Help me pick an internal BluRay drive, plus Q about Nvidia Vision...

[battletoad]

I want to buy a blu ray player for my PC, but looking at Newegg and Amazon, it seems the only model that has software bundled with the drive to actually be able to watch Blu Rays is this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ab=true&Page=2

This model is from 2010, and the software is not up to date according to reviews. What would you recomend for a new purchase? This one, some other model I am overlooking that has software ready to go, or a cheaper OEM model and then buy the BD_ROM playback software seperately (and if so what software?)

I would prefer to buy from Newegg or Amazon if possible, but I dont see anything else their bundle-wise unless I am overlooking something. I don't even particularly care about BD-ROM burning capabilities, it just so happens that model I listed has it. I also want to be able to watch 3D BDs, so the software for any suggestions needs to do that.

My monitor is an Alienware Optx 24 inch model. I use Nvidia GPUS. I want to get a Nvidia 3D vision kit, but my monitor was built a few years ago and only officially supports NV 3D Vision 1....But reviews of NV3DV2 glasses say they are far more comfortable to wear. Am I right to think I can use the newer more comfortable Version two glasses with this monitor? (I know that my monitor doesn't support the "extra bright" feature of N3DV2, but am wondering if it will otherwise work just as good as N3D1 glasses would.

Thanks!

 

[Auric]

BD-ROM is read-only memory referring to pressed discs, not write capability. So-called "combo" drive is another hint. $85 is expensive for that unless perhaps including a license for the latest full version of either ArcSoft TotalMediaTheater (preferred) or CyberLink PowerDVD. In any case you can search for coupons. Hardware-wise, I would prefer Hitachi-LG and without looking at the specs there is a BD reader there for $45 that is well reviewed. Ultimately, a stand-alone hardware player is cheaper and more convenient unless using a PC to play back a variety a formats and/or bypass intro clutter.

 

[Aikouka]

Yeah, $85 is a waste of money on a Blu-Ray drive that cannot even write Blu-Rays. I paid about that for my Blu-Ray writer over a year ago, and the prices have dropped $10-20 since then.

As for software, I use Total Media Theater 5, but I waited awhile to get it. The software isn't that cheap ($100), but it does go on sale ever so often (50% off!). I setup a SlickDeals notification to alert me to a sale, and I was like a kid at Christmas when I saw it.

As for the glasses, I do believe they will work fine. They're really just slightly larger than the nVision 3D version 1 glasses, but functionally, they shouldn't be different. I have a pair of them, and they are definitely much more comfortable than my DLP Link-based glasses that I use on my TV downstairs. My ears were rather uncomfortable after watching The Avengers. :|

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Simple, Pioneer BDR-207DBK.

It even comes with an OEM version of PowerDVD9, which means you qualify for a $40 upgrade to version 12...

 

[Aikouka]

Simple, Pioneer BDR-207DBK.

It even comes with an OEM version of PowerDVD9, which means you qualify for a $40 upgrade to version 12...

I believe mine's the previous version of that as it's listed as a Pioneer BDR-206 in the device manager. This one works pretty well, but I don't burn too much on it.

I didn't know that you could do an upgrade like that though! I'm pretty certain mine came with that awful OEM of PowerDVD as well.

 

[battletoad]

About the Pioneer drive...if I want to do the software upgrade, do I need to buy that PowerDVD software upgrade at the same time as purchasing the player, or how does that work?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

About the Pioneer drive...if I want to do the software upgrade, do I need to buy that PowerDVD software upgrade at the same time as purchasing the player, or how does that work?

When you have installed version 9, there should be a pop-up telling you there is an upgrade available. Just click on that, and you get redirected to a special page on cyberlink.com with the details. It might have changed since I did mine though...

 

[truckerCLOCK]

Save your money. Just get a stand alone blu ray player. Watching blu ray discs on a PC is an exspensive endevor. If your buying a drive to rip your discs to a hard drive then you can use WMC, XBMC...etc to watch your movies.