burning and playing blu ray/hd content onto discs onto dual layer discs

[julie_152]

I hope somebody can help me.

I am new to blu ray,hd content, and need some advice. I want to burn hd and blu ray content (1080p)to a disc (dual layer) to play on a normal dvd player,but have received conflicting advice. Some people tell me a normal dvd player will not play dual layer,some say it should read just like a single layer. I want to know whether A) a normal dvd player will play hd/blu ray content burned onto DL disc, and whether it will play this disc in full 1080p (through a full HD 1080p t.v).

Or B) Do I have to burn to BD disc, and play on blu ray player?

C) Does the blu ray player have to be multi-regional to play back up discs?

Confused.com

[Baldrick]

No normal dvd player supports hd. Do you mean a normal blu-ray player? Then yes, see http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146339 for a list.

[jman98]

A) No normal DVD player will play BluRay content, regardless of whether you use DL or single layer media.
B) Sort of, but some BluRay players will play BluRay content on single layer and DL DVD media. However, this is not consistently supported and even on players that will do this, the exact format of the disc may vary and what works on player A may not play at all on player B and vice-versa.
C) No. Support for this has nothing to do with regions.

[Ai Haibara]

Just to clarify a tiny bit more:

The maximum resolution a DVD player will allow is 720x480 (NTSC), or 720x576 (PAL). Even if the player upconverts the video, it'll still only allow up to those two resolutions. I've heard of some players (rare?) that scale video down (from standalone video files) if it's over those resolutions, but most don't - and if those players upconvert, they're just scaling the video down and then up again, which most likely won't help the video look good.

Most DVD players from the last few years or so shouldn't have a problem playing a dual-layer DVD. Earlier players either didn't play them, or had small pauses while switching between layers. But on recent players, you shouldn't notice the difference.

You might also look into devices like the WDTV, which can play HD content from an external drive, I believe. jman98 would be a better person to ask about it than me, though.

[julie_152]

Hi

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'll have to get a blu ray player that plays mkv/mp4 files.

Julie

[julie_152]

Hi guys

Just one more question....

I was just wondering the best way to burn mkv file to disc. Currently I have mkv files (approximate size 8gb for 1 film). Can I just burn that to a blu ray disc, (and what software is best for that?) or would it be better to shrink the file size first? How much do blu ray discs cost and what's the capacity of a single layer/dual layer?

Julie

[guns1inger]

Multi-AVCHD to create an AVCHD disc that can be burned to a DVD DL (or DVD5 for 4.38 GB MKV files), then burn with Imgburn. Will play on PS3's and AVCHD capable BluRay players.

Note : The MKV file may not be BluRay compliant in resolution, you you may have to re-encode using the built in transcoding/uncropping tool (basically what became the standalone UncropMKV tool) to make the play back correctly.

Far cheaper than BluRay discs for a while to come.

[julie_152]

Thanks for that info

Is Multi AVCHD free software?Is UncropMKV free software?Will burning to a DL disc keep full 1080p quality on both video and audio? I already have Imgburn, so not a problem with that.Agree it is cheaper than using BD,as single layer discs are quite expensive!

Julie

[Magalhetas]

Yes, both software is freeware. I use uncropmkv to make resolution compliant and tsmuxer to create an avchd disc.

[julie_152]

Thanks everyone,you've been a great help!

Julie

[jman98]

Hi

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'll have to get a blu ray player that plays mkv/mp4 files.

Good luck with that. I haven't heard of any BluRay players that will play MKV and MP4 files, but perhaps there are 1 or 2 somewhere.

As Ai Habara mentioned, the Western Digital HDTV media player can play MKV and MP4 files. Generally you don't have to convert any files to play them on it. I've never had to do it, but I've seen reports that under rare circumstances this might be necessary. I should add that the Western Digital player does NOT support HD audio formats like DTS-HD and Dolby Lossless. Generally that's not a problem, but if you are downloading your files, I can't guarantee you that you won't find some files that use those formats.

