Saturday, March 8, 2014

Good News! Pavtube DVD Ripper for Windows/Mac has been updated

Pavtube Studio has updated DVD Ripper to 4.5.0 and DVD Ripper for Mac to 3.7.0.

Windows version



Version: 4.5.0
Supported OS: Windows XP/2003/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1

What’s new:
  • Support latest DVD
  • Windows install package with digital signature
  • Fixed some known bugs
Download here: http://download.pavtube.com/dvd_ripper/dvdripper_setup.exe

Mac version



Version: 3.7.0
Supported OS: Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.7 Lion, Snow Leopard 10.6, Leopard 10.5

What’s new:

  • Support latest DVD
  • Update Mac pkg and dmg install packages simultaneously
  • Fixed some known bugs
Download here: http://download.pavtube.com/dvd-ripper-mac/dvdrippermac_setup.dmg

Source: http://pc-mac-compatibility-issues.blogspot.com/2014/03/pavtube-new-dvd-ripper-is-out.html

Friday, March 7, 2014

1080p movie playback with Roku 2 XS, Roku XDS, and Roku HD-XR via USB connection


Now that you’ve been enjoying Netflix movies and tons of Internet videos with Roku box, have you noticed that your Roku streaming player can do more than that?

If you’re watching movies and shows with a Roku XDS, HD-XR or the Roku 2 XS model, you can play media on my from USB hard drive with the Roku USB Media Player channel. Click here to learn how to set up Roku USB Media player channel. With a USB stick connected Roku plays up to 1080p videos in MP4, M4V, MOV, WMV and MKV format.

Although Roku box does not directly decode AC3 or DTS 5.1 audio, it allows for audio pass-through, which means you can still enjoy 5.1 sounds with a standalone audio receiver connected. To maximize movie experience with Roku streaming media player, it is advised to put together DVD and even Blu-ray movie collections onto USB hard drive, so that Roku plays not only Internet TV channels, but also local movies. The following guide tells you how to get movies off DVD and Blu-ray to hard drive for playback with Roku 2 XS, Roku XDS, and Roku HD-XR (other models do not support USB channel).

Software availability:

Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper (click here to download a trial, Windows XP/2003/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1 compatible)

Trial limit- a Pavtube logo be printed on converted videos.

Guide: Convert a DVD/Blu-ray to play with Roku 2 XS, Roku XDS, and Roku HD-XR

1. Click the “blu-ray disc” icon to load DVD/Blu-ray movie.
2. Set subtitles and audio language.
3. Select a format to convert.
4. Start converting DVD/Blu-ray for Roku 2 XS, Roku XDS, and Roku HD-XR playback.

(learn more about Blu-ray Ripper)

Some Tips:

1. Keep your computer networked so that the program can hack the DVD/Blu-ray copy-protections.
2. DVD-ROM does not read Blu-ray Disc, to rip a Blu-ray movie from commercial Blu-ray Disc, you need to place it in a BD drive (either internal or external).
3. You’re advised to select “Common Video”>> “H.264 Video(*.mp4)” format in Step 3- it lets you downsize a DVD/Blu-ray to 3GB or so and keep the original size(DVD- 720×480(NTSC)/720×576(PAL) and Blu-ray- 1920×1080).

To keep both 1080p video and AC3 5.1 audio, choose MP4, MOV or MKV format from “HD Video” tab, then click “Settings” and set “medium quality” in “Bitrate” in Step 3.



Supported formats and Best possible quality that Roku streaming player plays via USB channel:



More video tips:

Movies and TV Series coming out on Blu-ray at March 2014
New Movies coming out March 2014 List with Release Dates
How to Backup new released DVD discs on Windows 8.1/8

Things you should know before ripping a Blu-ray to HD media player

When people rip Blu-ray for HD media player playback, they want the best quality, if possible, everything original. However, this is not a good idea. Not any HD media player can replace a Blu-ray Disc player so far. Even there are HD media player boxes that lets users to add a Blu-ray Disc drive (e.g. Popcorn Hour C-200), they do not give you full features. Normally you have main movie but lose the menus and special features, and this is called simple BD-navigation.



But most HD media players only read Medias from HDD. That’s why people need get Blu-rays ripped first. When ripping a Blu-ray to HDD, there are quite a lot of formats to save the movie to : ISO, BDMV, M2TS, MKV, and whatever video format you like. Many guys choose ISO because it keeps everything original of the Blu-ray movie. Well “everything original” includes the menus and features and some other files that your HD media player can not play. Without them you can save 3GB or more for a single Blu-ray movie.

