 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs (click here for more details)

Here is information on the latest 2015 ASROCK X99 motherboard build I did with 128GB of DDR4 memory running at 2400Mhz

It is possible to build a desktop computer for under $500 that plays Blu-ray movies just fine. For people that also want a superfast high-end desktop computer that also plays Blu-ray’s then the following is an example of a higher end computer system one can build.

The following PC build has an overall Windows 7 speed rating of 7.8 out of 7.9 (everything used in the build was rated as 7.9 except for the CPU which was rated at 7.8)

Around every 5 years I build myself or a family member a new desktop computer. For the year 2015 I used an Intel X99 motherboard with 128GB of DDR4 memory. By far Cyberlink PowerDVD 16 Ultra is the best of the best in regards to Windows based Blu-ray software. When connected to the latest modern graphics card and latest modern desktop monitor the 24P feature can be used. I originally tried using the ASUS X99-E WS/USB 3.1 motherboard, however there was a problem at the time with the latest BIOS release not supporting 16GB DDR4 memory modules so I ended up returning the motherboard and using the AsRock Fatal1ty Professional/3.1 motherboard instead (All AsRock motherboards use high-end long life 12K Platinum Caps). The AsRock motherboard is now shipping with the latest version 1.2 BIOS that offers compatibility with 16GB DDR4 memory modules (BIOS can also be updated by consumers by doing a online download). When purchasing a 128GB DDR4 kit I strongly recommend not getting a kit that uses a fan design since on all the X99 motherboards that I have seen from different manufactories installing the two fans on top of the 128GB DDR4 memory kit will end up resulting in a person not being able to use PCI-e slot number one. The manufactories of X99 motherboards have placed PCI-e slot number one to close to the DDR4 memory module slot which results in DDR4 memory fans blocking the space needed to install a card in PCI-e slot number one. Manufactories of X99 motherboards should start designing X99 motherboards that are a quarter of an inch larger between the DDR4 slots and PCI-e slot number one so that if one wants to use a fan on the memory modules they can do so without blocking the space needed to install a card in PCI-e slot number one. Therefore when choosing a 128GB DDR4 kit I ended up going with one that had a fanless design so that I could use PCI-e slot number one. For CPU cooler I used liquid cooling. Also a solid state drive was used to greatly increase speed of the PC. This X99 PC also only uses around 110-130 watts of power with the monitor on under normal PC loads (faster design with less power, also PC has less noise). Prior X58 designs would use around 300 watts under normal load with slower speed.





In this build I used Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1 64-bit edition since Windows 7 has extra features that are missing in the new Windows 10 operating system.

Some computer parts I used for the build

• ASRock Fatal1ty X99Professional/3.1 motherboard: (contains a USB 3.1 type C port built into motherboard and 32Gbps Ultra M2 interface. Also has two 1Gbps Ethernet jacks). There is one older ASROCK X99 motherboard on the market that has two 10Gbps Ethernet jacks, but it lacks some modern features like USB 3.1, etc.Those that need 10Gbps Ethernet can always purchase a add on card. As time goes on more and more motherboards will start offering 10Gbps Ethernet.

• Intel Core i7-5960x: (currently the fastest i7 CPU, those that need faster speed should use an Intel Xeon E5-2699 in the ASROCK motherboard with memory that is compatible with Xeon CPU’s. Some motherboards allow for two Xeon CPU’s to be used at the same time for those that really need more power.

• EVGA Geforce GTX980ti Graphics card: Ideal graphics card for use with 3840 x 2160 monitors with 60Hz input. Officially the specs do not mention HDCP 2.2 support, however some experts believe this card hardware will support HDCP 2.2 with a driver software update. Worse case scenario is that one will need to upgrade this graphics card if for some reason the GTX 980ti does not support HDCP 2.2 for the coming 2016 native Ultra HD Blu-ray disc releases.

• LG 27MU67 Ultra HD desktop computer monitor with HDCP 2.2: This is currently the only desktop computer monitor in the United States that offers the HDCP 2.2 feature over HDMI (Needed for future Ultra HD Blu-ray disc titles that start getting released in 2016). Has a native resolution of 3840 x 2160 and native refresh rate of 60Hz.

• PowerDVD 16 Ultra: Currently the best quality Blu-ray software on the market for playing standard Blu-ray discs. When native 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs get released in 2016 consumers will need to update their Blu-ray software if they want to play Ultra HD Blu-ray movies.

