Bought a combo player dvdrom ( bluray / HDDVD ) from LG (LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray Disc and HD DVD-ROM Drive) .. I already have  two Blue ray players and an HDDVD from Toshiba player in my media room but wanted something to playback my 30 odd titles in my PC with Windows XP Pro ..

PowerDVD does not support this any more ..  the HDDVD discs ID  can be read  but playback of the discs are not possible ..  If the FBI/ options menu is generic (not HD)  it will come up on my screen  but with no play or start button ..

apparently Powerdvd 7 will work  but only have version 10  that dos play back Blueray ..  anyone know of a good ( free if possible) software program to use..?  I installed total media theatre6 today but it doesn't playback HDDDVD either ...

It appears that Dell is still selling TotalMedia Theatre 3 (expensive at $80).

Quoting Katatonia:

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Other than that, you almost have to get an older version of PowerDVD or TotalMedia Theatre to play HD-DVD discs.

This is what I do. I have the same LG combo player. If you can find the original OEM PowerDVD that came with it, it should work. I think it is 7.3, and you may need to patch it. Just don't go to Version 8 or higher. Quite a while back, the OEM version was available on a web site - not sure if it was Cyberlink or LG. The install process looks for the LG drive.

I also got a cheap XBOX HD drive back when they were discontinued. Easiest and best way to play HDDVD is on an Xbox.

But I finally got fed up with hardware and decided to rip the HDDVDs to ISO format (AnyDVD HD - doesn't actually play them, but will rip them), which works but I find I get audio lip synch issues sometimes.

Overall best method is to take advantage of Blu-Ray exchange programs when you can find them. I have done that for a dozen or so , for about $5 each.

Quoting Lewis_Prothero:

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AnyDVD-HD should do the trick.

At least they advertise the playback of HD-DVD.

Freeware for original HD content (BluRay, HD-DVD) will not be possible due to license fees having to be paid to the licensor of the copy protection mechanisms.

AnyDVD-HD is not a software program that will actually play (any format) discs by itself. It's just a program that removes the copy protection and region lock annoyances...and other obstacles. I have a lifetime subscription and use it all the time.

Quoting Lewis_Prothero:

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Yupp,
but if I understood their product-description correctly, when using AnyDVD-HD you will be able to watch the HD-DVD content with PowerDVD Ultra (any version), which already seems to be installed on the system of the OP.

Nope. I have multiple copies of PowerDVD for that very purpose. HDDVD and Blu-Ray have different folder structures, different menu scripting technology and other differences that still need to be supported over and above encryption. PowerDVD explicitly dropped support for playing HDDVDs. But if you know the folder structure, you can open any Blu-Ray or HDDVD as a data disc and play the MP4 streams manually.

These days, it is hard to sort out all the nuances from product descriptions.

Quoting Lewis_Prothero:

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So I guess this sentence:
"Playback of discs on the PC with PowerDVD Ultra which otherwise do not run."
in the section HD-DVD of their product-description is incorrect then?

It is misleading at best. AnyDVD HD does not actially playback discs. Perhaps it "enables" playback, using PowerDVD Ultra. That would be a more accurate perspective. At any rate, no version of PowerDVD beyond Ultra version 7.3 works for me regardless of whether AnyDVD HD is installed (it usually is).

And that's about all I have to say, based on my personal experience.

Quoting Lewis_Prothero:

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Quoting mediadogg:

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And that's about all I have to say, based on my personal experience.

Personal Experience beats Advertisement any time of the day.

Thanks for the explanation.

It's Ok. Didn't mean to sound condescending, as I am always open to an updated perspective based on other people's experience. Stuff changes so fast - it could easily be that something changed since I installed my products - that's why I qualify my views as based on my setup - which does not cover all the possibilities by any means.