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

[Roger Zoul]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor on BLU-RAY is not 100% compatible with Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra Version 8.0. Everything works on the BLU-RAY disc accept the BD-LIVE feature. When attempting to play BD-LIVE with the latest firmware update from Cyberlink it just displays the Universal message that mentions something like a firmware update might be needed since the BD-LIVE function is not compatible with the player. Hopefully Cyberlink will release a firmware update to correct this issue.

Is Cyberlink selling Blu-ray drives now? Otherwise, firmware is software that updates the "brains" of a blu-ray drive, made and sold by blu-ray drive manufacturer.

Perhaps you mean a software update to Cyberlinke PowerDVD Ultra 8.0? I can see Cyberlink releasing updates to make PowerDVD work with more players, but unless they are selling blu-ray drives, they probably aren't in the firmware business, as there are too many different players on the market.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by Roger Zoul

Is Cyberlink selling Blu-ray drives now? Otherwise, firmware is software that updates the "brains" of a blu-ray drive, made and sold by blu-ray drive manufacturer.

Perhaps you mean a software update to Cyberlinke PowerDVD Ultra 8.0? I can see Cyberlink releasing updates to make PowerDVD work with more players, but unless they are selling blu-ray drives, they probably aren't in the firmware business, as there are too many different players on the market.

Yes the more proper term to use would have been a software update. Firmware flashes new software onto a EEPROM or some other type of chip. Software for the computer is stored on the hard drive.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Is there a better program than Cyberlink PowerDVD BD Edition? I've been having constant problems with Dogma and Saw IV. The picture keeps stoping and speeding up while playing. I got Saw V and the colors are all jacked up on it.

[rob.sparrow]

Having upgraded my pc to a better graphcis card and an Asus hdmi soundcard I have also updated to the beta Arcsoft program I was pointed to by Asus.

This allows direct throughput of my sounds via HDMI for my AV reciever to transfer. I am now enjoying full Dolby TrueHD, DTS Matser HD 5.1 and 7.1 sources. I have to say that I agree that a standalone player may have given me this in one package, but my Home Theatre PC is used for so much more than just BD that I am very glad I did it this way.

The only downside is the compatibility of some movies ( although the ones in my personal library are all fine with no crashes ). It may mean that one day I too come across a BD that fails using the TMT software.

For now, the Beta is the only one I can think of that allows pass through of HDMI sound ( although I notice Cyberlink has a blurb on the website but on further inspection I cannot find how to change the sound to anything other than the usual speakers or SPDIF options )

This one is def for me at the moment. Stable, Great sound and vision, quick to load and no hastle to use. With the link in Media Centre, my parents are very used to using this now ( a plus whenever I look at software - can my parents use it easily - the benchmark for all of my needs so I am not on the phone explaining what to do every 5 minutes )

[becomingwater]

Originally Posted by cinema725

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

Same here

[tlmaclennan]

Finally was able to get TMT to work with Vista 64-bit. Definitely a nice program. I will be using it and PowerDVD from now on...no more WinDVD!

[hardcorefrokid]

BD-Live works with HP Quickplay on my PC. An update I guess.

[CdnBlu]

I hope they do something with PowerDVD 9 (or maybe my computer just sucks).
Currently running a Quad Core Q6600 2.4, 8GB of Ram, 680i LT mobo, 8800GTS graphics card, vista 64-bit and an LG BH08 Burner. Currently connected to a Samsung 24" monitor and a 32" Toshiba TV.
I was watching Fight Club last night, and the colors appear very dark on my tv while the monitor will play it, but it looks very grainy. I tried to change the resolution on my television but it's stuck at 800x600 (no other resolution shows picture except this one)

I haven't had much time to fiddle with it, but hopefully I can do something. This is my only way to play my region B movies.

[HDTV1080P]

I just received Cyberlink Power DVD Ultra version 9 in the mail. I purchased the retail box version that comes with a CD-ROM and manual.

[juicerx8]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

I just received Cyberlink Power DVD Ultra version 9 in the mail. I purchased the retail box version that comes with a CD-ROM and manual.

any comments on it?

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by juicerx8

any comments on it?

I have not installed it yet. I mainly watch BLU-RAY's on a standalone BLU-RAY player and a Pioneer PRO-141FD. I plan on installing it on Tuesday and I might make some comments if there is some major improvements over version 8. BD-LIVE is a lot faster on a PC compared to a standalone BLU-RAY player.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by juicerx8

any comments on it?

I like the new version better then the older one. It appears to be more stable. I still need to use this program some more before making more comments. When I get some more hours in the program I might make some more comments. When I installed version 9 of PowerDVD from CD-ROM there was already a update patch to install. Currently using the program under the latest patch. BD-LIVE works nice and super fast and is much better then any standalone BLU-RAY player when it comes to the BD-LIVE feature. I like using my PC for BD-LIVE, but perfer a standalone BLU-RAY player connected to a Pioneer PRO-141FD monitor for most of the BLU-RAY watching.