• Pioneer BDR-2209 BDXL drive: Currently the highest quality BDXL Blu-ray writer on the market. Its unknown at this time if this drive will be able to read the new native 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs that are scheduled to be released in 2016. Worse case scenario is one might have to upgrade the Blu-ray drive to watch the latest 2016 Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. Update: I tested a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc in both a standard Blu-ray drive and a BDXL drive, and the disc is unreadable. Therefore some manufactory will need to create a special computer BD-ROM drive in order to use 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs in a computer.

• Intel 750 PCIe 3.0 x4 solid state drive: Offers superfast Windows experience.

• Seagate 6TB 7200RPM Enterprise Hard Drive (ST6000NM004): Ideal for any large video downloads, etc.

• G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 Series 128GB Extreme Performance kit (F4-2400C14Q2-128GRK): A fanless design that allows one to still use PCI-e slot number one on the latest X99 motherboards.128GB kit operates at 2400Mhz with no errors.

• Corsair Hydro Series H110i GT High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler: Keeps CPU nice and cool.

• LIAN LI PC-A79B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower computer case: Very nice computer case for those that prefer the full tower style.

• EVGA SuperNOVA 1600 T2 Power Supply (220-T21600-X1): Top of the line 1600 Watt Power supply with a 10 year warranty.

• CyberPower PR1500LCDRTXL2U: PureSine wave 1500 watt UPS power backup unit.

• Various other parts used like THX computer speakers, Keyboard, Logitech trackball, USB 3.0 cardreader, etc.

[RiseDarthVader]

Shame we can't watch movies at 24 fps on PC yet. Wish I could cause this is currently my only way to watch Blu-Ray movies.

[crackinhedz]

are there any other software packages that play bluray?

...thought this thread would be helpful for those who do not know what programs to use.

[cinema725]

I use Nero 8 Ultra with the BD/HD DVD plugin. It works great.

[dadkins]

WinDVD BD for VAIO - will play older BDs.
WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray - will play all I have thrown at it: No BD-Live.
PowerDVD 8 Ultra - will play all I have thrown at it: BD-Live can be sluggish sometimes.
ArcSoft TMT- will play anything I have thrown at it: BD-Live works fine.

*MY* preference is ArcSoft TMT on my 2 VAIOs.

[hiro1030]

Excellent review! How about the sound quality comparison?

I have TMT 2.1.6.126 & PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 4407 on my XP MCE SP3 w/1GB Radeon HD 4670 system. The SQ of TMT is much better than that of PowerDVD 7.3 since TMT can decode the HD audio correctly (TrueHD/DTS-HD MA) while PowerDVD 7.3 can not.
Does PowerDVD 8.0 decode the HD audio correctly? I guess it does?

As I'm running XP, I cannot update PowerDVD 7.3 to the newest version 4617 as the newest versions of PowerDVD 4617 won't play *any* BD disc under XP with an ATI graphics card, regardless if you have a HDCP capable monitor or not, because Cyberlink has broken the HDCP detection. 4407 cannot play "Firefly" (new release), but TMT can.

So, because of those two reasons, I prefer TMT better than PowerDVD 7.3 as a XP & ATI user. I guess people's opinions may vary depending on what OS and Video card you are using. And I think just one software is not good enough for BD playback from my experiences.

I forgot to mention one thing. The newest ATI driver 8.552 is not compatible with PowerDVD 7.3 4407 for BD playback. So, I had to revert back to 8.541.

[dadkins]

Have you tried PowerDVD 8 Ultra?

[hiro1030]

Originally Posted by dadkins

Have you tried PowerDVD 8 Ultra?

No, I haven't. But, I'm interested in getting one more software though..

Originally Posted by dadkins

WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray - will play all I have thrown at it: No BD-Live.
PowerDVD 8 Ultra - will play all I have thrown at it: BD-Live can be sluggish sometimes.

Which one do you prefer in terms of PQ? The BD-Live issue is not really important to me though...

[dadkins]

PQ... kind of a tossup.
They all produce a great picture, but *here* I have to lean towards PowerDVD for PQ.

I got all three aftermarket players so I can pretty much avoid the "It won't play" issue we see fairly often here(and on other boards).

