Dadofamunky
Platinum Member
Greetings! I've just built the Vista 64-bit Core2Duo system in my sig and added a new Lite-On Blu-Ray drive. It comes with the standard Cyberlink PowerDVD software (astoundingly, Windows Media Player does not play hi-def discs at all). I've also installed a copy of AnyDVD HD. Now, under Vista 64-bit Home Premium, I get a blank screen running the Blu-Ray version of 300. AnyDVD HD seems to load the disc in under ten seconds. The timer increments second-by-second, as if the movie was playing properly, but the player screen is black. Neither of my monitors is HDCP compliant, which is why I'm running the AnyDVD software. I'm using a Dell 20.1" 5:4 ratio LCD for the time being.
Does anyone have a similar setup and some thoughts on dealing with this issue? I don't expect to get the best possible quality playback; I'm just trying to get it to work properly in preparation for a 24" monitor with the correct compliance specs. the best I can do under current circumstances is 720p.
Hope some others have had experience with a similar platform. In the meantime, I'm gonna continue to play around with it.
***UPDATE***I'm successfully running 720p Hi-Def on my system. It required an update to CyberLink PowerDVD 7.3 (which is currently bundled with the Lite-On drives). And yes, before I offer more thoughts, it really DOES make a difference. Even 720p is significantly sharper and cleaner than the best standatd-def DVD on your computer.
Some thoughts:
If you buy a Lite-On Blu-Ray drive (THIS ONE!), it will work like a tank assuming you have significant processing and video card power. You MUST also update the bundled software, because it will simply not work on your system after you physically install the drive. Here is a link to where the key PowerDVD updates are located. They do a good job hiding this page; I had to do a Google search to find it because their site does not provide straightforward navigation.
With the system in my sig, the Blu-Ray movies I've tried initialize in ten seconds or so. On a 1600x1200 screen, of which I have two, running the CyberLink software full-screen occupies about half the vertical space of the LCD display(which makes sense, since the LCD can't display 1080p and 720p operates at 768 vertical pixels). The video space occupies the full horizontal length with absolutely no distortion. On any wide-format monitor, you will not have this issue. You can have an excellent 720p movie system on your PC with a 19" wide-format LCD.
And it is excellent. I was shocked at how good the video quality was. I had no ghosting or cross-hatching while watching 300, a movie with large amounts of blacks and fast-action scenes, even on the relatively ancient Dell 2001fp monitor. I had plenty of detail and the visuals were fantastic. The CyberLink software supports only stereo output. For me, stereo is fine for now, because I'm in no mood to deploy a stupid 5:1 setup in my tiny office with all the associated hideous cabling (which is probably why a lot of people are dumping such speaker rigs on Craig's List nowadays). As noted, the new system in my sig effortlessly loads the few movies I've tried.
NVidia has addressed their lack of hi-def compatibility with all of their recent cards. The ATI card I'm using, with its Avivo hi-def acceleration, does a splendid job. All in all, I'm feeling a little smug about being able to run hi-def movies on my PC. Now for a 24" monitor...
Does anyone have a similar setup and some thoughts on dealing with this issue? I don't expect to get the best possible quality playback; I'm just trying to get it to work properly in preparation for a 24" monitor with the correct compliance specs. the best I can do under current circumstances is 720p.
Hope some others have had experience with a similar platform. In the meantime, I'm gonna continue to play around with it.
***UPDATE***I'm successfully running 720p Hi-Def on my system. It required an update to CyberLink PowerDVD 7.3 (which is currently bundled with the Lite-On drives). And yes, before I offer more thoughts, it really DOES make a difference. Even 720p is significantly sharper and cleaner than the best standatd-def DVD on your computer.
Some thoughts:
If you buy a Lite-On Blu-Ray drive (THIS ONE!), it will work like a tank assuming you have significant processing and video card power. You MUST also update the bundled software, because it will simply not work on your system after you physically install the drive. Here is a link to where the key PowerDVD updates are located. They do a good job hiding this page; I had to do a Google search to find it because their site does not provide straightforward navigation.
With the system in my sig, the Blu-Ray movies I've tried initialize in ten seconds or so. On a 1600x1200 screen, of which I have two, running the CyberLink software full-screen occupies about half the vertical space of the LCD display(which makes sense, since the LCD can't display 1080p and 720p operates at 768 vertical pixels). The video space occupies the full horizontal length with absolutely no distortion. On any wide-format monitor, you will not have this issue. You can have an excellent 720p movie system on your PC with a 19" wide-format LCD.
And it is excellent. I was shocked at how good the video quality was. I had no ghosting or cross-hatching while watching 300, a movie with large amounts of blacks and fast-action scenes, even on the relatively ancient Dell 2001fp monitor. I had plenty of detail and the visuals were fantastic. The CyberLink software supports only stereo output. For me, stereo is fine for now, because I'm in no mood to deploy a stupid 5:1 setup in my tiny office with all the associated hideous cabling (which is probably why a lot of people are dumping such speaker rigs on Craig's List nowadays). As noted, the new system in my sig effortlessly loads the few movies I've tried.
NVidia has addressed their lack of hi-def compatibility with all of their recent cards. The ATI card I'm using, with its Avivo hi-def acceleration, does a splendid job. All in all, I'm feeling a little smug about being able to run hi-def movies on my PC. Now for a 24" monitor...
