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Media Streamer that can play Blu-Ray ISO?

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nothing

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Has no one released a device like the Popcorn Hour that can play Blu-Ray ISOs?

I hate to have a HTPC in every room to do it.
 
why do you want full ISO? to me movie only is best option for now as no player plays full ISO properly..I rip to movie only mkv and no crap previews etc. If I want full extra items, I load the disc
 
ron spencer said:
why do you want full ISO? to me movie only is best option for now as no player plays full ISO properly..I rip to movie only mkv and no crap previews etc. If I want full extra items, I load the disc
Click to expand...

will that also give you the lossless sound? what do you use to rip them to MKV?
 
nothing said:
Has no one released a device like the Popcorn Hour that can play Blu-Ray ISOs?

I hate to have a HTPC in every room to do it.
Click to expand...

They all suck in various ways, but:

Popcorn Hour PCH-C200
DunePlayer Base/Prime 3.0

They play (unprotected) DD ISOs over the network. However they are each laden with problems.

The PCH-A110 is still the best HD movie player out there, if you're willing to rip everything to just M2TS files. And it bitstreams HD audio perfectly.
 
HDX BD-1

Just got this thing and am still figuring it out but it will definitely play either an AnyDVD HD Blu-Ray DVD rip or ISO from either an internal or external (USB or eSATA) hard drive. A, hopefully imminent, firmware upgrade will enable network capability. It also supports hi-def audio pass through.
 
nothing said:
will that also give you the lossless sound? what do you use to rip them to MKV?
Click to expand...

lossless sound is a red herring....really is. But you can included it if you like..ClownBD to choose streams, then mkvmergeGUI to make mkv.
 
well...most people cannot tell the difference when WATCHING a movie. I am convinced of this after actually testing (double blind) here at home with friends, neighbours, etc. It has been fun doing this. So I asked a colleague's daughter who is in nursing about this. She asked one of her profs who said he was not surprised. The human mind ignores most audio (not all, but most) in a highly visual task, such as watching a movie. Or even driving a car...ever had a close call when someone talking to you when driving and you forget what they said because you were almost in an accident. The same happens in a movie. Now...this is not to say that high resolution audio is bad...it is just a waste of space and a way to sell movies. Now with the same people, if you turn the TV off and have them CONCENTRATE on the audio, yes most people can tell a difference; just not with all the video at the same time. I am convinced of this, so I always reencode to mkv 448 AC3 for my media server.

This is like DVD-A...awesome sound, I love that high resolution audio, but I am only listening to it, not watching it.

So I think high resolution audio is a red herring to sell blu ray....it is just not needed for the average person..of course, your millage will vary!!!
 
ron spencer said:
well...most people cannot tell the difference when WATCHING a movie. I am convinced of this after actually testing (double blind) here at home with friends, neighbours, etc. It has been fun doing this. So I asked a colleague's daughter who is in nursing about this. She asked one of her profs who said he was not surprised. The human mind ignores most audio (not all, but most) in a highly visual task, such as watching a movie. Or even driving a car...ever had a close call when someone talking to you when driving and you forget what they said because you were almost in an accident. The same happens in a movie. Now...this is not to say that high resolution audio is bad...it is just a waste of space and a way to sell movies. Now with the same people, if you turn the TV off and have them CONCENTRATE on the audio, yes most people can tell a difference; just not with all the video at the same time. I am convinced of this, so I always reencode to mkv 448 AC3 for my media server.

This is like DVD-A...awesome sound, I love that high resolution audio, but I am only listening to it, not watching it.

So I think high resolution audio is a red herring to sell blu ray....it is just not needed for the average person..of course, your millage will vary!!!
Click to expand...

#1 - You need quality speakers to tell the difference. You're right, that DD5.1 will sound just like TrueHD on a Bose, or DefTech, or Klipsch, or many other Best Buy quality systems.

#2 - You need a good pre-pro to really get the most from the sound. Many pre-pros/AVRs are so bad at Digital-to-Analog conversion (DACs) that they mess up the sound. Again, with good speakers.

#3 - Ergo, you are mostly right that this is a waste, since most people don't have anything close to the equipment to really hear, and appreciate the difference, at all, or without listening to it to try and hear a difference.

That being said, with the right equipment, it's amazing how much better the sound is. It's mostly about the dynamic range I think, but it's dramatic on many movie sound tracks (almost all I watch).
 
exactly...you need such high end stuff...but even then it is not enough...you can spend all you want, but if you have a crummy room (the ultimate limiting factor), then it is pointless. Sure a dedicated HT room will enjoy the benefits, but for 99% of people, high res sound is all smoke and mirrors and advertsing.
 
I have used a bunch of streamers.

Here is my list:
Dune. Best of the bunch, not perfect, but closest yet
PCH200. No good. Buggy
xstreamer. no bd menu last time I looked
various realtek chip players. Limited, and audio problems.
hdx1. I have not had one, but first release was not good. I heard the firmware got alot better, but I have not had one yet.

After all of that, I would say the Dune Base is the best bet if you want to stream.
 
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