JVC RS4500 (native 4K laser projector)

[Dylan Seeger]

Thanks Dylan and Floyd.   I've been wondering about this myself.   My collection is not nearly as big, maybe 250 Blu-Rays and as of now 36 UHD Blu-Rays.   If someone makes a list of the hardware for the PC I would have someone build it for me and load up the software.  What nas is popular?   A few years back when I was researching I heard of Synology.   What do you guys do for a back up?  Is that just why you buy a lot more drive space than what you need so its enough for a backup in case one of the drives goes?

This should go in the appropriate thread if we have one .

There's a bit of a misconception that a NAS is needed. You'll be fine putting the harddrives inside the computer case and if you wanted them available throughout your home you can easily make the harddrives available over your network inside Windows. A NAS is not necessary for madVR and is just an added expense that isn't needed. An issue right now regarding madVR is that a desktop graphics card is needed. The issue is that cryptocurrency mining has artificially driven up the cost of GPUs. Cards once selling for $400 are now selling for $750 because companies know people will buy them at that cost to mine bitcoins. It's ridiculous right now.

[Madfloyd]

There's a bit of a misconception that a NAS is needed. You'll be fine putting the harddrives inside the computer case and if you wanted them available throughout your home you can easily make the harddrives available over your network inside Windows. A NAS is not necessary for madVR and is just an added expense that isn't needed. An issue right now regarding madVR is that a desktop graphics card is needed. The issue is that cryptocurrency mining has artificially driven up the cost of GPUs. Cards once selling for $400 are now selling for $750 because companies know people will buy them at that cost to mine bitcoins. It's ridiculous right now.

Yes, Dylan is correct - a NAS is not a requirement.  I like them as they give me some peace of mind in the event of hard drive failure (which certainly can happen - and has happened to me) but as he points out you can totally avoid this expense.

Dylan, thanks for the explanation of why graphics cards got so expensive.  When reading reviews on the one I purchased, many people mentioned getting it for a price much lower than I could find.  Now I know why.  Strange world we live in.

[DLCPhoto]

Don, this drive will absolutely read and rip UHDs.  Technically UHDs are Blu-rays.  They are either BD-50, BD-66 or BD-100 (the number indicating the capacity).  The copy-protection is very different than regular Blu-rays however. 

MakeMkv will rip them (I can personally vouch for that since I've been ripping non-stop) but it does rely on having decryption keys.  Basically this is a 'key' file containing a list of known codes for all UHD titles.  It's a download available from the MakeMKV site.  It's possible that you would try to rip a UHD and the key wouldn't be in your file (e.g. not deciphered yet) and you would have to wait a bit to get an updated 'key' file.

In addition to MadVR, you need software that allows you to browse titles and all upon MadVR to play back the movie that you choose.  I am using Kodi DSPlayer.  It's free and seems pretty good.  I used to use something called Plex (for regular HD titles that I ripped) but it doesn't have the capability to use MadVR (which you really want).

I am also using Harmony smart remote and hub.  Can this control an HTPC? Yes.  You would need to get a usb bluetooth thingamajig so that Harmony could communicate with the HTPC but this is no big deal in terms of cost or installation.

Ian

Much obliged, Ian.  Very helpful.

I've seen Kodi and Plex mentioned quite a bit over the years, but haven't had a reason to use them yet.

Interestingly, an article just popped up on my Google News Feed indicating that all the Cryptocurrency nonsense lately has somehow caused GPU prices to go crazy.

Have a great week-end.

Don

[Tom Bley]

Thanks Ian & Dylan, very helpful!   

[Dylan Seeger]

Here would be a pretty decent PC setup for just running madVR/blu-ray playback:

JVC RS4500 (native 4K laser projector)

Building a PC like that is very straight forward and would probably take less than 2 hours to do. That's everything you'd need except the harddrives for blu-ray storage and a graphics card. What I'd recommend would actually be to buy a last generation GTX980 Ti. They're still sensibly priced on the gently used market and are more than powerful enough to use for madVR. I use a GTX 980 and it does everything very well without hiccups. I see 980 Ti's for sale on ebay in the $300-$400 range and it's more powerful than a brand new GTX 1070 selling for $750+. Add in several 8TB harddrives (or start off smaller and build your way up to more storage as you need it) and you're all set for the foreseeable future.

[Tom Bley]

Awesome,  Dylan.  Than drive won't rip UHD BD will it?  One other thing is I want a horizontal pc case to put with the rest of the HT gear .  Thanks for all the info.

[Dylan Seeger]

Awesome,  Dylan.  Than drive won't rip UHD BD will it?  One other thing is I want a horizontal pc case to put with the rest of the HT gear .  Thanks for all the info.

That drive is one of the compatible drives listed on DeUHD's website. The one thing you need to be careful about with those types of cases is height clearance for graphics cards. Many "horizontal" cases only work with half height/low profile graphics cards so just be careful when choosing your case.

[bmoney]

can you only get this stuff online?

[Dylan Seeger]

can you only get this stuff online?

It really depends on where you live. I would imagine in most major cities there are retailers that sell PC parts. However, you're not going to have a good/large selection of parts to choose from. My local best buy has a lackluster selection of PC parts to choose from. It's far more economical and customizable to order parts (or whole computers) online.

[woofer]

  One other thing is I want a horizontal pc case to put with the rest of the HT gear .  Thanks for all the info.

I use the Silverstone CW03 case with the front VFD Touch screen.... I run a  Nvidia 1080Ti  with no problems in this case..Plenty of room also for HD storage...

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/17619/silverstone-cw03-mt-black-htpc-case-with-touch-screen

[Dylan Seeger]

I use the Silverstone CW03 case with the front VFD Touch screen.... I run a  Nvidia 1080Ti  with no problems in this case..Plenty of room also for HD storage...

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/17619/silverstone-cw03-mt-black-htpc-case-with-touch-screen

I don't know if size is a consideration as to why he wants to go with a flat laying case. The Silverstone CW03 is essentially the same size as the case I recommended. It's 18.53" x 7.87" x 16.93" vs 16.93" x 7.3" x 17.17". If size is a consideration, there are cases that will accommodate 4 harddrives and a full sized graphics card that are much smaller.

[Tom Bley]

I don't know if size is a consideration as to why he wants to go with a flat laying case. The Silverstone CW03 is essentially the same size as the case I recommended. It's 18.53" x 7.87" x 16.93" vs 16.93" x 7.3" x 17.17". If size is a consideration, there are cases that will accommodate 4 harddrives and a full sized graphics card that are much smaller.

The case can be basically as large as it needs to be, the reason I want it horizontal it to put it with my other A/V gear.

https://www.middleatlantic.com/products/racks-enclosures/slide-out-racks/asr-hd-series-heavy-duty-slide-out-rotating-shelving-system/asr-60-hd.aspx

I use the Silverstone CW03 case with the front VFD Touch screen.... I run a  Nvidia 1080Ti  with no problems in this case..Plenty of room also for HD storage...

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/17619/silverstone-cw03-mt-black-htpc-case-with-touch-screen

Thanks Woof!  I'll check it out.     Sweet room you have and nice Evanescence poster. 

[Dylan Seeger]

Rack mount cases:

https://www.newegg.com/server-chassis/SubCategory/ID-412/

[Tom Bley]

Rack mount cases:

https://www.newegg.com/server-chassis/SubCategory/ID-412/

Yes, those are in the price range.  The Silverstone is sweet but, 900 bucks.   Yikes.   

[woofer]

The Silverstone is sweet but, 900 bucks.   Yikes.   

That's Aussie Dollars...id say you get it cheaper in the US...