Need Blu Ray Drive

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olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
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EDIT: 9/6/12:
How's this drive?


Don't have a blu ray drive in my "htpc" and my stand alone blu ray player is dying.
Anything special I should look for in a PC blu ray drive? Signal is going to my HDTV.

Don't have 3D TV but I imagine I will in the future.
 
Last edited:
assassin24

assassin24

HTPC Moderator
Mar 27, 2005
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Realize that Windows 7 doesn't playback Bluray discs without software. I like Corel WinDVD Pro as its about half the price of other options like TMT5 and just gets the job done. I don't play many discs though.

Picking an optical drive is tricky business. There are hundreds of models and many of them are rebadged models from other manufacturers. With that being said I prefer Lite-On as every drive of theirs I have used has been solid. ASUS is a good option as well although many are rebranded.
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
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Basically, I should look for a drive that comes bundled with software?
How about VLC or GOM Player?
 
assassin24

assassin24

HTPC Moderator
Mar 27, 2005
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oldsmoboat said:
Basically, I should look for a drive that comes bundled with software?
How about VLC or GOM Player?
Click to expand...

Be careful. Bundled software sometimes is locked. Only stereo sound instead of surround sound is one example.

I tried VLC and couldn't get it to work for bluray discs. Don't think GOM player will work either although I haven't tried it personally.
 
TastesLikeChicken

TastesLikeChicken

Lifer
Sep 12, 2004
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Most blu-ray drives come with crippled, older, or trial versions of playback software where you need to upgrade to the full-featured version.

Your best bet is to buy a decent inexpensive blu-ray player and then watch for a discounted version of PowerDVD, TMT5, or WinDVD. Personally, I like TMT5 because of it has the best integration with WMC. If that integration isn't imporatant to you then WinDVD may be your best bet.
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
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Thanks.
Starting to get the feeling I should just buy another stand alone player.
 
OILFIELDTRASH

OILFIELDTRASH

Lifer
May 13, 2009
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oldsmoboat said:
Thanks.
Starting to get the feeling I should just buy another stand alone player.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't give up just yet. I've bought drives that came with full versions of blu ray software and if they needed updates they updated just fine. Blu ray on PC loads much faster than any stand alone and you also have the option of converting your blu ray to mp4 or mkv for on demand viewing without having to stick a disc in to watch and they don't take up much space once converted. They also still look great even when converted.
 
KeithTalent

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
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stargazr said:
I have an LG drive that came with Cyberlink's PowerDVD and love it, although I am not familiar with any other blu-ray software.
Click to expand...

I too have an LG Blu-ray drive and the PowerDVD it came with works very well. I do wish I could change the region more times than it allows, but I guess I have my region free player for that, so not a huge deal. Aside from that minor quibble, I have no issues with the drive or the software.

KT
 
Zorba

Zorba

Lifer
Oct 22, 1999
14,543
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I have an LG that came with PowerDVD, which was just fine. You can also get AnyDVD and play Blu-Rays in MediaPortal. I think MediaPortal is also working on native BR support, without the need of AnyDVD. BR on an HTPC really isn't that big of deal, I've been watching BRs on mine for 3 years.
 
assassin24

assassin24

HTPC Moderator
Mar 27, 2005
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Agreed. "3D Bluray Drives" are all marketing. It reads the "1s" and "0s" just like a non-3D drive does.
 
R

Rio Rebel

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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stargazr said:
I have an LG drive that came with Cyberlink's PowerDVD and love it, although I am not familiar with any other blu-ray software.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, the best deal is to get a drive like this that comes with a limited Powerdvd9, and it qualifies you to upgrade to Powerdvd 12 ultra for 44.95. I just did that.

I used TMT for a long time, but it costs twice as much and is not quite as good, imo.
 
R

Rio Rebel

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I guess a lot of this depends on a person's needs. If you want to integrate better with WMC, maybe you want TMT. If you want basic playback at lowest cost, you might get WinDVD or something else. For me, I want reliable bitstreaming of TrueHD and DTS Master Audio, 3D playback and conversion, and minimal to no crashing. PowerDVD was the best option for me.
 
TastesLikeChicken

TastesLikeChicken

Lifer
Sep 12, 2004
16,852
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oldsmoboat said:
What do you use for playback software?

Looks like VLC may work.
Click to expand...
The statement made by the NE reviewer is a bit misleading. He didn't mention that in order to playback BD using VLC you need to circumvent the disc encryption by using something like AnyDVD HD.

There is no way to reliably playback blu-ray disks unless you use one of the major 3 intended for that purpuse that have already been mentioned in this thread. You can always rip a disc and then do playback with freeware like MPC-HC but it's still ultimately not free because disk space costs money, not to mention the time invested to rip the movies.
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
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TastesLikeChicken said:
The statement made by the NE reviewer is a bit misleading. He didn't mention that in order to playback BD using VLC you need to circumvent the disc encryption by using something like AnyDVD HD.

There is no way to reliably playback blu-ray disks unless you use one of the major 3 intended for that purpuse that have already been mentioned in this thread. You can always rip a disc and then do playback with freeware like MPC-HC but it's still ultimately not free because disk space costs money, not to mention the time invested to rip the movies.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Not interested in ripping movies.
 
funboy6942

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,295
391
126
oldsmoboat said:
What do you use for playback software?

Looks like VLC may work.
Click to expand...

VLC and K-Lite does not work. I use Cyberlink PowerDVD 10. I thought the other 2 worked but I think that was back when I had anydvdhd installed. Now I just use 10 to play all my movies with. I think though youd be better off with the drive I mentioned and getting powerDVD12. The stuff that would come with the drive I am sure will be watered down, then you have to upgrade at $55~ making it around $160 to enjoy Blu Ray movies with the new hardware.

Or you can just get anydvd/HD for cheaper and use VLC or Klite Classic media player. Dont have to be ripping the movies to install it to have it decode the movies so you can play them on what ever you want, with what ever you want. In fact I may just install it again and try VLC and Klite to see if it works. Ill report back if it does.
 
funboy6942

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,295
391
126
Confirmed. I dl'd the trial version of slysoft anydvdHD and it plays with Klite media player classic. Just be sure to dl the mega pack with player and install lots of stuff. I was going to buy powerdvd 12, but I think Im going to go with Klite instead. It bypassed all the adverts and warnings and went right to movie.
 
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