Recent posts

#11

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by BLUEVOODU - December 29, 2025, 04:51:30 PM

4K UHD discs come with specific DRM and not all discs use the same one. PowerDVD, which was one of the biggest playback software for movies on PC stopped supporting 4K UHD discs somewhat recently. It was able to decrypt the DRM.

That's insane.  We used to use PowerDVD and it was a generally distributed software with our old Dell laptops... so we had the software for the DVD drives (etc) on the laptops and other computers.  That really sucks they stopped supporting 4K UHD disks.  I wonder why they did that... probably cost saving and popularity of product at this point.

Thank you for the advice of MakeMKV... This is just a weird and crazy time in history for certain things.   This is definitely a big change.  We've been watching it happen since the old forums... just sucks to see it happening more now.  I know it doesn't impact others the same and preferences are different.

#12

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by CreepinDeth - December 29, 2025, 02:49:12 PM

I haven't done a lot of searching on this.  Doesn't that mean that the internal Blu-Ray player has the capability to read those type of discs... you just have to have the 4K codecs on your computer at that point?   

Unfortunately, it's not a codec issue, it's a DRM issue. If I'm remembering correctly, most discs use the usual h.265 codec. Which is no problem at all to play on a computer. 4K UHD discs come with specific DRM and not all discs use the same one. PowerDVD, which was one of the biggest playback software for movies on PC stopped supporting 4K UHD discs somewhat recently. It was able to decrypt the DRM.

This is why I'm ripping my discs for digital playback as soon as I can. The media is dying very fast.

EDIT: Seems like you should still be able to if you install MakeMKV but I don't know if all blu-ray players are compatible.

#13

General Discussion / Re: Lo-fi 16-bit video game Ch...

Last post by BLUEVOODU - December 29, 2025, 09:04:22 AM

LOL - I liked this one.  Smooth and peaceful.  The Goomba is awesome.  How long is Mario going to adjust that star??  and Link hold up the wall playing his Ocarina?

#14

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by BLUEVOODU - December 29, 2025, 09:02:09 AM

BDXL just means that you can write to 128GB discs for archiving data.

I haven't done a lot of searching on this.  Doesn't that mean that the internal Blu-Ray player has the capability to read those type of discs... you just have to have the 4K codecs on your computer at that point?   I'm asking since you already went down this rabbit hole and looking at what you have found.  It seemed like this was the case on initial search, but it could be wrong.  Almost like we need a whole topic for this... it's pretty interesting.

It's crazy how this landscape has changed... Then again, I haven't looked into it in FOREVER as I just haven't personally used desktops since 2018 outside of Linux and creating work "stuff" (long discussion I think mentioned in one of the Linux topics) for desktops.

#15

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by CreepinDeth - December 28, 2025, 10:00:42 PM

but I cannot find the old 5.25" drive bay 4K Blu-Ray players.

That's because they don't really exist anymore. I went down this rabbit hole a few years back because I wanted to rip my 4K UHD Blu-rays. I ended up buying an LG model and flashed it with custom firmware so that it could read and rip 4K discs.

There were a few that existed but they required certain Intel CPUs in order for them to work, I believe. Intel has since ripped out the instructions in their CPUs so doesn't appear possible without custom firmware in your drive. There were some Pioneer drives that had specific firmware that worked out of the box but they've since been updated and I'm reading that they can't be downgraded.

BDXL just means that you can write to 128GB discs for archiving data.

#16

General Discussion / Re: Transformers One

Last post by BLUEVOODU - December 28, 2025, 08:37:13 PM

LOL... it was animated.  There was no Megan Fox... and there were explosions-ish explosions in animated form.   However, the movie is well done.  Have you checked it out?

#17

General Discussion / Re: Merry Christmas 2025!

Last post by BLUEVOODU - December 28, 2025, 08:36:28 PM

Nice post @retro junkie - your spoils never cease to amaze LOL 

@CreepinDeth -- NICE as well - it will be awesome to see the pictures when you have the chance.

@Grindspine - yeah... that was awesome.  It was an awesome dinner and good to see everyone. mmm... sushi... lol 

#18

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by BLUEVOODU - December 28, 2025, 08:34:41 PM

Nice scores @Grindspine @retro junkie and @CreepinDeth

Grind --> what did you think about The Boy and the Heron?  We saw that in the theater... it was interesting for sure.

In terms of Blu-Ray 4K... you know, I started with the PS3 for Blu-Ray and a Blu-Ray player.  I ended up getting internal Blu-Ray players for my PCs back in the day as well.  I did buy my wife an External TV Blu-Ray player... it wasn't 4K.  There are some internal laptop 4k players ... but I cannot find the old 5.25" drive bay 4K Blu-Ray players.  Like this (this one says BDXL but I don't know if it's actually 4k):
https://amzn.to/4qtWo9a

Creepin's suggestion is great - 100%.  Personally, I use my PS5 at this point for a 4K drive.  Right now, we are watching the Mandalorian Season 3 4K on the PS5.  IT IS larger if you're looking for something more portable.  However, I can play games, watch 4K Blu-Rays and do everything else I want to do.  If we want to take it somewhere, we just do.  It's not super portable... but it is what it is and we just deal with it.

It's insane to see how expensive these players have become.  I paid $20 for DVD internal players, $40 for my old Blu-Ray players (haven't bought one since 2013)... and the external TV stand Blu-Ray player was $50-60ish on sale.  The prices I am seeing are insane for the drives now...

#19

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by Grindspine - December 28, 2025, 02:54:04 PM

Hmm, I didn't even know what Dolby Vision was as we just moved to a 4k TV last holiday season. I just got a soundbar with Atmos support this holiday season.

We don't currently have any 4k blu ray discs, but I also passed on a few media deals because of the lack of a 4k player.

I guess that the choice is down to either the Panasonic standalone player for the best media experience, or something like a ps5 if I want to have gaming with my media player.

Thanks for the recommendation!

[Panasonic UB820]

#20

General Discussion / Re: Post Your Recent Physical ...

Last post by CreepinDeth - December 27, 2025, 09:00:17 PM

That leads me to the question, what physical media player are ya'll using for DVD and Blu Ray nowadays? I still have my trusty old PS3 (upgraded with SSD), but want to also have a 4k Blu Ray capable player on hand. Is PS4/PS5 still the best way to go for that?

PS4 can't play 4K Blu-rays at all and the PS5 does not support Dolby Vision HDR, only HDR10. So it's up to you on what you you're looking for.

If you want the best, then a standalone 4K Blu-ray player is the way to go, but now where getting to the point of how much do you want to spend?

This player is considered the best as far as I've seen around the internet - Panasonic UB820

Panasonics tend to get recommended the most. I have the DP-UB420 but it doesn't do Dolby Vision.

Dedicated players are starting to go away though. Some companies have already stopped manufacturing them. If you want one that has all the bells and whistles, like Dolby Vision, then you should pick one up sooner rather than later.