Trying to watch a Blu-Ray movie on my comp with no luck

[secretanchitman]

i had the same thing happen to me. i have the LG super blu-ray/hd-dvd combo drive, have powerdvd with the blu-ray plugin, connected through hdmi on my HDCP capable projector and video card, and STILL i get flagged for having non-HDCP capable hardware. i eventually just gave up (this was last year btw) and bought anydvd hd. it works perfectly and so far no issues have popped up since.

i agree with golgatha - without anydvd hd, my blu-ray drive and htpc would have been completely worthless.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
i had the same thing happen to me. i have the LG super blu-ray/hd-dvd combo drive, have powerdvd with the blu-ray plugin, connected through hdmi on my HDCP capable projector and video card, and STILL i get flagged for having non-HDCP capable hardware. i eventually just gave up (this was last year btw) and bought anydvd hd. it works perfectly and so far no issues have popped up since.

i agree with golgatha - without anydvd hd, my blu-ray drive and htpc would have been completely worthless.

Besides getting rid of HDCP headaches, you save so much time with AnyDVD too. I have two small children, and if I put in a DVD, I want it to start right away; not after 5 minutes of outdated previews and copyright infringment notices.

BTW, I find the copyright notices highly ironic because I'm pretty sure the downloaded or ripped and resold versions won't have said warning in the content, yet if you go the completely MPAA blessed route you're forced to watch it as an unskippable track on the DVD. Tell me how much sense it makes to borderline insult and waste the time of your "good" customers?

The other reason I'm back in this thread is because I was inconvenienced by PowerDVD 8's latest update. They apparently saw fit to blacklist playing back non-encrypted HD content. Way to be the MPAA's bitch Cyberlink! Guess I'll look for another vendor when I go to buy HD playback software. I swear, it's a love/hate relationship with me and the digital age. Without tools like AnyDVD coming out over the years, I'd be leaning much more towards the hate end of the spectrum though and would have saved many thousands of dollars on hardware and software purchases due to the inability to use my property the way I see fit. Furthermore, I don't buy the license to use BS that the MPAA and RIAA cram down their users throats. I bought a physical product and it's mine to do with as I see fit in my mind as long as I'm not distributing or doing anything illegal with it. What I do in my own house with my property is my own business, thank you very much and have a nice night! /end soapbox.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: MagickMan

Originally posted by: taltamir

Originally posted by: WelshBloke

Originally posted by: s44
It's also illegal.

Depending where you live.

And if you are useing it at home and not passing copies to anyone nobodies going to come smashing through your door to nick you.

not yet ;p

but yes, anyDVDHD is your best bet, if you are lucky enough to live somewhere where it is legal
http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvdhd.html

Note to those saying "don't get caught"... suggesting something illegal is against forum policy. You should only suggest he do that if it is legal in his country of residence.

Yeah, I setup the local police chief's system with anyDVDHD, at his request, when we ran into this same situation. The cops are really trying to track this kinda thing down. They're SO diligent. *cough*

technically its still illegal to have gay sex or interracial marriage in some counties... And dildo's are outlawed in texas (but you can buy them as a condom usage demonstration device for sex ed classes, after filling special forms).
When was the last time you a cop tried to enforce that? Cops are still people, and they avoid trying to enforce the more crazy laws. I bet most female texan cops have dildos despite them being strictly illegal in texas.

But if your place gets raided for some reason, they will add it to your charges, and the penalties are currently very severe.

Technically the DMCA (which makes it illegal to remove copy protection) is: 1. unconstitutional, 2. Goes against "fair use" rights.
It is a sticky issue that is being fought in courts right now... but so far the courts have upheld the DMCA, so currently, by law, it is considered illegal in the USA

 

[taltamir]

BTW, I find the copyright notices highly ironic because I'm pretty sure the downloaded or ripped and resold versions won't have said warning in the content,

You are correct, they never do, its the first thing the pirates remove.

