Cheapest (legal) way to play Blu-Ray?

[htwingnut]

I bought a slim external USB Blu-Ray player for pretty cheap. It works fine except it didn't come with any software. I've tried PowerDVD 10 Ultra demo and it works great. I also tried WinDVD but it kept locking up on both my laptop and desktop. I'd rather not spend $90 for PowerDVD 10. Is there a much cheaper, possibly free alternative?

Thanks.

 

[Nothinman]

AFAIK nothing free would be legal because you need to pay for the license to be legal. Just like DVDs, although most people seem to ignore that...

 

[Binky]

TotalMediaTheater gets pretty good reviews. Try the demo, if it works, google "totalmedia coupon" and you should find a 20% off coupon, bringing the price to about $72 before any shipping or tax.

 

[abaez]

You can also get AnyDVD and be able to play them in MPC or VLC. You also get the bonus of being able to rip them quite easily and not having any HDCP issues.

 

[Leros]

So at this price, you might as well just buy a $100 Bluray player?

 

[Phynaz]

So at this price, you might as well just buy a $100 Bluray player?

I'm willing to bet he is using this drive on his laptop. I don't think that $100 player is all that mobile.

 

[pcslookout]

I use TotalMediaTheater, PowerDVD, or VLC player usually. Depends on what I feel like doing.

 

[Leros]

I'm willing to bet he is using this drive on his laptop. I don't think that $100 player is all that mobile.

Oh. I assumed this was for a HTPC. My bad.

 

[bendixG15]

I use TotalMediaTheater, PowerDVD, or VLC player usually. Depends on what I feel like doing.
Wow surprised how bad this forum has gotten with personal attacks and going after people. Glad I officially left it for the most part. Things are only going to get worst I fear than better. A lot of rogue people are joining I been noticing.

Got to get the head count up. I suppose

 

[RavenSEAL]

Have you tried K-Lite codec pack? Don't know if that might play BR with VLC...BUT! you can always make a rip of the BR...

 

[Nothinman]

Have you tried K-Lite codec pack? Don't know if that might play BR with VLC...BUT! you can always make a rip of the BR...

Except that ignores the part where he actually want to play them legally...

 

[RavenSEAL]

Except that ignores the part where he actually want to play them legally...

K-Lite codes pack is an open source project...it's legal.

P.s, if you own the actual hard copy of the B-R, it's also legal to make a rip of it as long as you don't distribute it.

 

[Nothinman]

K-Lite codes pack is an open source project...it's legal.

P.s, if you own the actual hard copy of the B-R, it's also legal to make a rip of it as long as you don't distribute it.

Open source doesn't automatically mean it's legal. For example, in order to paly DVDs you technically still need a license for the MPEG2 and AC3 codecs even though there's plenty of OSS decoders out there.

 

[htwingnut]

Thanks everyone. Yes this is a slim external USB DVD drive for use on both my laptop and desktop.

I will try K-Lite codec pack.

I have AnyDVD, but only recently realized I had to pay to upgarde to AnyDVD HD, which I'm assuming would allow me to play Blu-Ray discs? It's $65 upgrade from AnyDVD, and if it lets me play it on any media player that would be better. But I will also check out TotalMedia Theater.

Seems kinda odd though that you can buy a component Blu-Ray player for $100 but it costs $100 alone for any software to play it on the PC.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Open source doesn't automatically mean it's legal. For example, in order to paly DVDs you technically still need a license for the MPEG2 and AC3 codecs even though there's plenty of OSS decoders out there.

It's not illegal dude...someone made their own decoder, packed it as free and put it on the internet.

 

[Nothinman]

It's not illegal dude...someone made their own decoder, packed it as free and put it on the internet.

Doesn't matter. The software itself may be free, but use may still be restricted because of copyright, patents, etc. It's not nearly as simple as you seem to think.

 

[Soundmanred]

Doesn't matter. The software itself may be free, but use may still be restricted because of copyright, patents, etc. It's not nearly as simple as you seem to think.

Exactly, software like the free stuff is usually decompiled and recompiled (which is against the TOS, and/or illegal) and made "free". It doesn't mean it's legal.

 

[Nothinman]

Exactly, software like the free stuff is usually decompiled and recompiled (which is against the TOS, and/or illegal) and made "free". It doesn't mean it's legal.

Well, in the case of OSS software they usually go for clean-room implementations whenever possible to keep their own liability as low as possible, but that doesn't remove any liability from the end user.

 

[pcslookout]

Well, in the case of OSS software they usually go for clean-room implementations whenever possible to keep their own liability as low as possible, but that doesn't remove any liability from the end user.

Guess that is why some people here refuse to use KMPlayer and instead use VLC player. I prefer VLC Player now because it has improved a lot.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Sigh..whatever...as far as i'm concerned, it's legal, otherwise it would have been taken down, K-Lite Codec Pack has been out for a while.

 

[Nothinman]

Guess that is why some people here refuse to use KMPlayer and instead use VLC player. I prefer VLC Player now because it has improved a lot.

There's no difference between the two, you still technically need a license for things like DVDs with VLC. They used to mention it in their FAQ but it looks like it's gone now. It's the same reason that Windows didn't ship with a DVD decoder for the longest time, MS didn't want to buy a license for every Windows machine shipped.

Sigh..whatever...as far as i'm concerned, it's legal, otherwise it would have been taken down, K-Lite Codec Pack has been out for a while.

Ignorance isn't an excuse for violating the law. VLC is hosted in France so I doubt the MPEGLA could get it taken down without a lot of hassle. If you're using the software in a country that enforces those licensing laws it's up to you to make sure that you're legal.

 

[lxskllr]

Sigh..whatever...as far as i'm concerned, it's legal, otherwise it would have been taken down, K-Lite Codec Pack has been out for a while.

That's why many codecs aren't included in the default Ubuntu loadout. They're not legal for use in the USA, and probably other countries. You can enable the RESTRICTED extras repository and install them anyway, but in the US you're breaking the law.

 

[htwingnut]

Sooo, first of all, will K-Lite Codec's decode properly and work with VLC? And secondly, is it legit? For that matter is AnyDVD HD legit? I'd hope it is considering the price. I may just bite the bullet and buy PowerDVD or TotalMedia Theatre. Just don't have the money at the moment. I guess I'll have to live off demo's until I get the money.

 

[Gooberlx2]

It's legit, as in it's not spyware/malware. But k-lite and VLC are mutually exclusive. k-lite will allow all your directshow based applications (WMP, 7MC, Movie Maker, etc...) to play content via system-wide codecs and filters. VLC uses essentially all the same filters and codecs, but bundles it all within it own little application ecosystem, and has no effect on the rest of the system.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Alright...so how do i know its legal? Call the freaking FBI?