• AnyStream is having some DRM issues currently, Netflix is not available in HD for the time being.
    Situations like this will always happen with AnyStream: streaming providers are continuously improving their countermeasures while we try to catch up, it's an ongoing cat-and-mouse game. Please be patient and don't flood our support or forum with requests, we are working on it 24/7 to get it resolved. Thank you.

End is Near for DVD/BD Drives?

What's weird and very telling is that July will be a little half over on the 16th, and Cyberlink is still selling PowerDVD 22 Ultra (which came out last year on May 12th) right now at 30% off ($69.99 US dollars.)

In years past, PowerDVD would already by now be on their newest version of their software, but I think that even Cyberlink is seeing sales plummet from what they were as recently as 5-10 years ago as more people are using digital media instead of Blu-ray discs or DVDs.

And, since PowerDVD has the Cinavia audio check enabled in the software, others have moved on and are using other non-Cinavia checking software such as VLC, MPC-HC, JRiver (and I have all 3 on my 2 Windows laptops) and so on.

Personally, I think that Cyberlink needs to keep the $69.99 US price as the suggested retail price, since you can get a halfway decent Panasonic Blu-ray player online from Amazon starting at around $63 during their current Prime sales event. And if you keep the machine in decent shape, it will last at least a few years, without paying for a update every year like you do if you get a new version of PowerDVD like I have for the past decade.

Anyway, I still prefer Blu-ray over digital. But, I'm slowly starting to think about getting rid of all my Blu-rays and DVDs and just use AS+ to download what I want, and save the files on external drives.
 
I'm not inclined to spend much time browsing among streaming companies for which ones have the lowest monthly rates and the largest and varied selection of TV series and movies. Not only do I detest the idea of adding another monthly expense, but the vast majority of titles offered by at least most services would most likely be of zero value to me-just as most titles that my public library purchases on optical media, with my tax dollars. OTOH, IF Amazon or other providers offered a true a' la carte format, where I would pay nothing more than the (reasonable) price to view one title at any time. But I strongly doubt that Amazon and the rest would be so accommodating.

Furthermore, I detest the likes of indifferent but powerful eco-idiots like Bezos, with his countless fleets of Amazon vans and paving over countless thousands of acres of CO2 consuming greenspace which all accelerates climate change just so that impatient eco-idiot customers can get their items delivered in less than 48 hours. So, buying into Amazon any more than I must to purchase an item or a movie unavailable elsewhere online or on disc would be as unconscionable as buying a car or other product from this degenerate. https://www.businessinsider.com/elo...-rates-global-warming-demographers-say-2022-9
 
Last edited:
Something to consider with this thread:

Cyberlink has extended their sale of PowerDVD 22 Ultra until July 23, 2023.

That's the longest that they've gone before releasing a new version of their PowerDVD computer software.

Very interesting.

💡
 
I think PowerDVD has become obsolete. It was my first solution in DVD times with a PC next to my TV feeding my TV and a Creative Labs sound- and extension card did the 5.1. We have now UHD, DolbyVision, HDR and PowerDVD is not really a software anymore that covers all of that. My opinion.
 
whatever_gong82 said:
What's weird and very telling is that July will be a little half over on the 16th, and Cyberlink is still selling PowerDVD 22 Ultra (which came out last year on May 12th) right now at 30% off ($69.99 US dollars.)

In years past, PowerDVD would already by now be on their newest version of their software, but I think that even Cyberlink is seeing sales plummet from what they were as recently as 5-10 years ago as more people are using digital media instead of Blu-ray discs or DVDs.

And, since PowerDVD has the Cinavia audio check enabled in the software, others have moved on and are using other non-Cinavia checking software such as VLC, MPC-HC, JRiver (and I have all 3 on my 2 Windows laptops) and so on.

Personally, I think that Cyberlink needs to keep the $69.99 US price as the suggested retail price, since you can get a halfway decent Panasonic Blu-ray player online from Amazon starting at around $63 during their current Prime sales event. And if you keep the machine in decent shape, it will last at least a few years, without paying for a update every year like you do if you get a new version of PowerDVD like I have for the past decade.

Anyway, I still prefer Blu-ray over digital. But, I'm slowly starting to think about getting rid of all my Blu-rays and DVDs and just use AS+ to download what I want, and save the files on external drives.
Click to expand...
A part of the decline could also be people don't have as much disposable income for purchasing software.

