How To: Bluray/HDDVD playback with GBPVR

[whurlston]

I will update this thread as more methods become known but for now I will at least share the method that I have found.

These are manual setup instructions. For automatic configuration of decoders, you can download and install Hoborg's SAF Codec Pack for GB-PVR. You then just need AnyDVD HD and if relevant, ffDShow bitstream branch.

Prerequisites:

• AnyDVD HD
  
• ffDShow tryouts build 2474 or newer - This will allow you to decode all HD audio formats. DTS-HD/MA is decoded to DTS-Core only. Additional SVN Builds: http://www.xvidvideo.ru/ffdshow-tryouts-project-x86-x64
  
• An H.264 video decoder - Your choice.
  

Additional Bitstreaming Prerequisites:

• An ATI 5xxx series video card or an Asus Xonar sound card.
  
• ffDshow tryouts bitstream branch beta 49 or newer - this supercedes the previous ffdshow requirement.
  

MPEG Demuxers (that will expose HD audio streams)

• MPC-HC's MPEG Splitter (32bit) (Recommended) - Free. Audio Stream switching capabilities. The latest SVN versions can be downloaded from http://www.xvidvideo.ru/media-player-cla...ma-x86-x64
  
• ArcSoft MPEG Demux - Available with TotalMedia Theater and TotalMedia Extreme. TotalMedia 3.5 might work. Trial versions are available. HDHomeRun and HD-PVR users should have this demux in their bundled software.
  Cyberlink Demuxer 2.0 - Available with PowerDVD 9 Ultra (possibly with lower versions of PDVD 9 but I'm not sure).
  

Additional Tools:

• Monogram GraphStudio - This a tool similiar to GraphEdit that includes the ability to set filter merits. Alternatively you can use GraphEdit and a filter manager like Radlight.
  

Changing filter merits and properties:

• Open GraphStudio.
  
• Select "Graph" -> "Insert Filter..."
  
• Select the filter on the left.
  
• Select "Property Page" or "Change Merit" on the right.
  

Configuring the Demux:

• Set the merit for your preferred MPEG demux to "0x00800000 (MERIT_PREFERRED)".
  

Configuring ffDShow

• Enable the following codecs and set the decoder to "libavcodec" (you can use libdts for the DTS setting if you like). All others can be disabled if you do not want to use ffDShow for anything other than HD audio decoding.
  • AC3
    
  • E-AC3
    
  • MLP
    
  • DTS
    
• If you prefer to use another decoder for everything else, just set the merit on your preferred decoder to higher than the ffDShow default of "0x3fffffff"
  
• For bitstreaming, select all passthrough formats and 16/24 bit in the "Output" configuration section of ffdshow. If bitstreaming is not possible, it will automatically revert to decoding mode.
  

Issues with Haali Media Splitter:

• If you have the Haali media splitter installed, it will autoload when trying to play m2ts files. To resolve this, delete the following registry key:
  
  Code:

  HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Media Type\Extensions\.m2ts

Testing the configuration:

• Start a new blank graph in GraphStudio.
  
• Select "Graph" -> "Insert Video Renderer"
  
• Choose the renderer that you have configured in GB-PVR.
  
• Select "File" -> "Render Media File..."
  
• Choose an m2ts/evo file.
  
• The graph should completely render and play with the following filters:
  • FileSource (Async)
    
  • "ArcSoft MPEG Demux" or "MPC - Mpeg Splitter (Gabest)"
    
  • ffDShow Audio Decoder
    
  • [an appropriate video decoder]
    
  • [video renderer]
    
  • [audio renderer]
    
• If it loads different decoders, you may need to play with the filter merits.
  

Setting up MPC-HC Splitter:

• Save the following to a text file named "MPCSource.reg" and import it into the registry. This will allow for seamless playback of titles where the movie consists of more than one m2ts file.
  
• Code:

  Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Media Type\Extensions\.m2ts]
"Source Filter"="{1365BE7A-C86A-473C-9A41-C0A6E82C9FA3}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Media Type\Extensions\.mpls]
"Source Filter"="{1365BE7A-C86A-473C-9A41-C0A6E82C9FA3}"

[whurlston]

This post will contain a list of plugins supporting Bluray/HDDVD ISOs and folder structures as they become available.

