Blu-ray player

[circusboy01]

Perhaps this should be posted in A&V not sure.
I have an empty drawer on my PC I thought I had 2 DVD/CD players. Like I had on my E-Machine,until I got it home Can I install a Blue Ray player in the empty drawer? Do
they even make Blue Ray players for PCs? Also would I have to buy some kind of HD monitor in order to get the full effects of the Blue Ray?
Enough questions for now. I might have more. Depending on the answers I get from this one Ray

 

[Mizzou]

There should be no problem installing a Blu-Ray drive in your PC, they are available in wide range of prices. Minimum resolution for HD is 1280x720; 1920x1080 will give you the benefit of Full HD although on smaller monitors 720p is sufficient. You'll also need Blu-Ray player software ... not sure what software is being shipped with the drives at this point. For what it's worth I've had good luck with LG drives.

 

[Rabbit01]

Yes. I have a LG Super Multi Blue CH08. Here are some more: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=598&name=Blu-Ray-Drives

If you're looking for Blu-ray burner, see here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=600&name=Blu-Ray-Burners

Blu-ray movies are protected, so you'll need both software & hardware that can support it. Unfortunately, you can't play it w/ Windows Media Player, VLC or MPC. You'll need to get PowerDVD or WinDVD. The basic version of PowerDVD came w/ my LG drive, and I upgraded it.

As for hardware, the video card & display has to support HDCP. I think most graphics cards & display made in the past 5 years should be ok.

Here's what Cyberlink says about video cards: http://www.cyberlink.com/prog/support/cs/product-faq-content.do?id=2577

You'll need a decent CPU too: http://www.cyberlink.com/prog/support/cs/product-faq-content.do?id=2576

 

[circusboy01]

Yes. I have a LG Super Multi Blue CH08. Here are some more: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=598&name=Blu-Ray-Drives

If you're looking for Blu-ray burner, see here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=600&name=Blu-Ray-Burners

Blu-ray movies are protected, so you'll need both software & hardware that can support it. Unfortunately, you can't play it w/ Windows Media Player, VLC or MPC. You'll need to get PowerDVD or WinDVD. The basic version of PowerDVD came w/ my LG drive, and I upgraded it.

As for hardware, the video card & display has to support HDCP. I think most graphics cards & display made in the past 5 years should be ok.

Here's what Cyberlink says about video cards: http://www.cyberlink.com/prog/support/cs/product-faq-content.do?id=2577

You'll need a decent CPU too: http://www.cyberlink.com/prog/support/cs/product-faq-content.do?id=2576

Everything I see printed in blue, looks like$$$. Don't think I'll worry about getting a Burner for now. Thanks for info Ray

 

[circusboy01]

There should be no problem installing a Blu-Ray drive in your PC, they are available in wide range of prices. Minimum resolution for HD is 1280x720; 1920x1080 will give you the benefit of Full HD although on smaller monitors 720p is sufficient. You'll also need Blu-Ray player software ... not sure what software is being shipped with the drives at this point. For what it's worth I've had good luck with LG drives.

My monitor is a 20" Flat screen. by Hannspree. How do I find out what resolutions it is,and can it be adjusted to other resolutions? Thanks Ray

Forgot to ask. About the software.. The player will probably come with a disk That I will but in my DVD/CD drawer<Wrong word I know. Can't think of correct one.,The Disk will contain the software. Right?

 

[Rabbit01]

My monitor is a 20" Flat screen. by Hannspree. How do I find out what resolutions it is,and can it be adjusted to other resolutions? Thanks Ray

Right click on the desktop, then select screen resolution. A 16:9 or 16:10 screen would be good for watching movies. A 4:3, in my opinion, not so much.

Whether the software comes w/ the drive or not, that might depends on the package you buy. I think I got the retail version of the drive 2 yr ago. It came w/ the driver, the software, manual, etc. If an OEM version exists, that would probably just be the drive and nothing else. Like hard drives, when I bought HDD listed as OEM, nothing else was shipped w/ it.

The basic version of PowerDVD that came w/ my LG drive had limited features. For the speaker environment, it didn't have 5.1, the most was 2.1. Plus it had trouble playing some of the newer movies. So, I paid and got the ultra version, problem solved.

 

[circusboy01]

There should be no problem installing a Blu-Ray drive in your PC, they are available in wide range of prices. Minimum resolution for HD is 1280x720; 1920x1080 will give you the benefit of Full HD although on smaller monitors 720p is sufficient. You'll also need Blu-Ray player software ... not sure what software is being shipped with the drives at this point. For what it's worth I've had good luck with LG drives.

Mizzou; my screen resolution is 1600x900 Display 1.207H. will this suffice?

How are resolutions measured? by the size of the screen, or by the quality of the monitor. If 1600x900 isn't enough resolutions should I look for a bigger screen, or a better monitor? Thanks Ray

 

[Rabbit01]

Resolution looks fine. Question is whether you are comfortable watching a movie on a 20" display or something bigger. You can download 720P & 1080P movie trailer from Apple and see for yourself.

Just found another site w/ HD movie trailer/video clips: http://www.demo-world.eu/trailers/high-definition-trailers.php

 

[circusboy01]

Resolution looks fine. Question is whether you are comfortable watching a movie on a 20" display or something bigger. You can download 720P & 1080P movie trailer from Apple and see for yourself.

Just found another site w/ HD movie trailer/video clips: http://www.demo-world.eu/trailers/high-definition-trailers.php

I watch Crackle, Blockbuster and Netflix movies all the time.Setting just 2 1/2 ' from the screen makes it plenty big enough.. Although I'll admit, when I heard that ( I think ) Best Buy was going to have 42' Flat Screen TV/monitors on sale for $200.00 on Black Friday. I was thinking of replacing my 32" with a new 42", and replacing my 20' Monitor with my 32'

 

[Mizzou]

Mizzou; my screen resolution is 1600x900 Display 1.207H. will this suffice?

How are resolutions measured? by the size of the screen, or by the quality of the monitor. If 1600x900 isn't enough resolutions should I look for a bigger screen, or a better monitor? Thanks Ray

Resolution is measured by the number of pixels horizontally and vertically, the higher the number the greater the resolution. On a 20" monitor you won't be able to realize the full benefits of high definition, if you can afford a larger monitor I would recommend it.

 

[Rabbit01]

My monitor is small @ 22" and 1680x1050, but Blu-ray movies sure look good. Can't go back to watching DVD now.

 

[circusboy01]

Resolution is measured by the number of pixels horizontally and vertically, the higher the number the greater the resolution. On a 20" monitor you won't be able to realize the full benefits of high definition, if you can afford a larger monitor I would recommend it.

Rabbit01 Says he's using a 22" screen. Is that big enough for full benefits? If not what is the minimum size I would need? Ray