[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Watch Blu-Ray Movies on Your PC here

[dmgolding]

I bought a DVD drive for a home build last year, and occasionally watch a Blu-ray title on my PC. I bought Corel Win DVD 9 as my software. I recently purchased Avatar, and found that the Blu Ray version won't run on my PC because the software needed to be upgradated. The problem is that Corel's last update was 10/09. According to Corel's knowledge base, to play newer title I need to buy the new version, 2010.

So another compelling reason not to watch Blu Ray on one's PC is the need to BUY new versions of the software yearly (at least with the Corel product I bought)

[gundark]

I've never been 100% satisfied with the DVD playing capabilities of PCs, so I wouldn't dream of using one for Blu-Ray.

For the price, the dedicated Blu-Ray player is going to provide the best bang for your buck.

[TommyD77]

gundark, on 01 June 2010 - 05:06 AM, said:

I've never been 100% satisfied with the DVD playing capabilities of PCs, so I wouldn't dream of using one for Blu-Ray.

For the price, the dedicated Blu-Ray player is going to provide the best bang for your buck.

Well put!

[compnovo]

dmgolding, on 01 June 2010 - 03:49 AM, said:

I bought a DVD drive for a home build last year, and occasionally watch a Blu-ray title on my PC. I bought Corel Win DVD 9 as my software. I recently purchased Avatar, and found that the Blu Ray version won't run on my PC because the software needed to be upgradated. The problem is that Corel's last update was 10/09. According to Corel's knowledge base, to play newer title I need to buy the new version, 2010.

So another compelling reason not to watch Blu Ray on one's PC is the need to BUY new versions of the software yearly (at least with the Corel product I bought)

I've got a home-built media center pc with an LG BD player, running Power DVD 9 Ultra, and Avatar plays flawlessly. A lot of people had problems until they updated the BD player firmware, not the software. I wonder if that's what is happening in your situation since you're able to play other BDs with no problems. The DRM Sony put on the Avatar disks has caused a lot of heartburn for folks. You should be able to find a firmware update at the optical drive manufacturer's site.
BTW, Avatar looks fantastic on my 32" Vizio.

[JohnPagakis]

Rick, you're missing the point. The fact that Blu-ray is overkill for a PC is irrelevant. I don't want to watch Blu-ray movies on my laptop because I like it better than my 73" Mitsubishi, I want to watch Blu-ray on my laptop because I have to kill a couple more hours on my flight to Chicago and my copy of Ocean's 11 is a Blu-ray disk.

Until the industry starts consistently selling disks in both formats and/or Digital Copy, I don't have a lot of options.

And while we're on the topic of Digital Copy, the industry also needs to lighten up on DRM. Forcing me to pick a machine and stay with the decision for the rest of my life is beyond Draconian - it's stupid (you listening Warner Bros.?!?!)

[JohnPagakis]

Rick, you're missing the point. The fact that Blu-ray is overkill for a PC is irrelevant. I don't want to watch Blu-ray movies on my laptop because I like it better than my 73" Mitsubishi, I want to watch Blu-ray on my laptop because I have to kill a couple more hours on my flight to Chicago and my copy of Ocean's 11 is a Blu-ray disk.

Until the industry starts consistently selling disks in both formats and/or Digital Copy, I don't have a lot of options.

And while we're on the topic of Digital Copy, the industry also needs to lighten up on DRM. Forcing me to pick a machine and stay with the decision for the rest of my life is beyond Draconian - it's stupid (you listening Warner Bros.?!?!)

[clintok83]

I've been dealing with this since blue ray first came out. The PC is absolutely the worst solution for watching blue ray. Even if you do get it running the way you want software gets updated so often that rarely stays stable for more than a few days.