PC or Component - Blu-ray Forum

Jack D. · 02-16-2009, 02:34 AM

Hey all. I have been pondering purchasing a B/R drive. My setup is actually the living room/media room. I have leather theater recliners, my PC is via the Plasma TV in HD, it is all tied in seamlessly through the surround system, everything works magnificently (Well, okay, my Time Warner DVR box is a joke, but regardless of that).. My dilemma is, do I want to purchase a B/R for the PC or as a separate component. Since the PC is physically a part of the "Entertainment Center" (Hell, the PC is on more than the Cable TV!) why shouldn't I put the B/R Player in the PC? Has anyone here hooked their PC to a plasma tv and watched BR discs as well as watched the same disk via a component unit? Is there a difference? In all the reviews I have read it's always about the b/r burn time the reviewers are worried about, never actually the picture quality. I am wondering if anyone here has experience in this?
Thanks a bunch, sorry so long winded...

essinger · 02-17-2009, 06:19 PM

The PC could, theoretically, produce an even better picture than the stand-alone blu-ray player because of higher quality components and more processing power. Whether you could tell the difference, or care even if you could, is an individual impression. I can tell a substanial difference between the quality of a DVD picture on my Media Center PC as opposed to my Sony standalone DVP-CX985V. The PC is much better.

However, the state of the blu-ray playback software is not great at the moment. All the current software (I believe) requires full hardware playback as a copyright protection method, so any benefit from the processor is minimal. Add to this the hassle of dealing with software updates and incompatible titles -- well, I certainly wouldn't recommend the PC route now to anyone who isn't fully commited one box for everything mindset. The standalone player is, IMHO, a better solution right now.

BLindsay · 02-18-2009, 12:17 AM

yeah i actually had a blu-ray player in my pc for a while and since switched to the sony S350 because of how annoying the software was, also while the picture quality is great, audio is a pain to get working correctly, there are alot of hdmi hand shaking issues with computers and recievers

dadkins · 02-18-2009, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by essinger

The PC could, theoretically, produce an even better picture than the stand-alone blu-ray player because of higher quality components and more processing power. Whether you could tell the difference, or care even if you could, is an individual impression. I can tell a substanial difference between the quality of a DVD picture on my Media Center PC as opposed to my Sony standalone DVP-CX985V. The PC is much better.

However, the state of the blu-ray playback software is not great at the moment. All the current software (I believe) requires full hardware playback as a copyright protection method, so any benefit from the processor is minimal. Add to this the hassle of dealing with software updates and incompatible titles -- well, I certainly wouldn't recommend the PC route now to anyone who isn't fully commited one box for everything mindset. The standalone player is, IMHO, a better solution right now.

Doesn't require hardware playback, but sure makes it easier on the machine itself.
My AR190G has no HW offload and works fine - 7600GT
Software updates? Faster and easier than any firmware update on a STB...
HDMI is Plug-N-Go on these laptops.

HTPCs are great.
Portable HTPCs are pretty cool too!

It's all upto what one wants from a home environment.
I like the freedom of a HTPC laptop.
I can watch any of my movies and/or listen to any of my music with the push of a button on the remote.
With ArcSoft integrated into Media Center - Blu-ray playback is a snap too!

I can also watch from... well, we can't talk about that.

Uniquely · 02-18-2009, 02:17 AM

I think it depends on how much you like tinkering on the PC to make things work properly. I'd read some of the threads in this forum to see some of the common issues. A stand alone on the otherhand will take very minimum set up and be ready to go.

ObiTrentKenobi · 02-18-2009, 05:23 AM

My PC runs blurays perfectly into my 42" Sony LCD and my new 50" Panasonic Plasma...

However, i bought the bluray burner/player for my pc to primarily do blu authoring...

i'd still recommend a seperate bluray player unit, to save strain wear/tear on your pc's processor and gpu. Also, you won't have to mess around with so many updates or any crashes (not saying that will happen, it just would be much more likely on a pc than standalone blu player)

Jack D. · 02-18-2009, 05:34 PM

Okay, thats awesome of you guys to shed some light. I too was thinking of hassles with PC software. I am most likely going to go ahead and just buy a component B/R. Everything said here makes sense. I love the way Vista works, and the less I do to it, lol, well, you know...
Any advice in what to look for in stand alones? Who makes the best, what sort of load times am I looking at, whats the cons against certain brands? How much is too much for a standalone?
Thanks guyz...