[HDTV1080P]

CYBERLINK POWERDVD 9 Ultra (brief comments)

Overall Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra is an improvement over version 8. I can now play "The Final Countdown" with version 9, I was not able to play that title with version 8 with the software version I was using at the time. Also the disc load times appear to be a little faster and I like the bar graph with version 9 that shows the disc load progress. ArcSoft Total Media Theater has faster disc navigation with the menus compared to PowerDVD version 9.

Cyberlink PowerDVD version 9.0 Ultra appears to be more stable and reliable compared to the older version. Using picture and picture and BD-live showed no problems at all. TotalMedia Theater might be a little faster with BD-LIVE compared to PowerDVD version 9, but all this can change since both products offer future software updates.

I do like the info bit rate screen with PowerDVD version 9.0 that shows the video format and audio format being used along with bit rates (version 8 also has this feature). Power DVD version 9.0 also shows the secondary video and audio format being used with bit rate when picture and picture commentary tracks are being played. I do wish PowerDVD would display the screen format being played like other players do. For example other BLU-RAY software players will let you know when 720 X 480 or 1920 X 1080 content is being played. PowerDVD lacks that detailed info.

These were just a few brief comments. Perhaps someone that has more time can give a full in-depth review of the new software. It would be ideal for some video magazine or PC magazine to review the different software packages but so far I have not seen any reviews. Cyberlink PowerDVD version 9.0 Ultra and Arsoft Total Media Theater are the two best software packages for PC BLU-RAY playback. For serious PC users that watch a lot of movies and play a lot of bonus features on the disc owning both software packages is ideal since once and a while a title might not play on one software package but plays on the other. As the PC software improves over time in theory there will be better reliability. For PC users that are only interested in watching the movie with out seeing bonus features owning one software package will work most of the time with most titles. At least that is my experience. Standalone BLU-RAY players are not always perfect, there have been times I had minor navigation issues with a standalone BLU-RAY player and had to load the disc in a PC. Overall standalone BLU-RAY players are the most reliable and very stable and they offer true 1080p/24 output. The PC speed is ideal for BD-LIVE. For those that want the fastest BD-LIVE experience, nothing beats a fast PC with DDR3 memory and a fast connection like Verizon FIOS. HD trailer downloads can be very fast.

[rushnerd]

I just obtained PowerDVD9 and upgraded to the latest patch. WHAT A SURPRISE, it cannot even play Blu-Ray discs and I can't find any help anywhere on the problem. Powerdvd8 worked fine, but this one just says "it cannot read this format".
I expected this from the latest version of this bloatware, but i'm shocked I can't find a workaround.

Any help?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by rushnerd

I just obtained PowerDVD9 and upgraded to the latest patch. WHAT A SURPRISE, it cannot even play Blu-Ray discs and I can't find any help anywhere on the problem. Powerdvd8 worked fine, but this one just says "it cannot read this format".
I expected this from the latest version of this bloatware, but i'm shocked I can't find a workaround.

Any help?

Just asking to make sure, but did you buy PowerDVD9 Ultra? If not then that would be the problem since PowerDVD 9 and PowerDVD 9 Deluxe do not support Blu-ray playback.

http://www.cyberlink.com/products/po...ail_en_US.html

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Just asking to make sure, but did you buy PowerDVD9 Ultra? If not then that would be the problem since PowerDVD 9 and PowerDVD 9 Deluxe do not support Blu-ray playback.

http://www.cyberlink.com/products/po...ail_en_US.html

To make things less confusing and to have a better name for the product, hopefully next year or sometime in the future when Cyberlink comes out with new software they should call it PowerBLU-RAY10 Ultra instead of just PowerDVD10 Ultra. Having the name BLU-RAY in the title instead of DVD in theory would generate more sales.

[HDTV1080P]

Corel WinDVD9 is not playing the latest 20th Century Fox titles. As far as I am aware I have the latest update and patch. The automatic update does not work at all with Corel WinDVD9. Several 20th Century Fox titles like X-MEN does not work with WinDVD9.

Also Total Media Theater does not play X-MEN using the latest update. The disc loads but the menu screen never appears even after waiting several minutes. This has been the only 20th Century Fox title that I have had problems with running Total Media Theater as far as I can remember.

Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra was able to play X-Men. I did have the player crash a few times but I was able to play the entire movie with all extras on disc one.

Two more issues that I do not like about using computer BLU-RAY software players

1. Unable to manually turn off the monitor when a BLU-RAY disc is inserted do to HDCP issues: No matter what player I am using to play BLU-RAY discs if I want to pause a movie and turn off the computer monitor using the power switch on the monitor I get some type of message about HDCP. Then to play the movie again one needs to reboot the computer. All of the BLU-RAY software packages drop HDCP sync when the monitor is turned off for a few seconds and turned on again. It would be ideal if future BLU-RAY software could re-sync to the HDCP once the monitor is turned off and back on using the manual power switch on the monitor.

