- Jan 4, 2005
- 2,184
- 0
- 0
In the Core 2 DUo system in my sig, I've just popped in a Lite-On Blu-Ray drive. It comes with the standard Cyberlink PowerDVD software (astoundingly, Windows Media Player does not play hi-def discs at all). I've also installed a copy of AnyDVD HD. Now, under Vista 64-bit Home Premium, I'm successfully running 720p Hi-Def on my system. It required an update to CyberLink PowerDVD 7.3. And yes, before I offer more thoughts, it really DOES make a difference. Even 720p is significantly sharper and cleaner than the best standatd-def DVD on your computer.
Some thoughts:
If you buy a Lite-On Blu-Ray drive (THIS ONE!), it will run like a tank assuming you have substantial processing and video card power. You MUST also update the bundled software, because it will simply not work on your system after you physically install the drive. Here is a link to where the key PowerDVD updates are located. They do a good job hiding this page; I had to do a Google search to find it because their site does not provide straightforward navigation.
With the system in my sig, the Blu-Ray movies I've tried initialize in ten seconds or so. On a 1600x1200 screen, of which I have two, running the CyberLink software full-screen occupies about half the vertical space on a single LCD display (which makes sense, since the LCD can't display 1080p and 720p operates at 768 vertical pixels). The video space occupies the full horizontal length with absolutely no distortion. On any wide-format monitor, you will not have this issue. You can have an excellent 720p movie system on your PC with a 19" wide-format LCD.
And it is excellent. Aside from the excessive black borders, which I expected, I was shocked at how good the video quality was. I had no ghosting or cross-hatching while watching 300, a movie with large amounts of blacks and fast-action scenes, even on the relatively ancient Dell 2001fp monitor. I had plenty of detail and the visuals were fantastic. The CyberLink software supports only stereo output. For me, stereo is fine for now, because I'm in no mood to deploy a stupid 5:1 setup in my tiny office with all the associated hideous cabling (which is probably why a lot of people are dumping such speaker rigs on Craig's List nowadays). As noted, the new system in my sig effortlessly loads the few movies I've tried.
NVidia has addressed their lack of hi-def compatibility with all of their recent cards, or so I've heard. The ATI card I'm using, with its Avivo hi-def acceleration, does a splendid job. All in all, I'm feeling a little smug about being able to run hi-def movies on my PC (especially since I might be the first guy in my rural area to have actually done this!). Now for a 24" monitor to get all that 1080p goodness, because one thing's for sure, this little beast has the horsepower to handle it. With a new 24" that provides HDCP, the AnyDVD software could also go away. That software, by the way, works great - even the demo version. It is well worth the money if you don't have an HDCP-compliant display.
I have to admit, that Lite-On drive is a great way to get an entry-level look at hi-def. It also means that you have yet another highly useful application on your PC! All the way around, a pleasant way to wrap up the weekend. Now if Blu-Ray movies could just be a little more reasonably priced at Fry's...
Some thoughts:
If you buy a Lite-On Blu-Ray drive (THIS ONE!), it will run like a tank assuming you have substantial processing and video card power. You MUST also update the bundled software, because it will simply not work on your system after you physically install the drive. Here is a link to where the key PowerDVD updates are located. They do a good job hiding this page; I had to do a Google search to find it because their site does not provide straightforward navigation.
With the system in my sig, the Blu-Ray movies I've tried initialize in ten seconds or so. On a 1600x1200 screen, of which I have two, running the CyberLink software full-screen occupies about half the vertical space on a single LCD display (which makes sense, since the LCD can't display 1080p and 720p operates at 768 vertical pixels). The video space occupies the full horizontal length with absolutely no distortion. On any wide-format monitor, you will not have this issue. You can have an excellent 720p movie system on your PC with a 19" wide-format LCD.
And it is excellent. Aside from the excessive black borders, which I expected, I was shocked at how good the video quality was. I had no ghosting or cross-hatching while watching 300, a movie with large amounts of blacks and fast-action scenes, even on the relatively ancient Dell 2001fp monitor. I had plenty of detail and the visuals were fantastic. The CyberLink software supports only stereo output. For me, stereo is fine for now, because I'm in no mood to deploy a stupid 5:1 setup in my tiny office with all the associated hideous cabling (which is probably why a lot of people are dumping such speaker rigs on Craig's List nowadays). As noted, the new system in my sig effortlessly loads the few movies I've tried.
NVidia has addressed their lack of hi-def compatibility with all of their recent cards, or so I've heard. The ATI card I'm using, with its Avivo hi-def acceleration, does a splendid job. All in all, I'm feeling a little smug about being able to run hi-def movies on my PC (especially since I might be the first guy in my rural area to have actually done this!). Now for a 24" monitor to get all that 1080p goodness, because one thing's for sure, this little beast has the horsepower to handle it. With a new 24" that provides HDCP, the AnyDVD software could also go away. That software, by the way, works great - even the demo version. It is well worth the money if you don't have an HDCP-compliant display.
I have to admit, that Lite-On drive is a great way to get an entry-level look at hi-def. It also means that you have yet another highly useful application on your PC! All the way around, a pleasant way to wrap up the weekend. Now if Blu-Ray movies could just be a little more reasonably priced at Fry's...
Facebook
Twitter