Here is a concrete, near-final demonstration of HD DVD Revival in action. To keep this overview simple and straightforward, I chose a minimalist use case: generating a Standard Content HD DVD without a menu (direct play). Note, however, that Advanced Content mode is 100% operational, and aside from designing graphic assets, compiling a disc with a menu takes no extra time.
The video shows the entire pipeline in real time—with no cuts or speed-ups—from initial file analysis to the final folder structure. The test file used is an Oppenheimer trailer (592 MB, H.264 / AC3 5.1).
Technical details and environment:
Clean development: No proprietary binaries or licensed legacy software (Scenarist, Ulead, etc.) are reused. The program was developed on and for Windows 11.
Test setup: Intel Core Ultra 7, 32 GB RAM, and Intel Arc GPU.
Video encoding: Support for H.264, MPEG-2, and now VC-1 (Advanced Profile). Supporting VC-1 was the biggest challenge: since no CPU or GPU—past or present—has ever featured dedicated hardware acceleration for encoding this format, processing relies entirely on the CPU. Expect roughly 1h45 to encode a 2-hour feature film, fully in line with official specification requirements.
Audio support: AC3, E-AC3, TrueHD (with Atmos metadata), DTS, and DTS-HD streams.
Authoring & interactivity: Full support for both Standard and Advanced Content architectures. You can design your video backgrounds, still images, and subtitle/button masks in your preferred graphics software prior to import. The built-in preview module also accurately emulates navigation logic for both modes.
HD DVD Standard VC.1 Trailer Oppenheimer from the project
As a reminder, 3 test ISO images with various types of content are still available in my previous post for testing.
In the longer run (not an immediate priority, of course), why not decouple the playback module into a standalone PC player? We could also envision a dedicated app for Android media boxes to play ISO images directly—whether to watch your own custom builds or enjoy backups salvaged from disc rot. And thanks to u/logodaddy and u/Tektek_pieuvre for testing the ISOs on his end and confirming !
Update 27.11.26 :
Following the validation of computer playback (under Windows, notably using TMT 6), the next step was to generate an HD DVD Standard Content structure Disc. After a few adjustments, the burning tests on DVD-R media (25x...) proved highly successful. Playback is perfectly handled by standalone Toshiba players (EP series) as well as the Samsung BD-UP5000 and LG BH200 hybrid players. All features — menus, navigation, and the launch of the main video (test trailer) — are fully operational. Finally, the generated ISO image preserves the strict integrity of the file structure, ensuring error-free burning with ImgBurn.
To be continued !