I don't want a library of ripped stuff, hell, I barley have the time to watch a movie once, let alone a second time lol

AnyDVD does not rip anything, it decodes it in real time... so you still play it off of the bluray disk:
instead of: bluray disk -> playback software -> DRM -> Monitor
you get: bluray disk -> anydvd -> playback software -> monitor

There is no ripping / massive files on HDD / waiting time involved... actually it saves you time overall.

 

[Eddiedale]

AnyDVD does not rip anything, it decodes it in real time... so you still play it off of the bluray disk:
instead of: bluray disk -> playback software -> DRM -> Monitor
you get: bluray disk -> anydvd -> playback software -> monitor

There is no ripping / massive files on HDD / waiting time involved... actually it saves you time overall.

Ahh, I see, well heck that's even better lol.

That thing about dildos in Texas being illegal ? You've got to be kidding me LOL, that was funnier than hell and a little shocking. I always wonder about stupid little laws like that, and what caused them to be wrote to begin with lol. They sell a lot of cucumbers down there ? LMAO, sorry, couldn't help that one =)

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: taltamir

BTW, I find the copyright notices highly ironic because I'm pretty sure the downloaded or ripped and resold versions won't have said warning in the content,

You are correct, they never do, its the first thing the pirates remove.

I don't want a library of ripped stuff, hell, I barley have the time to watch a movie once, let alone a second time lol

AnyDVD does not rip anything, it decodes it in real time... so you still play it off of the bluray disk:
instead of: bluray disk -> playback software -> DRM -> Monitor
you get: bluray disk -> anydvd -> playback software -> monitor

There is no ripping / massive files on HDD / waiting time involved... actually it saves you time overall.

Actually, it allows you to rip things if you want to though. You just need to use it with ripping software.

Bluray -> AnyDVD HD -> Imaging Software -> Un-DRMed ISO on Hard Drive -> Mount image in Virtual Drive -> Playback Software

All that sums up to a HTPC, which can be utilized as an uncompromising HD jukebox (provided you have enough storage to hold everything) and multi-media powerhouse.

My personal preference is to have a good selection of regularly watched movies ready to go on the HTPC as 1:1 digital images (disclaimer: I own a copy of everything on my HTPC), so all my original discs are kept nice and shiny, and I don't have to dig around to find anything. All the kid videos or other content (e.g. recorded TV, etc) I don't care about absolute pristine quality for, get ran through Fair Use Wizard 2.8 and shared to my PS3. The HTPC also runs Tversity to make content available to the PS3. The HTPC is nice for things like Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, etc. as well because no transcoding or MPAA blessed devices are required for anything. All my buddies are absolutely floored that all this is made possible by one single sub-$100 piece of software.

Basically all content in my house can be played from my PC or PS3. I like the PC and my wife and kids love the ease of use associated with the PS3. Without AnyDVD HD, almost none of the streaming video content could be produced for my PS3, and then I would have very little reason to have a dedicated HTPC. I would dare to say, if DRM weren't such a barrier to innovation and wasn't saddled with such a steep learning curve as to how to circumvent it; most people would have a setup a lot like mine and I truly believe the content producers would sell more product. Why you say? Because the pirates will obtain whatever they want, whenever they want it anyway. Anything created by humans can be broken by humans. Even if they somehow perfected digital protections, the analog hole will provide the means for those with enough patience, expertise, and will to distribute, to make a single digital copy. Once one digital copy is made, the content will be shared illegally like wildfire like it always has, is currently, and will be in the future. Without the burden of DRM, one can be much more creative in how they consume content, and businesses can produce devices with the consumer's interests in the forefront of their collective minds, instead of trying to balance what their customers want with the Draconian desires of the content owners.

In short, in a world without DRM everyone wins. Content producers get an expanded market for their content, consumers and use their content how they see fit within the bounds of the law, hardware companies can produce new and innovative products, and pirates can make and distribute their warez without jumping through so many digital hoops.

