Please Help: Blu-Ray ISO mounted on Virtual Drive won't play in PowerDVD 9 (or any other player for that matter)

1. I ripped the movie with AnyDVD HD 6.5.4.9 (Trial).
2. Converted the ripped files to an ISO image with ImgBurn 2.4.4.0.
3. Mounted the ISO on a Virtual Drive using Alcohol 120% 1.9.6 (Build 5429)
4. PowerDVD 9.0.1501.0 Ultra displays message "There is a disk with an unsupported format in drive H:"

Here are some potentially helpful notes:

- AnyDVD HD 6.5.4.9 has been running in the background throughout this whole process.
- I have used both Alcohol 120% 1.9.6 and Daemon Tools Pro 4.10.0218 Advanced Edition to mount the ISO image. In both cases i still got the 'unsupported format in drive' message.
- When burning the ISO with ImgBurn 2.4.4.0, I used the UDF 2.50 File System and I made sure the directory structure was correct.
- PowerDVD 9.0.1501.0 Ultra plays the actual disk perfectly, with or without AnyDVD HD running in the background, but shows the 'unsupported format in drive' message when trying yo play the mounted ISO.
- PowerDVD 7.3.3319a Ultra displays no error message, but the screen stays black when trying to play the mounted ISO.
- Nero ShowTime 4.0.2.0 displays the following error message: "Sorry, the folder you have selected does not contain a valid DVD-Video, SVCD, or VCD structure. Please use the 'Media Files' function to browse and play back files from this folder." This error message is displayed not only when trying to play the mounted ISO, but also when trying to play the actual disk.
- WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-Ray 9.0 B14.084 will not run on my system, probably due to x64 bit incompatibility.
- The disk I'm trying to make a backup of is Donnie Darko Director's Cut
- I have also tried:
(A) ripping the movie directly to ISO with AnyDVD HD 6.5.4.9
(B) ripping the movie to ISO with ImgBurn 2.4.4.0 and AnyDVD HD 6.5.4.9 running in the background
(C) ripping the movie with AnyDVD with all the 'Prohibited User Operations', 'Disable BD-Live' and 'Remove Blu-ray Region Code' options Enabled, and
(D) same scenario as (C) but with all three options Disabled.
In all of these instances i got the same 'unsupported format in drive' message.

System Configuration:

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 - Motherboard
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600
ASUS EN9500GT TOP/DI/512M GeForce 9500 GT
WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 HDD
LG 6XBD-R 2XBD-RE 16XDVD+R 6XBD-ROM GGW-H20L BD-R
Windows XP Professional 64-bit

I have spent 3 days now working on this error and I don't know what else to try. I believe the problem is the ISO itself, but I have tried creating it with two different programs and the result was the same. PowerDVD 9 Plays the original disk fine so I don't think it is at fault. All I'm trying to acomplish is to have working backups of Blu-ray disks on my hard drives, as close to the original as possible. If anyone has succesfully done this, please tell me what am I doing wrong. And if you got this far, thanks for your patience.

After you mount the image, open the files on the drive by
right clicking on the mounted image and select "explore" or
"open". Have a look around at the folders in there. When you find
the folder called "Streams" open up that folder and double click on the movie
file (the big one). If you have BSPlayerPro or Nero Showtime (version 9)
the movie will play no problem. Nero works amazing.

I should have mentioned that I had the same issue with PowerDVD
when I first attempted to copy a BlueRay. There is nothing wrong with your setup. Keep in mind the software companies have restrictions
on what they are allowed to do. That is how I navigated around the problem. As far as playing the disc with all the menus and such. I didn't bother figuring out if there is a way to do that from an iso file. Operating
system used is Vista Ultimate 64.

I have PowerDVD 7.3 Ultra and have no problems playing Blu Ray ISO's on Slysoft's Virtual CloneDrive. The only restrictions I've run into is that this version of PowerDVD won't take screen shots or play blu ray files on the hard drive.
I've been using this on XP, but I can test on Vista 64 if necessary.

Another option is Arcsoft Total Media Theater. I believe it still has the ability to play blu ray movies as files as well as from mounted ISO's.

Thank you both for the fast reply.

BONJOPI:
Playing just the movie file works, but has some drawbacks:
- Nero ShowTime is playing the file correctly and it allows me to select the right Audio Track, which is important - since PowerDVD will open the file, but won't let me choose an audio track, so 99% of the time I'll end up watching the movie dubbed in french or german.
- No player has yet allowed me to add subtitles while playing just the movie file. This means I cannot watch foreign titles. So if I would be able to add/remove subtitles and select an audio track, I would be happy with the compromise.

However, PowerDVD 7.3.3319a Ultra (the last PowerDVD allowed to play HD files from the HDD) will play some older Blu-rays from the HDD properly, with menus/extras/subtitles, as long as the movie is ripped to a file structure, not to ISO. The only problem with this is that it doesn't work with all Blu-rays - I guess the newer the title, the more problems will arise.

In this situation, when I tried playing Donnie Darko, I got no error message but a black screen instead of the Blu-ray trailer that started off the disk. Then it properly displayed the menus, but as soon as I started playing the main file it went right back to the black screen (and no sound). The fact that some titles work and others don't just makes thing more confusing, which is why I was hoping I'd be able to just mount an ISO image of anu Blu-ray drive and be able to play it back via virtual drive using the latest version of PowerDVD.

