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  1. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Members familiar with my earlier topic about Passkey will know the story. Does not need to be repeated here.

    I know my system plays Blu Ray. I did just that using the above and PowerDVD12.

    I know the mantra "If it ain't broke then why try to fix it" but there are times when curiosity takes over.

    I outsourced a copy of PowerDVD Ultra 18 and installed it in a completely new install of Win 7 to avoid any potential, unwanted, consequence of the installation of PassKey.

    And while, again, the version played dvds it refused to load a Blu Ray.

    As a glutton for punishment I also purchased direct from Cyberlink the brand spanking new PowerDVD Pro 19 (did not need 3D features) with the same result.

    I have already applied for a refund under their 30 day promise but am curious about any reason why these later versions have not worked.

    (I also tried DVDFab's own player and that works fine - it even played the full content of the disk I was having issues with - which somewhat cancels any discussion that my system is not up to it)

    Although I have already deleted that additional install of Win 7 I would be prepared to reinstall if I could be convinced about the merits of this. The one thing that surprised me is that on a new install I would have expected the Region counter to go back to 5. It was actually at where it was on the main installation.
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    Originally Posted by DB83 View Post
    The one thing that surprised me is that on a new install I would have expected the Region counter to go back to 5. It was actually at where it was on the main installation.
    The drive itself keeps track of how many times the region code has been reset to make it difficult to get around the 5-change limit.

    I wish that I could provide an easy fix for your PowerDVD Blu-ray problem. Unfortunately, search engines have provided little help. Although it does seem that other people have had similar issues, for the most part, the problem has been that the standard version of PowerDVD was purchased instead of a Blu-ray-capable version. That isn't the case for you. Updating the drive firmware helped some people, but it may be hard to do that for an older drive.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  3. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Whilst I would be the last person to argue with you, I am sure that when I last installed the OS (before this one) due to a borked SSD I am pretty sure that PowerDVD reported 5 changes remaining.

    I fact I was using these changes to play non-Zone B content.

    Which leads me to think that PowerDVD have done something under the hood to thwart the usage of third-party software.

    All I know right now is that Cyberlink have lost a customer.
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    Originally Posted by DB83 View Post
    Whilst I would be the last person to argue with you, I am sure that when I last installed the OS (before this one) due to a borked SSD I am pretty sure that PowerDVD reported 5 changes remaining.
    I think PowerDVD reports only the number of DVD region code changes left. I'm sure that the drive's DVD region code setting and the number of changes remaining are stored on the drive. I can use ImgBurn Tools->Drive->Regional Code to read the number of changes recorded by the drive and the drive's current DVD region code. When I built this computer, I re-installed my old ASUS DVD drive. The DVD region code (1) and user change count (4) for the ASUS DVD drive didn't reset even though I started from scratch with Windows 10.

    I figured that PowerDVD based the Blu-ray region code it reports on what the drive reported for the DVD region code. It could be more complicated than that. In April, I installed a new LG UHD Blu-ray drive in the other optical drive bay for my new build. I've not yet played a commercial Blu-ray disc or commercial DVD using the LG UHD Blu-ray drive, only a UHD Blu-ray (UHD Blu-ray doesn't have regions) and home-made no-region DVDs. ImgBurn reports that the DVD region code still isn't set for that drive and that there are 5 changes left. However, PowerDVD assigned a Blu-ray region code, A, based on my location (United States). PowerDVD says that I still have 5 DVD region code changes remaining.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 2nd Jul 2019 at 15:38. Reason: typos, clarity
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  5. Member DB83's Avatar
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    One good thing is that Cyberlink has processed my refund very quickly.

    I would have expected some "let's try an fix this issue for you"

    Late last night, when the brain can do some strange things, I was looking at the updates page of PowerDVD. Now I upgraded to v12 from v10 when I moved to Win7. That upgrade was still on the page as was my own downloaded copy. Yet there was another upgrade/patch some two years later. 'In for a penny' I installed that patch and.......

    PowerDVD12 failed to play any Blu Ray even with PassKey. Just like it was doing with later versions. Overwriting that upgrade with the original one and my system was restored.

    So there is every possibility that a firmware upgrade to the player will help but given that this is not exactly new that, as stated, might not be practical. And it is not something I take on lightly (even in the witching hours) And for reasons already stated I can play all the disks I own. If and when that is not the case I will reconsider all options including replacing the drive.
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  6. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Well firmware upgrade is off the table. The only ones for this drive on the LG site are for XP (which I had when I built this system) and the rubbish that followed that.
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