htpc_user
Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
htpc_user
No, I’m just using TMT or PDVD outside of Media Center. The only time I’m going to use this PC is outside to watch movies on the projector so it doesn’t have a lot on it. I don’t have any codec packs installed. I am using Virtual Clone Drive to mount the ISO’s. But I’ve never had high cpu usage because of using a virtual drive before so I don’t think that has anything to do with it.
Ummmm, I’m a little confused. Mount Image is supposed to be used to mount ISO files, or other image files. These can be DVD images or bluray images. If the files are Xvid then they shouldn’t have to use Mount Image.
[quote=babgvant]
There’s a setting in TMT/PDVD to enable hardware acceleration. Maybe it got unchecked?
[/quote]
No, I made sure it was enabled in the players first thing.
This program sounds good. I don’t play a lot of mkv’s, but the last time I did I had terrible audio sync issues when trying to play inside of 7MC. So I just figured no more than I try to play an mkv I would just give up and go over to the HTPC, minimize Media Center, open up TMT manually and play the file. But it would be nice to do it from the couch and have it return to Media Center when finished. Does the program close after returning to Media Center?
I used to have this problem when I played blurays in PowerDVD when it was launched from within Media Center. If I opened PowerDVD from outside of Media Center and played a movie, it was OK. What I found out in my case was the setting for the display type I had selected when setting up Media Center. At the time, I had a rear projection HDTV so I had chosen TV. I found a fix that said to change the display to Flat Panel or Projector. It worked for me.
Related to 3D requirements, is there any word on the ETA of AMD’s 6xxx low-end cards that would be most suitable for HTPC? I want to get a new card, but I feel my only option is a 430GT (the most sensible option vs. the nvidia cards above that or current AMD cards). I’ve been told that the 5xxx cards are capable of 3D playback but AMD disabled MVC decoding in the drivers on purpose.
160 watts? I guess I understand why it’s not working. My 4550 is on at least a 200 watt power supply, maybe 250.
Did you try the card? I wouldn’t worry about it. You won’t find a card that can do what you want it to and have any less power requirements. I have a pci-e 4550 in a Dell Inspiron 530s. It only has a 200 ~ 250 watt power supply I believe, and the card works fine. It might cause the power supply to fail eventually but it’s been working for about a year, and I figure I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I don’t have much choice if I want a video card that’s capable of HD playback because I haven’t seen the type of power supply that the Dell uses that has a lot of power to even replace it.
I won’t be of any help there since I don’t use MyMovies. I just use Media Center’s movie gallery, and it works pretty good. When I select the movie in the movie gallery and hit play, it goes to the PowerDVD/Media Center screen (the one with “Restart”, “Resume”, “Select Drive”, etc.). Then I click on Restart and the movie starts playing. Oh yeah, I use Mikinho’s plug-in so that Media Center will recognize ISO’s.
Go into the Control Panel to the “Autoplay” options and find the option for Bluray. It probably says PowerDVD 10. Change it to “None” or “Take no Action”; I can’t remember. That way when a bluray movie is loaded, either in the drive or virtually, it won’t automatically launch PowerDVD. That’s how mine is set up.
Ohhhh…I thought you were talking about A Christmas Carol. I was wondering what you meant by “2010”. Duh, I’m a dummy.
[quote=swoon]
We’ll just have to wait and see what the studios do. FWIW, the 2010 BD does explicitly state on the front cover that it is 3D only.
[/quote]
Where does it state “3D only”? I looked this afternoon after reading your post thinking it might help with finding out that info on future discs…you know, show me what to look for. But I didn’t see it any where (other than it just saying 3D).
Last night I was looking for 3D movies on Amazon, and I came across the new Resident Evil that is coming out this month. I noticed that it says, “This Blu-ray disc will display only in 2D without special hardware.”
Edit: After posting, I looked up A Christmas Carol, and it says the same thing. So Amazon’s info is probably not a reliable source to tell you if the 2D has been disabled. They are probably making a general statement going with the assumption that the discs are playable in 2D.
Aaron, I take it back…kind of. As soon as I posted my last reply, I remembered that before I updated the firmware on my new TV, I connected the PS3 to it and tried the 3D disc. After several seconds a message came on that said, “This disc has determined that either the TV or the bluray player is not capable of 3D playback. Please make sure that your equipment is capable and up to date and try again.” It was something along those lines. So you are right. If you were trying to play it in a secondary room where the player and/or TV are not 3D then you wouldn’t be able to get past that message.
But I was having some issues with the PS3 and/or the TV that day. So when I was trying to show off the 3D to my wife that night I realized that it wasn’t even in 3D; I felt pretty stupid when I realized what we were watching was normal, LOL. But in my defense it had been a long day hooking everything up and trying to get everything working correctly. So I guess it “fooled” the disc into thinking everything was 3D capable, but then when it started the PS3 didn’t output it in 3D because of whatever issues it was having. I guess that couldn’t be re-created on a normal basis.
Then this leads me back to a problem. When I read that 3D discs were watchable in 2D with no loss in quality I thought that was good news, and I thought that if it’s only a small difference in price that I could buy a 3D version and not have to worry about only being able to play it in one place. But if companies are going to disable the 2D playback then what’s the point of it being backward compatible? You won’t know until you try a disc whether you can play it in 2D or not, unless you happen to read about it. And I’m not going to buy it on the “chance” that it will play. As long as they keep putting out combos with the 2D and 3D bluray included, then it won’t matter. But I’ve got to believe that at some point we will stop seeing these Bluray + DVD + Digital Copy (+ 3D Bluray). Then you will be forced to choose.
[quote=swoon]
The studios are likely putting out separate discs for multiple reasons. It could be the space issue or perhaps older players would need some firmware update to be compatible playing back 3D discs in 2D mode. I think the studios also want to differentiate (and thus charge more) for 3D vs. 2D.
Another interesting thing you might notice is that 2D playback has been disabled on the 3D A Christmas Carol BD. The 2010 World Cup BD is apparently mastered this way as well.
[/quote]
I was able to play the 3D disc of A Christmas Carol in 2D. It did so on the PS3 any way; I’m not sure what it would do on any other (2D) bluray player. But I wouldn’t think there would be anything “special” about the PS3 that would allow it.
No, it won’t work like that. It would work in reverse, with component to the receiver and HDMI out to a TV assuming the receiver converts analog signals to HDMI. I’m just saying hypothetically that’s how it’d work; I know your friend’s setup is incapable of that. But your guess is correct; it’s not possible. Best way to do it would be to go component and optical/coaxial from the STB and the same from the DVD player.
-
AuthorPosts