Kerry56:
I will try using Virtual Clone Drive, but I still think the problem is the way I'm ripping the ISO image. To you use ImgBurn + AnyDVD HD to burn your images, or some other software?

Thanks again.

I only have AnyDVD but not AnyDVD HD.Mine has an option to
"Rip to image " does the HD version have this option?
If it does why not try it to create the .iso instead of ImgBurn?

There are always a lot of variables when people compare computer systems
and their capabilities. The computer I was using has an ATI 4850, 8 gigs of
ram, core2 E8400 clocked at 3.6Ghz. The main difference is the operating
system in this case. I am using Vista Ultimate 64, and I have also used
XP with HD video cards. Vista is alot friendlier with High Definition content.
Also I am using the newest versions of the software I mentioned. I built a
computer for a friend which is basically a duplicate of my personal computer
with a few parts downgraded.
So this computer has an LG Blueray-Rom and is hooked up to a 46" Samsung LCD. My observations with Blue ray are based on about
5 hours of experience. If you create an image file with Imgburn and AnyDVDHD on, mount that image file and play the movie file from the "Streams" folder with Nero Showtime version 9 the movie should play
perfectly. Better than if you played the movie with PowerDVD from the disc
in the drive. When I play the movies with PowerDVD the software locks
my ability to make any changes in the "video settings". PowerDVD defaults
to using hardware acceleration. Nero Showtime is the only player I found that will produce quality playback of the movie from an iso file.
I found that with some of the blueray movies, presumably the early
versions, you don't have to do anything to copy the movie onto your computers hard drive * just copy and paste the movie file from the "Streams" folder * right off the disc.
Total Media 3 will not play the movies from an iso file.
So to sum up this action. Nero Showtime is the only software I could
find that would play BlueRay movies from a computer properly.
The image quality with PowerDVD was bad. Although playing dvd's
from the computer onto the HD LCD, powerdvd is the software to use.
And again, you have to turn off "hardware acceleration" in the video
setting on powerdvd to get good results. So this applies to ATI video cards.
Can't say how nVidia handles this kind of action.
When I first looked at the situation with computers and BlueRay playback I was seriously confused. I thought you build a state of the art
computer put a blueray drive in there and get the necessary software and
your good to go. Not the case.
Try to imagine how much money is going to be involved in this BlueRay
format. Any how, I wish you good luck. I don't think I will ever get into
burning blue rays. I can't image how many twists and turns there will be
before the road straightens out.
I am content to be able to copy the movies onto a hard-drive. For the
price of a 1terebyte hard drive, the hassle is not justified.

I'd first update those obsolete versions.

alexrmr
I was using the same version of PowerDVD that you are now, but I was forced to update in order to play one of my newer Blu Ray movies...I think it was Mirrors. Of course I lost the ability to playback from file format when I did this.

Unlike Bonjopi, I have no problems with playback using this updated version of PowerDVD 7.3. I am also using a Radeon HD 4850 video card. The rest of my system specs are not as advanced...only 6gbs of ram (useful only in the Vista 64 partition) and a Core2duo running at 2.7ghz.

I make my ISO files straight from AnyDVD HD. I click on the Rip to Image option.

Slysoft Virtual CloneDrive did the trick!
The latest version of PowerDVD (as well as any other player) can now play Blu-ray ISO's properly, as long as they are mounted with Virtual CloneDrive.

Thank you all for all the time you put into this thread.

I'd like to sum up the way I am now ripping Blu-rays - in case other people with the same problem visit this forum - and also to answer some questions that came up.

So, here is what eventually worked for me:

1. Rip the movie with AnyDVD HD 6.5.4.9 straight to ISO.
2. Mount the ISO on a Virtual Drive using Virtual CloneDrive 5.4.2.5
3. Play the disk using PowerDVD 9 Ultra (or any player you preffer )


cholla:
Yes, AnyDVD HD does have the 'Rip to image' option, and this is the most convenient way to create an image. I started using ImgBurn only because I thought (wrongly) that the ISO was at fault for the 'unsupported format' error message, so I was trying all kinds of different software to create the ISO. I realize now that it doesn't really matter what image creating software one uses, as long as AnyDVD HD is running in the background in order to remove the AAC Copy Protection.

As far as mounting the ISO on a virtual drive, Virtual CloneDrive worked best for me (thanks Kerry56 and Terramex!). Alcohol 120% 1.9.6 has worked great for me with any ISO's except for Blu-rays, a newer version of the software may fix the problem but I'm not sure. Daemon Tools Pro 4.10.0218 Advanced Edition is also unable to properly emulate a Blu-Ray drive, even though it works fine with other ISO's. I don't know if newer versions fix this, but I do know that Daemon Tools is the only application (so far) that managed to freeze my system with the Blue Screen of Death.

BONJOPI:
It's really funny how players behave on different systems. PowerDVD looks and works the best on mine, since it correctly allows me to enable/disable a lot of settings and nVidia features (including enabling or disabling hardware acceleration, which was locked on the ATI you were using). On the other hand, Nero ShowTime is the one that locks me into using hardware acceleration, and as a result the image is kind of washed out and I have very little control over it (some contrast/brightness/gamma, but that's it). Whatever works best for any System/OS I guess. I'm just happy to be able to play Blu-ray ISO's, at least until a new title with a new kind of protection comes up.

Again, thank you all for your time and patience.

Thanks for the guide, very helpful.

alexrmr,

I had the exact same problem. I'm glad I ran across this post.

Thanks a ton!