Very confused...is Blu Ray in WMC doable?

Wmc don't play it but when you install powerdvd it places a powerdvd launcher inside of wmc.
Powerdvd has a cinema mode that looks similar to WMC so that feels almost seemless.

Personally I don't see what the big deal about having to use WMC. Personally I avoid it when possible.

I use MyMovies + WMC + TMT5 for my BD playback. All my BDs are ripped using MyMoves and AnyDVD HD to another computer. I install TMT5 and a MyMovies client on my HTPC, both of which install plugins into WMC. I browse my BD titles in the MyMovies plugin, and when I press play it automatically launches the TMT5 WMC interface. When I press stop, it returns to the MyMovies/WMC interface.

Works perfectly with no issues, using my Harmony 1100.

You can play blu-ray with MPC-HC which is free, but you will need a decrypter like Slysoft AnyDVD running in the background. Also MPC-HC does not show the titles but it also skips the previews. If your computer is capable of using the madVR renderer with jinc3+AR and smooth motion you will get the best possible picture.

No, it's not the only solution. There are plenty of different ways to play BD content. My kids love all the menus and extras, so this is the best way for me. Some people rip just the main movie, rip to ISO, etc. Right now, if you want menus, you are stuck with using TMT or PDVD.

If you want to rip the entire movie to ISO or BDMV (folder format), or rip just the main movie and use TMT or PDVD, you'll need the latest AnyDVD HD beta running on the HTPC in order to circumvent Cinavia copy protection (for the discs that contain it). If you use a different player, you won't have any problems and won't need AnyDVD HD running on the HTPC.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1357375/advanced-mpc-hc-setup-guide

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1459449/madvr-v0-86-0-released-with-smooth-motion

Do you want to watch all the warning screens and such? Do you need the menus? Do you have time to watch the extras?

The answer for me is "no" to all these questions so I rip to mkv and watch the movies without any problems at all.

If you answer "yes" to any or all of these questions you can use a $50 stand alone Blu-ray player to play physical discs.

It is silly how much it costs to play a Blu-ray disc on a PC compared to a cheap standalone player.

I say skip the DVD drive entirely as well. If your goal is simplicity, don't use your HTPC for discs at all. You have a harmony remote that can easily switch over to a blu-ray / DVD player when needed. The interface for playing back discs on a standalone player is far simpler than anything on a PC. I realize people do play discs on their HTPC's but I never understood why. My HTPC isn't even in the same room as my TV, so just loading a disc would be a pain in my setup, not to mention all the 3rd party crap you have to deal with just to play them. No thanks.

A lot of folks will disagree with me, but I say use the HTPC for the things it actually does well rather than trying to shoe-horn in everything just for the sake of having a single playback device. It's not worth the effort, and the results are poor. Using the right tool for the job works best.

I agree. I only have a DVDR drive on my HTPC because I already had one available from a prior build. If I do any ripping then I use my laptop's Blu-ray drive and transfer it to my server. If I want to watch a disc then I'll just rip it first. I don't remember the last time I even opened its tray... When I upgraded it to Win8 I used a USB flash drive.

I have no optical drive whatsoever in my HTPC.

I do use my HTPC for everything.. I cannot remember the last time I pushed the "Samsung Blu-Ray" button on my H900 remote. I usually rip a Blu-ray when I get it and then watch it later.

Do you mean cover art? For me this is the biggest issue since I have little kids who cant read.

Everyones needs for a HTPC are different.
I understand people ripping to MKV etc but I still use the bluray optical drive on mine.
In saying that I would never recommend HTPC bluray playback to a novice in it's current state (standalone is so much easier for a simply optical drive solution)
There are multiple ways to do things but each has it's pitfalls and need-to-haves.

i.e. MKV, Mad-Vr etc = no menu's
PowerDVD/TMT = external from MCE/XBMC/MePo frontend and sometimes buggy
Lets not forget about 3d blurays (for those that enjoy them)

Most require some kind of circumvention for copy protection so they will work with the latest blurays on a HTPC.

Currently I have TMT5/6 launching from mediaportal which is reasonably seemless but occasionally has issues.
I would consider other options but really want HD-DVD playback as well and I'm not keen to rip all my HD-DVD's to a drive.
Lastly I also do some light gaming using Xbox controllers and the HTPC.

So for me the simpliest solution is an all-in-one box that still looks nice on the cabinet instead of 3-4 standalone machines cluttering things up.

At some point in the future I may create a disk-array and store all the movies, but that will be once we have settled on a house and the Home theatre really gets set up :-)

No, it's silly that people decide to pay a premium for software when you can easily play ripped Blu-Rays in mkv format absolutely free. MakeMKV and XBMC don't cost you a cent and will allow you to pick and choose which titles on the disk you want to rip. You lose the menus but you can place all of the ripped titles in a single folder and label each one to indicate the content. MKV files are far more portable and can be played easily on a laptop with VLC Media Player (also free). MakeMKV allows you to pick and choose which audio soundtracks and subtitles you want as well, including full HD audio in the language of your choice.

FWIW, I used to rip my Blu-Rays to iso's and play them through WMC using PowerDVD. I've got a lifetime subscription to AnyDVD HD, but I can't even recall the last time I used it. I installed mikinho's automount app for iso's so all I had to do was select the movie in Media Browser and it would load everything up with a single click. Problem was, playback performance was all over the place. Sometimes it worked fine and other times I'd have freezing and stuttering throughout the movie. I also tried TMT5 and got the same results. So far, XBMC and MakeMKV have proved to be the best solution for me as I get flawless playback on every PC in the house. Of course, there's no guarantee that this solution will be the best for you, but since it's free it's at least worth a try.

This is why it is not silly to buy a player. Many people want the menus, I am one of them. The wife demands the menus - without them WAF plummets. As such, the small amount I need to pay for a full player is well worth the cost.

You can almost always find TMT on sale. If nothing else, use the 404 error coupon code for 20% off at any time.

http://www.arcsoft.com/public/404page.asp?404URL=

Menus are vastly overrated and ultimately unnecessary. I used to be adamant about having menus until I realized I could skip all of the intro crap present on every DVD and Blu-Ray disc. You can kill five minutes or more just trying to get to the main movie. By extracting all of the video clips and movies individually you can access them instantly without all of the BS that goes with it. I bought a standalone Blu-Ray player a couple of years ago. The first couple of discs I played got me so pissed off because I couldn't skip past the previews and other stuff just to get to the main menu that I stopped using it altogether. Since then I've ripped all of my discs so I can just play the main title and I couldn't be happier. As I indicated previously, you can rip each title individually and label them so you can easily identify them. When you look at them in the folder you can pick which ones to play and completely bypass the menu because you now have direct access to them.

WAF is an issue we all have to deal with so I understand your pain. However, I almost have to force my wife to sit and watch a movie with me and I drive the bus with respect to controlling BD playback, so menus aren't an issue. I just like being able to click on a title and have it begin playback literally within seconds. You just can't do that with a standalone player or full BD rips with menus. I don't mind it when I'm in a movie theater because it's all filler until the main feature begins. However, I shouldn't be forced to sit through all of it when I'm in the comfort of my own home. I prefer total control over what I watch and don't appreciate being held hostage by sitting through previews and sometimes even advertisements.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from your choice since it would appear you're content with it. Everyone uses their home entertainment system in whatever way suits their needs, as it should be. I found that the best solution for me turned out to be free. All I can say is, don't knock it until you've tried it. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Edited by captain_video - 3/16/13 at 10:57am