While I don't have an extensive collection, none of them have failed to play - except way back when with one of the early PowerDVD Ultra(7) and running on battery with my AR190G.
Solved that with NHC and forcing to run Full On while on battery.

Hope this helps!

[Burnin'Fool09]

Hi, a great overview provided thanks.
Can someone give an overview for which software has least issues with writing to BD-R, BD-RE.

Thanks.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by RiseDarthVader

Shame we can't watch movies at 24 fps on PC yet. Wish I could cause this is currently my only way to watch Blu-Ray movies.

Why not? My Nvidia card does 24fps and I have it connected via hdmi to my 42 inch monitor, does it fine. Even the new S3 Chrome 540gt has 24fps and it has PAP for HD Audio (non-"bitstripped" - new term for HD audio that the bit count has been limited to 16bit). You can watch BD at 24fps on a PC with a proper monitor.

P.S. The S3 card however need software support for the PAP WinDVD's working on it card only cost $45.00

[owa]

Nice overview/summary. Thanks.

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

1. 10,000 RPM 300GB hard drive
2. Quad Core processor
3. 8GB of 2000MHZ DDR3 memory running at 1600MHZ speed do to limitations in the Top of the line motherboard.
4. 5X Pioneer BLU-RAY drive
5. 18X SATA DVD-ROM
6. 24 inch ASUS MK241H 1920 X 1200 that can only refresh at 60HZ for 1080P mode (2ms response time).
7. Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit Edition
8. All the latest software drivers and windows updates installed
9. 1250 Watt Power supply
10. ASUS Striker II Extreme Motherboard
11. Verizon FIOS Internet Connection

What graphics card did you use?

[ixlegitballinxl]

my nvidia graphics card is also hdmi, my monitor is also 1080p resolution... blu ray's dont look great though ( when i connect my ps3 direct to monitor)

havent really looked into a drive for it though

heck of a pc... 5k ram, quad core, 700? hd idk, vista 64 bit

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by prerich

Why not? My Nvidia card does 24fps and I have it connected via hdmi to my 42 inch monitor, does it fine. Even the new S3 Chrome 540gt has 24fps and it has PAP for HD Audio (non-"bitstripped" - new term for HD audio that the bit count has been limited to 16bit). You can watch BD at 24fps on a PC with a proper monitor.

P.S. The S3 card however need software support for the PAP WinDVD's working on it card only cost $45.00

The BLU-RAY software players add a 3:2 pulldown process and convert to 60HZ instead of offering a 24fps mode in the software player. Some video cards can do a reverse 3:2 pulldown. Hopefully future BLU-RAY player software will offer a 24fps direct mode then the video card can output 24 fps without going threw the conversion of 3:2 pulldown from the player and reverse 3:2 pulldown from the video card.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by owa

Nice overview/summary. Thanks.


What graphics card did you use?

I cut corners when purchasing the monitor and graphics card. Originally I wanted a 30 inch computer monitor with 2560 X 1600 (over 4 million pixels) that I would use for day to day computer work and BLU-RAY watching once and a while. The problem I ran into was that many of the 30 inch monitors would not support HDCP or dual link HDCP. The graphics cards would also not support dual link DVI HDCP. The current 30 inch monitors instead of using a high speed single HDMI 1.3 connection require dual link DVI for 2560 X 1600. BLU-RAY requires HDCP and the monitors that would down convert to 1920 X 1200 with one DVI HDCP link had picture quality issues since the monitor was not at the native resolution.
To make a long story short I decided to get a cheap 24 inch 1920 X 1200 monitor and a cheap graphics card and in a year or two upgrade to a top of the line 30 inch computer monitor with high-end graphics card as long as the HDCP issues are resolved.
To answer your question I bought a cheap ASUS graphics card that uses the Radeon HD3850 with 512MB of DDR3 memory. Under 64 bit Vista the total available DDR3 graphics memory is 3579MB since the graphics card is using part of the 8GB of memory installed. I plan on getting a HDMI video card that will support the future coming single link HDMI 30 inch 2560 X 1600 computer monitors. Hopefully in a year or two those monitors will be released. I actually miss my old CRT screen that had a better dot pitch and color accuracy compared to the LCD screen I have now.