Digital requires an active internet connection, and the content can be removed at the whim of the provider without compensation or notification. Someone other than me knows what I watch if it's digital content. Watching a physical disc in a standalone player only I know when and what I view.
 
coopervid said:
I think PowerDVD has become obsolete. It was my first solution in DVD times with a PC next to my TV feeding my TV and a Creative Labs sound- and extension card did the 5.1. We have now UHD, DolbyVision, HDR and PowerDVD is not really a software anymore that covers all of that. My opinion.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I really only bought PowerDVD out of habit the last 3-4 years, and even then I was using the previous bought and paid versions on my Windows 10 systems that I own.

Now, with my Windows 11 laptop being my go-to machine for viewing videos and what not, I don't really use it as much as I used to.
In fact, I've been using JRiver, MPC-HC, and VLC more than PowerDVD.
 
George++ said:
A part of the decline could also be people don't have as much disposable income for purchasing software.

Digital requires an active internet connection, and the content can be removed at the whim of the provider without compensation or notification. Someone other than me knows what I watch if it's digital content. Watching a physical disc in a standalone player only I know when and what I view.
Click to expand...
Yep, I don't have the $$ anymore either, so that's why I've cut back on purchasing any Blu-ray/DVDs like I used to. Besides, with an app like AS+, I can just download the movie or tv series of my choice, and don't have to save space for Blu-rays or DVDs like I used to.
 
George++ said:
A part of the decline could also be people don't have as much disposable income for purchasing software.

Digital requires an active internet connection, and the content can be removed at the whim of the provider without compensation or notification. Someone other than me knows what I watch if it's digital content. Watching a physical disc in a standalone player only I know when and what I view.
Click to expand...
The good news is that at least lots of public libraries have respectably large DVD/BD collections, and will often honor purchase requests by local taxpayers, at least if no other local library has the title.
 
tyner said:
I choose to post this here rather than in the hardware or optical drive subsection because all AnyDVD HD AND all JRiver player users should be aware of this serious threat, if they aren't already.

With Sony's closing of their DADC plant in Terre Haute, IN and Sony BD/DVD distribution chains closing in several European cities, I wasn't too surprised when someone here said that Pioneer and LG are the only brands left who are actually making these drives, says poster # 32 here.
https://www.hometheaterforum.com/com....379410/page-2

Will multiple SSD NAS or servers be the only personal storage device left to us? The one I'd have to build would have to be enormous just to store not even 1/3 of my TV and movie collection. And how much of my time and how many drives would die on me before I even ripped that much to my servers?

No wonder the club.myce.com forum died; there's next to no BD drives to review anymore.

This planned catastrophe will render home video libraries, which millions of collectors have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours amassing, absolutely useless.
Click to expand...

It looks like this is the last gen to optical drives at least on the consumer level. That doesn't mean blank discs or drives will stop being made esp. with all the CD/DVD/BD discs on the market they will be manufactured for years. There will always be tools to use an ISO file even if you are forced to convert it to a new format (unlikely in your lifetime).

As for storage, due to cost, speed and storage capacity who even uses optical discs for that? I had to stop doing that years ago as was to expensive and having TB of data it would take to many discs even if I maxed that out w/ 128GB XL discs. Truly the only option is one of Sony's pro optical disc drives go up to 5.5TB per disc but the drives cost $7k-$10k each. As a big fan of optical storage for long term I looked into it but again was not affordable https://pro.sony/ue_US/products/optical-disc

As for storage the best bet is still magnetic HDD and copying the data once every 5 years (though you can go longer obviously). I am not sure on SSD for that yet, needs to be proven.

I wouldn't call this a catastrophe just progress.
 
TubeBar said:
It looks like this is the last gen to optical drives at least on the consumer level. That doesn't mean blank discs or drives will stop being made esp. with all the CD/DVD/BD discs on the market they will be manufactured for years. There will always be tools to use an ISO file even if you are forced to convert it to a new format (unlikely in your lifetime).

As for storage, due to cost, speed and storage capacity who even uses optical discs for that? I had to stop doing that years ago as was to expensive and having TB of data it would take to many discs even if I maxed that out w/ 128GB XL discs. Truly the only option is one of Sony's pro optical disc drives go up to 5.5TB per disc but the drives cost $7k-$10k each. As a big fan of optical storage for long term I looked into it but again was not affordable https://pro.sony/ue_US/products/optical-disc

As for storage the best bet is still magnetic HDD and copying the data once every 5 years (though you can go longer obviously). I am not sure on SSD for that yet, needs to be proven.