2. Power setting problems: When the BLU-RAY software is loaded the power settings are disabled. This is ideal since no one wants the monitor to turn off while watching a BLU-RAY movie. The problem is most of the time all of the BLU-RAY software packages I have used have some type of glitch that forgets to re-enable the power setting rules. For example I have my computer set to automatically turn off the display after 20 minutes if no one is using the computer. The BLU-RAY players will disable this setting when launching like they should. No one wants to be watching a movie and have the monitor turn off. The problem is that most of the time when closing the BLU-RAY software player this feature will not be re-enabled and the monitor is set to never turn off. So most of the time when I get done watching a BLU-RAY movie I need to manually change Vista Ultimate 64 Bit Edition with Service pack 1 to turn off the monitor in 20 minutes. I wish this issue would get fixed. It happens to me most of the time when I use any BLU-RAY player. Only once and a while the BLU-RAY software player will correctly restore the turn off monitor power setting to 20 minutes when the BLU-RAY software is closed.

[HDTV1080P]

Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra will not play the bonus Disc 2 of X-Men.

I tried watching Disc 2 of X-Men which is the BLU-RAY bonus disc. I have the opposite results with that disc. Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra will not play the bonus Disc 2 of X-Men. I get the following java script error and selecting either yes or no locks up the Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra player. BD-J Application Certification:"This Blu-ray Disc's digital signature is not recognized or is invalid, therefore the BD-J content may be unsafe. Do you want to continue the connection to the BD-Live site? Click "Yes" to continue the connection. Click "No" to continue the playback without Internet access." The funny thing is the bonus disc does not have any BD-LIVE content and selecting yes or no locks up the player.

Both Total Media Theater and Corel WinDVD9 work fine playing the bonus disc with no java script error message poping up. Therefore, for X-MEN I need one BLU-RAY software player to play the movie and another BLU-RAY player to play the bonus disc 2.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra will not play the bonus Disc 2 of X-Men.

I tried watching Disc 2 of X-Men which is the BLU-RAY bonus disc. I have the opposite results with that disc. Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra will not play the bonus Disc 2 of X-Men. I get the following java script error and selecting either yes or no locks up the Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra player. BD-J Application Certification:"This Blu-ray Disc's digital signature is not recognized or is invalid, therefore the BD-J content may be unsafe. Do you want to continue the connection to the BD-Live site? Click "Yes" to continue the connection. Click "No" to continue the playback without Internet access." The funny thing is the bonus disc does not have any BD-LIVE content and selecting yes or no locks up the player.

Both Total Media Theater and Corel WinDVD9 work fine playing the bonus disc with no java script error message poping up. Therefore, for X-MEN I need one BLU-RAY software player to play the movie and another BLU-RAY player to play the bonus disc 2.

I am having the exact same problem with X2 X-MEN United. Only PowerDVD 9 Ultra is able to play the movie. I am getting the exact same java script error when trying to play the bonus disc with PowerDVD 9 Ultra. Total Media Theater is working fine with X2 bonus disc but does not work on my system when trying to play the movie.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra will not play the bonus Disc 2 of X-Men.

I tried watching Disc 2 of X-Men which is the BLU-RAY bonus disc. I have the opposite results with that disc. Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra will not play the bonus Disc 2 of X-Men. I get the following java script error and selecting either yes or no locks up the Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra player. BD-J Application Certification:"This Blu-ray Disc's digital signature is not recognized or is invalid, therefore the BD-J content may be unsafe. Do you want to continue the connection to the BD-Live site? Click "Yes" to continue the connection. Click "No" to continue the playback without Internet access." The funny thing is the bonus disc does not have any BD-LIVE content and selecting yes or no locks up the player.

Both Total Media Theater and Corel WinDVD9 work fine playing the bonus disc with no java script error message poping up. Therefore, for X-MEN I need one BLU-RAY software player to play the movie and another BLU-RAY player to play the bonus disc 2.

I am having the exact same problem with X3 X-MEN THE LAST STAND (The old X3 works fine, its just the X3 that was included in the trilogy box set). Only PowerDVD 9 Ultra is able to play the movie. I am getting the exact same java script error when trying to play the bonus disc with PowerDVD 9 Ultra. Total Media Theater is working fine with X3 bonus disc but does not work on my system when trying to play the movie.

I noticed that X3 is on a dual layer disc and 20th Century Fox only used 26.1GB of space. I wish 20th Century Fox would have used a higher bit rate encode so the entire 50GB disc could be filled up for a higher quality picture. The only special thing about the BD-LIVE feature for the trilogy boxset is to purchase a movie ticket for the new X-Men pre-sequel. I really do not want to use BD-LIVE to purchase movie tickets. Hopefully future 20th Century Fox titles will have more BD-LIVE features. The best BD-LIVE feature I have seen so far was "The Chronicles of Riddick" that had a special commentary track on BD-LIVE. It was only offered as streaming commentary with no download option. The problem with streaming commentary over downloading is that streaming only allows one to pause the movie, one cannot scan back or forward. Some Sony titles offer true HD quality movie trailer downloads on BD-LIVE that are nice to watch and offer full scan foward and scan back.