[saljr]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

I cut corners when purchasing the monitor and graphics card. Originally I wanted a 30 inch computer monitor with 2560 X 1600 (over 4 million pixels) that I would use for day to day computer work and BLU-RAY watching once and a while. The problem I ran into was that many of the 30 inch monitors would not support HDCP or dual link HDCP. The graphics cards would also not support dual link DVI HDCP. The current 30 inch monitors instead of using a high speed single HDMI 1.3 connection require dual link DVI for 2560 X 1600. BLU-RAY requires HDCP and the monitors that would down convert to 1920 X 1200 with one DVI HDCP link had picture quality issues since the monitor was not at the native resolution.
To make a long story short I decided to get a cheap 24 inch 1920 X 1200 monitor and a cheap graphics card and in a year or two upgrade to a top of the line 30 inch computer monitor with high-end graphics card as long as the HDCP issues are resolved.
To answer your question I bought a cheap ASUS graphics card that uses the Radeon HD3850 with 512MB of DDR3 memory. Under 64 bit Vista the total available DDR3 graphics memory is 3579MB since the graphics card is using part of the 8GB of memory installed. I plan on getting a HDMI video card that will support the future coming single link HDMI 30 inch 2560 X 1600 computer monitors. Hopefully in a year or two those monitors will be released. I actually miss my old CRT screen that had a better dot pitch and color accuracy compared to the LCD screen I have now.

It might happen sooner.... You know how fast PC advance. Like every 4 to 6 months.

[HDTV1080P]

I just wanted to make a quick comment that Corel WinDVD Plus 9.0 will not play the 1951 HD BLU-RAY movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still". When attempting to play it the 20th Century logo screen appears to say that a firmware update is needed. The WinDVD Plus 9.0 already says it has the latest firmware updates but will not play the disc at all.
Now the Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra Version 8.0 and ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater played "The Day the Earth Stood Still" just fine for the movie and all the bonus material accept the photo gallery. I could not get the photo galley to navigate with either player correctly, it would not return to the prior menu.

[rob.sparrow]

Having joined the forum finally after using the site for a few months, I wanted to add my little piece of wisdom (or not as the case may be )

Having used trial versions of all of the software I bougth Arcsoft Media Theatre. Personally, I use Media center to control all of my vids/music around the house as it is the easiest to use and has the simplest UI ( so when my parents visit, they can use it too) Arcsoft integrates directly into WMC and this works well.

It also outputs all of the audio on correctly on my system. Windvd 9 plus Blu ray did not seem to output Dolby Digital correctly or DTS at all, instead I was only able to use the upmixing facility. This may have been my fault as I built my first media centre PC.

Having tried powerdvd trial, I found issues with some of my HD-dvd's ( I bought a combi player to take use of the cheap amazon HD-dvd's once I knew who had won the war ) and a few of the blue rays that needed keyboard control/remote control function rather than using just a mouse.

The first company to pull together a good looking dvd/blu ray/video/media player that works with all file types, audio settings and upscales will earn a lot of money. So, who will it be?

[hendra]

All the computer BLU-RAY software programs add a 3:2 pulldown process and only support 1080P at 60HZ refresh rate instead of native 24fps (Even though ones graphics card may support multiplies of 24fps it makes no difference since the BLU-RAY software has added 3:2 pulldown before arriving at the graphics card). Also desktop computer monitors that handle 1080P only support 60HZ refresh instead of being able to handle multiplies of the original frame rate.

In order for the monitor (laptop or external) to support multiple of 24Hz, is it sufficient to just update the monitor driver or does the monitor need to be replaced altogether?

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by hendra

In order for the monitor (laptop or external) to support multiple of 24Hz, is it sufficient to just update the monitor driver or does the monitor need to be replaced altogether?

There are no dedicated desktop computer monitors on the market yet that support multiplies of 24fps at 1920 X 1200. All the LCD HDCP desktop computer monitors refresh at 60HZ if one wants to use 1920 X 1200 resolution.
Too enjoy the native 1080P/24 BLU-RAY signal on a computer, computer manufactories need to start making new computer monitors with 48HZ, 72HZ, 96HZ, 120HZ, or higher refresh rates that support 1080P. Then on top of that we need a BLU-RAY software player to be made that has the option to output 1080P/24 directly to the HDCP compatible video card. Then the video card driver could be set to 48HZ, 72HZ, 96HZ, 120HZ, or higher multiplies of 24fps to have film quality look without any 3:2 pulldown.