What GPU for Blu-Ray player playback

HAL_404

HAL_404

[H]ard|Gawd
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if I don't want to game at all but just want to watch blu-ray movies, browser use and streaming, etc ... what is the most efficient, low power usage low cost Nvidia GPU to use with a 4k TV ?
 
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The only way to play UHD Blu-ray on PC is with an Intel Kaby Lake processor or newer, as far as I know. Video card doesn't matter. The DRM is tied to the hardware and Intel have exclusive rights to the decryption code on PCs. Standard Blu-ray playback is possible with any modern IGP, so you don't need a dedicated video card just for video playback.

For streaming, I know the DRM for 4K playback is supported by NVIDIA, but since you posted in the NVIDIA forum I am going to assume you are not going with an AMD card.
 
Armenius said:
The only way to play UHD Blu-ray on PC is with an Intel Kaby Lake processor or newer, as far as I know. Video card doesn't matter. The DRM is tied to the hardware and Intel have exclusive rights to the decryption code on PCs. Standard Blu-ray playback is possible with any modern IGP, so you don't need a dedicated video card just for video playback.

For streaming, I know the DRM for 4K playback is supported by NVIDIA, but since you posted in the NVIDIA forum I am going to assume you are not going with an AMD card.
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If you want Netflix 4k on discrete, you're going to have to grab a 3gb NVIDIA graphics card. Pascal or newer. If buying used, I would recommend you grab a GTX 1050 Ti, as they have full hardware acceleration for VP9 10-bit. Or anything Turing would work well.

The cheaper option is a Roku Streaming Stick +. I use that for streaming, then use DLNA server to playback my local media. I only bother with an HTPC because I also play Steam games/browse the web on this TV. But for streaming, the PC is not required.
 
4K/UHD Blu-Ray is still tied to Intel integrated graphics and it's annoying as hell. It's not like there aren't enough obstacles in place (a specific Pioneer drive + PowerDVD), they made one more. Not like it has mattered because there are 4K Blu-Ray rips all over the place. I actually have the exact 100% legitimate setup they want, but because I have an Nvidia card in my machine in addition to the trash integrated Intel graphics it won't work.
 
Domingo said:
4K/UHD Blu-Ray is still tied to Intel integrated graphics and it's annoying as hell. It's not like there aren't enough obstacles in place (a specific Pioneer drive + PowerDVD), they made one more. Not like it has mattered because there are 4K Blu-Ray rips all over the place. I actually have the exact 100% legitimate setup they want, but because I have an Nvidia card in my machine in addition to the trash integrated Intel graphics it won't work.
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And Hollywood wonders why pirating is still a thing :ROFLMAO:
 
I've found it is just easier, simpler to just buy a 4k Blu-ray player(s) and forget about the PC. Just not worth the hassles anymore. The cost of PowerDVD that plays 4K Blu-rays you can virtually buy a good 4K player. Have PC cases that don't even have an external 51/4" slot anyways. Plus streaming is pretty much available, while the quality is not as good, it is good enough for me.
 
Yeah, I have a normal BD drive that some people have gotten UHD discs to play, but I couldn't get the firmware update to work.

At least when I was looking at it, a few years ago, the cost of an UHD drive + PowerDVD was actually more than a standalone player, so I just bought a player.

For the prices you can get the Xbox One X for, it's barely worth it, but if you already have the HTPC setup I can understand wanting just one box.

Also, I found to quality on a lot of 4K discs to be shabby. Not always, there are some good ones. But honestly more than half of the discs I got didn't look noticeably better than regular Blu Ray or even Netflix 4K (and I have about 20 or 30 movies in the collection).

Like watch some of the newer nature documentaries on Netflix, or some of the UHD demo videos on YouTube, the quality far surpasses most UHD discs (outside a few that are exceptional, like The Revenent, etc.).

For example, Altered Carbon on 4K HDR looks absolutely stunning on Netflix. I don't know why people even bother with discs anymore (though I still do buy some, usually just to support the creators).
 
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