DVD Catalyst 4 (v4.0.3) Beta includes an updated “Boosterpack”, making it capable of converting (unprotected) Bluray and M2TS files.
For quite some time, we have been receiving questions on a daily basis about Bluray support in DVD Catalyst 4. Because of the continuous stream of updates to it’s DRM system, and problems in regards of non-playable movies when ever a new movie is released, we wanted to wait until the format itself settled a bit. As a small company, having to deal with a large amount of emails about problems caused by large companies is just not an option.
However, because a recently released processor created by AMD (P-series) was causing havoc with H264/AVC/MP4 encoding in a large amount of conversion programs (including but not limited to DVD Catalyst) we had to create a new “Boosterpack” conversion engine, and decided to incorporate basic Bluray support.
Important: This is a BETA version of DVD Catalyst 4.
While it has been tested, due to the large amount of changes, mostly tied to the new “Boosterpack”, there are likely some problems. The reason we make this version available to the public is because we wanted to provide our customers with a nice X-Mas gift, and what better than to give our customers Bluray support.
New in DVD Catalyst 4.0.3:
“Bluray support”. (highly experimental/work-in-progress/proof-of-concept). Please read below for detailed information, requirements and limitations.
“Boosterpack 2″. An updated conversion engine that eliminates conversion issues for certain AMD 64bit processors and adds better support for video and audio formats, including DVR-MS, M2TS, MKV, E-AC3, TrueHD.
“5.1 Audio”. Added to the Mono/Stereo audio selection, you can now choose 5.1 as well. Not supported on all devices, use with caution.
Additional “Speed” settings. Due to some internal changes in regards of H264/AVC in the new conversion engine, additional speed options have been added to the “Boosterpack” tab in Global Settings.
“Don’t use audio ID” option. Added in Global Settings > Advanced to be used when you run into no-sound issues when converting camera recordings.
“Don’t adjust framerate” option. Added in Global Settings > Advanced to be used when you run into playback speed issues when converting camera recordings.
“Power Management block”. This setting (enabled by default, Global Settings > General) prevents the computer from going into sleep/standby while DVD Catalyst 4 is running. This eliminates “30 minute” conversions when using DVD Catalyst 4 Retail. (The trial still has this limitation of course)
Fixed in DVD Catalyst 4.0.3:
“AMD64bit” H264 conversions. When converting DVDs or files to MP4 format on some recent AMD64bit laptops, the conversion would crash (details). The new boosterpack eliminates these issues.
“Nook Color” profile. The 4.0.2 version of DVD Catalyst 4 had the screen resolution for the Nook Color set to an unsupported screen size.
“Corrupted files in the trial version”. When the trial limit (25%) kicked in, it did not close the files properly, resulting in unplayable files.
“Aspect Ratio” dropdown. The aspect-ratio dropdown found in the preview (Power User Mode) was not working properly.
“Black border removal”. In some cases, the black-border did not remove all the borders, or caused the conversion to fail due to wrong calculations.
Bluray in DVD Catalyst 4:
* As mentioned, Bluray support is fairly basic, and to be able to use commercial Bluray discs, you will need to install a program such as AnyDVD HD (link) or DVDfab Passkey (link), which acts as a layer between the Bluray drive and programs such as DVD Catalyst. If you already have backup Blurays in the form of an (ISO) image or a folder on your computer, these programs are not needed. While DVD Catalyst 4 can access DVD ISO’s directly, Bluray images need to be mounted with a virtual disc program such as DaemonTools (link)
While we do what we can to make DVD Catalyst 4 without the need of extra software (especially if the software is not free), with Bluray there currently is no other option.
* When you have your Bluray content setup correctly, and the 4.0.3 Public Beta installed, start DVD Catalyst 4 and enable the Power User checkmark at the bottom right.
*After that, Go into “Global Settings” (top left) and then go into the “Boosterpack” tab and enable the “Enable Bluray” checkbox.
Click on “Add videos” on the left to hide “Global Settings”, and then you can click on the “Scan DVD(s) button to have DVD Catalyst look for your Bluray drive, or drag your Bluray folder onto the program, and start a conversion.
Bluray Complications.
*Not all Bluray’s work. While DVD Catalyst 4 can handle all the formats supported by Bluray, including H264/AVC, AVCHD, VC-1, E-AC3 and TrueHD, not all bluray sources provide the correct information needed for the conversions. During testing, about 80% of the movies we tried worked, however, 20% did not convert properly (missing audio or missing video) or didn’t convert at all. We are aware of these issues and are working on it.
In addition, language is not always detected properly, requiring you to use the preview and trial-and-error to select the audio language in some cases. Also Subtitles do not work.
Boosterpack 2 for DVD Catalyst 4:
The “Boosterpack” is a new build the mplayer/mencoder project. The original conversion engine used in DVD Catalyst 3 and DVD Catalyst 4 dates back to 2007. Last year, we released the first “Boosterpack” which upgraded this to versions from 2009, resulting in faster conversions while still maintaining the same (and even better) quality. The new “Boosterpack” features many improvements over the previous conversion engine, however, due to some internal changes, there are some disadvantages.
The H264 part of the conversion engine changed its defaults, resulting in conversion issues when using an older version of DVD Catalyst 4. If you try the beta version and decide to downgrade to 4.0.2, you will have to remove the boosterpack files as well. This is explained in the included readme.
To download the beta version with Boosterpack 2, just click on the cat-eyes in DVD Catalyst 4 to have it check for updates.
The download contains both the 4.0.2 stable version and the new 4.0.3 Beta version with integrated boosterpack.
Merry Christmas, and to all a good night 
