SGX dead to Intel. Death to powerdvd?

[Jamie]

Hi,

Intel has dumped sgx in their future cpus.

https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/b...- ... ssors.html. This article was pulled down

here is another article

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/22/01/1 ... %20systems.

I think that it is a stretch to say that it is the death of uhd on pcs but could it be the death of powerdvd since it still requires sgx for uhd playback? Yes, you cam still play regular bluray discs on powerdvd but how much further can they enhance bluray playback in future versions?

This may just make my decision on what hardware to buy for a new htpc much easier. Since powerdvd is dead, I can choose an amd cpu and install a uhd compatible graphics card. Fortunately we still have jriver, dvdfab player, and a few free players that do uhd playback without sgx. Am I missing anything or does this decision of dumping sgx affect other players as well. Yes, there is the drm issue still but doesn't the fox, or monkey already handle this?

Jamie

[clmber]

Any idea on a workable replacement? JRiver?

[Jamie]

I use Jriver for blurays right now, I am hoping to start buidling a 4 k uhd htpc in the near future. You can import your dvds, blurays, Bluray uhds, and cds if you want to use it to manage all you entertainmnet needs. I turn off the import capabilities and use the player with cmc. I think it is a good player especially if you use madvr with it.

[Jamie]

I see that vlc and mpc-hc can play uhd movies too. they're free to use. You probably have to setup madvr to get the best out of them. Paul has a thread on setting up mpc-be with madvr here. Some here use dvdfab player but I think jriver can do the same for less money. Paul and Manni can probably give a better review on these players than I can.

Here are a couple of links with Paul's venture into uhd and madvr.

https://chamconsoft.com/cmc/forums/?w3= ... IxJnQ9MzY5

https://chamconsoft.com/cmc/forums/?w3= ... IxJnQ9MTk3

[Pauven]

Ironically, I have a 10th gen Intel CPU, which still supports SGX, which I can't get to work right for UHD or regular Blu-ray.

Red Fox to the rescue. And once you do that, any CPU, any GPU, any player, the world's your oyster .

Cyberlink has posted on their website that Intel CPU's 7th through 10th gen are still supported, so for those who want to play by the strictest of rules, I think PowerDVD will be supported for years to come.

My only real complaint is that I couldn't get HDR to work on AMD with PowerDVD.

[Jamie]

My only real complaint is that I couldn't get HDR to work on AMD with PowerDVD.

I haven't seen it but from what I've read, HDR is the major reason to buy UHD discs.

I know Jriver supports HDR on Intel and amd cpus. Also amd and Nvidia GPUs. I bought my case last year and I have been hoping that intel would provide a cpu with better integrated graphics. Now that they have thrown out sgx, I can't use powerdvd with a new generation cpu so there is no longer a need to be stuck in the intel world. I can now buy something more for the value and features rather than needing to fit something that meets powerdvd specs. Jriver does well for regular blurays and I hear that it does well with UHD HDR using madvr. I tried to stay away from playing with madvr and that was the main reason why I was looking to use powerdvd.

I think I should thank intel for helping me move away from powerdvd.

[Pauven]

So, to use any other players like JRiver, you need Foxy's help with UHD discs, right?

I've had really good success with MPC-BE. I don't get the menus, which is a shame, but I do get great 4K playback. I don't know about HDR, as right now my Intel GPU and projector disagree on HDR support, but I presume if I can ever fix that issue then MPC-BE would show HDR too.

I just got my 4K edition of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and I'm really excited to watch it (please no spoilers!!!). Since I can't play my legally purchased Blu-ray on my SGX/HDCP compliant Intel 10th-gen based HTPC and HDCP projector (seems reasonable to expect this to actually work), I'm waiting on Foxy's help. First thing I did when I received the disc yesterday was load it up in Foxy - I knew it wouldn't be able to handle this brand new disc, but I wanted to get the disc info into Foxy's system so they can begin working on it. So now it's just a waiting game, waiting on Foxy to support this disc, then I can finally watch this movie in 4K. Or I suppose if I get impatient, I can go ahead and watch the regular 1080p Blu-ray which Foxy already supports.

I'm still hopeful that Intel dropping SGX might convince CyberLink to let non-SGX CPU's play UHD discs. One can dream, right?...

[Jamie]

So, to use any other players like JRiver, you need Foxy's help with UHD discs, right?

I don't know. I never tried a disc without foxy's magic. The first thing I do when I get a new disc is "back it up" with foxy.

I just got my 4K edition of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and I'm really excited to watch it (please no spoilers!!!). Since I can't play my legally purchased Blu-ray on my SGX/HDCP compliant Intel 10th-gen based HTPC and HDCP projector (seems reasonable to expect this to actually work), I'm waiting on Foxy's help. First thing I did when I received the disc yesterday was load it up in Foxy - I knew it wouldn't be able to handle this brand new disc, but I wanted to get the disc info into Foxy's system so they can begin working on it. So now it's just a waiting game, waiting on Foxy to support this disc, then I can finally watch this movie in 4K. Or I suppose if I get impatient, I can go ahead and watch the regular 1080p Blu-ray which Foxy already supports.

Have you tried makemkv? It is free I think and you can make an mkv file with it. It may create a folder rip for you.

I'm still hopeful that Intel dropping SGX might convince CyberLink to let non-SGX CPU's play UHD discs. One can dream, right?...

Cyberlink is caught up with trying to be a legal player which means that they want the studios to bless them by giving them the 'legal" player designation.

[Jamie]

Hi Paul,

Has foxy blessed you uhd yet? If not, I saw a post that stated makemkv does create folder rips. They get keys before foxy does.

[Pauven]

Yes, foxy most definitely has.

I spent the weekend troubleshooting both SGX and HDR on my new setup. I wrote up a long article on it, some surprising findings, just haven't posted it yet. But with foxy's help I've played HDR content for the very first time.

I don't think I've truly experienced good HDR yet (at least at home, have seen it in a local Dolby Atmos Theater). The HDR image on Ghostbusters: Afterlife became really dark, and I had to crank the brightness I've ordered the Spears & Munsil 4K HDR calibration disc, so hopefully this weekend I can tune the projector for best results.