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When My Library populates it initially displays a screen shot from the beginning of the video. So the aspect ratio of the cover art in the library is 16:9. Then it will find the title or folder jpg file with DVD art and attempt to display it. However, the aspect ratio remains 16:9 and does not display the entire cover art.
This did not occur in PowerDVD16. When it found the correct cover art, the aspect ratio would be correct.
If I manually right click, and select the same cover art which is displayed in the wrong aspect ratio, it will then correctly display the art. I would prefer not having to do this for 600 titles.
TV Mode works much better finding covers and displaying them correctly.
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I wouldn't call HDR a requirement. The software (PDVD17) is able to send the videosignal to the monitor or TV and then it is the monitor's job to show you a HDR picture. If the monitor does not support HDR, PowerDVD gives you an error message and switches to SDR. I believe the motherboard has nothing to do with this, am I right?
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If your motherboard has HDMI output for Intel integrated GPU, motherboard matters at this moment.
Video processing: Intel GPU -> motherboard chip -> HDMI port.
So, no matter desktop or laptop PC both need their motherboard supports UHDBD or HDR requirement.
Go to their support article to search what you (blackcoffee) need:
http://www.cyberlink.com/support/faq-content.do?id=19860&isDraft=1
http://www.cyberlink.com/support/faq-content.do?id=19871&isDraft=1
Those 2 almost answer everything "available" currnetly.
Thanks for your post. Here is my confusion. If I follow the link posted by triffid:
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=13271422&postcount=108
It lists my motherboard, Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT, as UHD BD compatible. Your links indicate the Z270 chipset is need.
The CyberLink Advisor indicates my board does not meet standards and there is no BIOS setting, yes I have the latest BIOS, to enable SGX or I can't find it.
So, I appreciate the links and discussion, but my specific questions is now about the Gigabyte Z170X Gaming GT. Is the fourm.blu-ray.com link incorrect, or is the Cyberlink Advisor reporting incorrectly?
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I wouldn't call HDR a requirement. The software (PDVD17) is able to send the videosignal to the monitor or TV and then it is the monitor's job to show you a HDR picture. If the monitor does not support HDR, PowerDVD gives you an error message and switches to SDR. I believe the motherboard has nothing to do with this, am I right?
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I am confused also, the only place the motherboard would come into play is through controlling the I/O to the DVD player if you have a dedicated Graphics card that supports UHD. This all assumes there are no timing or latency problems leaving the software and getting the return signal from the monitor. The link requirements would exist between the software and the DVD player.
What has me confused is why the Cyberlink advisor is telling me my board does not support SGX, but it is listed as compatible. I would like to get this sorted before investing in a $300 DVD.
This reminds me of the beginning days of CDs and DVDs when everything was proprietary and hardward cost a fortune. Now, the same functionality that cost hundreds of dollars back in the 90s can be bought for $15.
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of "Gigabyte GA-Z270X-Gaming 8" and "Gigabyte GA-Z270X-Gaming 9", I was wondering if I was wondering if the gaming 5 or gaming 7 variants are compatable, as i'd rather not spend NZ$700 - NZ$1000 on the damned motherboard.
No, they are not. Check the link below. I am constantly updating the list.
I checked the link and my board is listed, Gigabyte Z-170X Gaming GT. However, when I run the advisor it says the board is not SGX capable. How can I be sure?
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Is the requirement for the Motherboard really just a graphics support requirement for UHD and HDMI 2.0? Or, is there a specific motherboard chipset requirement that must be satisfied independently of the graphic's card capabilities?
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PowerDVD 16 Ultra correctly built a Media Library of all my photos and videos (in the Photos and Videos folders and their subfolders). When I installed PowerDVD 17 Ultra, I told the installation to reuse the same settings.
But PowerDVD 17 Ultra finds only some photos and videos--perhaps those created in 2015 and before. I've let the program run with its spinning disk a long time, but it doesn't find anything else.
I see no way to force PowerDVD 17 Ultra to totallly rebuild its Media Library correctly. Is there?
