factors that affect playback of m2ts off harddisk

[fifteen]

I've found that I can playback m2ts files (encoded with x264, muxed with tsmuxer) fairly reliably with vlc (1.0 git) with a vbv-maxrate around 20000.

I'm looking to find encoder settings/ playback software that will allow me to burn bd5 compatible media and allow playback on a PC by simply playing the m2ts file.

What factors affect the ability of playback software like VLC, MPC to playback bd compatible m2ts files reliably, other than maxrate?

Is there other software that is capable of real time playback at higher bitrates?

[drpaulng]

CPU + GPU performance.

[Adub]

Couldn't have said it better myself. The biggest pieces in the puzzle that affect performance are the power and speed of your CPU, and if you have a supporting video card or GPU. Other than that, everything else doesn't really matter.