And “everything original” also means the 1080p video of very high bitrate, up to 7.1-channels HD audio and PGS subtitles. Now the question is, can your HD media player decode TrueHD and DTS-HD codec? If not, can it pass-through them to an audio receiver that supports these codecs? If not again, you’ll have to down-mix them during Blu-ray ripping, say converting DTS-HD to Dolby Digital 5.1 audio or AAC stereo, otherwise you’ll watch a silent film…

If audio codec is not a problem for you, and you don’t care much about subtitles (captions), MakeMKV is your choice- it rips Blu-ray to MKV with main movie, original audio tracks and subtitles. And 30 days’ free trial. You wanna have subtitles displayed on HDTV when playing ripped Blu-ray? Choose ByteCopy then. It converts the PGS subtitles to DVD subtitle format, which is definitely acceptable by HD media players. It also lets you extract .srt subtitles for MKV file, including forced subtitles.

There is not a “best way for ripping Blu-ray”, as it depends on what media player and audio system you have. My advice is, check the specs of your devices before you backup a Blu-ray Disc to hard drive.

Read more:

How to watch DVD movies on TV/Laptop/Smartphone via Plex Media Server?
Playing Blu-ray with Popcorn Hour A-200 (BDMV/MKV/M2TS playback solutions)
How to stream Blu-ray movies to Popcorn Hour A-400 – Saving Blu-ray movies to NAS

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Lossless rip Blu-ray to MKV with Pavtube ByteCopy (Windows/Mac) upgraded version

Good news! As your best tool to rip and convert Blu-ray movies and DVDs to MKV container format with multiple audio tracks and subtitle sinclided, Pavrtube ByteCopy, both Windows and Mac version have updated to the new version!

Windows Version:


Version: 2.2.0

Supported OS: Windows 2003/XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1

What's new:

* Support latest BD and DVD

* Windows install package with digital signature

* Fixed some know bugs


Mac Version:


Version: 2.3.0

Supported OS: Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.7 Lion, Snow Leopard 10.6

What's new:

* Support latest BD and DVD

* Update Mac pkg and dmg install package simultaneously

* Fixed some know bugs


Make 1080p/720p MKV with DTS audio playable on Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone

Summary: To get Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone to play MKV movies with DTS audio, you may have to convert MKV DTS to Windows device playable MP4 format. This article mainly introduces the easy way on Windows and Mac.

MKV (the Matroska Multimedia Container), is an open standard free container format, which can hold an huge number of video, audio in one file. It is widely used because it can pack different kinds of videos audios and subtitles as well as contains Realmedia and Quicktime. The most advantages lays on it packs them in one container with a better effect.



However, you will find you can't view MKV with DTS audio on Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone, as the default and downloaded player on the Windows 8.1/8 device cannot find a suitable decoder for the DTS audio.

To play a MKV movie with dts surrounding sound on an Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone, you will need to convert the MKV file to something that is within the Windows device’s compatibility to handle, such as mp4. Here is how.

Free Download and install the App: Pavtube Windows 8.1/8 Video Converter Ultimate

It’s an all-in-one app right for you, the program can help you compress 1080p Blu-ray, rip DVD movie and convert HD videos to Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone, including MKV, AVI, MPG, VOB, TiVo, Flash videos and more, everything can be transferred to Windows device optimized formats at ease. If you are a Mac user, you can use its equivalent Mac version – Mac Video Converter Ultimate for Windows 8.1/8 to achieve your goal smoothly.

Simple Guide: Convert/Compress MKV mvoies with DTS audio to Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone compatible video format 

Step One. Add videos to Windows 8.1/8 Video Converter.

Click the top left icon to add your source mkv videos, or drag-and-drop them directly.

windows 8.1 8 mkv converter

Step Two. Choose target video format.

Choose the Windows device supported formats in the “Format” dropdown list.  Here you are recommended to choose “Windows 8 Tablets H.264 Video(*.mp4)” as the target video format at your needs.

playable format for windows device

Step Three. Customize video specs. (Optional)

Click “Settings” to open profiles settings window. Here you are able to customize video size, bitrate, frame rate, sample rate(Hz)…all the specs can be fixed manually. A personal tip: the higher bitrate you choose, the better video quality will be; and you will get videos in larger size.

Step Four. Start Conversion.

Go ahead and click “Convert” button to get MKV with DTS audio to Windows device playable mp4 conversion started. After a while, you can find the generated file quickly via “Open” button.

Now transfer the converted mp4 movies to your Windows  8.1/8 Tablet/Phone for convenient playback. In this way, you can enjoy your favorite MKV with DTS audio with Windows device wherever you are.

