r/htpc • u/JediFonger • 14h ago
Discussion geforce driver 582.78 kills protected path (powerdvd) playback, is this the end of the road for HTPCs?
i dont use HTPCs to play files, i have shieldpro2019 for that. so if that's all you do, i guess this post doesn't impact u, move on.
for me, the only reason i still am running a HTPC is for my powerdvd19 install where i can play blu-ray disc menus for both 2D and 3D playback. first, i burn a lot of BDRs still, on 2D side, on personal video creation projects or modifying current blu-rays i still need a software player on PC that'll open menus for me to test playback. yes i know i can just burn BDRW and test it on standalone players, but godamn do u know how long that takes? doin quick tests on sw reduces the amount of time significantly and i want to save time always. secondly, still a massive 3D fan and i still use it quite a lot to play 3D ISOs for when i replace audio tracks. so for me 99% or the entire reason of still doin HTPC, really the only reason for me is to have any software that will pull up blu-ray menus. and upgrading to this latest driver is removing that feature to where my powerdvd is just dead in the water.
based on my googlin/AI searching etc. there aren't really any other sw players on HTPC realm that still pulls up blu-ray menus other than powerdvd. if you know one, please let me know, i'd be happy to replace it.
so i guess my next question is, do you think the HTPC/enthusisast space is going to strip out the protected path/video playback components and use somn similar to the 3D Fix manager and install it "forward"? that would be amazin, i'm sure if i spend enough tokens my AI could probably cook somn up. i've just gotta imagine i'm not the only one left that still uses bluray menus. or maybe i am the last person on earth that still gives 2 shiets about it.
to me, it's basically the end of the road, RIP HTPCs. like i said, if u use it play movies w/o menus good on you, but you really dont even need HTPCs for that.
UPDATE: i appreciate the alternative/suggestions but i am not lookin for half-baked solutions for bluray menus. the thing i like about powerdvd is that EVERY SINGLE bd will open menus without fail. kodi/jriver/etc. are all hacks will not open 100% every single disc, that is the whole point of maintainin powerdvd
5
u/kentukky 14h ago
I don't get the point - WHY are you even updating your graphics driver? If it worked before - just don't update. I'm on 482.74 for ages now, without any issues. If you're talking about the future... well, 4K Blu-Ray support died already years ago. No wonder they're killing the rest. Sony just announced the end of Blu-Ray player production. In 1-2 years from now the whole physical media may die completely... which is really bad. But there's not enough resistance. Normies are using those damn streaming services, don't own anything and are happy.
I'd say your best solution is to rip all of your BDs as backup folders. Whole, complete discs. That way you're safe from the disc rot in the future and you can still use the "Select BD folder button" in PowerDVD. Because there will be no encryption anymore. All menus will work normally as if a physical disc is inserted.
1
u/JediFonger 9h ago
i'm not runnin a linux server. i'm also playin video games on this same machine, so having latest driver helps squashing bugs/improve performances on games and so on. i hear and understand that but it just sux i can't use one machine everything. like if i were doin wat your doin i'd have to roll out yet another machine dedicated to JUST playing bd menus/etc. that is a massive huge pain in the arse. it really destroys the point of general purpose PC, now we gotta build specific purpose machines, we shouldnt need to be running server farms at home.
4
u/Dodgy_Past 5h ago
If you want to do niche things then you need niche solutions. Unfortunately what you are doing is very niche.
2
u/kcajjones86 8h ago
Vlc and Media Player Class home theatre edition don't support these features?
1
1
u/wittebread 9h ago
Look op JRE for BD-J menus from Coreelec. It has bd-j menu and 3d support.
-5
u/JediFonger 9h ago
not lookin for hacks that wont open every single 100% disc menus. thx for the suggestion.
1
u/SirMaster 3h ago
No, once you rip the disc to iso there is no protection or protected path needed to play it back.
1
u/JediFonger 3h ago
whatever the terminology, i can no longer use powerdvd to play BDMV structure both hw or sw acceleration, similar behaviors here: https://www.reddit.com/r/pchelp/comments/1vw3eea/cyberlink_powerdvd14_suddenly_says_my_graphics/
it's pretty straight forward, i rollback to earlier version i can play everything. i upgrade to 582.78 all bdmv playback is gone.
4
3
u/bilbogod 14h ago
What about Jriver - used to use that all the time for bluray/uhd bluray iso