4K UHD Blu-ray Playback on PC Desktop is officially dead in 2021?

[FionaLamoreaux]

Probably every user of messengers came up with the idea of ​​the possibility of hacking. Some were simply tormented by banal interest and curiosity, some tried to convict their chosen one of lies, others wanted to know the secrets of competitors or the thoughts of business partners. The reasons can be any, but one way or another hacking Whatsapp correspondence is a fix idea for many users.

[rayeknor]

Any hard news on 4k uhd DISC, not iso playback support in future intel cpus? SGX support is confirmed dead so is this it? If not, any sources on Tiger/Rocket lake continuing support? I can't find anything but have not had much time to dig thanks to #2020

[Fjodor2000]

Is there no way to workaround this problem? No non-kosher hacks? No AMD based solution in sight either?

Will it mean 4K BD drives will be completely useless on non-compliant PCs, or only for playing back DRM protected discs? Ripped 4K BDs can still be played and burned I assume.

[HDTV1080P]

Everyone looking for a new BD-ROM drive, should purchase a 4K BD-ROM drive since the drive is 100% compatible with all computers when playing back standard Blu-ray discs (including Blu-ray 3D if one has a 3D display), DVD discs, and audio CD’s. The only issue people are going to run into when inserting a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in a windows PC is that 99% of the time the 4K movie will not play because of no SGX technology. However if the BDA approves a SGX software solution then 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray playback will work with any Windows 10 PC.

[rayeknor]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

However if the BDA approves a SGX software solution then 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray playback will work with any Windows 10 PC.

Not counting on it, it's like expecting gravity to start working in reverse seeing what time has passed. Unbelievable they don't see that this hurts them more then it benefits. There's quite a few pc's out there and 4k/hdr display options are only getting more numerous and cheaper.

[FionaLamoreaux]

Inflation, deficits, falling incomes, unemployment, a large number of deaths. These are not all the consequences that the coronavirus epidemic has already brought. Now many states establish total surveillance of their citizens. This is done in order to quickly recreate the chain of contacts between patients and healthy people and control those who are in quarantine. This is how parental control apps https://celltrackingapps.com/iphone-...al-monitoring/ work. Moreover, if in Western Europe they try to do this in a democratic way, then in some Asian countries the rights and freedoms of citizens are directly violated. This is not surprising. Because I increasingly see these states admit it themselves.

[mande2013]

I was just wondering. Would having PowerDVD 20 and an external UHD drive nullify the need for a set-top box UHD player if I could just connect my laptop to a 4K television and watch discs that way? Besides, PowerDVD is de facto region free since one can reset the number of allowed region code changes for 'regular' blu-ray very easily. I'd need to spend about 350 bucks for a set-top box UHD player that allows region free 1080p blu-ray playback whereas an external UHD drive along with PowerDVD 20 would altogether cost about 250. For the record, I currently have a mid-2015, 15 inch MacBook Pro retina and would be using PowerDVD 20 via Windows. It doesn't have a native 4K display but is compatible with external 4K displays as far as I'm aware.

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I was just wondering. Would having PowerDVD 20 and an external UHD drive nullify the need for a set-top box UHD player if I could just connect my laptop to a 4K television and watch discs that way? Besides, PowerDVD is de facto region free since one can reset the number of allowed region code changes for 'regular' blu-ray very easily. I'd need to spend about 350 bucks for a set-top box UHD player that allows region free 1080p blu-ray playback whereas an external UHD drive along with PowerDVD 20 would altogether cost about 250. For the record, I currently have a mid-2015, 15 inch MacBook Pro retina and would be using PowerDVD 20 via Windows. It doesn't have a native 4K display but is compatible with external 4K displays as far as I'm aware.

Ultra HD Blu-ray requires a 7th generation or later Intel Core i5/i7/i9 processor and currently requires SGX. Apple's hardware doesn't support SGX so you can't even watch Ultra HD Blu-rays on a 2020 Mac until the Blu-ray Disc Association and the player software companies figure out a solution. Besides, I doubt that it would output HDR10+ or Dolby Vision, or even output at 24Hz. Oh, and Apple is transitioning to their own ARM-based Apple Silicon, so the companies will have to figure out a way to make it work on an ARM machine (maybe using the Apple Secure Enclave?)