I wouldn't call this a catastrophe just progress.
Click to expand...

Very useful post! Not only have you reasserted the importance of protecting my collection from optical disc rot by backing up my most precious music, movies and TV episodes to SSDs/HDDs, but triggered plans to do so which provide additional benefits while eliminating some problems with home use of servers or NAS, such as multi drive HDD noise in smaller rooms-and/or close to speaker magnets that could wipe HDD-stored data.

As mentioned, the jury is still out on the longevity of SSDs vs. HDDs. Solution: Have two servers, identically configured. One all using HDDs for my living room system. The other using all SDDs, thus generating zero acoustical noise, for use in my bedroom system.

Though I'd have to consult a local expert who will build the servers, presumably a mirrored RAID 3 to 5 TB drive configuration for both servers would be best. Ideally, I could also afford to keep another such mirrored pair HDD server 11 miles away at my office.

Note: My HTPC, HP ZBook and the Intel Meteor Lake or other moderate TPD tower PC I will build next year all have ECC memory to minimize bit errors. Likewise, there are new and used servers with ECC RAM supporting Intel Xeon processors and motherboards. But for those with ECC RAM PCs like mine, ECC RAM servers will thus offer either double the error protection or no additional protection. Perhaps this might be worthy advice for those looking to build, buy or configure their first or next server or pc.

Familiar with the WAV first FLAC debate? Assuming both containers are used without any compression, I've always assumed that they are equally good, so I've always saved my CD track rips to WAV. Though search [ "wav vs flac" ], and see the debate still raging, especially in places like here.
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/board,67.0.html

As we've discussed here with others
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/410394-Please-Help-with-DVD-R-Ripping-MKV-Questions#post2697809 , while lossless MKV looks to be the easiest way to losslessly back up movies and TV episodes, I will thereby lose the optical disc's menu plus any convenient place to store the extras (e.g. movie commentary, isolated scores).

Instead, would ISO still be the better container? If yes, how hard it configure it for storing the original menu and extras?

And is it easy to later resume adding more episodes to it?

Otherwise my only other worry is if 3 TB per server will be enough over the next decade or so. Do a go with a mirrored pair (5TB) or striping pair (10TB) of these drives? https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-2-5-Inch-ST5000LM000/dp/B01M0AADIX?th=1

Or simply one of these? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...g0100hbk_nesn_10tb_elements_desktop_hard.html

And then do somewhat likewise with the SSD server to realize 10TB?

But will even 10TB be enough to back up most of the best of at least my current collection?
 
cartman0208 said:
If your data is important to you, you never EVER stripe disks...
Click to expand...
Shxxt, yes I forgot; if one drive in the pair dies you lose all data! Duh!

But what I need is some algorithm to estimate how much storage space my server will need to back up most of my content.
 
Whatever you estimate ... it will be not enough sooner or later, just ask some members who use AnyStream 🤭
Just get a NAS, put in the biggest disks you can afford and forget about it (for a while)
See my signature, the last part? My net storage is about 100TB ... I feel save with that for ne next 2-3 years. After that, I need to buy bigger disks (again)
 
cartman0208 said:
Whatever you estimate ... it will be not enough sooner or later, just ask some members who use AnyStream 🤭
Just get a NAS, put in the biggest disks you can afford and forget about it (for a while)
See my signature, the last part? My net storage is about 100TB ... I feel save with that for ne next 2-3 years. After that, I need to buy bigger disks (again)
Click to expand...

I don't have any streaming service and after the years since it's been mainstreamed there's still only about four items that I badly want to download, which are not available on disc. Those I do badly want, but I hate paying another kind of monthly fee-and SO many newer movies and TV shows are crap, IMHO. So, I happily re-watch lots of my collection.

Plus, after browsing new titles here https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/c/movies/movie-reviews/ and here https://mubi.com/films?filterShowing=false , I can often borrow DVDs and BDs via

But if you have only one NAS box how is it configured to comprise 100TB?

All HDDs or all SDDs?

Which, if any, RAID configuration? Are some drives used as JBOD?

Make/model NAS: Synology, QNAP, HP? Which Intel processor? How much memory?

How do you then access content? Your router via CAT 6 cable?

Thing is, I have no router. For my internet connection I only use my iphone's wifi.

So no way could I access a NAS via CAT 6 cable, yes?
 
In somewhat related news: Cyberlink has 'extended' their 30% off sale of PowerDVD to July 30th.

