HP MediaSmart DVD, Windows 7 & Blu-Ray

[johngillett]

Thanks for the response, but unfortunately my machine did not come with that option in the recovery manager, and I stupidly omitted to do an initial backup, so there is no original record of the DVD program.

[burgesjm]

I guess not all the software is the same. I would try these as a last ditch effort:

1) Look again for that advanced button (or some equivalent). Our versions of the recovery tool can't be that different.

2) Look for some way to recover the program manually. You're locked out from removing the recovery tool and the files it needs from Add/Remove programs so everything you need should be there somewhere. The recovery tool is just getting the MSI for MediaCenter DVD and running it for you anyway. If you can find it you can install it manually yourself. Maybe you can rip it out of that recovery partition.

3) Call HP's tech support and ask them to send you a software CD or provide a download link.

4) Get it off a buddy's computer (assuming they bought a new HP too).

5) Torrent a copy Cyberlink PowerDVD with a keygen (is it still illegal if you've technically paid for the product?)

[Big_Dave]

johngillet,

You need to order the HP Recovery Disks for your system.

[huygee408]

Hey guys, just wanted to share my fix for the HDX16 computers.  I have had issues for so long.  I was talking to HP help and they really didn't help so much this morning.  Everything work worse after I talked to them.  To get my bluray player to work I downloaded drivers again on my laptop.  Mine was a custom one built.  But any, I downloaded all the drivers that pertain to my model.  The link is as follows:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=4063&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3772041

Here are the exact drivers I had to download:  sp45140, sp45691, sp46571, sp46573, sp46629.   I think they all work together somehow.   I reinstalled these a few times.  Finally this time a miracle happened,  my Bluray and MediaSmart is working properly.  

I think the key when you install these drivers  is that you make sure you do everything one by one and make sure the process is completely finished before you X out of each driver install.  They can take several minutes before they are completely done.  The black box with the codes run must completely disappear to know  that it is complete.  I think for myself I have been closing out of the black box thinking that each driver was finished when it stopped,  before the entire process was done and it didn't completely finish.  Give it a try and I think it will work for you.  I am watching GI Joe for the first time now as I write this. (Hopefully is good) 

[venedan]

Hi Guys,

So has there been any update to this issue after all these months? I recently bought an HP Pavillion Slimline 5500t and when I first got the system about a month ago the Blu Ray player worked although not very well. It skipped and stuttered and had some pixelization issues with a few Bluray Discs. Seems to play non-Bluray fine. Then I got Avatar this past Friday and put the disc in the computer - played fine for about 40 mins - maybe an occasional stutter but nothing I couldn't tolerate. I made no system changes at all and last night (sunday night, two days later) when I insert the same exact bluray disc (Avatar) I get a red screen that says "Your Bluray Software needs to be updated, please contact your manufacturer." 

I call tech support and after 3hrs of doing updates and other stuff I am in the exact same situation as I was before. Only now they tell me they want to do a system recovery back to the day I got the PC which will wipe out all my data and configuration settings. I told them no way. Everything is working perfectly EXCEPT the HP Media Smart DVD software. So why would I blow out my entire system and all the programs I've downloaded.

So I'm now stuck. I like others have said do not want to pay $89.95 for Cyberlink's PowerDVD after I already paid $1200 for this computer with all the upgraded goodies to be able to play BluRay. Very disappointed in HP for not fixing this issue properly. Any advice? Thanks, Dan

[crlowryjr]

hahahahahahaha ... a fix from HP ... good one.

Just yesterday I checked the website and they don't even have patches for the blu-ray player listed any more. Almost a year later and HP is still pretending this problem doesn't exist.

In the last couple of years, I've been burned by the HP DVT laptop issue (5 people I know all had systems die at pretty much the 1 year mark) ... I have the B9180 printer which lots of people have had problems with (I haven't ... knock wood) ... and I have the 2475W monitor ... which color shifted after a few month, and again ... HP pretends they've never hear of this despire tons of confirmation on the internet. All of these are their higher end products ... and they SUCK.

I will not purchase another HP product, and I actively dissuade any of my family / friends from doing so as well. If HPs support is goign to be this crapstastic I might as well save money and buy whatever competitor is on sale.

[venedan]

Ha..I guess I should have figured as much.

But for real. I was trying to explain this issue to my girlfriend last night and she was like, "but my crappy old DVD player has never had an issue playing any DVD I put in it, so why would your $1200 computer have a problem?"

And there we are. I totally agree with her. It is complete BS. Not to mention I took the other poster's advice and downloaded Slysoft and whala...perfect picture quality, no encryption or "need to update your software" errors at all.

So this is 100% a licensing / copyright update issue and HP / Cyberlink are just behind the curve. What I can't understand is how can Netflix and others be sending out discs that don't work in people's stand alone Bluray players?? And if they do in fact work in the stand alone players then why in the hell would they NOT work in a high speed / media center spec built always online always connected computer which could download new codecs/updates every single day if it required to do so??

I don't get it. I'm gonna complain to HP today because this is 100% a licensing issue. And to think they almost had me roll back my whole **bleep** computer and delete all my files and settings. All I had to do was a 10sec download and everything works perfectly. But I don't want to pay for Slysoft...its F-ing expensive. I'm pissed.

[theekanne]

Hi

I am another unhappy customer

After upgrading my pavilion DV7 notebook to windows 7  blu-ray was gone spent ages on forums etc, bought cyberlink powerdvd 9 in Jan. 2010 but even that stopped doing blu-rays than- even after installing updates-  recentely.Downloaded new version 10 trial -works perfectely .I  had hoped that there was a HP solution by now but 8 month later .......I am not buying  the new PowerDVD version and I will never buy another HP either

[crlowryjr]

HP has drifted to levels of pathetic-ness that I just would never have expected.

I have to wonder what Mr. Hewlit and Mr. Packard would think of the company now.

I've gotten to the point where I will not purchase a single thing with an HP logo on it, and I will discourage anybody I know of who comtemplates purchasing HP.  And ... it spans all their products ...

I have their 2475w monitor ($600 for a 24") ... green to magenta shift and reported on tons of forums.

I have their B9180 photo printer ($700) ... I've been lucky and mine still works perfect, but there was talk of a class action lawsuit regarding the numerous problems most people seemed to have.

I purchaset a DVT series laptop for myself, 1 for my sister, 1 for my wife at the time and I know 2 friends who also purchased the DVT series ($1400+ ea ). EVERY Single one of us had the system completely die in a 12 ~ 15 month window from date of purchase. FRIED ... non recoverable.

I purchased the 5160 slimline brand new ... $1200, fully loaded, it worked PERFECT. I then used the HP provided Windows 7 update disc and the bundled HP Blu Ray player has never worked since (almost 1 year later and sitll nothing. I've spent hours on the phone with HP and nuhtin ...

HP = Hugely Pathetic.

[mjrpayne1991]

Still no update available that i've been able to find on the HP Mediasmart software itself or on the HP website. To top it all, around the one year mark (in July-ish) my battery stopped being able to hold a charge. To think that a year ago I thought HP made quality products, but this is clearly not the the case

I am no longer recommending HP products to anyone, and from now on I will buy laptops from their competitors. No way in **** can customer support be any worse.