1. Movie Library (alpha)
   

[pBS]

is there any way to choose audio stream when playing back this way?
i just use tsremux.exe and rip out the audio i don't want...then anything plays it..
[even tho that's another step]

amazing how well they compress with ffmpeg...i squeeze down to 4 gig w/excellent quality..
[keeping same frame size/rate]

[whurlston]

Not yet but I'll be adding that capability. I may need something from sub on his end first, I'm not sure yet.

[pBS]

excellent..thanx...that's the only thing stopping me from playing most movie rips without a lot of extra processing...plus enable retail disks-direct play w/anydvdhd...
would be nice to have popup menu with available selections enumerated, but even just a toggle next audio stream would be fine..
or an auto-select of pre-chosen language..

any plans on subtitles?

oh and when you say 'play dvd disks,bluray disks' you mean unencrypted right?
or may we be possibly able to play regular off the shelf dvds?
[maybe w/anydvdHD running in background?]

[whurlston]

excellent..thanx...that's the only thing stopping me from playing most movie rips without a lot of extra processing...plus enable retail disks-direct play w/anydvdhd...
would be nice to have popup menu with available selections enumerated, but even just a toggle next audio stream would be fine..
or an auto-select of pre-chosen language..

I'm hoping to find a way to expose all audio streams off the demux and then use ffDShow's built in audio switcher, but you're getting too far ahead of me . Just getting basic playback was my first priority. Once I'm able to expose all the streams, I'll look into being able to switch between them.

any plans on subtitles?

Haven't looked into this yet, sorry. It's on the list but not at a high priority. That might change depending of the difficulty of it and the difficulty of other things.

oh and when you say 'play dvd disks,bluray disks' you mean unencrypted right?
or may we be possibly able to play regular off the shelf dvds?
[maybe w/anydvdHD running in background?]

As long as AnyDVD (HD) is running, it will work on off the shelf discs. For playing DVDs, I just call GB-PVR's native DVD player so it's exacty the same as if you selected "DVD" from the menu. Bluray's are handled differently since GB-PVR doesn't have a built in BD player but as long as AnyDVD HD is running, it will work (this was actually my primary objective).

Anymore plugin specific questions should be asked in the plugin thread though. I know mine is the only one out so far but I want to try to keep this thread generic so that the information will apply to any "Bluray enabled" plugin (I'm sure more will become available).

[whurlston]

Added MPC demux to list.

[Ommina]

I'm not sure if this is more appropriate here, the plugin thread, or a third thread entirely. But here I am.

If the system in question has all the necessary hardware to support the whole "digital content protection" fluff from DVD to display, is AnyDVD HD still required? Or are there other considerations of which I'm blissfully unaware that make AnyDVD necessary?

[whurlston]

I'm not sure if this is more appropriate here, the plugin thread, or a third thread entirely. But here I am.

If the system in question has all the necessary hardware to support the whole "digital content protection" fluff from DVD to display, is AnyDVD HD still required? Or are there other considerations of which I'm blissfully unaware that make AnyDVD necessary?

Without AnyDVD, you are limited to using "approved" applications like PowerDVD and TotalMedia Theatre to play the disks. Playback within GBPVR is not possible without AnyDVD HD.

[dennit]

Without AnyDVD, you are limited to using "approved" applications like PowerDVD and TotalMedia Theatre to play the disks. Playback within GBPVR is not possible without AnyDVD HD.

FYI:
MakeMKV is a new converter for BluRay that handles AACS (but not yet BD+) and converts direct to MKV format. I've found it works great with GBPVR if all you want is the movie and are willing to wait for the conversion. It's currently free and in beta.

MakeMKV is your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called "transcoder". The only thing it does (and does well) - it converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way. The MKV format can store multiple video/audio tracks with all meta-information and preserve chapters. There are many players that can play MKV files nearly on all platforms, and there are tools to convert MKV files to many formats, including DVD and Blu-ray discs.

* Reads DVD, Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs
* Ignores region restrictions
* Preserves all video and audio tracks
* Preserves chapters information
* Preserves all meta-information (track language, audio type)
* Fast conversion - converts as fast as your drive can read data.
* No additional software is required for conversion or decryption.
* Functionality to open DVD discs is free and willl always stay free.
* All features (including Blu-ray decryption and processing) are free during BETA.