[julie_152]

Hi again

Found an LG BD370

Out favourite features are the media-playback ones. We like the MP3 support, which is handy if you have music on a USB drive or external hard drive. The image-playback function is also pleasant, although we can't see this being used as often, especially in the case of people who have Apple TV or another media streamer hooked up to their TV.

Video playback is nothing short of excellent. We were astounded to discover that this machine is happy playing both 720p and 1080p video from our 16GB USB flash drive. What's more, MKV support is included, which means you can play files with menus, subtitles and, generally, video up to 1080p. This is fantastic and, ignoring the moral and legal arguments, ideal if you download TV or movies from the Internet.

All things considered, for just £230 you get a player capable of nearly as much as a dedicated media streamer. This has impressed us greatly, and the player scores more highly as a result. Music, photo-viewing and the extra media playback are all very impressive. MKV files looked good, although a fair amount of MPEG compression was visible. It's possible that the player isn't optimised to handle these slightly lower bit-rate files, causing this problem. That said, it's a very watchable picture, and incredibly good news for people who need media streamers.

Think I'm gonna opt for this one....

Julie

[KBeee]

That actually sounds like a good piece of kit!
Do you know if the LG BD370 can be made Zone and Region free too?

[julie_152]

Hi
Not found LGBD370 that is multi regional for either dvds or blu rays,sorry.

It is an otherwise brilliant bit of kit tho....mkv files played through usb work like a dream, as do avi files, both through usb and from disk. I'm going to buy external hard drive to store all HD films on to playback on player, would definitely recommend this player!

Julie

[jman98]

That actually sounds like a good piece of kit!
Do you know if the LG BD370 can be made Zone and Region free too?

BluRay players that can be made region free for DVD play are quite rare. I've heard of one or two that could have a hack code entered by remote control and turn this feature on, but again it's quite rare.

There are only 2 BluRay players that I know of that can play BluRay discs from all regions. Both players require either a hardware modification or a firmware modification to be done by someone (the seller or the purchaser) to activate this feature. And note that there is no such thing as "region free" for BluRay. These 2 players can change between the 3 BluRay regions as necessary, but there is no equivalent to "region free" that covers all regions like on DVD players. Oppo (requires a firmware mod) and Momitsu (requires the seller to do a hardware mod) are the only manufacturers who make these players at present.

[julie_152]

Hi again

I've actually come across a panasonic that claims to be both dvd and blu ray region free....a version of the Panasonic BD-60.Here's the link to a website.....

http://www.movietyme.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=45105

Julie

[KBeee]

That actually sounds like a good piece of kit!
Do you know if the LG BD370 can be made Zone and Region free too?

BluRay players that can be made region free for DVD play are quite rare. I've heard of one or two that could have a hack code entered by remote control and turn this feature on, but again it's quite rare.

There are only 2 BluRay players that I know of that can play BluRay discs from all regions. Both players require either a hardware modification or a firmware modification to be done by someone (the seller or the purchaser) to activate this feature. And note that there is no such thing as "region free" for BluRay. These 2 players can change between the 3 BluRay regions as necessary, but there is no equivalent to "region free" that covers all regions like on DVD players. Oppo (requires a firmware mod) and Momitsu (requires the seller to do a hardware mod) are the only manufacturers who make these players at present.

I ended up buying a Tevion 1100UK from Aldi for £120 (also sold as Momitsu 899 + others).
Region Free and Zone Free (well really Zone selectable) with a few remote control key presses.
I really needed region/zone free cos I get more movies from Japan and China than from Europe.
BD quality is as good as expected, USB2 input, BD Live etc.
More than happy - Just waiting for Red Cliff and Red Cliff 2 to arrive from HK now...

[jman98]

Looks like region selectable BluRay players are becoming more common. That's good news.

[KBeee]

Looks like region selectable BluRay players are becoming more common. That's good news.

Yes it really is Thank Goodness. Luckily the Modern Day Robber Barons will have a scheme to upset free trade.... lol