 

[Eddiedale]

Well Golgatha, if you're still out there, or anyone else that feels like clueing me in lol, I need a little mentoring =)

So I went ahead and bought AnyDVD HD, rented a few more Blu-Ray movies and they played great, no changing resolution on my monitor and everything seemed fine. BUT, I had this idea and that's when things got a little wacky, and this is what I've been messing with the last few days. I've had some luck, but I definitely still have some issues.

I've had my comp set up in my living room for about two years now. My tower is right beside my lazy boy and my monitor is mounted on an Ergotron arm that swings it in front of me lol. I have a nice oak board that spans the arm rests and that's where I set the wireless keyboard and mouse lmao. Yeah I know, but trust me, it's the shizzit LOL. I got used to being in the living room when I mainly used a notebook, after I got rid of it, I wanted to stay in the room with the family so I adapted =).

My idea was, why not run a cable from my tower to the TV so when I play a Blu-Ray movie on the comp and watch it, my wife can watch it as well on the TV. Sounded easy enough /rolls eyes. The TV is a Viewsonic N4060w. I had a 25ft DVI cable, but the TV doesn't have that type of connection, it has HDMI. No big deal, I bought an adapter that connected my DVI cable to a 3ft HDMI one that I had, and that connected the TV np. I know DVI doesn't carry audio but that's ok, my 8800GTX's don't have HDMI out anyhow, and the sound is being handled by a set of Logitech Z-5500's which are hooked to the computer. After some searching, I read that I should hook the TV up to my video card as if it's a second monitor, I've never done any of this so it's all new. I hooked it up to the top card, on the outboard connector, the inboard one, or the one closest to the MB is where my 30" monitor hooks to. So here's a few other pieces of info that might be needed for when I explain what's not really working right. My video cards are EVGA, the driver version is 7.15.11.6369, my Blu-Ray drive is a Lite-on iHES206-08 2.

So, I opened up the Nvidia control panel and finally figured out I needed to reboot after hooking the TV up. Then it saw and identified correctly the second monitor. There's two choices, Clone and Dualview, I have problems to some degree with either. Since it says for Dualview I can configure different resolutions for each monitor, I first chose this one, and left my Dell 3007 as primary.

Here's the first issue, no matter what resolution I set the Viewsonic at, in Dualview with my Dell as primary, what is seen on the TV is my desktop background picture, no shortcut icons, and it's like it's frozen. When I move something across the desktop like a mouse cursor, I see the movement on the 3007, but not on the TV. Another example would be, if I place in the center of my desktop an open application, I see it on the dell, but the TV doesn't display it, it just shows the same desktop background picture. Now if I keep the Dualview option, but set the TV as primary, this is what happens, everything mentioned above switches. It automatically sets the TV res to 1920 X 1080 in the Nvidia control panel, I see my entire desktop on the TV and everything on it works fine, I can move the cursor and it moves on the TV. The TV screen is like my active desktop, but now all my 3007 displays is the desktop background picture like the TV did, no movement of anything and again the shortcuts are not being displayed.

Now if I choose the Clone option, things get better, sorta. I see everything on my 3007 and the TV, everything done on my desktop is mirrored on the TV, BUT, it automatically changes the resolution of my 30" monitor to 1920 x 1080, I would assume that's because that's the max resolution the Viewsonic TV can do ? So ok, that's no big deal and easy to change, so I launched PowerDVD so we could watch a Blu-Ray movie together, her on the TV and me on the comp. Well, that didn't work so well, I can see the movie play on the comp, but the box inside PowerDVD on the TV is black. After messing with this, I figured out that it only will display the movie within PowerDVD on whichever monitor I select as primary. After googling some more I found this quote:

"Most people are not aware that when you connect two monitors to a video card, there are a few commonly used programs that will only produce a display on the monitor Windows sees as the Primary monitor.
E.g. Power DVD will only actually play DVD playback in it's window on the Primary monitor."

Well I'm assuming that's true because that's exactly what's happening when I choose the Clone option.

