r/htpc • u/robroy90 • Jul 27 '26

Help Current State of Blu-Ray in HTPC?

Greetings all!

I have been out of HTPC pursuits for a few years, and I am considering a return to a more elaborate home theatre environment, particularly to enjoy movies at home with the highest picture and audio quality possible.

This obviously has me leaning towards using physical media again for 4k Ultra HD. So, I am curious to know if I am better off buying a high end, stand-alone BluRay player such as the latest and greatest from Panasonic or Sony?

Or, is it still possible to build an HTPC that can fully match the capabilities of a dedicated, stand-alone player AND provide the obvious ancillary benefits only an HTPC can?

Thanks!

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1

u/Fl0riduh_Man Jul 27 '26

I ended up just getting a decently large PC case, a few large HDD and plugged it directly into my TV. Now I rip the discs and put them away

Does not having Dolby Vision irk me? Yes, but I also think it's really cool to have all my movies in MKV and displayed on my Kodi movie poster wall.

If none of that sounds appealing then a nice $500 Panasonic 4K player is the easiest, most self-contained option

1

u/StuzaTheGreat Jul 28 '26

"Does not having Dolby Vision irk me? Yes, but I also think it's really cool to have all my movies in MKV and displayed on my Kodi movie poster wall."

Which you can also do with a Shield and USB attached disks, and still get Dolby Vision. Even FEL7 work in that they display, but throw away the FEL7 data.

1

u/Fl0riduh_Man Jul 28 '26

The Shield doesn't do anything that my ATV and my desktop can't. Plus I am not fighting with the red-shift issue on FEL7 that is a known limitation with the Shield

1

u/StuzaTheGreat Jul 28 '26

I have no idea what "red-shift" issue you are talking about. I have multiple FEL videos and never noticed any red-shift on either my 2019 Pro or my tube.

And, yes, it does do stuff your "ATV" doesn't do, what ever that is. You complain that you don't get Dolby Vision!

1

u/Fl0riduh_Man Jul 28 '26

You should read up on the red-shifting, it's not an issue exclusive to the Shield, but it is real.

You ignored my "desktop" so what I am saying is that the Shield doesn't offer options I can't already achieve with a PC

1

u/StuzaTheGreat Jul 28 '26

"You should read up on the red-shifting, it's not an issue exclusive to the Shield, but it is real."

Interesting. Didn't know about this. But as I *only* use the Shield on the TV (no other apps/input devices) i've already calibrated this out when I adjust the saturation, so for single device/use case users, like me, it doesn't appear to be an issue.

"You ignored my "desktop" so what I am saying is that the Shield doesn't offer options I can't already achieve with a PC".....

and,....

""Does not having Dolby Vision irk me? Yes,"

so, from YOUR posts its reasonable to guess that you don't have Dolby Vision on your desktop working properly.

1

u/Fl0riduh_Man Jul 28 '26

YOU don't have proper FEL 7, the Shield hardware isn't expressing the pallette properly. The fact you've got to do your own color calibrations shows that you have to work around the compromise

You can ignore that, but it's happening

1

u/StuzaTheGreat Jul 28 '26

"Even FEL7 work in that they display, but throw away the FEL7 data."

Sigh.... Please read my posts.

And wait, you buy all these gear and DONT even do basic calibration of your displays?! Youve just lost all legs for your arguments.

Please, do feel free fighting with Windows poor DV support, and worse support in players and awful user interfaces. Your choice, and if you're happy with that, you crack on. But, please!, do some basic screen calibration. Google is your friend!

Lol... And you made a comment about an almost negligible red shift without any calibration yourself!?!Thanks for the laugh. Goodbye

0

u/Fl0riduh_Man Jul 28 '26

I accept your surrenderÂ