Blu-ray

Hi everyone.

Anybody else here enjoying Blu-ray video on their PC? Last weekend I picked up an LG Blu-ray drive at my local Micro Center. It was a snap to install, and it came with PowerDVD. Everything seems to be working fine. So far the only Blu-ray title I have is Star Trek (the re-boot that just recently came out), but I was very impressed with the image quality. Lots of sharp detail and crisp, vibrant colors.

Just for comparison's sake, I popped in a standard DVD and looked at the difference. I think I detected a noticeable increase in "fuzziness." I don't mean to put words in anyone's mouth or speak for everybody here, but I'm starting to think that most of us are glad that we're finally in the Hi-Def era.

If anyone can give me any advice that I need to know, feel free to chime in. I've got some other titles in mind that I want to buy, so hopefully my Blu-ray collection will grow.

Blu-Ray can't be enjoyed on a PC, especially in terms of lossless audio. The best option is to build a separate media centre, connect via HDMI to a receiver that decodes DTS Master Audio, and then connect the receiver to a 60" plasma or projector.

I don't have bluray yet myself but I've read up on it a bit. A huge part of the benefit of bluray is the audio - you may want to look at a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system to get the theater sound with your crisp images.

Creative make 7.1 sound card (x-fi Xtreme Music), you could get a HD monitor with HDMI input and video cards with HDMI output. Still probably not an economical way to watch blu-ray on the PC however.

Who ever said bluray was economical? You want crisp clear picture and superb sound and they want to give it to you ... for a price! Enjoy your bluray.

Not as economical to have blu-ray on your PC was what I meant, although it can be done was the point I was trying to make.
Given that a greater proportion of ppl would now have a HD compliant TV but a lot less would have a HD monitor on their PC is why TV is the cheaper option, especially if your just going for a player.

Thank you all for the advice and tips. I admit a Blu-ray experience on a PC might be just a little bit subpar compared to a full-blown home theater. I think I performed this upgrade basically because prices have come down a lot, and since my family now has a Blu-ray player in our living room incorporated into our Hi-Def Dish Network setup, it just seems like it only makes sense to probably start migrating over to the new standard. I have a very nice HannsG monitor with my PC, so the image is great, although I admit I'm not employing surround audio, so I'm not enjoying things to the fullest extent that I can. I actually am happy with my audio quality -- I have a very nice set of Yamaha speakers and a subwoofer that have been lasting me for years -- but who knows, maybe sooner or later I'll do something about that.

I think my Sound Blaster Audigy supports surround sound. Is it just a matter of upgrading the speakers?

congrats on the install. It's always a good feeling to install something and have it work right the first time.

Very true. Ever get that feeling of unease right before you do an upgrade, when all of the possible things that might go wrong float across your mind? Not to mention the stuff you can't predict.

Sometimes it's equally confusing reading online user reviews, which is what I usually do, and for my Blu-ray drive it was no exception. For almost every imaginable product, there will be at least a small handful of negative reviews on it. Then you have to gamble and go with the one that has the least amount of risk.

Well that's not true at all! Monitors can display higher resolutions than most TVs so video is not an issue - except perhaps for the size of the screen. So to your point, there are several audio solutions that offer suburb audiophile quality surround sound. Quality audio is no longer available just on high-end motherboards - it is now readily available on mid-level boards too as the makers realize more and more PCs are being integrated into home theater systems. The greatest limitation to taking advantage of BluRay audio on a computer is the speaker system. Most computer setups don't have the space for a quality set of "full-range" surround (5.1) speakers - or the necessary amplification to drive them. But the fact remains, almost all computer audio solutions today offer a number fully digital interconnection options to get quality audio out to a HT amp or receiver, which can then drive a decent set of speakers.

Yeah, I don't put much stock in user reviews. First, happy users tend not to complain, or post good reviews. Second, typical users rarely have experience with competing products, and may not have any experience with that product before this purchase. I will still scan over user reviews to see if the same complaint is raised, indicating a trend - but generally, I stick to professional reviews at hardware review sites.