BD-ROM Drives for PC. Your thoughts?

[ViN86]

well, im looking at getting a BD drive for my PC. i have a 42" HDTV at home that's 1080i. i would probably get the drive and then use the HDTV out with my 8800GT to play the movie on the TV.

how would the quality be if i were to do this? i know i wont have DTS and all the audio perks, but that's ok for now since my sound system is lacking anyways. would it still look ok? i mean, i could just run it at 1080p on my 24" Dell, but id like to output it to my HDTV with a nice picture.

heres the drive:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8498397&productCategoryId=abcat0504008&type=product&tab=2&id=1186004520147#productdetail

i have a bestbuy gift card, that's why i chose that site. let me know what you all think.


EDIT: also would i have problems with the firmware? ie, can i upgrade the firmware or what? is this a non-issue with ROM's?

[LORD-eX-Bu]

there is also this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106227

that one isn't a writer tho.

[AngelGraves13]

That's not a bad drive.

I'm looking to get a BD-RAM drive.

* LG GGW-H20LI (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8490661&type=product&id=1186003684169)

That's the new one. It plays CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, and HD DVD. It burns them all too, except HD DVD, which is now dead...so what does it matter? A litter faster than the last. It burns DVDs at 16x. The buffer is only 4 MB though. 6x BD-R burns a 25 GB disc in about 20 mins according to some article I read. That's not too bad. Discs are way too pricey for it to be useful though.

I'm probably sit this one out until a 8x or 12x (if possible) comes out (also with a bigger buffer). It would be nice to watch hi-def movies on my PC though.

also available at Fry's for $350 at the moment http://shop2.outpost.com/product/5360008?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[nekrosoft13]

GGW-H20L is ****ing amazing!

[nekrosoft13]

also if you are looking for just BD-ROM

this is the lowest price
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538928&CatId=2537


ALSO what ever you do, stay away from the OLD OLD 2x drives

[LORD-eX-Bu]

also if you are looking for just BD-ROM

this is the lowest price
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538928&CatId=2537


ALSO what ever you do, stay away from the OLD OLD 2x drives

uh isn't that the same one that I posted but on newegg and $20 cheaper :lol:

[nekrosoft13]

uh isn't that the same one that I posted but on newegg and $20 cheaper :lol:
its different, you posted OEM, i posted retail.

GGW-H20L still rules ;)

[|JuiceZ|]

I had no idea BR drives had come down that much.

[Rakeesh]

I had no idea BR drives had come down that much.

Yeah thats pretty nice. I might get one after I move, might order a new prelude along with it.

[ViN86]

yea im really looking for just a ROM atm. i will wait for burner prices to drop. they should within a few years at least to the $100 price point, which is where CD and DVD burners were for a while.

i dont really have a desire for HD-DVD since the HD-DVD exclusives will soon move over to BD. and i will definitely stay away from the 2x drives heh.

i can output to 1080i through my 8800GT, right? i mean, i shouldnt have any problems with that, right? will there be any problems with the various revisions (ie 1.0, 1.1, 2.0)? or will that be handled by the player software?

[nekrosoft13]

i have AnyDVD HD, so i don't have to worry about HDCP.

playing the movie in WMP11 with properly tuned FFDSHOW has higher image quality then PowerDVD Ultra

[ViN86]

i have AnyDVD HD, so i don't have to worry about HDCP.

playing the movie in WMP11 with properly tuned FFDSHOW has higher image quality then PowerDVD Ultra
there's no HDCP over component anyway, right? my monitor and vid card are HDCP compliant anyway, so that should be ok.

[mullet]

I had no idea BR drives had come down that much.

WOW you can say that again I had no idea as well. Thanks for the links you blu-ray fanboys. :p

[AngelGraves13]

i have AnyDVD HD, so i don't have to worry about HDCP.

playing the movie in WMP11 with properly tuned FFDSHOW has higher image quality then PowerDVD Ultra

Yeah, I bought AnyDVD HD when it first came out. Haven't had a chance to use it on any hi-def movies yet, but will be soon. I'm waiting for either a new LG super multi-blu burner or the price of this one to drop by year end.

[Rakeesh]

i can output to 1080i through my 8800GT, right? i mean, i shouldnt have any problems with that, right? will there be any problems with the various revisions (ie 1.0, 1.1, 2.0)? or will that be handled by the player software?

I'd figure you can go much higher than that even. 1080p works fine on my GTS.

[nekrosoft13]

there's no HDCP over component anyway, right? my monitor and vid card are HDCP compliant anyway, so that should be ok.

that the point with AnyDVD HD, it doesn't matter HDCP is out of the picture.

[nekrosoft13]

will there be any problems with the various revisions (ie 1.0, 1.1, 2.0)? or will that be handled by the player software?

yes it is software, powerdvd ultra is compatible with bd 1.1.

but like i said for me it doesn't matter, image quality in WMP11 is better, and 99% of time i don't bother with any of those extras

[ViN86]

that the point with AnyDVD HD, it doesn't matter HDCP is out of the picture.

yes it is software, powerdvd ultra is compatible with bd 1.1.

but like i said for me it doesn't matter, image quality in WMP11 is better, and 99% of time i don't bother with any of those extras
cool. thx nekro :D

so im guessing the only drawback with a BD-ROM is the audio output then? ie no DTS and what not.

[nekrosoft13]

cool. thx nekro :D

so im guessing the only drawback with a BD-ROM is the audio output then? ie no DTS and what not.

you can do DTS if your run optical out to your speakers or receiver, depends on setup.

[ViN86]

im probably goin to drop the cash on the drive in my OP. any holdbacks from going with an ATAPI interface? maybe i should go with SATA? :confused:

maybe this drive...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8490689&productCategoryId=abcat0504008&type=product&tab=2&id=1186003684236#productdetail

[nekrosoft13]

im probably goin to drop the cash on the drive in my OP. any holdbacks from going with an ATAPI interface? maybe i should go with SATA? :confused:

maybe this drive...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8490689&productCategoryId=abcat0504008&type=product&tab=2&id=1186003684236#productdetail

what?

Interface Slot/Connection Port: Serial ATA

don't buy it from Best Buy, you can find it for less
http://www.google.com/products?q=GGC-H20L&hl=en&show=dd

[ViN86]

what?

Interface Slot/Connection Port: Serial ATA

don't buy it from Best Buy, you can find it for less
http://www.google.com/products?q=GGC-H20L&hl=en&show=dd
no i meant the drive in my OP. that's ATAPI.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8498397&productCategoryId=abcat0504008&type=product&tab=2&id=1186004520147#productdetail

im likin the drive you posted from tigerdirect.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538928&CatId=2537

ill probably be ordering that once i get paid.

[J-Mag]

Anyone doing any Blu-ray burning? I've seen media prices fall, but are most movies on 50GB discs?

[nekrosoft13]

no i meant the drive in my OP. that's ATAPI.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8498397&productCategoryId=abcat0504008&type=product&tab=2&id=1186004520147#productdetail


just a mistake on best buy web page (again :D )

drive is serial
http://www.pcworld.com/product/specs/prtprdid,42359199/specs.html

[ViN86]

just a mistake on best buy web page (again :D )

drive is serial
http://www.pcworld.com/product/specs/prtprdid,42359199/specs.html
lol k thx.