Can it play Blu-Ray?

April 5, 2008

Why not? A fast processor like Intel Core2 Duo E6750 should be enough or at least a solid basis.

Well let's first take a look at the DVD capabilities.

DVD playback

With the onboard Graphics GMA3100 it should be OK.

It is OK but not great with Microsoft Media player and Media Center...

I had to search for a DVD-player that supported the GMA3100, specifically Intel Clear Video. WinDVD and PowerDVD should be able to do the trick. And yes, the DVD playback is much better then with Microsoft Media Player or Media Center!

WinDVD 8 is the best DVD-player. It's a great experience on a 1920x1080 LCD display! The upscaling is fine, SPDIF for digital output to a digital receiver works fine and the multi-channel analog audio playback is also great.

Update: WinDVD 9 Plus is the best standard DVD-player at this moment (january 2009) thanks to 'All2HD' function. All2HD is an incredible fine upscaliing enhancement!

And now about Blu-Ray

Of course I did some research on the Internet. With contradictory results.

• Requirements according to Shuttle
• A forum discussion about problems with playing HD-content on Shuttle SG33G5M
• A review mentioning that it is possible to play Blu-Ray/HD-DVD

First of all you need a Blu-Ray player. My choice: Pioneer BDR-202.

Note: The Pioneer BDR-202 bd-drive is NOT the best choice... There is no software (like Nero Drivespeed or AnyDVD) for adjusting the drive-speed during playback. It seems when playing 'typical' BD's (those using VC-1 video compression) the Pioneer is SILENT. But other BD's with different video compression techniques (mpeg-2 and mpeg-4) cause the Pioneer to make noise which in some situations can be annoying. Noisy examples: Planet Earth, Australia, Antartica, Alaska, Ice Age 2.

Second: you need software like PowerDVD which comes with the Pioneer BDR-202.

OK, that's it basically. Yes?

No. Sorry. This computer is not designed for full-HD (1920x1080p) display.

Allthough the product information looks promising this Shuttle is NOT capable of playing 1920x1080p full HD content!

The graphics support for GMA3100 seems to be the common problem... Even a clean install of Windows Vista premium with all the correct drivers did not work.

The only solution: install a graphic card for playing Blu-Ray dvd's !!!

Read more about my experiments with graphics cards suitable for Shuttle SG33G5M:

• Asus 8500GT SILENT/HTP/256M (nVidia 8500GT)
• Gigabyte GV-R455D3-512I (ATI Radeon HD4550)

What about AUDIO?

For Audio you can either use SPDIF or analog output on this Shuttle (the graphic card has no audio-output, no HDMI, only DVI). Analog output is good, SPDIF output is better (cleaner, noise-free audiosignal).
I read on forums that 'analog' or HDMI output should be superior to SPDIF. In theory blu-ray contains high quality audio streams that, after decoding, should produce a superior analog signal compared to SPDIF output with its limited bandwidth.
First: this Shuttle's audio-chip (Realtek ALC888DD) only supports 7.1 Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect. No Dolby HD, no DTS-HD Master decoding.
The software - Nero 8 Showtime - does support Dolby-HD and DTS-HD. So it seems in theory I could get a superior analog output? In theory... My ears tell a different story.
I think my not so new Onkyo TX-SR503 receiver does a very good job with decoding Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS received over SPDIF. Of course: my receiver has superior DAC's...
The SPDIF-output (compared to analog-output) on my receiver sounds better, voices are cleaner and better integrated, etc.

Conclusion:
1. The Shuttle is not able to produce True HD or DTS-HD audio.
2. For Dolby Digital and DTS there are 2 options: using analog output or SPDIF. If you have a dolby digital receiver then probably the SPDIF will produce superior sound quality compared to the analog output of the Shuttle. Most audio chips in computers have inferior digital to audio conversion (DAC).
I prefer SPDIF, and this really makes playing standard DVD, blu-ray and WMV-HD much easier. Whether I use Nero Showtime, PowerDVD, WinDVD9 (as of january 2009), Windows Mediaplayer or Windows Media Center: if Dolby Digital or DTS are present my receiver will automatically switch and decode the soundstream in perfect quality.

Software setup

Both Nero Showtime and PowerDVD 7.3 are easy to set up. I set the software to use the 'SPDIF'.

Windows audio setup

The Windows audio-configuration (set to SPDIF) has lots of options. The SPDIF output is connected to a Onkyo TX-SR503 digital receiver which decodes Dolby Digital or DTS automatically. My receiver supports the next Windows Audio settings: DTS Audio, Dolby digital, 44.1 / 48 / 88.2 / 96 KHz..