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Best way to direct play UHD HDR Blurays on wondows 11
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zerofoxjim
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2025 7:18 pm
Best way to direct play UHD HDR Blurays on wondows 11
Hello all, I went down the rabbit hole of playing UHD HDR disks on windows 11 and was wondering what the best application is to use. I purchased Makemkv as I discovered my blu ray drive was flashable and my MSI claw is hooked up to the living room TV that supports HDR10+. I currently use VLC, but was wondering if there is any software better to use for the best visual playback.
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Toscaclarinet
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2023 7:18 pm
Re: Best way to direct play UHD HDR Blurays on wondows 11
I have played around with various methods of playback and I would say that although you do get menus on VLC, I find playback to be a bit stuttery even on high spec PCs. MPC-HC is non-stuttery and you can get HDR through madVR, but no menus, so a faff to access special features and any localisation text. I have also tried PlayerFabUltra and they are alright playback wise with HDR but I can't get menus to work anymore and they don't work with Pioneer drives. So all of these have positives and minuses.
(I also did have a PC all set up with SGX enabled PowerDVD20 to play the "official" way. Then, not knowing that Intel had turned off the SGX servers in April this year, I upgraded my CPU to the 8700k and now that PC won't do official 4k anymore [facepalm]. )
Now that my "official" playback is no longer possible, the method I have had most success with is using combined MakeMKV + XReveal to remove protection and playing back using Cyberlink PowerDVD20. Menus, HDR, smooth playback, everything seems to work. I think you are limited to standard HDR, not Dolby Vision, but that doesn't bother me too much.
(I also did have a PC all set up with SGX enabled PowerDVD20 to play the "official" way. Then, not knowing that Intel had turned off the SGX servers in April this year, I upgraded my CPU to the 8700k and now that PC won't do official 4k anymore [facepalm]. )
Now that my "official" playback is no longer possible, the method I have had most success with is using combined MakeMKV + XReveal to remove protection and playing back using Cyberlink PowerDVD20. Menus, HDR, smooth playback, everything seems to work. I think you are limited to standard HDR, not Dolby Vision, but that doesn't bother me too much.
Re: Best way to direct play UHD HDR Blurays on wondows 11
I have half an answer for you. 
Cyberlink PowerDVD 24 Ultra.
Why half an answer? Because I've only tried it on regular Blurays and not yet on UHD.
I've been using PowerDVd for well over two decades and I'm a fan. I think it originally came with a work Laptop ages ago. I have my main Box integrated into a 5.1 system via HDMI and like having the ability to easily use Menus, select Audio streams, etc. I'm pretty sure they have a demo version you can pull down to try.
https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powe ... en_US.html
I have ordered an Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray Burner which is due here on Monday. Once I Crossflash it (Thanks to MartyMcNuts), I'll give playing UHD Disks a try.
Good luck with your pursuit.
Cyberlink PowerDVD 24 Ultra. Why half an answer? Because I've only tried it on regular Blurays and not yet on UHD.
I've been using PowerDVd for well over two decades and I'm a fan. I think it originally came with a work Laptop ages ago. I have my main Box integrated into a 5.1 system via HDMI and like having the ability to easily use Menus, select Audio streams, etc. I'm pretty sure they have a demo version you can pull down to try.
https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powe ... en_US.html
I have ordered an Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray Burner which is due here on Monday. Once I Crossflash it (Thanks to MartyMcNuts), I'll give playing UHD Disks a try.
Good luck with your pursuit.