Return PDVD 17 and go back to PDVD 16. You can save your money and buy the upgrade if and when the functionality is where you want it. .
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Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Well, you are right. Almost.

What did you expect? Since the coming of UHD BDs in February 2016 most people accepted the fact that they will need new drives for their computers. Then Netflix announced the conditions for streamig 4k content - those are similar to UHD BD conditions. And in January 2017 Pioneer announced the minimum requirements for UHD BD playback, the information was widely spread on all tech-oriented websites. OK, maybe you did not read anything about the subject for the whole year. But how did you get your Pioneer drive then? You knew the Japanese OEM PowerDVD14 is not working for you and you still believed PDVD17 will? If you pressed "pay and download" anyway, it is too late to be surprised.

Yes, the requirements are not easy to meet, but do not forget CyberLink is not making up the rules. They wanted to obtain the (so far) only licence for UHD BD playback software and they got it. To protect the 4k content, HDCP 2.2 is not the only condition. All your hardware must support Intel SGX, a technology which allows to run a program in a secure environment. Without it there is no playback. All the other seemingly ridiculous requirements are derrived from this.

Currently, the only SGX compatible GPUs are those IGPUs inside KabyLake processors. The signal needs to get out through a HDMI 2.0 connector. Unfortunately there are only few boards equipped with one (visit the link in my signature). The manufacturers did not consider HDMI 2.0 important enough and choose to use cheaper HDMI 1.4 instead in most cases. Your board is the weak point, not your GPU. Gigabyte Gaming 8 is only a bit more expensive than your ASUS, but you decided to buy the wrong one.

However it is ASUS Maximus Z270 and you have the right CPU, so there is still a chance for you. Discrete graphics cards can „learn“ what is necessary through drivers update, if they are HDCP 2.2 compatible. Now it is time for AMD and nVidia to catch the ball. Once the path for the signal is secured, nobody will need the onboard HDMI output from IGPU anymore.

People with older HW must either pass on UHD BD for now or decide to spend big money on upgrade. I was waiting with upgrade of my PC all the year and I bought all the components only now when Pioneer drives came out. .
FOR THE LIST OF ULTRA HD BLU-RAY COMPATIBLE MOTHERBOARDS CLICK HERE
My hardware: Aorus Z270X Gaming 8 motherboard + i7 7700 CPU + Pioneer BDR-S11J-BK

Hi Triffid,

The one aspect i "overlooked" was the use of the Kabylake iGPU, i just presumed the use of a dedicated Card/GPU was OK as long as it meet the required spec of HDMI 2.0a and HDCDP2.2...

I will just sit on it for the time being and see if anything eventuates in regards to external GPU,s being able to be used at a latter date.

I curreentley play 4K UHD,s with either the Oppo 203 or the Panasonic UB900, but was keen to see what powerDVD could do with the playback of 4K UHD,s.

PowerDVD 16 with the HTPC, produces a better image than either the Oppo 203 or the UB900 on STD Bluray, this is through the JVC DLA X9500 on a 143" Scope Screen.

Quote The one aspect i "overlooked" was the use of the Kabylake iGPU, i just presumed the use of a dedicated Card/GPU was OK as long as it meet the required spec of HDMI 2.0a and HDCDP2.2...

Based on the system reqs stated by Cyberlink, I would need an entirely new PC to be able to play UHD. That doesn't actually surprise me, if only because the data handling requirements of the format are so much greater than BD.

But it does surprise me that it's so tightly locked into Intel technology. That in itself causes issues for a potential PC upgrade, because I have other software that specifically doesn't work with Intel's embedded graphics and audio. That's going to dictate what software can run at the same time, which is becoming too complex to juggle in the one PC.

I wonder if patches from Cyberlink will loosen this up, so that as long as the PC PDVD 17 is running on meets basic technical benchmarks for HDMI and HDCP and the like the software will run ... or has it struck some protection-racket deal with Intel?

(In which case, I simply won't be upgrading.)