So here's my last issue and then I have a few questions LOL. I went ahead and rented 7 Blu-Ray movies, it's the weekend, or was, and weather where I live sucks so the wife and I were going to enjoy this new found HD movie stuff, or so we thought. Three of these movies, for whatever reason, I can't get to play at all. The Hulk, IronMan, and Madagascar. They all three do the exact same thing. They start, the three or 4 clips of advertised movies play just fine, then they switch to the screen where you choose play the movie, options, setup, that kind of stuff, as soon as I hit enter for play to play the actual movie, the screen goes black and PowerDVD like freezes, taskmanager says it's not responding /shrug. After some googling on that I found a few posts that said for some reason, some players have issue with some Blu-Ray movies, they listed the known movies and two of the three were on the list, The Hulk and IronMan. Some people fixed there problem by downloading and installing the latest firmware for their drives, but as far as I can tell, Lite-on doesn't have any firmware updates for mine, it was built in December of 2008.

So here's the questions lol.

Anyone know why Dualview is acting the way it is ?

Is there any other software that I can use other than PowerDVD that will allow me to watch Blu_ray movies on both the primary and secondary monitor in Clone mode ? If not is there an answer to this issue of any kind ?

If I buy copies of these movies and go the "Bluray -> AnyDVD HD -> Imaging Software -> Un-DRMed ISO on Hard Drive -> Mount image in Virtual Drive -> Playback Software" route, will that fix any of these issues in some way

Sorry for the long post, I just know from experience the more info I can give the better, any help is obviously greatly appreciated. I like to figure stuff out on my own and usually just need a little help, but I'm looking for some experience out there to educate/bail my ass out LOL.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: hans007
the reason it doesnt work for you is that you have a dell 3007fpw.

Originally posted by: hans007
i think basically no monitor supports dual link and hdcp.

Actually I believe the Dell 3007 supports dual-link HDCP, but the 3008 only supports single-link HDCP. However, this doesn't mean the video card or playback software supports dual-link HDCP.

FWIW I test cards for HDCP compliance at work (one of my myriad of tasks) and that's what I've found.

Originally posted by: uclaLabrat
The samsung 305t+ has an HDMI connector, is that going to work?

It should, because currently HDMI is limited to single-link.

Originally posted by: Eddiedale
After some googling on that I found a few posts that said for some reason, some players have issue with some Blu-Ray movies

Blu-ray seems to be an evolving technology as it was released "incomplete" in order to not lose out to HD DVD.

 

[heyheybooboo]

I'm not a fan of DRM by any means but I LOL'ed at some of the lame excuses in this thread for breaking encryption.

 

[Eddiedale]

I figured out that it only will display the movie within PowerDVD on whichever monitor I select as primary.

Is there any other software that I can use other than PowerDVD that will allow me to watch Blu_ray movies on both the primary and secondary monitor in Clone mode ? If not is there an answer to this issue of any kind ?

Would this work and fix what's stated above? If I get a DVI spliiter and hook it up so that from my video card, I run 1 short cable to the splitter, from there I have one DVI cable go to my 30" monitor and another to the TV. Then set up Nvidia control panel as single monitor, and at the resolution of the TV which would be 1920 X 1080. Anyone know if this would work and allow me to watch Blu-Ray on both screens ?

 

[Golgatha]

The latest version of PowerDVD 8 or 9 doesn't support playback of unencrypted HD content. However, previous versions of PowerDVD 8 do support playback of unencrypted HD content, and any images made using AnyDVD HD will be unencrypted. So, any titles with just AACS will play just fine once it has been ripped with AnyDVD HD.

