Best Blu-ray playback

[cherryd]

Hi, I am looking to buy a new pc that will be used primarily for surfing the internet and for watching movies, blu-rays in particular. I want to get the best possible quality and am willing to pay more to achieve this however, I don't really know where to start. To get best playback results do I have to buy expensive components eg. the latest monitor, video card and processor? or can I still get best quality buying cheaper parts? Would much appreciate your input.

[-Sandro-]

well for the monitor it is obvious you're gonna need a good one and that supports 1080 lines of H resolution. If I were you I would go with monitors that have 72hz/120Hz support to get rid of the hateful judder from 2:3 pulldown with 24p content (blu-ray)

for the playback , you have two options:

1- you can buy a quad-core CPU, minimum and let the CPU do all the software decoding. Sometimes a powerful dual-core could be enough.

2- buy a "cheap" CPU (always dual core though) and let the video card decode the video stream for you, you don't need a pricey one. The latest low-entry cards from both NVIDIA and ATI will do the trick. Just check that the -commercial- player you'll use will support DXVA decoding Sometimes even integrated video card will be enough

[Topdog]

If you are planning to work with Blu ray, all your compnents need to be HDCP compliant...A must, so a major hardware upgrade looks on the cards!!

[cherryd]

Thanks for your replies, they were very helpful. Meanwhile, I have seen a "Home Entertainment Package" advertised at one of the local computer shops. They offer:

Intel i3 540
NVIDIA GTS 250 1GB
Gigabyte P55-UD3 Motherboard
Sound Card onboard
Hitachi 1TB SATA HDD
Blu-ray DVD ROM combo drive
4GBDDR3 1333 RAM
Aerocool Cyborg X Tower
Widetech 650W power supply
D-LINK DWA-510 Adapter
Windows 7 Home Premium
LG E2250 21.5" LED Monitor

for $1588 Aus.

Would I get great quality movie playback using this system?

[-Sandro-]

Sure

what is the model of the videocard?

[Stridulent]

"NVIDIA GTS 250 1GB" is the video card. The maker isn't listed though which means it might or might not have an HDMI port on the card. It's OK but there are much, much better ones. I personally think you could get a much better computer for the same price if you had someone home build it from parts. But that's not always available for everyone.

[oppopioneer]

You can also look into laptops. Powerful gaming laptops is the way to go for movies too. These are the best laptops you can get:

http://www.killernotebooks.com/

Also, if you're going to be interested in burning and copying bd's you might want to add this to your computer:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...riters/BDR-205

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/30/p...s-ahead-of-it/

[-Sandro-]

Sorry I don't know why I asked , I missed the "250".

and yes I agree with Stridulent

[cherryd]

To Sandro,

Don't worry, it's funny though because I was searching for a model no. for a while there!



To Oppopioneer,

Thanks for the GREAT! links. The notebooks look amazing! I wonder if they'd be as good as a desktop for movie watching? I'd be more than willing to get a laptop or notebook as long as the movie playback was "stunning"



To Stridulent,

Thanks a lot for your reply, unfortunately I don't know anyone who could build me a machine. I know it would be considerably cheaper and better quality.......



I have had a look at a Dell Studio XPS 9000 which would cost about $3000 Aus and another desktop from TechBuy, an Australian company. They offer:

500WPSU-Coolermaster Centurion
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UDR3
Core i7 960 Quad Core 3.20 GHz
Memory 6GB
HD-1,000 GB 7200rpm
BLU-RAY Combo
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5
Windows 7 Professional 64 bit...etc, etc.

for $2488 Aus



However, the best deal, quality-wise, comes from DComp which offers:

Intel I7 960 Processor (3.20 GHz)
Nvidia GTX480 1GB
Gigayte X58A-UD3R motherboard
7.1CH HD Audio on board
Gigabit Lan On Board
2TB SATA HDD
Blu-Ray DVD Burner
GEIL 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
Aerocool VXE Pro Tower
GW 900W power supply

for $2950 Aus.

