New to HD / Blu-Ray - what do I need?

[CurseTheSky]

I just bought this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136133

I'm using a Dell 2408WFP connected through DVI (HDCP compliant I believe).

Should I be all set with that hardware, or is there anything else I'm going to need? My graphics card doesn't have HDMI out.

Finally, what else do I need to be able to play Blu-Ray movies? I know I need a codec, but I'm not sure what my best choice is, or if there are any good free ones.

Thanks.

 

[s44]

Just use the player bundled with the drive. It should have hardware decoding enabled. No free programs yet do.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Heh, I've always been in the habit of tossing the discs that come with drives in a pile. I haven't tried one out since I first got a Lightscribe drive.

It came with Cyberlink PowerDVD, which sucks (IMO). It works though!

Now, is there any way to decode it with Cyberlink's software, but play it through Windows Media Center?

Thanks.