Ultra Blu Ray is disappointing

[Eric Kazer]

Not only do I need a Ultra Blu Ray drive, I also need a I7 Kaby Lake CPU. F---ing DRM bullshit. I can see need to upgrade a drive, but I shouldn't need to upgrade a whole system for a format. They should have a software mode to use a Ultra Blu Ray disc. I can run GTA 5 at a respectable frame rate, but I can't watch a Ultra blu Ray. I wonder if Ryzen can do it. This is how they are destroying the movie industry. Bend over to watch 4k. The Hoovers are on. Also, $40 per disc last time I looked. It is a decently specced system and does 4k Youtube like nothing.

 

DRM is loss of freedom. Everything is designed to cost more and more money. Who wants to jump 4 generations if CPU and motherboard to watch a different format. Or buy another playback machine for one format every 4 years at the average of 400 dollars per machine.

 

I would rather spend money on content. I should only have to buy drive and monitor, not whole setup. at $1200 plus.

 

Hope there is a crack to get playback.

 

 

[Founders]

You now have 1200 reasons to stop using Blu Ray. Remember, protect IP at all costs, even if it ultimately mean a terrible experience for the end user. Either stream your content or turn to other sources if need be. 

[amdorintel]

I thought blu ray went away yrs ago

still see the stuff in long aisles at bestbuy and waltons so there is a demand

i havent had a cd or dvd or blu ray in a long ass time

[Ithanul]

Or, rip the movie which will remove the DRM.  You don't even need an UHD specific drive to do it.  Or, get a GPU that can do it.  There are several options out there that will not require you to drop near that amount of money to play an UHD.  Otherwise, if having to get new hardware is not an option, then for the time moment ignore UHD and stick to digital files and streaming.  

 

Also decoding 4K is resource intensive.  I highly advise using a GPU to handle that as it uses hardware based decoding.

 

I bought UHDs for around 10-15 bucks, highest I see on occasions is 25 bucks for new releases.  Think only time I see ones anywhere near or over 40 bucks is for limited edition metal box sets or TV series.  Of course, that is prices here in the States.

[amdorintel]

2 minutes ago, Ithanul said:

UHD

what is UHD?

[Ithanul]

Just now, amdorintel said:

what is UHD?

Ultra High Definition.  The term used for 4K Blu-Ray discs.

[Roswell]

41 minutes ago, amdorintel said:

I thought blu ray went away yrs ago

still see the stuff in long aisles at bestbuy and waltons so there is a demand

i havent had a cd or dvd or blu ray in a long ass time

Yeah, I think most of the demand at this point is from AV enthusiasts that want the best possible picture quality.

 

It definitely looks a bit better, but screw paying 30 bucks for a movie, lol.

[Ace2213]

56 minutes ago, Vitamanic said:

It definitely looks a bit better, but screw paying 30 bucks for a movie, lol.

Does it look better than a ripped/streamed UHD copy?

[Roswell]

1 hour ago, Ace2213 said:

Does it look better than a ripped/streamed UHD copy?

Yeah, there's no color banding and no compression artifacts. Everything looks a bit more defined. The bit rate is something silly like 128Mbit/s.

[Ace2213]

1 minute ago, Vitamanic said:

Yeah, there's no color banding and no compression artifacts.

Do these issues also exist in those massive sized rips of 20-40 gigs or so for a single movie? I always assumed they were identical to a BluRay, since the size lines up.

[Roswell]

25 minutes ago, Ace2213 said:

Do these issues also exist in those massive sized rips of 20-40 gigs or so for a single movie? I always assumed they were identical to a BluRay, since the size lines up.

Those sound like unaltered disc image sizes. That size sounds about right for 1080p. I think 4K discs are around 75-100GB depending on the movie length and extras.

[The1Dickens]

2 hours ago, Founders said:

You now have 1200 reasons to stop using Blu Ray. Remember, protect IP at all costs, even if it ultimately mean a terrible experience for the end user. Either stream your content or turn to other sources if need be. 

 

2 hours ago, Ithanul said:

Or, rip the movie which will remove the DRM.  You don't even need an UHD specific drive to do it.  Or, get a GPU that can do it.  There are several options out there that will not require you to drop near that amount of money to play an UHD.  Otherwise, if having to get new hardware is not an option, then for the time moment ignore UHD and stick to digital files and streaming.  

 

Also decoding 4K is resource intensive.  I highly advise using a GPU to handle that as it uses hardware based decoding.

 

I bought UHDs for around 10-15 bucks, highest I see on occasions is 25 bucks for new releases.  Think only time I see ones anywhere near or over 40 bucks is for limited edition metal box sets or TV series.  Of course, that is prices here in the States.

