HD-DVD Playback Software?

Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 (I think that is the latest release) supports both HD DVD and Blu Ray.

What are your system specs? (OS, video card, memory, CPU)? Also, make sure you download the latest patches if you purchase it.

I thought I heard the HD drive in the A1 wouldn't play discs on a PC. Can anyone confirm that it does?

This link might help.

8 Gigs of ram? Do you work for the Secret Service or something? LOL who could possibly need 8 gigs of ram. By the time you use half of it everyone will be on the next DDR spec. Oh and the NEC drive from the A1 lacks the necessary hardware to playback HD DVDs on PCs (I know I've tried) if you dig around AVS forum people have posted about it.

It seems to support one or the other but not both

It was pre-installed on my new dell but from what I have read during installation you select which format you want it to play.

If anyone knows more about this I would love to hear a solution. I have both an HD and a BR drive and want to play both formats

Yes, that's correct. The NEC drive from the HD-A1 only supports decrypting through KCD, and not by the 'standard' method of exchanging certificates which is used by PowerDVD and WinDVD.

Are there any free programs?

It supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD. You just need to update to the latest build.

probably a waste of time to ask.. but ... will the xbox addon play on pc's (with enough hardware) with Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 ??

Yes

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748426

thanks very much.

Bumping this thread.


Is there a list of (or what are the) available HD DVD playback software options?


I'd also like to know what (if any) limitations there are as far as installing on multiple PCs.

Cyberlink have removed HD DVD playback from PowerDVD 8. (The only PowerDVD that allows us lowly cheap 5.1 system owning peasants to actually have our sound from the PowerDVD player be in 5.1!) I hope whoever came up with that bright idea dies an excruciatingly slow and painful death!

nero 8 and anydvd hd

WinDVD is in the mix also.

I looked on the Nero web site and didn't see a specific reference to HD DVD playback capability, but am I right to assume that Nero 8 can be used to play HD DVDs on the PC?

As a user of Nero 8 with the Blu-ray/HD DVD Video Plug-in , I can confirm that you can play HD DVDs with no problem. The plug-in also includes the DTS 5.1 channel support. Works well with my Onkyo 606. With AnyDVD HD rips to HDD and Nero 8 Showtime, I can play ISO files from the HDD.

Arcsoft TotalMedia Theater continues to support HD-DVD playback.

These last two look great.

I am using Arcosft TMT as my main player and Nero 8 as the backup in case I have problems. For some reason I was able to play Elizabeth: TGA in Nero 8 and not in TMT.

Between the two, I think TMT edges out Nero 8 in PQ, but not by much. On the other hand TMT is much more hardware demanding than Nero 8.

... and Arcsoft TMT integrates seamlessly with Windows Media Center (lets starting and control of HDDVD/BDs from within MCE, and supports the compatible remotes)

OEM version of PowerDVD has a MCE plugin as well (called "Play Movie"), but this one behaves a bit strange, at least on my machine.

tteich and bjmarchini - Arcsoft TMT Full only supports BD, you must get Extreme for HD DVD support. I have yet to find a BD or HD DVD that doesn't play in Nero 8. Alas, Nero 9 appears to no longer support HD DVD (only has a BD plug-in).

Are you sure about that? As of last night, Arcsoft's feature chart stated that the $90 version of TMT supported HD-DVD.

IF TMT doesn't support HD DVD, then why am I able to watch HD DVDs on it? It works. If I was at home, I would include a screen shot of it playing the HD DVD logo, but I am not. You do realize that TMT = TotalMedia Theater? It doesn't list it, but it does play it. The extreme basically includes video editing and capture just as totalmedia does this for SD - I have the OEM version of this that came with my TV Tuner.

I added it in September to my HTPC. So far I have played Rundown, TMNT, Superman, Dune and a few others. The plus side of TMT from what I remember is that is decodes DTS-MA which is something that Nero doesnt (which I found out from experience). the only one that I had any problems with was Elizabeth. I am not sure if was the player or something I had set up wrong. So I just switched to Nero 8 as I didn't feel like fiddling with it.

I do like Nero alot and I think it has the best interface, but in comparison tests, I find the PQ on TMT to be a hair better and closest to my HD805 (close enough that I am considering selling it - please don't PM me for it).

I don't use media center, just XP pro with xlobby 2 and it works just fine for me. Also I have AnyDVD HD installed as I am using a 6600GS which is not HDCP compliant.

I used to add media to my server. I recently took it down and went back to keeping them on disk instead. Just a personal preference. so I use my HTPC player now for music/photos/Direct Optical playback/web browsing and on-demand via the internet (I really like the new HD NBC direct - been watching Heroes on it). For TV, I just use my Cable box for now. Perhaps someday I will get a cable card. I had an HDTV tuner in it, but it ran hot and while I enjoy OTA, I just could deal without Comcast Sportsnet and ESPN as well as the free on-demand movies.

I think it is a rip that they still have to pay licensing fees to HD DVD at this point (or enough to make it worth not including). Of course, taht is what they could be spinning while the real reason may be that the BDA insisted or incentivised them not to include its support.

I think down the road, there is enough support that a player like the one included in the CCCP pack will include its support. For now, it seems TMT is the only one that has not dropped it. PD 8 is out (unless you want to hack it - though the next version prob won't include it), Nero 9 apparrently doesn't, and I don't think WinDVD 9 does either.

Is there any place I can still buy Nero 8 and the HD DVD plug in?

Nero 8 can already play BD and HD DVD. You can buy any retail copy, update it and then pruchase the plugin.

I would contact Nero. They may still sell you the license key to you if you have nero 8 and explain the situation.

Worste case scenario, there are other ways to find the necessary key.

I have alot of HD DVDs which is Why I am going with two different programs. covering my bases.

ArcSoft TMT (standard version for $89) supports HDDVD, DVD, and BD.

Edit: ...and, as experience shows, Nero behaves like a virus. Once installed it places a lot of strange executables into every corner of your Windows system, which you won't get rid of after you find out it's buggy and uninstall it. Frankly spoken I would not recommend it.