Now, there is also the issue of the 2nd line of Blu-ray protection called BD+. So far, the first three versions of BD+ have been defeated by the Slysoft team (the developers of AnyDVD HD). The movie Australia just released with a 4th generation of BD+ on it, so that single title might not work properly from an image (if it would even rip successfully at all). One can safely assume any movies released pre-February 17th, 2009 can be ripped and played from an image using an older version of PowerDVD 8.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD%2B

On December 29, 2008 Slysoft announced that AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.2 decrypts copy protection on all current Blu-ray movies.[26]

On February 17, 2009 a 4th version of BD+ security code was discovered on the movie Australia [27], rendering Slysoft's existing AnyDVD HD software ineffective.

What it boils down to is, there is a sick, masochistic game of cat and mouse going on between Slysoft and the content providers. So far the BD+ team spends approximately 6 months to come up with a new and improved BD+, and the Slysoft people break it within a month or two.


What This Means to You

Well you have about three options from what I can tell by your post.

1) When you want to watch a Blu-ray movie, you can power down your computer and computer monitor, then power up the computer with just the TV on, insert the disc, and play the movie with the latest version of PowerDVD et al (excluding WinDVD, because it was a big steaming pile last time I tried messing with it).

2) You can leave both displays on, use the Bluray -> AnyDVD HD -> Imaging Software -> Un-DRMed ISO on Hard Drive -> Mount image in Virtual Drive -> Playback Software route, and be content being a little behind the curve when it comes to HD movie releases. Typically I don't buy brand new releases because they're so expensive. I wait until I can get them for $15 or less and then I jump on the deals as they come along. Transformers was a notable exception .

3) Disclaimer: Still experimental. I've read a little bit about keeping two installs of of PowerDVD on your computer. One would be a version that supports playback of unencrypted content, and the other would be the latest release for highest disc based playback compatibility. Basically this is a combination of options 1 and 2, so it theoretically would be the best option. I'm still messing around with it.

Google Search - installing multiple versions of PowerDVD

If you get it working, I'd appreciate feedback and instructions in this thread so I can try it out myself. Haven't messed with it much because I have a Playstation 3, so if my HTPC can't play the movie, I just forget about making an image for awhile and use the disc in the Playstation 3.


My Current Methodology and Misc Info

Blu-ray Disc -> AnyDVD HD -> IMGBurn set to ISO mode -> Un-DRMed ISO on Hard Drive -> Mount image in Alcohol 52% Free Edition -> PowerDVD 8 Ultra (version 2021 or earlier). For any movies not supported (aka BD+ version hasn't been cracked yet) by my version of PowerDVD 8, I have a trusty Playstation 3 for a backup.

I do not have an HD audio receiver, so for titles without a DTS 5.1 soundtrack (e.g. Transformers only has HD Audio or 2.0 DTS), I have to set the sound card output for SPDIF and set PowerDVD audio options (has to be done while a movie is playing, else the audio options are grayed out...superior software engineering there) to SPDIF with DTS Mixing.

I have an ATI HD 4850 (just upgraded from a 2600 Pro, which also worked just fine for Blu-ray playback acceleration), E8400 3.0Ghz C2D, 6GB of RAM (overkill, but I had it laying around), and a HT Omega Striker 7.1 PCI sound card running under Vista 64bit Home Premium. When it's not playing movies, I run two instances of Folding@Home, Skype (we have a USB base station and Skype compatible phone handsets), and Tversity for sharing content to my Playstation 3. I am ecstatically happy with my setup.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Eddiedale

I figured out that it only will display the movie within PowerDVD on whichever monitor I select as primary.

Is there any other software that I can use other than PowerDVD that will allow me to watch Blu_ray movies on both the primary and secondary monitor in Clone mode ? If not is there an answer to this issue of any kind ?

Would this work and fix what's stated above? If I get a DVI spliiter and hook it up so that from my video card, I run 1 short cable to the splitter, from there I have one DVI cable go to my 30" monitor and another to the TV. Then set up Nvidia control panel as single monitor, and at the resolution of the TV which would be 1920 X 1080. Anyone know if this would work and allow me to watch Blu-Ray on both screens ?