I am tempted to go for DComp because of it's very high quality. I imagine the Blu-ray performance would be great.

[cherryd]

Forgot to say "Your comments are most welcome"

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by cherryd

Hi, I am looking to buy a new pc that will be used primarily for surfing the internet and for watching movies, blu-rays in particular. I want to get the best possible quality and am willing to pay more to achieve this however, I don't really know where to start. To get best playback results do I have to buy expensive components eg. the latest monitor, video card and processor? or can I still get best quality buying cheaper parts? Would much appreciate your input.

If you're using your new PC primarily for web surfing and watching Blu-ray discs, you don't need a costly, bleeding-edge setup. The upside to more expensive components are i) better build quality, ii) perhaps an extended warranty period, relative to the competition, and ii) hopefully, better customer service to handle post-purchase needs, e.g. handling RMA requests in the event of accidental damage or failure to said component.

If you're concerned about the image quality, then your choice of monitor will take precedence over anything else in your PC package. The video card and CPU are less important considerations because just about every offering in the past 2-3 years will handle Blu-ray playback smoothly.

CPU:
Just about any dual-core or multi-core CPU will be up to the task (though I am somewhat reluctant to recommend an Intel Dual Core; a Core 2 Duo or higher is perfectly acceptable). Even though the Core i3 is an entry-level processor, it is the successor to the Core 2 Duo. Unless you're a heavy multitasker, a Core i3-based system should be more than sufficient for your needs; at the very most, a Core i5 (a Core i7 is just overkill). Also, don't dismiss AMD's CPU offerings. Phenom II X2 and X4 CPUs are every bit as fast as their Core i3 and i5 counterparts (the Intel CPUs do run a bit cooler and consume less energy though)

GPU / video card:
Another area where you don't need to overspend. For online surfing and Blu-ray playback, you can get by with an ATI-based HD 5450 (around US$45; not sure how much it is in AUS$). It offers DirectX 11 support and comes with Dual-Link DVI and HDMI outputs, and consumes only 20 watts under a full load. It is the most economical solution. If you want a little more pep to your step, an HD 5570 should fit the bill nicely. It's about $25-40 more than a 5450, but if you decide to do a bit of gaming later on, it's up to the task.

Unfortunately, I don't know much about Nvidia's offerings, but I believe a GeForce 210 would be the equivalent of an HD 5450 (someone correct me if I'm wrong). It's in the same price range (~US$45) and it comes with DVI and HDMI outputs.

Meanwhile, I have seen a "Home Entertainment Package" advertised at one of the local computer shops. They offer:

Intel i3 540
NVIDIA GTS 250 1GB
Gigabyte P55-UD3 Motherboard
Sound Card onboard
Hitachi 1TB SATA HDD
Blu-ray DVD ROM combo drive
4GBDDR3 1333 RAM
Aerocool Cyborg X Tower
Widetech 650W power supply
D-LINK DWA-510 Adapter
Windows 7 Home Premium
LG E2250 21.5" LED Monitor

The specs for this package are mostly solid. It would be helpful if we knew who the manufacturer of the Blu-ray/DVD-ROM combo drive was, so that we could check the reviews.

I am not familiar with Widetech power supplies, and they seem to be relatively inexpensive: for power supply units (PSU), that's not a good thing. If you can upgrade this to a more reputable manufacturer (e.g. Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, SeaSonic, Silverstone, Xigmatek or XFX), I would spend the extra to do so. You can find a list of 80 PLUS PSU manufacturers here (80 PLUS products have more than 80% energy efficiency; the minimum you should consider is an 80PLUS Bronze PSU). PSUs are the lifeline for any PC, yet it is the most overlooked and underappreciated component in any quality PC build.

[tlmaclennan]

I don't see the point of going with the new Clarkdale processors if you are not going to take advantage of the iGPU. Since you are using a dedicated GPU, the NVIDIA, the iGPU on the CPU will be disabled.

