what do i need to watch blu-rays on my rig

bigjimmyauk · 13 Oct 2010 at 02:20

already have a 1920x1080 monitor

i know i need a blu-ray drive (any recommendations)
do i need any specific software or does it come with the drive
can i use my onboard soundcard with the drive

etc etc pretty basic stuff to some of you but i really have no idea.

coupe69 · 13 Oct 2010 at 02:27

Providing your video card and monitor are both HDCP compatible (which I'm sure they are) all you'll need is the software, something like cyberlink powerDVD would be great. I've used this for many years now and it works well

bigjimmyauk · 13 Oct 2010 at 02:31

coupe69 said:
Providing your video card and monitor are both HDCP compatible (which I'm sure they are) all you'll need is the software, something like cyberlink powerDVD would be great. I've used this for many years now and it works well

jeeeeeeeezus i remember when then software was free with a few of my dvd's many moons back

just downloaded a trial dvd's still seem grainy compared to my £20 el cheapo dvd player or my ps3 for that matter

are u using hardware acceleration mode

yashiro · 13 Oct 2010 at 03:11

All you need is software to decode the discs. This is usually within the player itself, like PowerDVD or Arcsoft TMT.

I'd just use your PS3 unless you feel the need to alt tab from a blu ray movie to your desktop. It will probably look better and you already have a wireless remote on the PS3.

alan whitaker · 13 Oct 2010 at 06:02

Hi
I went for this as it has had some good reviews,

LiteOn iHBS112 12x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW. you get all the software with it.

Alan

Alan

95thrifles · 13 Oct 2010 at 06:55

Yep,as long as you buy a retail version of a player it should come with all necessary software

Ravenger · 13 Oct 2010 at 08:36

Be warned though, I bought a Samsung blu-ray drive which came with Power DVD 8 OEM software which blue-screened my PC! I was given the run-around by Cyberlink when trying to get them to admit there was a compatibility problem on certain hardware combos - I'd found several other people on the net with the same issue.

The problem went away when I installed the drive in my new PC, so I never did get it sorted. What I'm saying is that you *may* have to factor in the cost of new Blue-Ray playback software even if you buy a retail drive with the software included, and that software is expensive - around £40 normally. By the time you've added all the costs of drive and software together you could have bought a stand-alone player.

Also bear in mind that the bundled OEM software is often cut-down compared to the full retail versions, so you may miss some of the better features such as dolby headphone support or support for different audio formats.

Still, it's worth it in the end to watch Blu-rays on my PC, which is my own entertainment system that I don't have to kick my wife and kids off before I can watch anything!