View source for Blu-ray

Media Center supports playback and ripping of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc Blu-ray].

== Requirements ==
MC supports ''unencrypted'' Blu-Ray playback.  To playback encrypted Blu-ray discs, which includes most commercially released discs, a 3rd-party Blu-Ray decrypter is required. [https://www.redfox.bz/en/anydvdhd.html AnyDVD HD] is a popular choice.

== Playback ==
Insert a disc and the program will offer to play it.  If you have a ripped copy of the Blu-Ray disc, you can [[Import]] it and Media Center will play them. 

Media Center supports title selection, chapters, audio stream selection, subtitle selection, and a variety of other playback options.

== Ripping ==

You can rip Blu-Ray using <span style="color:#006400">[[Action Window]] > Rip Disc</span> inside the program.

{{See also|Ripping|Blu-ray Ripping}}

== Metadata and Managing Multi-Part Discs ==

Media Center will automatically look up cover art, descriptions, directors, actors, genres and other metadata for your imported discs and rips using the [[Automatic Metadata Lookup]] system. If it doesn't find the movie automatically, just fix the Name [[field]] in MC and <span style="color:#8B4513">right-click > Get Movie & TV Info</span>.

If your disc consists of multiple titles, such as alternative endings, [[TV episodes]], or music videos, you can manage this within Media Center using [[Particles]].

== HD Audio ==

Media Center is capable decoding the full range of audio codecs used on commercial Blu-ray Discs itself, while preserving their full [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_rate bitrate] and [[audio bit depth]].  This includes HD audio codecs such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_TrueHD Dolby TrueHD] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTS-HD_Master_Audio DTS-HD Master Audio], which MC can read and decompress losslessly.

We recommend that you use Media Center to decode HD audio because this gives you access to the full power of MC's audio engine, including [[VideoClock]], [[DSPs]], and MC's powerful [[Volume]] system.

:''Please Note'': Versions of MC prior to 20.0.100 did not include the LAV DTS decoder capable of decoding DTS-HD Master Audio. For older versions of MC, please see the [[Arcsoft DTS Decoder]] article.

You can check that TrueHD or DTS-HD is  being decoded properly using [[Audio Path]].

=== Bitstreaming ===

If you prefer Media Center also supports [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitstream bitstreaming]. You can enable bitstreaming via HDMI connection in:
* <span style="color:#8B4513">Tools > Options > Audio > Settings > Bitstreaming</span>.
* ''Note'': SPDIF connections cannot carry HD Audio formats.
Bitstreaming bypasses the entire Media Center audio engine, including things like the [[Volume]] controls, and the decoder on the far end of the HDMI cable is responsible for decoding the audio.

==Menus==
MC uses its own [[OSD]] to provide access the to the content on Blu-Ray discs such as:
* titles
* chapters
* audio, video, and subtitle stream selection

However, MC does not support the Java or BDMV menus included with many commercial discs, as there is no currently available open decoder required for this support.  To watch your movies in the highest quality, you don't need them, though!  To access the menu press the Up/Down arrow keys or right click on the playing video.

==Forced Subtitles==
MC will automatically display any subtitle track that is marked as "forced" when the disk was authored.  Forced subtitles are often used for bits of non-native language which audience isn't be expected to understand, in a movie that is otherwise in their native tongue (elven or alien speech, a little Spanish in an English language movie, etc). Unfortunately, many disks are authored with these subtitles in a separate track and in these cases the user will need to select the correct track (normally towards the bottom of the subtitle list).  MC ''will'' remember this selection for the next time the BD is played.

==3D BD==
Most commercial 3D BD disks use a version of AVC encoding called "multiview video coding (MVC)".  MC does not support MVC and all such 3D BD disks will play as 2D.  For more information on how to use a 3rd party player for these disks refer to [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=98984.0 this thread on Interact].


NOTE: As of Media Center 21 Build 21.0.65 3D Blu-ray playback is supported, if your system meets all requirements. See this thread for details of requirements: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,103931.0.html

If your system does not meet all requirements, the method described in the first thread linked above can still be used to launch an external player to view 3D content.

==More==
* Refer to [[Audio Setup]] for information on configuring your sound output.
* Please see [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=64446.0 Matt's description of Blu-ray support in MC16].  MC 16 and later can play Blu-ray discs or rips.
* [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=96474.0 LAV Support for DTS-HD MA]
* Blu-ray support of encrypted discs requires AnyDVD HD or equivalent to read the disc.
* For older versions, please read these threads on Interact:
** [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=55301.msg377001#msg377001 Blu-ray Dolby, DTS, TrueHD]
** [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=59254.msg400439#msg400439 Blu-ray -- just works?]
** [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=61572.msg414027#msg414027 Importing Blu-ray (BDMV) Folders]

* [http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?action=profile;u=18104 Mojave] on audio mixing for Blu-ray: "JRiver does anything AC3Filter does, but better. JRiver does everything in its 64-bit audio path and makes sure that the highest quality is maintained. I removed AC3Filter a long time ago."

* You can also [http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Convert_Format Extract Audio from Video Files].

[[Category:Frequently Asked Questions]]
[[Category:Optical Discs]]
[[Category:Video]]