Playing Blu-ray on PC

[Zhaoman]

Hey guys, I'm considering getting a blu-ray drive for my PC because I just got this urge to watch Planet Earth, Gladiator etc over christmas in glorious HD

First up what would I need to be able to play blu-ray on my current system? I have an HD TV, the PC will be connected to it via DVI and sound is handled by an optical cable to my Z5500s. Will I just be able to stick a blu-ray drive in there and be ready to go? Do I have to worry about my equipment being HDCP (do cables have to be HDCP, I think I read that somewhere AGES ago...)?

And lastly if a drive was all I needed then which ones would you recommend, I don't need burning capability I just wanna watch

Thx for all the help!

[mac124]

Going by your system specs your hardware is good to go you just need the drive and some software.

As for a drive then i would recommend http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/LiteO...M-inc-Software i have one and it comes with an oem version of power dvd bd edition, whilst this is only stereo sound it is free, you can upgrade to the full version though.

There maybe other software out there too but as i just listen through my tv atm it suffices for my current needs.

I must warn you though SOME films don't work, i spent ages trying to get the above drive working to find it was the film i was testing it with (WANTED) that for some reason doesn't play on this setup, yet it is ok on my other machine??

[Skinleech]

I would go with Arcsoft TMT over PowerDVD. HDCP may be an issue - AnyDVD HD will take care of this, both aren't free of course, but you can try without AnyDVD HD at first and see how you get on. Slysoft will likely have an Xmas sale on at some point. It also removes Blu-ray region codes if you;re interested in imports at any point in time.

Drive wise, the LG ones are good. I have the BD/HD-DVD combo reader and it's rock solid.

[Salazaar]

I've been using PowerDVD BD edition (free with my Sony drive), although it'll only decode stereo it will allow you to pass through the audio signal to an external decoder if you want full quality audio.

[Zhaoman]

Oh yeah I completely forgot about the software side of things. Salazaar the package you mentioned sounded perfect, which Sony drive was it? Since I'm routing the sound to my Z5500s that means I should be able to get 5.1 on the software that you mentioned right? Also will I run into any HDCP issues with the cable I'm using? Because I heard some time ago that the monitor, gpu AND the cable had to be HDCP which could complicate things...

And Mac124, was there any specific reason why Wanted wouldn't work? It's these little niggles that I'm worried about

[Zhaoman]

Hey guys, just had a look at the drive mac linked to on Scan:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/LiteO...M-inc-Software

It's the cheapest one available but the functions look good enough for what I want it to do. I've got a LiteOn drive in the spare PC but it is hideously loud and that put me off buying LiteOn ever again but I have heard other people say LiteOn drives are quiet so what are your thoughts on this drive? Also is the software playing all your blu-ray movies OK? And I noticed the speed is 4x, what advantages would an 8x read speed give? Your thoughts and experiences would be greatly appreciated!

edit: Just realised, since I am connecting my PC to my Z5500 via optical does that mean the sound will be handled by the Z5500s so I can get 5.1 surround with the supplied software (like with Salazaar's software)?

[WhiteGiant]

I often use Lite-On, they don't last long with heavy usage, but are cheap enough to replace each year.

Not tried BR though, so can't comment on that side.

[Terbinator]

You won't get DolbyTrue-HD/DTS-HD sound through your Z5500's as they don't decode said formats - 'just' 5.1.

And yes, you need HDCP compliant graphics card and TV/Monitor.

[mac124]

And Mac124, was there any specific reason why Wanted wouldn't work? It's these little niggles that I'm worried about

No idea mate, i have installed everything i can think of to try and get it working but it just spins the drive up and power dvd refuses to run.

But as i said it works fine in my other PC, so am at a bit of a loss.

[Terbinator]

Starship Troopers doesn't work on some BD players as well

[TS || Slick]

Ive been this whole process before myself with several different setups and software choices. Ive got a dedicated HTPC with the LG combi drive someone mentioned above. (so both HDDVDs and Blu Ray support). The included Power DVDs you get are never any good first off, they restrict you to 2 channels through the software so there is no way to get 5.1 end of. TMT3 is my preferred and what im using at the moment, its the only software out there that still supports HD-DVDs.

As for the BluRays not playing dont forget the firmware of the drive needs constant updating to the latest version so that might need a check, most LG drives come with an auto updater.

As for HDCP, yes everything needs to be compliant the pc, if its an nvidia card the latest nvidia control panel has a nice HDCP check section for you. The cable and the TV also, DVI isnt automatically HDCP like HDMI so that needs to be checked also. There is the slysoft work around mentioned above but i would only use that as a last resort from experience. Hope thats helpful, if you need any more info on my setup or configs just ask.

[Zhaoman]

Thanks a lot TS Slick. I had a nagging suspicion that I might need a new cable for this because my current DVI cable is just a bog standard affair I got years ago...

That's made the situation a lot clearer now anyway; looks like I need a new drive, new software, and a new cable Thanks a lot guys!