I don't get it.

[Duran Durandall]

I'm a big fan of Blu Ray... but it's making me nervous. Why is it so difficult for these big companies to just make the media, and make the player?

Why are they making it so difficult for consumers with all these updates?

I'm a HTPC'er running PowerDVD 7.3, and I can't complain. so far, I've been able to play every blu ray I've had in my hands. However, I read posts on here that some movies don't play at all... even on stand alone, dedicated Blu Ray players.

That's just ridiculous to me. I'm not opposed to paying for my movies, like a good honest citizen should... but I don't have the internet at home... and I'm nervous that I may drop $30 on a movie - and not be able to watch it... unless I download an update... without the internet.

If I could suggest something to Blu Ray production companies... how about taking an example from Sony's PSP. They include updates (if necessary) on the game that requires it. For instance... if like... Castlevania required version 2.03... then it was on the disc - ready to install it for you.

[un4gvn94538]

dont know about the blu players since my ps3 is connected to the net, but on my hd a30, i had toshiba send me update discs that i played on the player and updated that way.

[Carlsberg19]

yea i see what your saying thats kinda crap, if you dont have a phone line you could try those 3g data modems, pretty much internet access wherever you are.

[dadkins]

No internet at home... ok.
May I ask, how do you update... sound card? Video card? Chipset drivers?

Apparently you have internet somewhere(you posted here), download the updates/drivers/firmware/whatever and burn to disc then take them home.

My VAIOs have been updated all the way to Profile 2(BD-Live) and every disc I have tried has played.
Not that I have EVERY disc made, but I have a couple that were problematic for some people and they play fine.

Best to get the drivers or firmware from the mfgr.
PSP is different, one player, one drive, one piece of hardware.
BD drives and players... just a couple, right?
Sony, Panasonic, LiteOn, Samsung, Pioneer, etc...

[Duran Durandall]

Originally Posted by dadkins

No internet at home... ok.
May I ask, how do you update... sound card? Video card? Chipset drivers?

Apparently you have internet somewhere(you posted here), download the updates/drivers/firmware/whatever and burn to disc then take them home.

My VAIOs have been updated all the way to Profile 2(BD-Live) and every disc I have tried has played.
Not that I have EVERY disc made, but I have a couple that were problematic for some people and they play fine.

Best to get the drivers or firmware from the mfgr.
PSP is different, one player, one drive, one piece of hardware.
BD drives and players... just a couple, right?
Sony, Panasonic, LiteOn, Samsung, Pioneer, etc...

My updates, aren't done. I have the same drivers that were on the initial install disc. if there was ever an issue with something I bought... I generally just took it back.

To answer your question though... work. I have the internet at work. That's how I post here. I live in a very rural community. DSL isn't available. The only options are dial-up, or satellite. I tried satellite, and was greatly disappointed in both the speed, and reliability of the connection. So now, no internet.

I have a new question. you mentioned downloading updates, drivers, firmware and stuff, then burning them to CD then installing them at home. The question is... is that actually possible? I mean, updates - yeah... but like... When Cyberlink pops up saying I need new firmware... they try to connect me to cyberlink to d/l it. but, it can't - no internet. So the next day at work I try to download what i need from cyberlink - and I haven't had luck finding it - thus far, anyway. Is it downloadable without bring my PC here, and connecting it? I asked the IT guys here if I could do that, and they didn't say "no", but they did say that our network isn't Vista friendly... meaning I'll run into problems.

Maybe you could help me find it. I'm running PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 - ultra or deluxe... i don't remember really. And my BD drive is a Benq BD/DVD+RW combo drive. Doesn't burn BD, but does play it. Does burn DVDs. Anything else you'd need to know?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Duran Durandall

My updates, aren't done. I have the same drivers that were on the initial install disc. if there was ever an issue with something I bought... I generally just took it back.

To answer your question though... work. I have the internet at work. That's how I post here. I live in a very rural community. DSL isn't available. The only options are dial-up, or satellite. I tried satellite, and was greatly disappointed in both the speed, and reliability of the connection. So now, no internet.

I have a new question. you mentioned downloading updates, drivers, firmware and stuff, then burning them to CD then installing them at home. The question is... is that actually possible? I mean, updates - yeah... but like... When Cyberlink pops up saying I need new firmware... they try to connect me to cyberlink to d/l it. but, it can't - no internet. So the next day at work I try to download what i need from cyberlink - and I haven't had luck finding it - thus far, anyway. Is it downloadable without bring my PC here, and connecting it? I asked the IT guys here if I could do that, and they didn't say "no", but they did say that our network isn't Vista friendly... meaning I'll run into problems.

Maybe you could help me find it. I'm running PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 - ultra or deluxe... i don't remember really. And my BD drive is a Benq BD/DVD+RW combo drive. Doesn't burn BD, but does play it. Does burn DVDs. Anything else you'd need to know?

