Someone stop me, I'm about to buy Totalmedia Theatre!

[AnitaPeterson]

Hi folks,

I'm at the end of the rope here, convince me not to buy Totalmedia Theatre!


All jokes aside, here's my conundrum... I need a software package capable of playing my HD-DVD and Blu-Ray collection, and I tried Arcsoft Totalmedia Theatre 5. It played everything I threw at it. But at the relatively steep price of $80, I need to know it's worth it...

So, those of you who already own this, and have been using it for a while (yes, I know there's a newer version than 5, but that one doesn't have HD-DVD support), please chime in. Are you pleased with it? Was it worth the money? I mean, that's the actual price for a standalone player, hardware and all... And I'm not sure if owners can install it on more than one machine...

Hmm....

 

[Pardus]

It looks ok, but VLC play everything for free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urkjLHApECY

 

[chadashcroft22]

I've used totalmedia for a couple years now to play my blu rays and never had any issues. With the wmc plugins most consider it to be the best playback software out there for blu rays.

The only downside I can see it to make sure you save the install setup backed upsomewhere because you will have a hard time hunting down old versions when you have to reinstall in the future.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

For what it's worth, I cannot play Blu-Rays with VLC. And believe me, I tried. I even tried to open the directory and play the .m2ts files... No dice.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

For what it's worth, I cannot play Blu-Rays with VLC. And believe me, I tried. I even tried to open the directory and play the .m2ts files... No dice.

You can't play commercial blurays in VLC. Nor any free media player for that matter. Commercial blurays have some pretty hefty DRM in place to prevent unauthorized playback.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with TMT. Use it myself, never had issues. Unlike PowerDVD. But you should make sure your system can handle blurays, before you buy (drivers, HDCP compliant monitor/TV etc.).

http://www.cyberlink.com/stat/bd-support/enu/index.jsp (note that some newer hardware is listed as incompatible, though it works just fine)

You should also consider getting a standalone bluray player. In my part of the world (Denmark) that's usually cheaper then getting the software required for bluray playback...

 

[Virgorising]

https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=96787&start=80

 

[WT]

I've used totalmedia for a couple years now to play my blu rays and never had any issues. With the WMC plugins most consider it to be the best playback software out there for blu rays.

The only downside I can see it to make sure you save the install setup backed up somewhere because you will have a hard time hunting down old versions when you have to reinstall in the future.

+1.

I bought it for around $20 at Staples after using some GCs and a 25 off 75, but I bought it for easy integration with WMC.
I have yet to find a reliable source for older versions, as my version was a downloadable purchase from Staples, thus no physical media.

 

[sweenish]

Can makemkv decrypt HD-DVDs? If so, rip them and store them somewhere.

 

[Kerry56]

I like TMT5, but dislike the interface in TMT6, so I've stuck with the earlier version. Is it still possible to buy TMT5?

Also, I use a version of TMT5 before Cinavia detection was added, and will never update it. It is easily the best program I've tried for playback of blu ray. With AnyDVD HD running in the background, I don't need their updates anyway.

As far as the OP's HD-DVD's, it may be time to get the trial for AnyDVD HD and rip all of those to the hard drive and convert to blu ray format. Its not difficult. ClownBD (free) can accept HD-DVD ripped folders and output as blu ray, though you'll lose original menus and extras.

 

[luv2liv]

if u wanna save some money, buy the older version of it from ebay. i got PowerDVD to play my bluray for $10 by buying an older version. still working fine