Fun fact: Most, if not all, streaming services also require the 7th gen i7 to stream UHD content. Doesn't matter if you have a capable GPU. You do need a specific Blu-Ray drive to read Blu-Ray discs for UHD content, too.

 

Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, (don't have Hulu), Disney+ all require the 7th gen or later CPU. I've been down this road and it's a frustrating, irritating, and pointless road. My specs are in my signature, and I even complained to Vudu, and then was able to watch movies for a minute in UHD, but then I got another movie, and knocked back down to HDX (stupid way of saying 1080p), and I am able to watch YouTube in UHD with no issues, so I know my system can do it. Also, the Asus Blu-Ray drive I have is unable to play Blu-Ray 4K content without some sort of hackery, work-around, or something.

 

If you want to try your hand at streaming, you either need Microsoft's Edge browser, or each service's app (none of which has worked for me). They straight up don't support Firefox or Chrome for UHD streaming, it's even in their FAQs.

 

3 hours ago, Caroline said:

And then they wonder why there's piracy.

For reals, though. I try so hard to try to get people to go the legal route, but it seems like every time I turn around, the industry is huffing glue, shoving forks in electrical sockets, or running off the top of the stairs in a flaming toboggan...

 

3 hours ago, Eric Kazer said:

Not only do I need a Ultra Blu Ray drive, I also need a I7 Kaby Lake CPU. F---ing DRM bullshit. I can see need to upgrade a drive, but I shouldn't need to upgrade a whole system for a format. They should have a software mode to use a Ultra Blu Ray disc. I can run GTA 5 at a respectable frame rate, but I can't watch a Ultra blu Ray. I wonder if Ryzen can do it. This is how they are destroying the movie industry. Bend over to watch 4k. The Hoovers are on. Also, $40 per disc last time I looked. It is a decently specced system and does 4k Youtube like nothing.

 

DRM is loss of freedom. Everything is designed to cost more and more money. Who wants to jump 4 generations if CPU and motherboard to watch a different format. Or buy another playback machine for one format every 4 years at the average of 400 dollars per machine.

 

I would rather spend money on content. I should only have to buy drive and monitor, not whole setup. at $1200 plus.

 

Hope there is a crack to get playback.

 

 

If you'd like to go the cheapest route, Roku Ultra is only 70 bucks, and can stream UHD. I've not verified, but that would be your best bet, it would seem.

[Ithanul]

10 hours ago, The1Dickens said:

 

Fun fact: Most, if not all, streaming services also require the 7th gen i7 to stream UHD content. Doesn't matter if you have a capable GPU. You do need a specific Blu-Ray drive to read Blu-Ray discs for UHD content, too.

 

Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, (don't have Hulu), Disney+ all require the 7th gen or later CPU. I've been down this road and it's a frustrating, irritating, and pointless road. My specs are in my signature, and I even complained to Vudu, and then was able to watch movies for a minute in UHD, but then I got another movie, and knocked back down to HDX (stupid way of saying 1080p), and I am able to watch YouTube in UHD with no issues, so I know my system can do it. Also, the Asus Blu-Ray drive I have is unable to play Blu-Ray 4K content without some sort of hackery, work-around, or something.

To clarify about the drive, I was referring to UHD drives specifically.  There are some models of non-UHD drives that can rip UHD.  I have one such drives that is used for ripping UHD.

 

I don't really use streaming services myself.  But, I am aware that the Nvidia 387.76 allows running 4K Netflix on Nvidia Pascal cards and up without requiring Kaby Lake.  In the end, it is going to require new hardware, but it is not going to cost near $1200 to do so.  As you mention, the OP can go buy a $70 Roku Ultra.

[Zodiark1593]

3 minutes ago, Ithanul said:

To clarify about the drive, I was referring to UHD drives specifically.  There are some models of non-UHD drives that can rip UHD.  I have one such drives that is used for ripping UHD.

 

I don't really use streaming services myself.  But, I am aware that the Nvidia 387.76 allows running 4K Netflix on Nvidia Pascal cards and up without requiring Kaby Lake.  In the end, it is going to require new hardware, but it is not going to cost near $1200 to do so.  As you mention, the OP can go buy a $70 Roku Ultra.

The GTX 950/960 can decode 4K HEVC 10-bit flawlessly and even output HDR under recent drivers, though due to tue lack of the PlayReady 3.0 DRM, the decoding capability may as well not exist (at least, as far as official media sources go).

[JZStudios]

15 hours ago, Ithanul said:

Or, rip the movie which will remove the DRM.  You don't even need an UHD specific drive to do it.  Or, get a GPU that can do it.  There are several options out there that will not require you to drop near that amount of money to play an UHD.  Otherwise, if having to get new hardware is not an option, then for the time moment ignore UHD and stick to digital files and streaming.  