I highly doubt this would work. You might be able to set the 30in monitor to 1080p and then hook it up with a single link cable (if this is possible with your monitor) and do the clone desktop feature with your video card with both the TV and monitor attached. I still think the PowerDVD software won't allow HD content on two displays simultaneously though (that's my gut feeling, but feel free to try it and prove me wrong). I have a single HDTV for my display, so my setup is a little less complicated.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Zap
It should, because currently HDMI is limited to single-link.

Still wrong.

Anyway, it's ridiculous that the mods are keeping this thread encouraging and tutoring illegal activity open.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Zap
It should, because currently HDMI is limited to single-link.

Still wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

There are three HDMI connector types with Type A and Type B defined since the HDMI 1.0 specification and Type C defined since the HDMI 1.3 specification.

The Type A connector has 19 pins with bandwidth to support all SDTV, EDTV, and HDTV modes. The plug's outside dimensions are 13.9 mm wide by 4.45 mm high. Type A is electrically compatible with single link DVI-D.

The Type B connector has 29 pins (21.2 mm by 4.45 mm) and can carry double the video bandwidth of Type A for use with very high-resolution future displays such as WQUXGA (3840x2400). Type B is electrically compatible with dual link DVI-D but has not yet been used in any products.

The Type C mini-connector is intended for portable devices. It is smaller than the Type A connector (10.42 mm by 2.42 mm) but has the same 19 pin configuration.

Okay, so looks as if there is a specification for a dual-link HDMI, but nothing (including the Samsung monitor in question) currently uses it.

Originally posted by: s44
Anyway, it's ridiculous that the mods are keeping this thread encouraging and tutoring illegal activity open.

Where are those video mods anyways?

 

[Eddiedale]

Anyway, it's ridiculous that the mods are keeping this thread encouraging and tutoring illegal activity open.

In a small way I take issue with the assumption that that's what this thread is about. I'm the one that was seeking some info and understanding about something I know, or did know anyhow, very little about. If my goal was to pirate movies by using software to break encryption, and then to use other software to rip them, then that's what I would have asked about. As far as encouraging and tutoring illegal activity, I know how to use Google and I'm sure there's a wealth of knowledge on the web on how to do just that, I wouldn't have needed to come here in the first place.

I came here to figure out what I was doing wrong. What this thread HAS done, is help me understand what HDCP even is, the limitations it places on doing things certain ways, and what the best options are to do a simple thing like watch a Blu-Ray movie, one that I paid for by the way, on a computer that by all standards should have no issue playing it. Don't take what I'm saying personal, it certainly isn't meant that way, it's just that your making an assumption of what this thread has done for me and that assumption is wrong.

Now for the good news lol. I figured it out haha =). I'm almost embarrassed to say what it was that's been kicking my butt. I don't know HOW many times when I've read about different video issues, in games and just about everything else, the first thing that's asked almost every time is, "you got the most current driver ?" /hangs head in disgrace LOL. I downloaded and installed the latest driver from Nvidia, 182.08, guess what, all is golden lmao. Every Blu-Ray movie plays fine now, it's gorgeous on the TV or my monitor, whichever I choose, and for my purposes AnyDVD is not even needed. Live and learn.

I want to thank everyone for their input, I've always held AnandTech in the highest regard for having the most knowledgeable people of any forum I've ever been on when seeking help, and I mean that. The knowledge and experience of the members here is truly priceless, and I appreciate ALL the different opinions whether I agree with them or not. They help paint a fuller picture of things and that can't help but lead to a better understanding. Peace.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Eddiedale

Anyway, it's ridiculous that the mods are keeping this thread encouraging and tutoring illegal activity open.

In a small way I take issue with the assumption that that's what this thread is about. I'm the one that was seeking some info and understanding about something I know, or did know anyhow, very little about.

No, I'm not blaming you or saying that's what you wanted. But a number of people were turning this thread into that.

Nice job with the driver fix.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Zap
It should, because currently HDMI is limited to single-link.

