Glad I dumped PowerDVD years ago!

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woodchuck

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Glad I dumped PowerDVD years ago!

#1

Post by woodchuck » Sat Aug 09, 2014 3:17 am

I'm putting this in the lounge since it could start a religious war.

Damn, am I glad I dumped Cybersoft PowerDVD in 2009!!! I moved to Arcsoft TMT 4 -at that time- and have always thought it was much more stable. Since then, I have paid for 2 upgrades to TMT. Over those same years, PowerDVD has been upgraded 5 times!!! WTF!?! I've always thought PowerDVD releases were like paid bug fixes. What a terrible business model. Good riddance PowerDVD!

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STC

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#2

Post by STC » Sat Aug 09, 2014 1:22 pm

I moved from TMT to an external BR Player. Blimey....really putting it out there ;)

A number of factors brought me to using external.

TMT is still the best Windows SW player though IMO.
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spanner

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#3

Post by spanner » Sat Aug 09, 2014 2:22 pm

I gave up on powerDVD awhile back and still have TMT installed, but haven't used it in months. I also went external with a oppo player and its perfect for me. Of course this doesn't allow for playing networked or hard drive stored Blu ray, but i found myself moving away from that.

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mcewinter

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#4

Post by mcewinter » Sat Aug 09, 2014 3:51 pm

Network stored is the way to go. No loooking for discs. No looking at discs; they are stored in boxes in the basement. This also allows me to have access to them from afar.

What compelled you(s) to switch to a seprate hardware player?

@STC - I would think you would have discovered the merits of stored discs but your little one may still be too young. My boy treats discs and cases like toys if I don't stow them away right away.

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STC

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#5

Post by STC » Sat Aug 09, 2014 4:17 pm

Quite a few factors:

- TMT has never been 100% functional for me, no matter what hardware / TMT version I have used - it would bomb out randomly, or randomly cause strange visual effects (Nvidia or ATI) usually when a guest would be over watching a fillum. Yay! :crazy:
- I use an Oppo 103D which has the fantastic addition of the Darbee processor. Set to 35% High Def it really adds depth to high quality BR footage.
- My TV's HDMI input for the Oppo is set for movie watching. The input has been fully calibrated to 2.25 gamma with optimal colorspace (my movie preference). I have the i1Pro spectrophotometer which calibrates an i1display2 colorimeter and Calman Enthusiast. The 103D can split video and audio out of its two HDMI outputs, so the other HDMI out goes to the AVR.
- The TV's HTPC input is calibrated for regular TV viewing with a bit more pop and some noise filtering for the cable feed.

I hear what you're saying about network storage, maybe something to consider for the future. In any event I am going to have a separate den for the kids to watch TV in and destroy things ;)
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spanner

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#6

Post by spanner » Sat Aug 09, 2014 4:28 pm

mcewinter wrote:Network stored is the way to go. No loooking for discs. No looking at discs; they are stored in boxes in the basement. This also allows me to have access to them from afar.

What compelled you(s) to switch to a seprate hardware player?

@STC - I would think you would have discovered the merits of stored discs but your little one may still be too young. My boy treats discs and cases like toys if I don't stow them away right away.
I tended not to watch movies more than once, except for my favorites which i return to once a year or so. I still have my netflix blurays mailed to me. and the grand kids seem more than happy with streaming netflix for their repeat watching. I still have movies stored on my network but found myself not bothering to keep adding them. I watch my blurays in the one room that is set up to take advantage of the audio and PQ. I tend not to watch them from afar, I use my streaming services for that. But thats just me, I like the Idea of network storage and am glad its an option.

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STC

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#7

Post by STC » Sat Aug 09, 2014 4:49 pm

An external BR player and a Roku together with MC for TV and you're all set with no more headaches ;)

It wasn't my optimal setup either,- For many years I kept working at the one box does-it-all solution, but too many hiccups and glitches brought me to where I am today.
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mcewinter

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#8

Post by mcewinter » Sat Aug 09, 2014 4:58 pm

STC wrote:Quite a few factors:

- TMT has never been 100% functional for me, no matter what hardware / TMT version I have used - it would bomb out randomly, or randomly cause strange visual effects (Nvidia or ATI) usually when a guest would be over watching a fillum. Yay! :crazy:
- I use an Oppo 103D which has the fantastic addition of the Darbee processor. Set to 35% High Def it really adds depth to high quality BR footage.
- My TV's HDMI input for the Oppo is set for movie watching. The input has been fully calibrated to 2.25 gamma with optimal colorspace (my movie preference). I have the i1Pro spectrophotometer which calibrates an i1display2 colorimeter and Calman Enthusiast. The 103D can split video and audio out of its two HDMI outputs, so the other HDMI out goes to the AVR.
- The TV's HTPC input is calibrated for regular TV viewing with a bit more pop and some noise filtering for the cable feed.

I hear what you're saying about network storage, maybe something to consider for the future. In any event I am going to have a separate den for the kids to watch TV in and destroy things ;)
Okay, you're insane :crazy: but I mean that in a good way. I see frames dropped here and there but I think I'm the only one who notices or would even consider it an issue. The list of conviences outweighs a few frames for me but I can appreciate your eye for quality.

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Crash2009

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#9

Post by Crash2009 » Sat Aug 09, 2014 5:03 pm

I used PowerDVD with XP quite a bit. When I upgraded to Win7 and Blu-ray I switched to TMT6. Adding a 3D projector was a piece of cake, with the preliminary work done.

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mcewinter

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#10

Post by mcewinter » Sat Aug 09, 2014 6:01 pm

STC wrote:An external BR player and a Roku together with MC for TV and you're all set with no more headaches ;)

It wasn't my optimal setup either,- For many years I kept working at the one box does-it-all solution, but too many hiccups and glitches brought me to where I am today.
...but three boxes? Shenanigans

Edit: I get it though. BD players make for poor streamers and Roku seems to be where it's at. I'll have to see what the buzz is all about. I like Chromecast not just because of the impulse price but I like the form factor. I've considered the Roku similar to it, Roku stick? ...but don't really have the need.

Edit 2: To speak on topic I can only echo that TMTx is a great solution. Early on, Arcsoft has been ambitious with the product and very active on their own forums. I think I chose out initially just because it also offered support for HDDVD...which I never took advantage of for obvious reasons.

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#11

Post by Ed  » Sat Aug 09, 2014 7:10 pm

mcewinter wrote:
STC wrote:An external BR player and a Roku together with MC for TV and you're all set with no more headaches ;)

It wasn't my optimal setup either,- For many years I kept working at the one box does-it-all solution, but too many hiccups and glitches brought me to where I am today.
...but three boxes? Shenanigans

Edit: I get it though. BD players make for poor streamers and Roku seems to be where it's at. I'll have to see what the buzz is all about. I like Chromecast not just because of the impulse price but I like the form factor. I've considered the Roku similar to it, Roku stick? ...but don't really have the need.

Edit 2: To speak on topic I can only echo that TMTx is a great solution. Early on, Arcsoft has been ambitious with the product and very active on their own forums. I think I chose out initially just because it also offered support for HDDVD...which I never took advantage of for obvious reasons.
Hold off on the Roku. Wait to see if you want an Android TV box instead. Might be better than the Roku - might be crap compared to it. But worth holding off for IMO.

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#12

Post by mcewinter » Sat Aug 09, 2014 10:05 pm

Yeah, I heard enough already about Android TV to know that I'll buy one.

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#13

Post by STC » Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:23 pm

Yes that does look cool. Needs quite a while to mature though.
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