 

Also decoding 4K is resource intensive.  I highly advise using a GPU to handle that as it uses hardware based decoding.

 

I bought UHDs for around 10-15 bucks, highest I see on occasions is 25 bucks for new releases.  Think only time I see ones anywhere near or over 40 bucks is for limited edition metal box sets or TV series.  Of course, that is prices here in the States.

According to my brother you do need a UHD drive. He could be wrong, but I think he got a Blu Ray drive to rip movies and I don't think he can do UHD.

 

12 hours ago, Vitamanic said:

Those sound like unaltered disc image sizes. That size sounds about right for 1080p. I think 4K discs are around 75-100GB depending on the movie length and extras.

That seems incorrect. A standard Blu-Ray disc only holds 50gb. Maybe UHD is actually a slightly different disc with larger file storage somehow.

[Roswell]

3 hours ago, JZStudios said:

That seems incorrect. A standard Blu-Ray disc only holds 50gb. Maybe UHD is actually a slightly different disc with larger file storage somehow.

It's not. UHD discs are either 50, 66 or 100GB. A disc image is going to fall somewhere between those numbers. They use layering just as they did with DVDs. 

[JZStudios]

Just now, Vitamanic said:

It's not. UHD discs are either 50, 66 or 100GB. They use layering just as they did with DVDs.

Hmm. I remember Sony was trying to make 500gb discs at some point.

[Ithanul]

8 hours ago, JZStudios said:

According to my brother you do need a UHD drive. He could be wrong, but I think he got a Blu Ray drive to rip movies and I don't think he can do UHD.

There are non-UHD models that can rip UHD, not all models though.  One I have is the LG WH16NS40 ROM Ver. 1.02. 

 

For proof, here you go:

Spoiler

 

 

[Donut417]

21 hours ago, amdorintel said:

I thought blu ray went away yrs ago

With data caps its making a come back. Plus streaming is good quality but Bluray offers the best quality. 

[Eric Kazer]

Blu Ray is replaced by Ultra Blu Ray. Ultra Blu Ray is a 4 to 8k variant. Also it requires a Ultra Blu Ray drive and a Kabylake I7 CPU or newer. Ultra Blu Ray is a new Propriatary format in hopes for people to spend more money on a new PC or new playback device. That should some things up. Ya, DRM at it's worst. Even if you purchase a drive, you will still need a CPU, Motherboard, and RAM that is Kaby Lake or better for it to work. This is the shit that kills physical copies of movies. And yes UHD Bluray is expensive because, they are bundled with a UHD Blu Ray, Standard Blu Ray, and a DVD or Digital copy. This is why shelves at stores are full or the vendors don't sell movies. This is also why Itunes unfortunately is still popular and forces support for Apple. 

 

They should remove artificial requirements like Kaby Lake CPU as a requirement to allow it to run a movie. This will make UHD Blu Ray fail.

 

Also my Pioneer Blu Ray drive will not successfully read a UHD Blu Ray disc, it will just scan all day long and not load. I have a UHD Blu Ray drive in another PC, but the I7-3770 more than likely will not support format because of a missing instruction set.

 

Like I said,

The requirement are stupid.

 

1, UHD Drive

2.Kaby Lake CPU

3. 6 to 10 GB system Memory

4. I believe 4GB VRAM, better with 6GB VRAM

 

View Cyberlink 19 page for correct info. 

 

Too advanced too soon. Too locked. Too high of a capacity to put on a hard drive if it's 100GB for a disc. That's the reason of physical copies.

[Eric Kazer]

Well, 

I have a drive that actually reads UHD Blur Ray discs.

 

The I7-3770 is missing the Instruction set called SGE ( Software Guard Extension ). It can read it, It can't play it because of CPU limitation like I predicted. Load of Bull Shit. DRM at it finest and worst. Kaby Lake uses instruction SGE.

[Eric Kazer]

Summary:

The CPU also plays a role in this hearsay technology. It must be SGE certified to even play a UHD Blu Ray movie.

 

Here's a link to Intel about SGX:

https://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2013/09/26/protecting-application-secrets-with-intel-sgx

 

Just like I said, pointless DRM.

[Eric Kazer]

Also, I think that it links to Spectre on a PC, also why one format is not worth it on a PC. Just buy a player if UHD Blu Ray discs matter. 

[Eric Kazer]

I am surprised that Gamers Nexus didn't do Disappointment on that. SGX is another thing that well, sucks. Ya, DRM at its worst. Spectre.

[Donut417]

18 minutes ago, Eric Kazer said:

DRM

Well if people didn’t share copies over the internet then they wouldn’t need DRM. The fact is they don’t want you making copies of the content. So they come up with ridiculous DRM to try to stop it. It does work for a hot minute but then it’s eventually broken.