Still wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

There are three HDMI connector types with Type A and Type B defined since the HDMI 1.0 specification and Type C defined since the HDMI 1.3 specification.

The Type A connector has 19 pins with bandwidth to support all SDTV, EDTV, and HDTV modes. The plug's outside dimensions are 13.9 mm wide by 4.45 mm high. Type A is electrically compatible with single link DVI-D.

The Type B connector has 29 pins (21.2 mm by 4.45 mm) and can carry double the video bandwidth of Type A for use with very high-resolution future displays such as WQUXGA (3840x2400). Type B is electrically compatible with dual link DVI-D but has not yet been used in any products.

The Type C mini-connector is intended for portable devices. It is smaller than the Type A connector (10.42 mm by 2.42 mm) but has the same 19 pin configuration.

Okay, so looks as if there is a specification for a dual-link HDMI, but nothing (including the Samsung monitor in question) currently uses it.

Scroll down further in that article...

HDMI version....................................................1.0?1.2a.........1.3+

Maximum resolution over single link at 24-bit/px 1920×1200p60 2560×1600p75

More confusing, eh? DVI and HDMI "single link" don't seem to mean the same thing. Funny.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Eddiedale

Anyway, it's ridiculous that the mods are keeping this thread encouraging and tutoring illegal activity open.

In a small way I take issue with the assumption that that's what this thread is about. I'm the one that was seeking some info and understanding about something I know, or did know anyhow, very little about.

No, I'm not blaming you or saying that's what you wanted. But a number of people were turning this thread into that.

Nice job with the driver fix.

I'll reiterate what I said before. I do not condone piracy. I've tried to give him what options are available, and since his profile is private; there is no way for me to know if him using AnyDVD HD is legal or not. What he chooses to do with this information is his business and his set of consequences to deal with.

The bigger picture IMHO though is that illegal or not, what he and/or I have proposed as options in this thread are not immoral or unfair to the corporations who have shoved this BS down our collective throats. We pay for our content and simply want to exercise our historically granted fair use rights. Furthermore, I dislike the apparent corporate attitude that we sheeple are supposed to bend over and take it from our corporate overlords in exchange for them bestowing their precious content, in any form, upon us. We are also supposed to pay for every conceivable format this content comes in since they are merely licensing us a copy of the content. As a consumer I find this attitude repulsive and completely unfair. I'm glad tools like AnyDVD exist because they level the playing field somewhat towards consumer-friendly usability of legally acquired content.

Admittedly, tools like AnyDVD can be used to illegally copy copyrighted works. So can my camcorder. Sure the resolution and sound won't be as good, but the crime is the same. My point is that every available tool can be misused. Copyright law was setup to punish those that misuse the tools.

By contrast, I believe the DMCA was created for one purpose. To keep the status quo in place for the MPAA and RIAA's constituents. Back in the analog days of records and movie reels, consumers couldn't make copies of their purchases or transcode them to different formats. In the digital age, this is no longer the case, and because of the analog hole, no amount of digital DRM will change this fact. It's too bad the MPAA and RIAA's constituents can't fathom this reality, and also realize they need to make legal digital content easier to use, transcode, and consumer friendly from an end user (aka your paying customer) standpoint. I truly believe the MPAA and RIAA's constituents can compete with "free". They just need to offer better quality, ease of use, and better protection from legal action for transcoding content than what their "pirate" competitors are offering. Right now the MPAA and RIAA's constituents are failing epically on all fronts.

 

[Golgatha]

3) Disclaimer: Still experimental. I've read a little bit about keeping two installs of of PowerDVD on your computer. One would be a version that supports playback of unencrypted content, and the other would be the latest release for highest disc based playback compatibility. Basically this is a combination of options 1 and 2, so it theoretically would be the best option. I'm still messing around with it.

Google Search - installing multiple versions of PowerDVD

If you get it working, I'd appreciate feedback and instructions in this thread so I can try it out myself. Haven't messed with it much because I have a Playstation 3, so if my HTPC can't play the movie, I just forget about making an image for awhile and use the disc in the Playstation 3.