P.S Don’t know how to transfer converted video to Windows Tablet/Phone? Read this



You may be interested in some Money-Saving Tips:

ByteCopy($42) + Blu-ray Video Converter Ultimate($65) = Only $80, Save $27
ChewTune ($29) + Blu-ray Video Converter Ultimate($65) = Only $75, Save $19
Blu-ray Video Converter Ultimate($65) + DVD Creator($35) = Only 65$, Save $35
ByteCopy($42) + Video Converter($35) = Only $60, Save $17

……

More Tips and Solutions:

1. For hard-coding MKV subtitles, just choose desired language from the drop-down box of “Subtitles”.

2. Having trouble with MKV Audios? Refer discussions of converting MKV DTS to AC3 for solutions.

3. Although Windows device supports a wide range of video/audio formats, there’s still some format limit. If you wanna play HD videos on Windows 8.1/8 Tablet/Phone like MTS, M2TS, MOD, TOD, TiVo, MPG, VOB, etc smoothly, you should convert these them with the best Video Converter for Windows 8.1/8 in advance.

4. Copying a movie from iTunes library and want to play it on your Windows 8.1/8 device? Refer the guide to enable iTunes M4V videos to play on Windows 8.1/8 RT/Pro Tablets & Phones.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

New Movies coming out March 2014 List with Release Dates

Trying to figure out what movie to watch this weekend? Here are all of the latest movie releases and upcoming movies for this month. Open up your calendar, because here we will offer release dates, cast listings, trailers, reviews, and more... exactly what you need to watch the best movie this Friday night.


March 5
- Particle Fever (limited)

March 6
- 300: Rise of an Empire (3D/2D theaters and IMAX, p.m. screenings)

March 7
- A Farewell to Fools (limited)
- Bethlehem (limited)
- The Face of Love (limited)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (limited)
- Grand Piano (limited)
- Haunt (limited)
- In Fear (limited)
- Journey to the West (limited)
- Missing William
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman (3D/2D theaters)
- Special ID (limited)
- Total Siyapaa (limited)
- War of the Worlds Goliath (limited)

March 14
- The Art of the Steal (limited)
- Bad Words (limited; expands: March 21; wide: March 28)
- Better Living Through Chemistry (limited)
- Bewakoofiyaan (limited)
- Big Men (limited)
- The Cold Lands (NY)
- Dark House (NY, LA)
- The Den (limited)
- Enemy (limited)
- Exposed (NY)
- Guilty of Romance (NY)
- Himizu (NY)
- Le Week-End (limited)
- Need for Speed (3D/2D theaters)
- On My Way (NY)
- Patrick: Evil Awakens (limited)
- The Right Kind of Wrong (limited)
- Shirin in Love (limited)
- Teenage (limited)
- Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club
- U Want Me 2 Kill Him? (limited)
- Veronica Mars (limited)

March 19
- The Missing Picture (limited)

March 21

- 50 to 1 (limited)
- A Birder's Guide to Everything (limited)
- Anita (limited)
- Blood Ties (limited)
- Cheap Thrills (limited)
- Divergent (2D theaters and IMAX)
- The French Minister (NY)
- It Felt Like Love (NY; LA release: March 28)
- Jodorowsky's Dune (limited)
- John Doe: Vigilante (limited)
- Just a Sigh (NY; LA release: March 28)
- Maladies (limited)
- McCanick (limited)
- Muppets Most Wanted
- Nymphomaniac: Volume I (limited)
- Rob the Mob (limited)

March 28

- Boys of Abu Ghraib (limited)
- Breathe In (limited)
- Cesar Chavez (limited)
- Mistaken for Strangers (limited)
- Noah
- The Raid 2 (limited)
- Refuge (NY; LA release: April 4)
- Sabotage

March TBA

- Farmland (limited)

Tips:


All of the above films will be in Blu-ray/DVD disc, to backup/playback these movies on portable devices and media players, a software can be completely solved. It is Pavtube Blu-ray Ripper.

I downloaded a trial version some months ago and liked it, after some time of tryouts to see if it was right for my needs i purchased it. I am able to transfer contents with subtitles, which was a features I did not found in anther sw, or I did not find simply in other software UI, it is simple to use. This best Blu-ray Ripper can rolls off Blu-ray/DVD disc protection, supports loseless 1:1 Blu-ray backup and keeps all the disc titles and chapter structure perfectly.

Monday, March 3, 2014

720p vs 1080p - What's the difference?

