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

[rushnerd]

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

TYVM! I "obtained" the Ultra version and everything seems to be up and running now. I like how they make you upgrade to the highest version just a use the functionality of powerdvd that people only use it for.

I HATE the product, but blu-ray software is far and inbetween.

[X400]

hey guys i use my laptop for region locked bd's i was wondering if any software out there actually decodes lossless audio and lets me get MPCM on my receiver?

or is hardware the only way to get this done?

[VHS4Ever]

Try ArcSoft's TotalMedia Theatre. It is like 100x better that PowerDVD Ultra. PowerDVD has way too many capatiblity issues.

[X400]

thnx will do

[primitiveskin]

Are all previous mentions of ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre in reference to version 2? I don't know when it was released, but it appears that if you currently want to run Blu-ray Discs, you should purchase TotalMedia Theatre 3 Platinum at $89.99: http://www.arcsoft.com/estore/softwa...ductCode=TMT3P

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by primitiveskin

Are all previous mentions of ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre in reference to version 2? I don't know when it was released, but it appears that if you currently want to run Blu-ray Discs, you should purchase TotalMedia Theatre 3 Platinum at $89.99: http://www.arcsoft.com/estore/softwa...ductCode=TMT3P

v2.x will still play many(most) Blu-ray discs.
As time cruises along, newer discs may start being problematic and error out.
Don't know if ArcSoft is still updating v2.x, so it would probably be best to opt for v3.

I did...

[leQ]

Originally Posted by rushnerd

TYVM! I "obtained" the Ultra version and everything seems to be up and running now. I like how they make you upgrade to the highest version just a use the functionality of powerdvd that people only use it for.

I HATE the product, but blu-ray software is far and inbetween.

does anybody know whether windows media player is coming out with a BD plugin? someone said something along those lines a few months back at a conference i was at, but i couldn't track down anything. so figure someone in here would have heard about it.

that would totally rock because the 3 apps out there now, are finicky as a devil. i've tried all three and i didn't have such a good experience as HDTV1080P had. but i don't have the hardware he had either. still, i'm not cramping corners with my rig (i've got 2 laptops, a sony vaio, and an asus G50). the asus is running win7 whereas the vaio is running vista.

what happens to me is that the program (TMT) seems to start, but it never produces a window. and i have to kill the process in windows task manager. powerDVD will get to be loading the blu ray disc, and hang at 99%. i'm having a problem with winDVD too, as it can't see my drive in vista. i haven't had the chance to put it on the asus as that laptop is out on a lend trip. i'm hoping one of these will let me watch the movies i've bought.

[frostdemonstorm]

What can be said about region lock in TMT and WinDVD? AFAIK PowerDVD Ultra can be hacked a bit to switch BD regions unlimited number of times. What about competitors?

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by frostdemonstorm

What can be said about region lock in TMT and WinDVD? AFAIK PowerDVD Ultra can be hacked a bit to switch BD regions unlimited number of times. What about competitors?

Since the regions are handled by the software, a simple uninstall and reinstall(from what I've heard) will reset the 5 count.

[frostdemonstorm]

Originally Posted by dadkins

Since the regions are handled by the software, a simple uninstall and reinstall(from what I've heard) will reset the 5 count.

So, they do not leave nasty traces in windows registry, it's good news for people who already purchased one or another
But cyberlink software is still better - there is no need to reinstall it to reset the counter, so i'll stuck with it.

[hylong]

Originally Posted by 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 )

It seems that very few people on this thread routing the sound through their sound system (receiver and/or pre/amp). I'm interesting in finding out which hardware that will allow bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS MA. Thanks!

[prerich]

Originally Posted by hylong

It seems that very few people on this thread routing the sound through their sound system (receiver and/or pre/amp). I'm interesting in finding out which hardware that will allow bitstreaming TrueHD and DTS MA. Thanks!

Currently - 3 choices from the same manufacturer.

1. Asus HDAV 1.3 Deluxe model - about $249.00
2. Asus HDAV 1.3 Standard - about $200.00
3. Asus HDAV 1.3 Slim - about $150.00

You can only use these with TMT.

The X-Fi Home Theater is currently on back order from Auzentech and can bitstream also - it is designed to be used with PDVD.

You can also have lossless audio out of the analog outs using the VIA 889A codec (if you have that chipset) with TMT. Several other chipsets are currently being worked on that have PAP writen into their designs also.

[rob.sparrow]

Update**

I have now upgraded to TMT 3 and the latest patch. I am very impressed.

Hardware -

Dual Core processor PC running Vista 64bit
LG Blu Ray Drive ( cant remember the model but its got a 20 in it )
Asus HDMI HDAV 1.3 Soundcard - Standar Version
Nvida 9 series 9600 GTS
Attached to -
a Sony Amp with 7.1, HD sound capability - Tweaked the rear surrounds to make it 8.1 with a centre rear surround also
Toshiba Regza 46" TV

Sotware -

Arcsoft TMT 3 with patch
Nero 8
Windows Media Centre
Anydvd trial

So far, this has been succesful in playing every blu ray I have bought or rented from the Goonies to Gran Tourino, Batman Dark Knight, Serenity, My Bloody Valentine 3D etc. No issues at all, giving me the full whack from Picture and sound. For me, well worth the spend.

