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Best way to play back Blu-Ray disks?


sprtfan

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sprtfan

I'm pretty behind on this and just recently decided it would be nice to add blu-ray disk playback to my HTPC.  I didn't think it was something I really needed but between kids wanting to rent blu rays and borrowing blu rays from friends/family it has become something that would be nice to be able to do.  After looking into it a little, its not as easy as I thought it was going to be.  Would getting something like PowerDvD15 be the best route to go and will I be able to integrate it into Emby?  or would something like DVD Fab passkey for Blu-ray be better?  Would passkey let me play blu-rays with most other players?  Thanks for any help.

 
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If space is not a concern.... Just use Makemkv which is for now Free.... If space is a concern do the same but then reencode with handbrake. MP4 is the most universal format but Mkv cannot be that far behind.

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sprtfan

If space is not a concern.... Just use Makemkv which is for now Free.... If space is a concern do the same but then reencode with handbrake. MP4 is the most universal format but Mkv cannot be that far behind.

 

Not really a question of space as much as I don't want to rip every Blu-ray my kids rent or borrow.  I'm not always around and it would be nice just to have it play.  I could just get a cheap blu ray player I guess but I don't have much space for it to fit and would like to have one device that could do everything.  If there really isn't another viable options though I'll probably try to go that route. 

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Most PC-based BD playback software is going defunct.  ArcSoft discontinued their's last year.  PowerDVD may be the only option left.

 

The simplest (and maybe even cheapest) route is probably a stand-alone player.

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sprtfan

Most PC-based BD playback software is going defunct.  ArcSoft discontinued their's last year.  PowerDVD may be the only option left.

 

The simplest (and maybe even cheapest) route is probably a stand-alone player.

Had a feeling that was going to be the case.  PowerDVD was on sale the other day for around $45 which would be fine and might give it a shot if it still is on sale.  If not, I'll just get a cheap blu ray player and rearrange some things to make it fit.  Thanks for the info

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If you already have a Blu Ray drive anyway, why wouldn't you just rip them? It takes ten minutes probably. I guess I just don't understand... That solution is free and easy. Delete when done.

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sprtfan

If you already have a Blu Ray drive anyway, why wouldn't you just rip them? It takes ten minutes probably. I guess I just don't understand... That solution is free and easy. Delete when done.

I'm not always home.  This type of thing normally comes up over holidays and the summer when kids are home and I'm at work.  Having something in place that allows them to be self sufficient is worth a little bit of time and money on my part to put in place. 

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AdrianW

I'm not always home.  This type of thing normally comes up over holidays and the summer when kids are home and I'm at work.  Having something in place that allows them to be self sufficient is worth a little bit of time and money on my part to put in place. 

 

Well it's going to be heaps easier for kids to stick a disc in a standalone player than messing around with a PC optical drive and software.

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sprtfan

Well it's going to be heaps easier for kids to stick a disc in a standalone player than messing around with a PC optical drive and software.

They can manage it with DVDs but a standalone player seems to be the best option at this point.  Its been a few years since I really looked into blu ray on a HTPC and thought things had probably gotten better but it seems as if things have gotten worse if anything.  I'm just going to got the standalone route.  

Hopefully that doesn't turn into a problem getting it to work with my very old receiver.  I think that will work out but glad I thought of it before I went and picked up something.  

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AdrianW

They can manage it with DVDs but a standalone player seems to be the best option at this point.  Its been a few years since I really looked into blu ray on a HTPC and thought things had probably gotten better but it seems as if things have gotten worse if anything.  I'm just going to got the standalone route.  

Hopefully that doesn't turn into a problem getting it to work with my very old receiver.  I think that will work out but glad I thought of it before I went and picked up something.  

 

If your receiver has HDMI then you should be good to go.

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