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Solved Blue Ray Player/Writer

Blue Ray Player/Writer was created by MrGrunthunter

Posted 14 Dec 2015 02:48 #1
I want to install a Blue Ray writer/player into my desktop PC but have no idea as to what would be the best one to purchase. My wife also wants one for connecting to our TV . I've heard Panasonic makes a good one but there are so many models to choose from it's become over whelming trying to sort them out. All suggestions and personal experiences are welcome.
DESKTOP: Dell PC WINDOWS 10 PRO, 64-bit, Ver:1607, OS BLD: 14393.1066
INTEL Core: i7-4790, CPU @3.60 GHz, Inst RAM:16.0 GB
GeForce GTX 745, Driver ver: 376.53, Tot avail grap: 12225 MB, Ded vid mem: 4096 MB DDR3
Shared Sys Mem: 8159 MB, DirectX Runtime Ver:12.0

LAPTOP: MSI GE72MVR 7RG
GTX-1070

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Replied by Eagle Six on topic Blue Ray Player/Writer

Posted 14 Dec 2015 04:28 #2

MrGrunthunter wrote: but there are so many models to choose from it's become over whelming trying to sort them out.

I certainly understand this! About six months ago I checked to see if there was a firmware update for my 4 year old Phillips Bluray player. I was still current on the firmware, but I decided to do some research on a possible replacement (keeping in mind I have had no problem with the Phillips). After about two hours of reading the chit-chat boards and reviews, my head was spinning!

Most of the movies my wife rents are on DVD. Almost all the video/films I produce for personal use are on Bluray. I have most recently been plugging in a thumb drive into my flat panel HDTV to watch short videos I make of the family and pets. I'm off grid, the internet connection is via wireless cell connection and I'm on a 18 gig monthly data plan. The online movie viewing options for us is rather worthless, I don't do gaming.

Most of the online resources I have read are more in tune for the match between the devices of Bluray player and TV, or bypassing the Bluray player and going strait from the computer to TV via Ethernet network or something similar, or using a thumbdrive. But, I'm interested in others opinions on your question, as there may be something I have missed, and maybe there is a good reason for me to replace my current unit, and as with your question, which model.
Best Regards......George
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Replied by MrGrunthunter on topic Blue Ray Player/Writer

Posted 14 Dec 2015 12:18 #3
I just want one to install in my PC so I can burn my YouTube videos to discs so I can mail them, or give them, to friends and also be able to play on our TV with a Blue Ray player. Hopefully some members can tell us about their experiences and provide us with some good recommendations.
DESKTOP: Dell PC WINDOWS 10 PRO, 64-bit, Ver:1607, OS BLD: 14393.1066
INTEL Core: i7-4790, CPU @3.60 GHz, Inst RAM:16.0 GB
GeForce GTX 745, Driver ver: 376.53, Tot avail grap: 12225 MB, Ded vid mem: 4096 MB DDR3
Shared Sys Mem: 8159 MB, DirectX Runtime Ver:12.0

LAPTOP: MSI GE72MVR 7RG
GTX-1070

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Replied by DoctorZen on topic Blue Ray Player/Writer

Posted 14 Dec 2015 12:55 #4
I live in Australia so I buy all my computer hardware online from the No.1 computer parts supplier in my country, PC Case Gear.
They stock a narrow range of models that have proved to be reliable.
www.pccasegear.com/category/658_667

I have 2011 model Lite ON drives in my own computer which are still going strong, however LiteON seems to not have the presence it use to have.
I would recommend ASUS, LG, Pioneer, Samsung and Sony.

If you are going to replace a DVD writer for Blu-ray/DVD writer, then you can literally just swap it out OR you may like to add a Blu-ray/DVD writer and also keep existing DVD writer, so you have 2 drives - handy for fast cloning of discs.

When selecting a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Writer, there are a few things you need to check.

Check connectors
Open your computer and check to see what type of connections are available on your Motherboard and DVD Drive - SATA, ATA or IDE.
All modern DVD/Blu-ray drives use SATA connections, which are different to the older ATA/IDE connections.
If your computer is from the jurassic period, it will probably be using a older style ATA or IDE connection as shown in top half of images below. This narrows down what you can buy off the shelf, however you can also buy cable converters that will convert ATA/IDE to SATA.

Here is a picture that shows the difference between the older style IDE connections (top image) and newer style SATA connections (bottom image).
If you computer is modern and uses SATA, you can buy a new DVD/Blu-ray Writer and simply unplug your old drive and plug in the new drive.




Check Blu-ray disc support and functions

Most drives today support all disc formats, like DVD-R, DVD+R, ......................
However still check this.
Here is an example of a drive that supports everything www.pccasegear.com/products/25315
This is what I would buy if I was building a new computer today.

Some drives also support extra functions like M-disc.
M-disc gives the ability to burn archival grade Blu-ray and DVD discs.
www.mdisc.com/

Blu-ray/DVD Player for your TV

My Blu-ray player is one of those cheap generic models.
The reason why I bought this instead of an expensive name brand, is because it is Region Unlocked !
With a Region Unlocked player, you can play discs from all DVD regions and all Blu-ray disc regions .

Most name brand players like Sony and Samsung, will be region locked to the country you bought them in.
If you like to buy discs from other countries, you will need to buy a region free/unlocked player.

If you Google search each model of player you research and ask is it region free/unlocked, you should be able to find out this info.
Some name brand DVD players do at least un-lock DVD regions, however Blu-ray tends to be more strict.

The same problem with region coding also applies to Blu-ray/DVD burners in computers.
When you buy one, it is not set yet. Once installed and you begin to use it, it will ask you which region you want to set it to.

Regards
Derek
ℹī¸ Remember to turn everything off at least once a week, including your brain, then sit somewhere quiet and just chill out.
Unplugging is the best way to find solutions to your problems. If you would like to share some love, post a customer testimonial or make a donation.
Last Edit:29 Feb 2016 15:46 by DoctorZen
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Replied by MrGrunthunter on topic Blue Ray Player/Writer

Posted 14 Dec 2015 13:30 #5
Thanks for the quick reply Derek,
I've had my new computer for just about a year now. It's a Dell workstation :
Processor: intel core i7-4790 cpu @ 3.60 GHz
RAM: 16 GB
Running Windows 10 pro
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 with 4 GB memory
TWO: Crucial 500mb SSD drives (CT512MX100SSD1)
ONE: 1TB HD (ST1000DM003-1CH162)
ONE DVD: HL-DT-ST DVD+ RW GHB0N

I installed the two SSD drives after I purchased it and I believe there is still an empty bay available.
I had to but this in order to work with the videos I'm recording. My laptop just choked on them and the old Dell desktop I had took 12 to 16 hours to upload a video to YouTube :-(

The MB does have SATA connections so I am good with that anyway.
DESKTOP: Dell PC WINDOWS 10 PRO, 64-bit, Ver:1607, OS BLD: 14393.1066
INTEL Core: i7-4790, CPU @3.60 GHz, Inst RAM:16.0 GB
GeForce GTX 745, Driver ver: 376.53, Tot avail grap: 12225 MB, Ded vid mem: 4096 MB DDR3
Shared Sys Mem: 8159 MB, DirectX Runtime Ver:12.0

LAPTOP: MSI GE72MVR 7RG
GTX-1070

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