Summary: Aren't clear about the 720p and 1080p video? Read this article to learn the accurate definition for both and what's the difference between them on earth.


1080p
: this is what you see in your local electronic superstore when you torn your eyes to the LCD TV stands. It really looks to be the next big thing but is it really? You look a little closer and see that it has a pretty high price? That’s when you think that if it cost so much then is no way it can be compared to 720p LCD TV. This is not really how it works and that is the topic of this guide.

What does 1080p and 720p stand for?

1080p resolution – stands for 1920X1080 pixels resolution which offer twice the resolution that 720p does

720p resolution – typical resolutions known as “720p” are: 1,366×768 pixels, 1,280×720 pixels or 1,024×768 pixels

The letter “p” from 1080p and 720p stands for progressive scan.

1080p is better?

Well…yea… it’s better, but is it worth the extra $? That depends of what you want to do with your LCD TV, so please answer yourself this questions:

Are you going to use your LCD for gaming proposes? Do you own a Play Station 3 or a X-BOX 360 (the only game consoles that are compatible with this technology, also Play Station 3 has a Blu-Ray Player )? Are you going to use your LCD TV for professional graphic and video editing?

I bet that most of you answered no to these questions. I also bet that many of you are planning to enjoy movies from a DVD player and not from a Blu-Ray Player, so what you should really do is buy a 720p LCD TV and spare the extra bucks.

Also you will use your LCD TV to watch regular televisions and you should know that the majority of networks still broadcast in formats that provide the same level of quality in 720p resolution as well as in1080p resolution.

But if you answered yes to those questions then you should probably take in consideration spending more cash and buying a 1080p LCD TV.



What is the price difference?

The difference in price between 720p and 1080p rises directly proportional with the screen size. If for a 32-inch LCD TV the difference it’s around $250-$300, for a 50-inch LCD the difference it’s around $700-$800. As the years go by we expect the gap between 720p and 1080p to slightly diminish.

720p vs 1080p – What content is available?

Regular television networks broadcast their high-def in 720p or 1080i, and there is a small chance that they will jump to 1080p anytime soon.

For gaming we have two consoles that are 720p native but they have titles that are made for 1080p resolution. The consoles are PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360.

The best way to enjoy 1080p resolution is from a Blu-ray player.

720p vs 1080p – “The test”

What is the best way to see the differences between 720p and 1080p? Test it!

Test 1: So we put side by side a 720p LCD TV and a 1080 LCD TV playing the same movie from a Blu-ray player. What i can say is that i was not hypnotized by the outcome but the difference is noticeable if you take in account optimal viewing distance. Ok, I have noticed the difference but I was looking for it…so to get rid of this aspect i had some people watch that didn’t know about the test. The outcome? They said that is the same thing. So if you are planning to buy a 1080p then you should really read the LCD TV screen size & viewing distance guide.

Test 2: Metal Gear Solid V 1080p vs 720p Screenshot Comparison: Will the Old Gen Version Have Lower Resolution?

Below you can see two screenshots released in 1080p, with barely visible aliasing and soft shadows. You can click on each picture to see the full size version.

Note: the shot at the top of the post is just an artistic rendition to showcase the concept, and it’s not representative of the actual looks of the game.





And just below there’s the pair in 720p. The platform showcased has not been confirmed, but the shadow are rougher and textures show a lower resolution, matching what said by Director Hideo Kojima himself about the PS3 and Xbox 360 version.

While the screenshots still look good, aliasing is very evident, especially if you observe the barbed wire on the wall and the spotlights.





The resolution of the game on PS3 and Xbox 360 hasn’t been confirmed yet. All we know for sure is that they’ll run the game at 30 frames per second as opposed to the 60 of the next generation version. Will they also have a 720p resolution as opposed to the 1080p of the next generation consoles? We can’t confirm it for now, but the 720p screenshots seem to match everything Kojima-san said about the version on current generation consoles.

Of course we’ll have to wait for an official announcement or a pixel count of the released game to be sure, but it’d take a development miracle for machines that are now seven and nine years old to run this game at a 1080p native resolution, even if only at 30 frames per second.

720p vs 1080p – Conclusion

There is no one that can tell you what to buy. In the end it’s all about your needs.
Read this guide and figure out what you want. Is the 1080p what serves you best? Then by all means buy it! Don’t get cheap and remember: you should stay at the optimal viewing distance to enjoy this great detail and use a Blu-ray Player. If 1080p isn’t what you need, then buy a 720p LCD TV and with the money you save buy a good set of speakers or why not…buy another LCD TV for the kitchen.

More: