oldson
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Post by oldson on Dec 5, 2014 22:06:08 GMT
can someone please recommend a good one?
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Post by joethearachnid on Dec 19, 2014 20:57:21 GMT
Generally you aren't going to find any difference between Blu-ray drives since they're all outputting the same raw data. Obviously some of them can do 3D playback or write to blu-ray discs and yada yada but that's probably not your worry. My drive was actually an astonishingly cheap Lite-On jobby that only cost about £25, though it looks like the new going rate is about £40 for the cheapest standard LG/Pioneer drive. The real killer is the software though: unlike DVD drives you can't just play back Blu-ray discs in VLC or Windows Media Player, you need licensed blu-ray software to play anything. Usually this means something like PowerDVD, which costs £50 anyway, constantly bugs you to upgrade and is in general really unintuitive and awful software to use. You'd think there'd be a shady free option of some kind by now, but aside from ripping the whole disc to your hard drive (which is apparently quite simple) and then playing it back from there it seems not. The corporate fatcats strike again..
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Dec 19, 2014 21:02:29 GMT
Welcome Joe!!
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Post by joethearachnid on Dec 19, 2014 21:12:37 GMT
I just heard this place existed, meant to write some kind of introduction but couldn't resist answering a question first...
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Post by hifidez on Dec 19, 2014 21:27:34 GMT
Generally you aren't going to find any difference between Blu-ray drives since they're all outputting the same raw data. Obviously some of them can do 3D playback or write to blu-ray discs and yada yada but that's probably not your worry. My drive was actually an astonishingly cheap Lite-On jobby that only cost about £25, though it looks like the new going rate is about £40 for the cheapest standard LG/Pioneer drive. The real killer is the software though: unlike DVD drives you can't just play back Blu-ray discs in VLC or Windows Media Player, you need licensed blu-ray software to play anything. Usually this means something like PowerDVD, which costs £50 anyway, constantly bugs you to upgrade and is in general really unintuitive and awful software to use. You'd think there'd be a shady free option of some kind by now, but aside from ripping the whole disc to your hard drive (which is apparently quite simple) and then playing it back from there it seems not. The corporate fatcats strike again.. Yes, I got caught like that. Bought an inexpensive Lite-on drive and had to pay for software so i could play Blu-rays on my PC! What a con. Derek
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 21:37:54 GMT
Blame Sony.
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Post by joethearachnid on Dec 19, 2014 21:46:42 GMT
Yes, I got caught like that. Bought an inexpensive Lite-on drive and had to pay for software so i could play Blu-rays on my PC! What a con. Derek I, uh, 'acquired' a copy of PowerDVD from somewhere. I have to say having used it if I had paid £50 for such an awful player I would been jolly ticked off. I'm sure others can get past poor software but having used much better players being forced to use it for blu-rays drives me nuts.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Dec 19, 2014 21:50:54 GMT
I just heard this place existed, meant to write some kind of introduction but couldn't resist answering a question first... No need to introduce yourself, Joe. We're a very small site but I quite like that since in so many bigger sites, there are hundreds of members who don't contribute. At least people mostly know each other here I guess. Just another alternative. Anyway, I'll keep out the way for the DVD stuff!! ?
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oldson
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Post by oldson on Dec 20, 2014 13:55:05 GMT
cheers for the replies guys. i think i will forget the internal pc option in favour of a budget av blu-ray player.
my monitor does not have hdmi but it does have an empty display port connector, so i can use that with an adapter and sound via toslink to my dac. i have not ruled out a games console yet. i know my old ps3 would play blu-ray so i assume the ps4 will?
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Post by joethearachnid on Dec 20, 2014 15:26:33 GMT
Generally I think getting a dedicated Blu-ray player is a better bet, especially if you can get a good one second hand. We have a Sony BDP-S370 that got glowing reviews when it was released, was very cheap and also plays SACDs on top of everything else. Both the PS3 and PS4 can play Blu-rays, and chances are since they have processing power going spare they do a pretty good job.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Dec 20, 2014 16:00:16 GMT
I'm not that experienced with Bluray players but I do have two Sonys. One is 3d.
Perhaps noise is something to consider? I have noticed in the past that some CD players make more physical noise than others.
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oldson
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Post by oldson on Dec 20, 2014 18:40:44 GMT
I'm not that experienced with Bluray players but I do have two Sonys. One is 3d. Perhaps noise is something to consider? I have noticed in the past that some CD players make more physical noise than others. thats a good point Ian , i had not thought of that. having said that i am still in the market for a set of denon d600's so for movies and games(ps4) i could use them instead of my lcd2.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Dec 20, 2014 20:53:10 GMT
The d600 will give explosions that rattle your head. The bass is very powerful and deep. It's like having a sub woofer on your ears. Funny thing is that I know they're not what we'd call an accurate headphone, but I do like them quite a lot. They're so indulgent.
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