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Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
I have decided to purchase a Bluray drive after watching some bluray movies on a friends PS3 on my tv the difference to DVD is quite markable.
I was looking at getting the pioneer drive as it comes with power dvd and the play movie plugin. I am also aware of TMT but I have had no experience with this program. I can always install it and try it out but since it will be in my HTPC I try and do as little chopping and changing with programs and codecs as possible.
Can ppl please recommend or give information on the software setups they are using to play their bluray/hd dvd discs in the HTPC's.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mox
I have decided to purchase a Bluray drive after watching some bluray movies on a friends PS3 on my tv the difference to DVD is quite markable.
I was looking at getting the pioneer drive as it comes with power dvd and the play movie plugin. I am also aware of TMT but I have had no experience with this program. I can always install it and try it out but since it will be in my HTPC I try and do as little chopping and changing with programs and codecs as possible.
Can ppl please recommend or give information on the software setups they are using to play their bluray/hd dvd discs in the HTPC's.
Thanx,
Mox
PowerDVD with PlayMovie works great! no need to change or add anything... Just be sure your hardware is compatible too. I had to change from an AMD based system to an Intel one to get mine working properly....
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
PlayMovie is far from a "great" solution but certainly gets the job done and I'm not really aware of anything better. Be aware that you won't need PowerDVD if you are using HDMI or SP-DIF audio outputs as the decoding is done on the receiver with pass-thru connections.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Quote:
Originally Posted by logifuse
ArcSoft's TotalMedia Theatre is the (only?) alternative - I've only had a brief play with it, but the VMC plugin seemed to work OK.
Maybe someone who has fully tested both recently could comment?
Justin
I havn't tried PlayMovie, but TotalMedia integrates quite smoothly. It still launches as a seperate process, but it works with the MCE remote, and is quite well behaved. I.e. if you mash the Media center button, it closes and returns you back to VMC. While the skin doesn't really look like VMC... it's got the same sort of feel.
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Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
From what I have read the TMT seems like the best deal. I was also looking at the new Xonar HDMI 1.3 sound card, this ships with a copy of TMT and also comes with analogue outputs for HD audio. This would be perfect for me as my receiver does not have HDMI but will accept multiple analogue.
I will trial TMT and if it is good, i might purchase the xonar and get a copy with the sound card.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vico
That card does not do Bitstreaming and does not work in vista, check AVS forums for more info..
Geez, looks like the whole thing is a bit of a lemon. I really want to get bluray but I am not going to use some half arsed hardware and crappy software to play it.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mox
Geez, looks like the whole thing is a bit of a lemon. I really want to get bluray but I am not going to use some half arsed hardware and crappy software to play it.
If bit streaming Dolbly TrueHD and DTS-HD MA is a must have for you, then a blu ray HTPC is not for you at this stage, your only option ATM is a dedicated appliance blu-ray player.
ExtremePC started a thread a while ago that contained a list of dedicated appliance blu-ray player that does bit streaming Dolbly TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Hi,
I have the Pioneer Bluray drive in my htpc and I am using the powerdvd software. I have sound and video going straight into my tv via HDMI and as such do not have to worry about external amplifiers etc. Whilst it's not the most integrated solution it is certainly liveable and the picture quality difference between DVD and bluray is definitely noticeable. I'm a fan.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Hi,
I have so far tested PowerDVD 8 and am only mildly impressed at this stage.
I have an Onkyo 605 (HDMI in and Out) connected to a 720p LCD (yes I know, buy a 1080p you cheap bastard) and the Blu-ray quality is not much sharper than the DVD playback (DVD playback through Media Centre). I understand that the quality will not be to the maximum, however from my understanding that the Blu-ray should outshine the DVD even on the 720p TV.
I am going to test ArcSoft Total Media Centre and WinDVD 8 over the next few days to see if I can get any further improvement in picture Quality.
If anyone has any suggestions on other software, please do not hesitate to comment.
I will update this post with the results of both software packages.
Re: Purchasing a Bluray drive, what software are ppl using
Greetings!
I am very new to bluray playback on a PC (Vistax64 HP) but the software experience with ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre is just incredible. I was deeply dissapointed with the OEM version of PowerDVD 7.3 bundled with my Pioneer BDROM (you give me beautiful BR playback but 2.0 stereo? c'mon!) and with strong recommendation from other forums plus a lack of a trial version I decided to simply rely on word and just shell out the money for Arcsoft. Alas I am mighty impressed!
The software is just so slick with no nagging prompts to register and unnecessary space reserved for such content like 'cyberlink's offers and specials'. It also feels lightweight. The only disc I have right now is Lost season 4 and although the software is eating 436MB RAM (utilizing?) during 45mins of playback so far, the CPU usage is around '10' using Hardware acceleration. The iRocks MCE remote works within its own program and the MCE plugin is quite transparent, and much less sluggish then PDVD.
Meanwhile PowerDVD 7.3 crashed and froze on me multiple times- even when inserting discs and starting playback for the first time the computer would momentarily freeze (though the mouse was responsive). When it did work, it switched to 2.0 despite the option of selecting 5.1 in the configuration. Very VERY misleading. I suppose folk buying a drive of this nature are abit more savvy at setting up their PCs for ultimate playback anyway.
I tried the trial version of PowerDVD 8.0 but apparently it didn't have bluray support. Anyway totally wiped all things PowerDVD off my computer, bloat and all!
Don't add insult to injury - give your bluray playback it deserves and spread the word other users of this software.
Note: there's a process where you can immediately get 20% off a one off purchase from Arcsoft. Simply download the 'raw thumbnail viewer' from the site, register the product and then they'll email you a code for discount.
Didnt realize how long this post became. I hope it helps new enthusiasts like myself!
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