02-16-2009, 02:34 AM	#1
Jack D. New Member Member since:Feb 2009 Location:Rochester NY Home Theater Gallery:5	PC or Component Hey all. I have been pondering purchasing a B/R drive. My setup is actually the living room/media room. I have leather theater recliners, my PC is via the Plasma TV in HD, it is all tied in seamlessly through the surround system, everything works magnificently (Well, okay, my Time Warner DVR box is a joke, but regardless of that).. My dilemma is, do I want to purchase a B/R for the PC or as a separate component. Since the PC is physically a part of the "Entertainment Center" (Hell, the PC is on more than the Cable TV!) why shouldn't I put the B/R Player in the PC? Has anyone here hooked their PC to a plasma tv and watched BR discs as well as watched the same disk via a component unit? Is there a difference? In all the reviews I have read it's always about the b/r burn time the reviewers are worried about, never actually the picture quality. I am wondering if anyone here has experience in this? Thanks a bunch, sorry so long winded...

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02-17-2009, 06:19 PM	#2
essinger Member Member since:Feb 2008	The PC could, theoretically, produce an even better picture than the stand-alone blu-ray player because of higher quality components and more processing power. Whether you could tell the difference, or care even if you could, is an individual impression. I can tell a substanial difference between the quality of a DVD picture on my Media Center PC as opposed to my Sony standalone DVP-CX985V. The PC is much better. However, the state of the blu-ray playback software is not great at the moment. All the current software (I believe) requires full hardware playback as a copyright protection method, so any benefit from the processor is minimal. Add to this the hassle of dealing with software updates and incompatible titles -- well, I certainly wouldn't recommend the PC route now to anyone who isn't fully commited one box for everything mindset. The standalone player is, IMHO, a better solution right now.

02-18-2009, 12:17 AM	#3
BLindsay Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Aug 2008 Location:MA Home Theater Gallery:59 4K collection:9 Blu-ray collection:25 Trading Score:12	yeah i actually had a blu-ray player in my pc for a while and since switched to the sony S350 because of how annoying the software was, also while the picture quality is great, audio is a pain to get working correctly, there are alot of hdmi hand shaking issues with computers and recievers

02-18-2009, 02:17 AM	#5
Uniquely Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Mobile, AL Home Theater Gallery:14 Blu-ray collection:171	I think it depends on how much you like tinkering on the PC to make things work properly. I'd read some of the threads in this forum to see some of the common issues. A stand alone on the otherhand will take very minimum set up and be ready to go.

02-18-2009, 05:23 AM	#6
ObiTrentKenobi Special Member Top contributor Member since:Sep 2008 Location:United States of Love 4K collection:14 Blu-ray collection:205 DVD collection:155 Digital collection:155 Blu-ray reviews: 1	My PC runs blurays perfectly into my 42" Sony LCD and my new 50" Panasonic Plasma... However, i bought the bluray burner/player for my pc to primarily do blu authoring... i'd still recommend a seperate bluray player unit, to save strain wear/tear on your pc's processor and gpu. Also, you won't have to mess around with so many updates or any crashes (not saying that will happen, it just would be much more likely on a pc than standalone blu player)

02-18-2009, 05:34 PM	#7
Jack D. New Member Member since:Feb 2009 Location:Rochester NY Home Theater Gallery:5	Okay, thats awesome of you guys to shed some light. I too was thinking of hassles with PC software. I am most likely going to go ahead and just buy a component B/R. Everything said here makes sense. I love the way Vista works, and the less I do to it, lol, well, you know... Any advice in what to look for in stand alones? Who makes the best, what sort of load times am I looking at, whats the cons against certain brands? How much is too much for a standalone? Thanks guyz...

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