[HDTV1080P]

Yes so far Apple and AMD CPU’s are not supported for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray playback since no SGX security technology. One has to own a certain brand and model of motherboard that supports SGX in the BIOS and a compatible INTEL CPU with SGX security technology. Then one also needs to use Windows 10 with PowerDVD Ultra version 17, 18, 19, or 20. However at this time only HDR10 is supported with PowerDVD Ultra. Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+ is not supported.

Until the BDA comes out with a software solution for SGX, less then 1% of the population that owns a Windows 10 PC can playback native 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. Buying a standalone Sony or Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player is the best way to watch 4K Ultra HD optical discs.

[MelonGx]

Besides the things mentioned above, OEM UHD drives such as HP BU40N are unable to play legitimate UHD discs (because PowerDVD doesn't accept it).
If you unfortunately bought such a drive, you may need to force-flash it with a modified flasher plus a regular LG BU40N FW.

[mande2013]

Fair enough. Thanks for the responses. As far as I know, the only Apple device that even supports Dolby Vision is the 4K Apple TV, but needless to say, that's simply a streaming box. I think the newest laptops can, as well, when connected to an external display that supports Dolby Vision, but again, only for streaming.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by MelonGx

Besides the things mentioned above, OEM UHD drives such as HP BU40N are unable to play legitimate UHD discs (because PowerDVD doesn't accept it).
If you unfortunately bought such a drive, you may need to force-flash it with a modified flasher plus a regular LG BU40N FW.

I haven't bought such a drive yet, but I was under the impression PowerDVD 20 supports UHD discs. In any case, I'm reluctant to buy a "set top box" UHD blu-ray player until I can find an affordable one that supports region free playback for 1080p blu-rays. Buying a region free blu-ray player and a region-locked-for-1080p UHD player would cost the same as a single fully region free UHD player, and it's one extra device regardless I'd rather not have cluttering up my apartment. For the record, I've generally just been connecting my laptop to larger displays with a HDMI cable to watch 'regular' blu-rays via an external optical drive.

A set top box UHD player without region free 1080p playback is a device I'm just not interested in. I'd almost rather buy a "set top box" region free blu-ray player to avoid the tedium of a HDMI connection with the laptop and wait another year or two for a UHD player or until (who knows?) a PS5 is within my budget.

[JEArgumedo]

Originally Posted by mande2013

Fair enough. Thanks for the responses. As far as I know, the only Apple device that even supports Dolby Vision is the 4K Apple TV, but needless to say, that's simply a streaming box. I think the newest laptops can, as well, when connected to an external display that supports Dolby Vision, but again, only for streaming.

As of 2017, the flagship iPhones and iPad Pros support Dolby Vision + HDR10. The Mac can also playback Dolby Vision content on newer models through the TV app. It's also supported on Apple's Pro Display XDR monitor.

As for UHD Blu-ray, the Mac can playback the content in at least HDR10, but you'll need to rip the disc.

[LexInHD]

The 9th generation Intel CPUs (with GPU) are on clearance sale prices right now, so if you want to throw together a UHD-BD PC, you can save some money, as the few older boards with HDMI 2.0 are likely on clearance prices or low priced due to lack of demand.

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by JEArgumedo

As of 2017, the flagship iPhones and iPad Pros support Dolby Vision + HDR10. The Mac can also playback Dolby Vision content on newer models through the TV app. It's also supported on Apple's Pro Display XDR monitor.

As for UHD Blu-ray, the Mac can playback the content in at least HDR10, but you'll need to rip the disc.

There is currently no legal method of playing Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs on an Apple machine, even under Windows. Once the Blu-ray Disc Association approves of a legal playback method other than Intel SGX, you will be able to play Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs on your Mac using a compatible drive. Also, the Pro Display XDR uses Thunderbolt, not HDMI, and as a result does not support any version of HDCP, let alone 2.2.

[BijouMan]

Are any of you willing to download a program called Nero DiscSpeed? If so, post a screenshot of the graphs with a BD-66 and a BD-100 disc and see if the ScanDisc function works with both disc sizes. Do this with an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive that has not had its firmware hacked. I am thinking of getting one eventually and would like to know if I can use it to check if a new disc has a pressing defect before I go to watch it for the first time.

[P.A.C.O.]