P.S. Installing 2 versions of PowerDVD doesn't work BTW. Tried it last night. Although it's annoying, one can just install the correct version's patch for whatever content you want to watch. Reinstalling for a particular version of the software is annoying to be sure, but it works for when you absolutely must have the latest version to play a physical disc.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: taltamir

BTW, I find the copyright notices highly ironic because I'm pretty sure the downloaded or ripped and resold versions won't have said warning in the content,

You are correct, they never do, its the first thing the pirates remove.

I don't want a library of ripped stuff, hell, I barley have the time to watch a movie once, let alone a second time lol

AnyDVD does not rip anything, it decodes it in real time... so you still play it off of the bluray disk:
instead of: bluray disk -> playback software -> DRM -> Monitor
you get: bluray disk -> anydvd -> playback software -> monitor

There is no ripping / massive files on HDD / waiting time involved... actually it saves you time overall.

Actually, it allows you to rip things if you want to though. You just need to use it with ripping software.

Key work: allows.

You COULD use it to rip, or you could just use it to playback a bluray disk live while bypassing the DRM in real time; (just like i said). Which is what he was asking for as he does not want to rip. I Was informing him it could do so if he desired... that it could be used to ALSO rip if he so desired is beside the point

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

3) Disclaimer: Still experimental. I've read a little bit about keeping two installs of of PowerDVD on your computer. One would be a version that supports playback of unencrypted content, and the other would be the latest release for highest disc based playback compatibility. Basically this is a combination of options 1 and 2, so it theoretically would be the best option. I'm still messing around with it.

Google Search - installing multiple versions of PowerDVD

If you get it working, I'd appreciate feedback and instructions in this thread so I can try it out myself. Haven't messed with it much because I have a Playstation 3, so if my HTPC can't play the movie, I just forget about making an image for awhile and use the disc in the Playstation 3.

P.S. Installing 2 versions of PowerDVD doesn't work BTW. Tried it last night. Although it's annoying, one can just install the correct version's patch for whatever content you want to watch. Reinstalling for a particular version of the software is annoying to be sure, but it works for when you absolutely must have the latest version to play a physical disc.

Virtual machine?

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: LokutusofBorg

Originally posted by: Golgatha

3) Disclaimer: Still experimental. I've read a little bit about keeping two installs of of PowerDVD on your computer. One would be a version that supports playback of unencrypted content, and the other would be the latest release for highest disc based playback compatibility. Basically this is a combination of options 1 and 2, so it theoretically would be the best option. I'm still messing around with it.

Google Search - installing multiple versions of PowerDVD

If you get it working, I'd appreciate feedback and instructions in this thread so I can try it out myself. Haven't messed with it much because I have a Playstation 3, so if my HTPC can't play the movie, I just forget about making an image for awhile and use the disc in the Playstation 3.

P.S. Installing 2 versions of PowerDVD doesn't work BTW. Tried it last night. Although it's annoying, one can just install the correct version's patch for whatever content you want to watch. Reinstalling for a particular version of the software is annoying to be sure, but it works for when you absolutely must have the latest version to play a physical disc.

Virtual machine?

Excellent idea!

 

[1ManArmY]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
i had the same thing happen to me. i have the LG super blu-ray/hd-dvd combo drive, have powerdvd with the blu-ray plugin, connected through hdmi on my HDCP capable projector and video card, and STILL i get flagged for having non-HDCP capable hardware. i eventually just gave up (this was last year btw) and bought anydvd hd. it works perfectly and so far no issues have popped up since.

i agree with golgatha - without anydvd hd, my blu-ray drive and htpc would have been completely worthless.

did you need to purchase the other products i.e clone and game jackal to get it to work?
Or can you just purchase AnyHD? I just bought an LG H20L Bluray/HD DVD combo drive and I figured I might encounter some issues with the power dvd software.