The Clarkdale processors are great because they have the CPU and GPU in one package. Disable the iGPU and the Clarkdale processor is nothing to write home about.

If you want bitstreaming go with an Intel Core i3/i5 (Clarkdale) build with either a H55 or H57 motherboard. Or whichever CPU/motherboard combo you want with the ATI 5xxx series GPU.

If you don't want bitstreaming you can go with either ATI or Nvidia paired with a decent quad-core CPU.

[cherryd]

Thanks for the spot on information Private Pixel and timaclennan. really helped a lot. Now I know what CPU, Video Card, PSU and Motherboard to look for. Very interesting to learn how essential the monitor is regarding image quality. I have spent a fair amount of time looking for a really good monitor, one that will produce great Blu-ray playback but I haven't been very successful. I started off looking at the Dells and some of them sounded fantastic but after further investigation I learned that they have tinting problems. Next, I had a look at the Samsung Syncmaster XL 2370 LED and this seemed very promising with 16:9 display plus a brighter, more vivid and clearer picture. But then I saw a review stating the monitor was no good for Blu-ray. So now I'm at a bit of a loss as to what monitor to get. I'm happy to spend more to obtain a great monitor, say about $500 to $800Aus.

Can anybody recommend a high quality monitor - 21"-24", 16:9 that will be used primarily for watching Blu-ray movies?

[-Sandro-]

Are you interested in viewing movies on BD with no judder? Do you know anything about 2:3 pulldown?

[ryoohki]

If you plan to bitstreaming HD codec on a Ext Amp, the only choice are ATI 5XXX series, as the old and new Nvidia don't support that... Otherwise the choice is yours..

I have a I5 @ 4ghz with a 5850 and my CPU is about 6% when i'am in a Bluray..

[cherryd]

Much appreciated advice.

No judder sounds good. Afraid I know nothing about 2:3 pulldown.

[tlmaclennan]

Originally Posted by ryoohki

If you plan to bitstreaming HD codec on a Ext Amp, the only choice are ATI 5XXX series, as the old and new Nvidia don't support that... Otherwise the choice is yours..

I have a I5 @ 4ghz with a 5850 and my CPU is about 6% when i'am in a Bluray..

You can also bitstream with the Intel Clarkdale CPUs, but they have not implemented perfect 24p playback so there supposedly is judder.

I have a Clarkdale build and don't have a TV that can play video at 24p. Though I do not notice the judder very often, if at all, so it is not a problem for me.

[cherryd]

I see, thanks for all the information, it is very helpful.

[cherryd]

I've been searching for a new monitor but had to rule out Dell because of problems with tinting and others like the Samsung XL2370 seemed alright but not great, just not what I was after. After lots of investigation I was led to the EIZO site. There, I was introduced to the amazing FORIS FX2431, a 24" monitor that claimed flawless video playback. It was priced at $1980 AUS! I emailed one of their representatives who told me I could get a 1 month old ex demo model for $1700 AUS. Meanwhile, I looked at reviews of the FX2431 and came across ones that mentioned how good the HP LP2475W was. "Fantastic", "Superb" and it is only $960 AUS! So now I am faced with a choice....FX2431 or HP LP2475W? Money is not a big issue but I don't want to waste it unnessecarily, I just want to have the best video playback I can get. The FORIS is said to have exceptional playback, the only negatives are the price and the lack of an optical audio output. How significant this is I don't know. The HP's features and image quality were fully and highly praised, the only hiccup being that one needed to be careful that the monitor was made after March 2009 to avoid getting an older, less capable version.

I wonder if anyone has had experience with these monitors or has knowledge of them. My head says "be sensible and get the more sanely priced HP" but I am sorely tempted to go for that extra bit of quality that the FORIS might possess.

[Topdog]

I was going to suggest that your BD player needs to be a Writer(if you plan to rip Bluray),,the combo units do not have write capabilities, but I see your new list shows a Writer....
FYI: I have an LG GGW-H20L which is working well for me. Newer models now available I would think.