I saw this same behavior in PowerDVD16. It usually occurred after one or two changes to the titles. Deleted titles would not disappear even though they were no longer on the drive and moved or readded titles would not be correctly registered in the library. I have always thought the library funcitonality in PowerDVD was well below par.
Here is what I would do. I would remove all the drives and folders from the settings. Close then reopen and force a clean library. Then, set the library folders correctly again. Knowing PowerDVD, it will probably churn overnight or longer, but it should pick it all up. As a note, I find it does not do background processing very well. If you play anything videos or audio, it will fail to build the library. The best bet is to do this over 24 hours when nothing is going on.
Hard to believe we are in the 21st century, isn't it?
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For my own part, blackcoffee, thanks for the comments.
As a long-term PDVD user, of course I'm interested in each new version that arives, but I don't upgrade automatically. Returns are diminishing, as the improvements or new features each version can provide are growing thin.
UHD, of course, has been a boon in that respect, but frankly I have neither the interest nor the funds for upgrading my video format again. And after looking at the system requirements for playing UHD through PDVD 17, I realise what a major upgrade that would require, including an entirely new PC.
I did see that Cyberlink was touting the rewritten audio routines in PDVD 17, which for my own usage levels may be the only reason to upgrade. But there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on it all. Did you notice any clear differences with the audio in the new version that you could comment on?
I do like the audio, but the TruTheater Sound appears to be just another equalization setting. Since my setup has this going through a Yamaha Amp, I can manage the sound through other means. I like that PowerDVD allows for adjustment of audio and video synchronization, but I also notice that sound is pretty well synchronized when played back through other apps. So this feature is to compensate for what Cyberlink is doing, not the inherent synchronization of the source files.
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Well, I downloaded the trial and was fairly disappointed with the lack of work done on the GUI interface. Cyberlink wants to talk about PowerDVD being the one stop application for HTPC, but do absolutely no work on what the user sees every time it opens. Suggestions from the past that were ignored:
- Fix the display of TV shows. You open the library for TV shows and every season is displayed. Instead of displaying "Show Title" and then opening to Seasons, then episodes, all the seasons pop up. Even though the folder structure is layered in the traditional heirarchy. Scrolling down through every season is tedious.
- Season 1 is displayed without a number and Season 0, which is usually pilots and bonus material, is combined with season 1.
- Display of Movie Graphics is clunky at best. Even when a DVD or BD cover is loaded, the Movie library attempts to display a spash screen and then hangs switch the display to the cover format. Not very pretty.
- Searching, indexing, and building the library takes forever. When updates are made, they don't always take in the display. Unreliable library registration.
- Audio section takes forever to register and update the library and doesn't offer any of the usually filtering, playlist, or organizing functionality.
All the these problems have been known and are ignored in the change requests.
So, what do you get with the upgrade. The esoteric functionality of UHD which requires you to find the one Pioneer drive from somewhere in Japan at $300, to play a 4K disc. Some streaming improvements, and VR stuff.
Pretty disappointed, think I will skip this year's annual contribution to the Cyberlink employee fund and see if PowerDVD 18 improves the GUI. Right now there are better things I can do with my $45.00
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I didn't realize when I wrote the previous message that PowerDVD also does not treat Season 0 properly. It combines it with Season 1. Season 0 should be reserved for pilots and special episodes. This is the standard.
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I would also like to see the TV Library organized by Show>Season>Episode. You should have the ability to assign art to each one of these indentured levels.
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I haven't had a problem with a disc yet, but I also only have newer discs. I have several videos in H.264 that I made from Laser Discs using Hauppauge HD-PVR and they play fine.
Have you tried playing with Hardware Acceleration settings?
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I have both PowerDVD 9 Ultra and ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater. TotalMedia Theater will play SD and BD discs when I point to the folder on my hard drive. It sees the embedded VIDEO_TS or BDMV folder and starts a movie. PowerDVD only does this with SD movies.
When I contacted the tech support group,  , it appears Cyberlink only plans to support a BD disc in the drive or a mounted image. This lack of functionality is troubling.
I hope someone in sales understands that this makes PowerDVD less competitive.
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