I haven't bothered to upgrade because they still downgrade the audio, and I can't find any other advantage to upgrading. ArcSoft has since been upgraded several generations and the current version is 6.5. The PC in my office has an ASUS soundcard that is PAP compliant, so TMT3 doesn't downgrade the audio there. The HTPC has my prototype audio equipment (8-channel DAC and Hypex Class-D amp modules) and it doesn't support PAP, so with ArcSoft's TMT3 the audio gets downgraded. Our HTPC in our family room has a BD-ROM drive and the PC in my office has a BD burner. Two of our PCs connected to our home network are Blu-ray capable. The industry doesn't want to let someone capture the perfect bits and share them on the Internet, like they can with tracks from CDs (and DVDs, and with a bit of work, SACDs). Of course the purpose is to prevent piracy. My setup, which doesn't have a "protected path," is capable of 24-bit/192 kHz playback, so I was/am disappointed with this downgrade. Programs like Cyberlink's PowerDVD and ArcSoft's TotalMedia Theater check if your hardware has a protected audio path (PAP) and if not, will decrease the audio bit depth and sample rate to 16 bits and 48kHz. I had trouble because my hardware didn't comply with the software Blu-ray player's DRM technology.
Back in the end of 2008 I posted an article about problems I had playing Blu-rays with my PC. Again, leave a comment if you know a better method.įirst, I'm going to address the issue of Blu-ray playback using my PC. I've been using the same method for a fairly long time and haven't bothered to learn if there is a new method that might be better. After finally posting my SACD ripping article, I decided to do a quick follow-up and describe my method for ripping and playing Blu-rays with my PC.