[blckman]

Originally Posted by rob.sparrow

Update**

I have now upgraded to TMT 3 and the latest patch. I am very impressed.

Hardware -

Dual Core processor PC running Vista 64bit
LG Blu Ray Drive ( cant remember the model but its got a 20 in it )
Asus HDMI HDAV 1.3 Soundcard - Standar Version
Nvida 9 series 9600 GTS
Attached to -
a Sony Amp with 7.1, HD sound capability - Tweaked the rear surrounds to make it 8.1 with a centre rear surround also
Toshiba Regza 46" TV

Sotware -

Arcsoft TMT 3 with patch
Nero 8
Windows Media Centre
Anydvd trial

So far, this has been succesful in playing every blu ray I have bought or rented from the Goonies to Gran Tourino, Batman Dark Knight, Serenity, My Bloody Valentine 3D etc. No issues at all, giving me the full whack from Picture and sound. For me, well worth the spend.

I so agree rob.sparrow. I just updated that a week or two ago and love the improvements. I can play all of my HD-DVD's in my LG GGC-H20L Drive. I have to say and take back what I said earlier. I think that Arcsoft is TMT 3 is the better software. Althogh I still run PowerDVD Ultra that came with the drive. The huge difference was that the speech gets ahead of itself on PowerDVD. However, TMT 3 is spot on. I tried WinDVD and it sucked to me. Nice post and onboard with you on this one.

[hylong]

Originally Posted by prerich

Currently - 3 choices from the same manufacturer.

1. Asus HDAV 1.3 Deluxe model - about $249.00
2. Asus HDAV 1.3 Standard - about $200.00
3. Asus HDAV 1.3 Slim - about $150.00

You can only use these with TMT.

The X-Fi Home Theater is currently on back order from Auzentech and can bitstream also - it is designed to be used with PDVD.

You can also have lossless audio out of the analog outs using the VIA 889A codec (if you have that chipset) with TMT. Several other chipsets are currently being worked on that have PAP writen into their designs also.

Thanks for the info.
I'm presently running the optical out through my Marantz 8002 (H.38) pairing with Paradigm Studio 20v.3 for home theatre. The mother board (K8N Diamond) intergrated with SoundBlaster Live 24 which support up to 7.1 channels 24 bit and 96Khz sampling rate. I've not yet try using the analog portion. I'll try using it with TMT to see how it will play out.
I'm also using the Oppo 83 bitstreaming to the receiver and everything is working wonderfully. I'm just curious and want to compare with my HTPC.

[bfellow]

Any reason I should switch to PowerDVD 9 from 8 and 7.3? Or keep both 8 and 7.3?

[HDTV1080P]

Update regarding the latest hardware build for a PC with a BLU-RAY drive

When I originally created this thread back in November 22nd 2008 I was surprised that someone made the thread a sticky. Who every made this thread a sticky can un stick the thread if they want. I do not plan to update it too often. I do not use my computer for BLU-RAY viewing that often unless it is for the BD-LIVE feature (Disc load times and BD-LIVE is super fast on a computer running DDR3 memory. A fast PC outperforms any standalone BLU-RAY player every made so far when it comes to the BD-LIVE feature and disc load times). Still hoping some company makes a BLU-RAY computer software player that outputs true 1080P/24 instead of 1080P/60 with 3:2 pulldown (There are graphics cards that do a reverse 3:2 pulldown and output 1080p/24 but it would be ideal if the 3:2 pulldown process could be bypassed completely). I prefer using a standalone BLU-RAY player like the OPPO BDP-83 and a Pioneer plasma for most of my BLU-RAY watching.

Here is updated information on the latest computer I built for someone

Prior build comments:
Originally last summer and fall in 2008 I built a few computers that used the ASUS Striker II Extreme motherboard with 8GB of 2000MHZ DDR3 memory under clocked at 1600MHZ for stability (motherboard could only handle 8GB at a maximum of 1600HZ) . In generally the computer is nice and fast. There is one problem I ran into with this ASUS Striker II Extreme Motherboard on several builds and what I heard from other people that used the board: There is some type of hardware or software glitch with the motherboard that causes it to freeze and lock up once every month or two. The computer runs 24 X 7 but every so often it will freeze about every month and needs power cycled. Also a Vista blue screen of death occurs sometimes when watching BLU-RAY's and the computer needs rebooted. Of course I have also seen high-end several thousand dollar Laptops crash with a Vista blue screen of death when watching a BLU-RAY movie.