Just like @coopervid said, PowerDVD is somewhat obsolete now, with all the other methods mentioned in this thread on how to playback DVDs, Blu-ray discs, ISOs, MKVs, and other assorted video formats.
 
tyner said:
Very useful post! Not only have you reasserted the importance of protecting my collection from optical disc rot by backing up my most precious music, movies and TV episodes to SSDs/HDDs, but triggered plans to do so which provide additional benefits while eliminating some problems with home use of servers or NAS, such as multi drive HDD noise in smaller rooms-and/or close to speaker magnets that could wipe HDD-stored data.

As mentioned, the jury is still out on the longevity of SSDs vs. HDDs. Solution: Have two servers, identically configured. One all using HDDs for my living room system. The other using all SDDs, thus generating zero acoustical noise, for use in my bedroom system.

Though I'd have to consult a local expert who will build the servers, presumably a mirrored RAID 3 to 5 TB drive configuration for both servers would be best. Ideally, I could also afford to keep another such mirrored pair HDD server 11 miles away at my office.

Note: My HTPC, HP ZBook and the Intel Meteor Lake or other moderate TPD tower PC I will build next year all have ECC memory to minimize bit errors. Likewise, there are new and used servers with ECC RAM supporting Intel Xeon processors and motherboards. But for those with ECC RAM PCs like mine, ECC RAM servers will thus offer either double the error protection or no additional protection. Perhaps this might be worthy advice for those looking to build, buy or configure their first or next server or pc.

Familiar with the WAV first FLAC debate? Assuming both containers are used without any compression, I've always assumed that they are equally good, so I've always saved my CD track rips to WAV. Though search [ "wav vs flac" ], and see the debate still raging, especially in places like here.
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/board,67.0.html

As we've discussed here with others
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/410394-Please-Help-with-DVD-R-Ripping-MKV-Questions#post2697809 , while lossless MKV looks to be the easiest way to losslessly back up movies and TV episodes, I will thereby lose the optical disc's menu plus any convenient place to store the extras (e.g. movie commentary, isolated scores).

Instead, would ISO still be the better container? If yes, how hard it configure it for storing the original menu and extras?

And is it easy to later resume adding more episodes to it?

Otherwise my only other worry is if 3 TB per server will be enough over the next decade or so. Do a go with a mirrored pair (5TB) or striping pair (10TB) of these drives? https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-2-5-Inch-ST5000LM000/dp/B01M0AADIX?th=1

Or simply one of these? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...g0100hbk_nesn_10tb_elements_desktop_hard.html

And then do somewhat likewise with the SSD server to realize 10TB?

But will even 10TB be enough to back up most of the best of at least my current collection?
Click to expand...
What I do isn't ideal but works. I generally use HDD for backup and put those in cold storage, buy a bigger one a few years later and copy over the data. It becomes a real pain when you have 50TB of data and keeps increasing.

WAV vs. FLAC is a nonsensical debate. It's like debating over Zip vs. Bitmap it's not worth my time or effort.

MKV lossless is best IMO for streaming needs, but Archival is ISO if you want to preserve disc structure.

cartman0208 said:
Whatever you estimate ... it will be not enough sooner or later, just ask some members who use AnyStream 🤭
Just get a NAS, put in the biggest disks you can afford and forget about it (for a while)
See my signature, the last part? My net storage is about 100TB ... I feel save with that for ne next 2-3 years. After that, I need to buy bigger disks (again)
Click to expand...

True, uh 100TB you got me beat! Think I'm around 80ish (getting close though).
 
Last edited:
For lossless edits, I use TMPGEnc MPEG Smart Renderer 6 https://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tmsr6.html only downside is no support for Dolby Vision content but does have HDR support. It's not cheap but gets the job done.

You can't edit an ISO as it is not a video but an archive of the entire disc it's not a single file. You have to edit a single file (i.e. only 1 video stream) that would be the MKV.
 
Cyberlink (again!) extended their 30% off ($69.99 US retail) sale of PowerDVD 22 Ultra until Sunday, August 6, 2023.
 
whatever_gong82 said:
Cyberlink (again!) extended their 30% off ($69.99 US retail) sale of PowerDVD 22 Ultra until Sunday, August 6, 2023.
Click to expand...
it seems that there is not much interest from people, this is quite a bad sign and it can really mean the end of players for these media in the future, unfortunately, film studios are starting to close down the media presses, especially the big film studios, I recommend buying enough reading and storage hardware according to your needs, because it is possible that in the near future it will not be possible to solve this also applies to other members of the REDFOX forum
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top