I had heard that Netflix had DRM for 4K on PC, but I had no idea that it applied to UHDs too. This sort of thing is so anti-consumer. When a pirated solution is better and more flexible than the official one, you have problems.

Assuming it's permitted where you live, is it possible to crack the DRM with for play on an AMD machine?

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by JEArgumedo

As of 2017, the flagship iPhones and iPad Pros support Dolby Vision + HDR10. The Mac can also playback Dolby Vision content on newer models through the TV app. It's also supported on Apple's Pro Display XDR monitor.

As for UHD Blu-ray, the Mac can playback the content in at least HDR10, but you'll need to rip the disc.

OK. Under macOS Big Sur, Apple allows the use of the T2 Security Chip found in 2018 and newer Mac computers to stream Netflix in 4K. If it works for Netflix, this method should also work to legally play Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. Although Netflix's copy protection system isn't as sophisticated as Ultra HD Blu-ray's copy protection system and can be decrypted at the software level using Microsoft's PlayReady under Windows, macOS decrypts it at the hardware level using the T2 Security Chip. This would be a BDA-approved method of playing Ultra HD Blu-ray discs on an Apple machine, especially considering the T2 Security Chip is an Apple chip, and Apple's chips are very hacker-proof. Why isn’t Macgo teaming up with Apple to finally make Ultra HD Blu-ray software for Mac? They’ve got the right hardware, so why don’t they put it to use? This is the one thing I have always complained about my Mac not being able to do. Developing such a program will finally ease my complaint and allow me to use my Mac as a portable Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Consider that this is a lot of computers that could benefit from this type of software as they are very popular. Macgo is licensed with the BDA. You guys will have to tell Macgo about this method. Here is their address: support@macblurayplayer.com

[JEArgumedo]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

There is currently no legal method of playing Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs on an Apple machine, even under Windows. Once the Blu-ray Disc Association approves of a legal playback method other than Intel SGX, you will be able to play Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs on your Mac using a compatible drive. Also, the Pro Display XDR uses Thunderbolt, not HDMI, and as a result does not support any version of HDCP, let alone 2.2.

Originally Posted by BijouMan

OK. Under macOS Big Sur, Apple allows the use of the T2 Security Chip found in 2018 and newer Mac computers to stream Netflix in 4K. If it works for Netflix, this method should also work to legally play Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. Although Netflix's copy protection system isn't as sophisticated as Ultra HD Blu-ray's copy protection system and can be decrypted at the software level using Microsoft's PlayReady under Windows, macOS decrypts it at the hardware level using the T2 Security Chip. This would be a BDA-approved method of playing Ultra HD Blu-ray discs on an Apple machine, especially considering the T2 Security Chip is an Apple chip, and Apple's chips are very hacker-proof. Why isn’t Macgo teaming up with Apple to finally make Ultra HD Blu-ray software for Mac? They’ve got the right hardware, so why don’t they put it to use? This is the one thing I have always complained about my Mac not being able to do. Developing such a program will finally ease my complaint and allow me to use my Mac as a portable Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Consider that this is a lot of computers that could benefit from this type of software as they are very popular. Macgo is licensed with the BDA. You guys will have to tell Macgo about this method. Here is their address: support@macblurayplayer.com

VLC + MakeMKV can play the disc back without ripping it if you want to go that route. Seriously, there's no need for an of the hardware decryption either. The Mac is fully capable of playing back 4K UHD Blu-ray without Intel SGX or T2 chip or anything (running a 2019 iMac). I literally just found this out and tested it myself. Plays back, no ripping if that's super important to you.

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by JEArgumedo

VLC + MakeMKV can play the disc back without ripping it if you want to go that route. Seriously, there's no need for an of the hardware decryption either. The Mac is fully capable of playing back 4K UHD Blu-ray without Intel SGX or T2 chip or anything (running a 2019 iMac). I literally just found this out and tested it myself. Plays back, no ripping if that's super important to you.

However, this is not a legal method of playback. In order for a playback method to be legal, the decryption must take place at the hardware level. These companies are not licensed by the BDA. Macgo is. That's why they need to do what I described above. As far as I know, illegal playback or ripping methods are not allowed to be mentioned on the Blu-ray forum. If enough people tell Macgo about this, we can finally bring Ultra HD Blu-ray to the Mac. Please delete your post before a moderator notices.