Replacement for Bluray player, 5.1 sound in a videofile?

[Realdvxuser]

Hi guys,

The Bluray player in our screening room gave up so I am looking for a way to replace it, looking for an alternative other than Bluray. Here is the situation:
We have a setup with a receiver in 5.1 surround sound and tv. The media was obviously played from our Bluray player. Now since our new Imacs don't even have a disc burner inside, I was wondering what alternatives are available now to play files. Preferably I'd like to play a video file that can send a 5.1 signal to the receiver as well as images to the tv. I would be great if we get that straight out of FCPX.

Now my main question is: what .mov, .mpg or ...? possibilities are there to do this? I have not found a good way yet, so I hope someone can share some insights here.
I could always buy a new Bluray player, but I cannot imagine this is the only viable option. Or is it?

Thanks in advance for advice.

 

[Realdvxuser]

No one?

 

[Andrius Simutis]

Blackmagic makes some interfaces that will output video straight out of FCP: http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products

 

[Realdvxuser]

Thanks Andrius. Since it is for screening only I think we'll stay wit Bluray for now then.

 

[Nate Haustein]

The Ultrastudio Mini Monitor is about $140, and I believe it outputs up to 8 channels of audio over HDMI. Connects to FCPX with Thunderbolt and plays right off the timeline. Works great for me.

 

[Realdvxuser]

Thanks Nate. It's a great device indeed, however we don't have an IMac or other computer in that room, so it would mean we'd have to invest in that too just for the occasional playback. With 'straight out of fcpx' I meant a video file that contains it all. Sorry for the confusion in my phrasing of the question.

 

[Realdvxuser]

Ok, after quite a bit of experimenting, we found a solution that works. Maybe it will be of use to someone else.

The setup we use now is as follows: macbook pro connected to tv with a Thunderbolt to HDMI cable. Then we have our surround set connected to the tv with an optical audio cable.
(We first had the HDMI into the surround set directly from the macbook, and then HDMI from surround set to the tv, however this resulted in 'out of range' on the tv. So we only had sound no picture on tv).

What we do now is export the movie directly from FCPX as a Bluray, which creates a file container. This container is a .IMG file which can be opened in Finder. Two folders become visible. CTRL click the folder called BDMV and choose 'Show package content'. There should be a folder in there called 'Stream'. Inside are .MTS files. Play this with a VLC player and there should be image and 5.1 surround sound coming from the setup.