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Windows 8

mbilko (Elite) posted this on Saturday, 12th July 2014, 14:32

Ok bought win 8 laptop as I cracked screen on mine, got it cheap from ebay because it had blu ray player, logged in and hate it, no clue whats going on but the worst is it has no software to play the blu rays...wtf!!!! anyone tell me if this is normal....does vlc play blu rays?

RE: Windows 8

Gareth Williams (Elite) posted this on Saturday, 12th July 2014, 15:55

VLC will play Bluray discs but you need to place the necessary libraries and decryption keys in the VLC installation folder first, and it's not a perfect solution. More details: https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=105955

Alternatively, you could try the better option of installing some "premium" software like PowerDVD or WinDVD.

"Premium" *wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean* etc



RE: Windows 8

RJS (undefined) posted this on Saturday, 12th July 2014, 18:00

Slysoft AnyDVD + MPC Home Theatre is another option.


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RE: Windows 8

mbilko (Elite) posted this on Saturday, 12th July 2014, 18:36

Any idea of the cost of those Rob? I don't mind paying as long as I'm not ripped of as I will use it a lot.....

RE: Windows 8

RJS (undefined) posted this on Saturday, 12th July 2014, 20:47

AnyDVD HD is actually really expensive. :/ They used to have a reasonable pricing model where you payed once and get lifetime updates, then they moved to a structure where you either pay an awful lot for lifetime updates, or 63 euros where you get updates for one year.

And since I think you need the updates, that's really expensive. :/

Great product, but heavily overpriced imho. I know why it costs that much, but when you compare that price to just buying something like PowerDVD (not recommending that specifically) for less, it's hard to recommend it.


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RE: Windows 8

Chris Gould (Elite) posted this on Saturday, 12th July 2014, 22:57

There's a free, if limited, alternative called DVDFab Passkey Lite.

It won't decrypt the latest discs (nothing above AACS MKB v12), but it covers a lot of titles and there is a paid version if you require access to the latest ones ($105 for a lifetime licence, so significantly cheaper than AnyDVD HD).

I was lucky enough to nab an AnyDVD HD lifetime licence back when they were still relatively cheap (£50-odd).

However, if you simply want playback software you might be better off spending the money on a dedicated software player. Of course, support eventually lapses for those and you have to buy the latest version to play new titles... I use MPC-HC to play BDs as PowerDVD etc are total bloatware these days.







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This item was edited on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 00:01

RE: Windows 8

RJS (undefined) posted this on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 07:34

Quote:
Chris Gould says...
"but it covers a lot of titles and there is a paid version if you require access to the latest ones ($105 for a lifetime licence, so significantly cheaper than AnyDVD HD)."

$105 vs 110 Euros, which is about £28 cheaper I think?

One thing we are perhaps forgetting to mention, that might sway your decision a lot, is afaik MPC and VLC just play the movie, no menus or extras playback.

If you want those then you'll have to get something like PowerDVD anyway.


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RE: Windows 8

Chris Gould (Elite) posted this on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 12:36

They will play the menus/extras, you just have to open the relevant .m2ts files. Not really useful for the menus, but it's fine for the extras (apart from BonusView stuff, although it sort of works).

I think AnyDVD HD is now 119 Euros , so it's actually more like a £30 difference (when I worked it out last night using UCC\XE).







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This item was edited on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 13:36

RE: Windows 8

mbilko (Elite) posted this on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 15:42

Had a look around last night, lots of apps saying they are blu ray players at between £1.5 and £5, downloaded 1 trial version though and got nothing, failed to load message :(....not looking good I don't think

RE: Windows 8

Chris Gould (Elite) posted this on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 16:10

It looks as though DVDFab is now offering a free version of their Media Player.

I've no idea if it's time-limited, but it could be worth a look as it'll almost certainly work out cheaper than the Passkey or AnyDVD HD options. I don't really fancy installing it on my system to test in case it screws up the settings for my current software.

Ah, hold on, looks like the free version can only play .iso files or folder structures, so you'd need to buy it to unlock disc playback. The trial version can do both though.







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This item was edited on Sunday, 13th July 2014, 17:29

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