Hello,

I have a client who wants to show HD content on an LCD at the front of his shop. The client is keen to keep costs down, so I thought the cheapest way forward would be to create HD content on a 4.7GB Type 5 DVD and for them to purchase a cheap Bluray player to screen it in his shop.

I have created the HD content and burnt it on to a 4.7GB Type 5 DVD. This plays back fine on my Mac, but when testing it on a PS3 the DVD shows up as a data disc and will not play.

I found this article (Creating Hi-Def DVDs Using 4.7GB Type 5 DVDs (http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/hd_dvds_on_sd_dvds_young.html)), that seems to say that HD content on a DVD can only be played back on a mac. Is this true?

If this is not a viable route to pursue, does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap PC capable of playing 1920 x 1080p well with an HDMI output? So far the Dell Inspiron Zino HD (Inspiron Zino HD Desktop | Dell UK (http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/home/Desktops/inspiron-zino-hd/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-zino-hd&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&ref=dthp)) seems to be the cheapest option. Any other recommendations would be really great.

I hope there is somebody out there who has been in the same situation and found a solution.

Cheers,


George

Have you given any thought to using a media player such as these from Western Digital?

Welcome to Western Digital US Online Store (http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/DisplayCategoryProductListPage/ThemeID.1300400/parentCategoryID.13092400/categoryID.13742300)

They cost less than a cheap PC and with the addition of the customers media files on a USB hard drive, you should be good to go.

George:
Instead of a DVD or BD, how about having the content play via HDMI from a HDD based media player as Bill suggests, or a USB flash drive Media Player? Or even with a HDTV that accepts USB thumb drives? I want a simple reliable player for clients' to use in their business or office or at a trade show. Haven't quite found the perfect device yet. I'm trying to avoid going with a Blu-ray solution.

Here's an example of one. Unfortunately it isn't HD.
http://sonystyle.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=20153&catalogId=100803&langId=200&productId=8198552921666046657


Keith

Researched this a little more. I read that Samsung Series 5 LCDs have 2 USB ports, and will play movie files from a USB flash drive or even an external USB device. They call it the "ConnectShare Movie™" feature. So I copied a few 720p video files to my USB flash drive and visited the local big box electronics store. Sales guy plugged in my thumb drive, brought up a menu, and it recognized the files. Played cleanly, looked great. The user manual says that full 1920x1080 will play as well. Not sure if it will auto-repeat.

I wonder what other new HDTVs have this feature?

If you want to pursue the dvd route you can burn and actual blu-ray file on a DVR using toast pro. This is the little known codec called BD5 and BD9. The file will play on almost any blu-ray player but will not play on your mac. I use it all the time to burn short films in 1080P and my DVD copy tower can even copy the disks as Blu-rays so I can distribute them. Much better than paying 4 or 5 dollars for actual Blu-ray disks and I don't need a blu-ray burner.

Thank you guys for your replies, I felt like I was hitting my head against a brick wall, but you've given me light at the end of the tunnel!!

I think the Western digital route seems the best for me, I just need to get my hands on one to see it it has an auto repeat function. In the meantime I'll use the toast pro option to get something up on the screen as quick as possible. I'll let you know of my findings with the Western Digital Media player.

Many thanks again to you all, it really is much appreciated.