HD200 and Blu-Ray playback?

[Deuce24]

Hey all, my intention is to run a Windows Home Server machine with an internal SATA Blu-ray player connected directly to the HD200. If I just share the Blu-ray drive over the network is the HD200 capable of just using it to stream/playback without me actually copying/converting the file to the hard drive first? This would be ideal just to pop in a disc and watch it without having to convert it all.

Also is this possible for standard DVD playback as well, sharing the drive over the network for SD DVDs?

Thanks!

[HawgGuy]

If the media is not copy protected, you can browse to the DVD and play the VIDEO_TS folder or browse to the STREAM folder of a BR disc and play the largest *.m2ts file.

[Deuce24]

Thanks for the reply Hawg. I have never burned Blu-Ray media before, but I want to make backups of my collection to WHS and not have to deal with pulling them out, but still want the capability to use standard "insert disc, watch movie" functionality.

I have AnyDVD HD, which removes the encryption. Is the largest .m2ts file always the entire movie file?

Thanks.

[toony]

Originally Posted by HawgGuy

If the media is not copy protected, you can browse to the DVD and play the VIDEO_TS folder or browse to the STREAM folder of a BR disc and play the largest *.m2ts file.

I thought this only applies to DVD's not bluray, though you did say no copy protection so that may change things. It is my understanding there is no support for bluray at all... plus the bluray folders do not have video_ts folder the m2ts files are in the stream folder.

The only way to watch bluray is to backup and do ones magic with the m2ts file, copy that to the server and play away.

[toony]

Originally Posted by Deuce24

I have AnyDVD HD, which removes the encryption. Is the largest .m2ts file always the entire movie file?

Although usually the largest m2ts file is the entire movie, sometimes it's not. In the case of movies with extended play and theatrical release versions, also the odd movie, you will have to append the m2ts files together, you can do this in anydvd.

use a program like BDinfo, it will show you what m2ts files on a disc make up the main movie.

[HelenWeathers]

HawgGuy has this one absolutely correct. You set up the blu-ray drive on the Sage server as a shared drive, browse to the drive and to the subfolder containing the m2ts files, pick one and play.

For movies with seamless branching (multi m2ts files used to build the movie) you would have to play each seperately. Like if you were to go to the DVD video_ts folder and play each vob file seperately).

You need any dvd hd software loaded and resident. But no copying is required.

[jkohn]

But I'm guessing the HD200 cannot bitstream the high-res formats over HDMI, or can it? It would be a bummer to be stuck with compressed audio...

[HelenWeathers]

Originally Posted by jkohn

But I'm guessing the HD200 cannot bitstream the high-res formats over HDMI, or can it? It would be a bummer to be stuck with compressed audio...

The HD-200 seems to default to the first audio track it can understand. If there's an AC3 track that's what plays. DTS gets passed through though. As far as True HD and DTS HD (if they were the only audio streams) you would probably get no sound at all.

Hopefully that will change to at least pass thru for the HiDef audio streams, if it hasn't already.

[Beefcake550]

If the first audio track is truHD with a DD5.1 core, it will play the core. Likewise for DTS-MA. Unfortunately, an LPCM track gets you 2.0 stereo. All this is out the HDMI or SPDIF. If using stereo outs, I'm not sure what happens, but it ain't pretty....I think onyl DD5.1 core would work sicne the HD200 can decode that.

I ALWAYS take the HD audio track and create an AC3 5.1 track from it using eac3to. I make it the first audio track and the HD200 couldn't be happier. My PCH A-110 can bitstream the HD audio track, so I make that track 2 and life is good.

-Brian

[HelenWeathers]

Thanks for posting this info, Beekcake550. I was unsure about the passthrough, as I don't have any of mine hooked up to an amp yet (TVs only).

EDIT: With DTS (any version) I get video but no audio from the stereo outs.

[Clift]

Originally Posted by HelenWeathers

HawgGuy has this one absolutely correct. You set up the blu-ray drive on the Sage server as a shared drive, browse to the drive and to the subfolder containing the m2ts files, pick one and play.

For movies with seamless branching (multi m2ts files used to build the movie) you would have to play each seperately. Like if you were to go to the DVD video_ts folder and play each vob file seperately).

You need any dvd hd software loaded and resident. But no copying is required.

Couldn't you just create a playlist for all those files?

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by Clift

Couldn't you just create a playlist for all those files?

Or use eac3to to stitch them all back together for you.

[HelenWeathers]

Or use TSMuxer to stich them all back together.

EDIT: OOps taddeusz: you beat me to it.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Clift

Couldn't you just create a playlist for all those files?

You could, but you have to figure out what they are. In the case of something like Hancock, it's easilly 10-20 ts files. And I doubt Sage plays a playlist as smoothly as you'd get if you used an external app to stitch them together.

[HelenWeathers]

Blu-ray support is getting better and better:

http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...ad.php?t=39920

Thank you SageTV.

[S_M_E]

Originally Posted by HelenWeathers

Blu-ray support is getting better and better:

http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...ad.php?t=39920

Thank you SageTV.

I noticed that but I wonder why it's only supported in the extenders not the server, client or placeshifter?

[HelenWeathers]

Originally Posted by S_M_E

I noticed that but I wonder why it's only supported in the extenders not the server, client or placeshifter?

The HD-200 support gives me reason for optimism. At the very least, we now know that Blu-ray is being worked on actively.

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by S_M_E

I noticed that but I wonder why it's only supported in the extenders not the server, client or placeshifter?

This is something that I was worried would start happening when first released the extender. From a development perspective its orders of magnitude easier for them to implement a new feature on an HDextender where they have complete control over the hardware/software vs. a user environment where they're at the mercy of wide variety of software/hardware configurations.

Hopefully (for other people, not me. I'm all about the extenders ), this isn't a move in the direction of creating features only supported by extenders but rather just them having finished the extender implementation before the other platforms and deciding to release it now rather than making people wait while they finish the mac/linux/windows work which I imagine is much more complex.

[S_M_E]

Oh, I'm also optimistic and ep's comment about controlling the HW/SW so it's easier to finish first makes sense too. I just figured that the extender is basically a placeshifter which is almost the same as the client so I figured they'd all be just as easy as the extender. The difference being that the server/client/placeshifter would require the right decoder(s)/renderer(s) in order to work since they don't have control over that. They may very well add support for other players in later betas. I still haven't taken the BR plunge but until they offer BDMV support for clients, I'll still have to rip them to something that is supported until they do.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by S_M_E

I noticed that but I wonder why it's only supported in the extenders not the server, client or placeshifter?

Probably because there's an utter lack of Directshow support for Blu-ray features on the PC (lets be clear that Placeshifter doesn't support DVDs either, AFAIK).

I don't know if Sage can snag libraries for Blu-ray play back from the Sigma dev kit for the SOC their using, or if it's just a matter that the extender's architecture is just easier. But on the PC, Sage would basically have to write a Directshow Blu-ray splitter/navigator.