External Blu-Ray solution?

[gamingguy27]

Hello all,

I've just bought a 1080p monitor, and movies just don't look as nice as they could...

So i'm going Blu-Ray, are there external drives? (I don't need a writer)

I do have a desktop, but I have a laptop as well. So i want to use the Blu-Ray on both!

Both PC's are HDCP enabled, (graphics cards, and ports).

Regards,

Alex.

 

[raybay]

Blue-Ray will not help your monitor a bit, in my opinion. You need to deal with the graphics card and your memory first.
There are external Blu-Ray drives, though they are still very expensive compared to internal ones...
Though "...just don't look as nice as they could..." is in the mind of the beholder, I doubt Blu-Ray will help until everything already "looks nice."

 

[EXCellR8]

Even regular DVD movies should look pretty good on a 1080p monitor, are the color settings turned all the way up? Also, which player are you using? Some are better than others; there may be some rendering adjustments you can make. Also make sure that your video card is set to the right resolution and you have the latest drivers. Going Blu-Ray just to watch some movies on your new monitor is a little impractical if you ask me but it's your decision. I'm seeing drives without burning capabilities still over $200 so keep that in mind...

And btw... did you end up going with the BenQ?

 

[captaincranky]

According to Nvidia you really don't need a really high end video card if what you're trying to do is watch high-def content. They claim that the 85 & 8600 cards are "excellent" while the 8800s are only "good", go figure.

I know it's not an external drive, but Pioneer has a Blu-ray drive (internal) for about $150.00. I've always had great luck and outstanding service from their product, so I never hesitate to recommend them.

You should probably give some thought as to whether all you want to do is really necessary, or you'd just like to do it because it can be done.

Myself, I'd tie the desktop to the flat screen and leave it at that. Considering incorporating the laptop into the mix is, (IMHO), an unnecessary complication.