ASUS just recently came out with a BIOS update for the Striker II Extreme at the end of July 2009 called "BIOS 1203" , the description says "Improve the stability of certain memory". This is good news since I have been using BIOS 1104 for almost a year. Hopefully the new BIOS 1203 update will stop the hardware freezes that occur every month or two. I will have to wait to see since I only updated the BIOS a few days ago. No other computer design I built every locked up after being on for a month. This is not the Windows operating system freezing. It is the motherboard itself. http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=q8RE9mdlDnDHRRRR&templete=2

I built a couple computers using the Intel X58 motherboard design which is a lot better and very stable computer

Here is the latest computer I built for someone back in July 2009, and I am thinking about upgrading my motherboard to the new design.

1. 10,000 RPM 300GB Hard drive (Next computer I build I might use a solid state memory drive instead of a physical hard drive for even greater speed).

2. Intel Core I7 processor (Even though only one physical processor is being used, Device manager for Vista shows 8 processors in use since the processor is designed for extreme multi-tasking).

3. 12GB of 2000MHZ DDR3 memory being under clocked to 1600MHZ for greatest stability.

4. LiteOn 8X BLU-RAY drive, Reads DVD's at 16X speed and CD's at 48X speed (I like the 8X speed drive for improved Blu-Ray fast scan forward speed quality).

5. LiteOn 18 X SATA DVD-ROM.

6. 24 inch Samsung T240 monitor. 1920 X 1200 LCD monitor can only be refresh at 60Hz for 1080P mode.

7. Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit Edition with Free update coupon to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit Edition once it is released.

8. All the latest software drivers and Windows updates installed.

9. 1250 Watt Power Supply.

10. EVGA X58 SLI Classified Desktop Board (uses the latest Intel X58 chipset and is very stable) I am very impressed with EVGA quality and customer service.

11. EVGA Graphics card.

12. Verizon FIOS Internet Connection.

So far the person I built the new high-end computer for has had no major problems. The person using the EVGA X58 SLI Classified Desktop Board has experienced no problems at all while watching BLU-RAY's and no system freezes or lock up's like what was experienced with the ASUS Striker II motherboard design. The computer is running in triple channel mode with 12GB of memory at 1600MHZ and it is super fast. When I find time I would like to upgrade my Striker II motherboard to the Intel X58 chipset design using Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit Edition when it is released.

EVGA X58 SLI Classified Desktop motherboard detailed memory info

Regarding the EVGA X58 SLI Classified Desktop Board mentioned above. I should have originally mentioned the brand and model of the memory I used to get 12GB working at 1600MHZ. First I tried several models of OCZ DDR3 memory that claimed that they were triple channel designs especially made for the X58 motherboards. The problem I ran into is that several memory modules I tested that were labeled as X58 triple channel would burn out when under clocked to 1600MHZ with 12GB of memory installed. They just were either a bad quality memory batch I received or they just could not handle the heat being generated with 12GB running in triple channel mode at 1600MHZ even though the memory was being under clocked. I finally ended up using the OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Flex EX series that is marketed as a 2000MHZ DDR3 memory for dual channel use. Even though this dual channel Flex EX series memory is cheaper then the X58 triple channel memory models I tried it works perfectly fine in triple channel mode at 12GB. I built one PC for someone that is using this memory at 4GB in dual channel mode at 1867 MHZ and it works fine. I also built one PC that uses this Flex Memory in triple channel mode at 1600MHZ using 12GB of memory and it works perfectly fine.

The 2000MHZ OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Flex EX can handle extreme heat with its excellent heat sink that is built in. I am not using any liquid cooling at all to keep costs lower and the PC's are running just fine. I even tested them in an extreme high temperature environment over several weeks and this X58 EVGA motherboard and OCZ memory holds up very good with no liquid cooling even at high room temperatures. The motherboard and memory support liquid cooling for even greater performance.

One thing about this motherboard and memory configuration. It is extremely fast, I have never seen a faster home PC yet. The PC is also very stable and has never locked up. This speed does come with a cost. It does generate a lot of heat with the fans in the PC increasing the room temperature in the room. Perhaps maybe when I build the next PC I might use liquid cooling to keep the PC cooler and have less heat being generated.
Here is a link to the memory that was used in the motherboard

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr3_pc3_16000_flex_ex_series

[HDTV1080P]

The EVGA X58 SLI Classified motherboard was EVGA's best board available a couple of months ago back in early July. Computer technology changes very fast. Two months later after building a couple of PC's for someone that wanted the best quality and fastest design I see now that there is a new EVGA X58 Classified with 4 Way SLI coming out and a EGA X58 SLI Classified Hydro Copper design that is now available which are slight improvements compared to the EVGA X58 SLI Classified.


I have had very good experience with EVGA boards. Never had to exchange one so far. They all have worked perfectly so far. I have had bad experiences with a few other companies motherboards.

[saljr]

Has anyone use Win 7 media center to play Blu-Ray. MS just announce it will support Dolby Digital Plus. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/win...plus,8485.html

[DrasticPlastic]

would be better if it supported Dolby TrueHD... or does it support that in addition to DD+