I'm kind of surprised you have an HTPC, to be honest. Not trying to badmouth you but the level of expertise needed in an HTPC usually means that the rest of this is second nature.

Your network boys probably don't like the idea of hooking up a PC to their network, and to be honest without the right authentication it probably won't work. All you need to do is to google the product name, your OS, and "drivers" and you'll find what you need in terms of your HTPC. You really owe it to yourself to update to the newest drivers as they have bugfixes/more features/etc.

Same is true for your player- regardless of what kind it is. Most of them can do it via USB or a disk, and there's no reason not to. If you can't do it at work due to a restricted internet (like ours here for some sites) then make a pit stop at a local library or a friend's house that has it and get the drivers. Jump drive, CD-Rom, whatever... it's something you really should do.

[Luis_A51]

Originally Posted by Duran Durandall

I'm a big fan of Blu Ray... but it's making me nervous. Why is it so difficult for these big companies to just make the media, and make the player?

Why are they making it so difficult for consumers with all these updates?

I'm a HTPC'er running PowerDVD 7.3, and I can't complain. so far, I've been able to play every blu ray I've had in my hands. However, I read posts on here that some movies don't play at all... even on stand alone, dedicated Blu Ray players.

That's just ridiculous to me. I'm not opposed to paying for my movies, like a good honest citizen should... but I don't have the internet at home... and I'm nervous that I may drop $30 on a movie - and not be able to watch it... unless I download an update... without the internet.

If I could suggest something to Blu Ray production companies... how about taking an example from Sony's PSP. They include updates (if necessary) on the game that requires it. For instance... if like... Castlevania required version 2.03... then it was on the disc - ready to install it for you.

Your psp-type solution would never work. Only Sony makes PSPs.. But there are dozens of companies making bluray products. They cant hope to put every players firmware onto a disc, especially when each player has different specs and limitations and each Manufacturer releases updates at a different pace (some release before there are any potential problems, some wait until problems arise to release updates)

Firmware updates in all honesty are a blessing, not a curse. Atleast with firmware updates you're guaranteed that something will work eventually, and that new features or improvements will be made regularly. Without them, you're SOL with no hope of performance improvements (like for loading times)

[pseudomaniac]

I don't think it would be a bad idea if companies put the firmware updates on movie discs, knowing the issues when they publish the title.

Holding them accountable for delivering a product that works instead of leaving you to your "own devices" to make sure the player you invested in is able to play the media.

Xbox games when they require updates, have them on the disc....and are also available for download for free.

Nice little logo box in the back title area - Certified for Sony/Toshiba/LG/etc. with firmware updates included.

I don't think it would kill them to give up what...100mb at most to these files, and engineer an auto-update logic into the disc software... or at the very least an "update" option from the blu-menu.

[dadkins]

Cyberlink would be program updates... you can usually go to the website and download the update as a stand-alone installer.
I do.

http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/downl...ad_hotlink.jsp

7.3, right?
http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/downl...s_112_ENU.html

Firmware, like for the drive itself, most manufacturers also have the stand-alone installers for firmware - see the drive manufacturer site.

Even drivers for the various hardware is/are doable via another computer and either CD/DVD or thumbdrives.

Hope this helps!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by pseudomaniac

I don't think it would be a bad idea if companies put the firmware updates on movie discs, knowing the issues when they publish the title.

Holding them accountable for delivering a product that works instead of leaving you to your "own devices" to make sure the player you invested in is able to play the media.

Xbox games when they require updates, have them on the disc....and are also available for download for free.

Nice little logo box in the back title area - Certified for Sony/Toshiba/LG/etc. with firmware updates included.

I don't think it would kill them to give up what...100mb at most to these files, and engineer an auto-update logic into the disc software... or at the very least an "update" option from the blu-menu.

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[richard lichtenfelt]

I've had a PS3 for over a year now w/o internet. I own about 40 blu-rays and have never had any problems at all. I've rented some movies as well.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by Luis_A51

Your psp-type solution would never work. Only Sony makes PSPs.. But there are dozens of companies making bluray products. They cant hope to put every players firmware onto a disc, especially when each player has different specs and limitations and each Manufacturer releases updates at a different pace (some release before there are any potential problems, some wait until problems arise to release updates)

That is definitely part of the problem, but there's also liability issues involved. With game discs, the platform manufacturer assumes responsibility from any issues that arise from system updates (whether they be on game discs, downloaded, whatever). The system manufacturers have a great deal of control over the final disc product released on their systems to ensure ahead of time that no disc is going to cause problems, and so having it as part of each game studio's contract that the system manufacturer will assume liability for issues that may arise is fairly easy.

That relationship doesn't exist with movies and players. The player manufacturers have no control over the pressing of discs or the quality control of the masters. If a movie studio put a software update on one of their movies and it turned out the data was bad and bricked players requiring them to be sent in for repair, who is going to pay? The player manufacturer is going to say it's not their screw-up, and they'd be right. Meanwhile, the studio is going to say that they have no experience in hardware repair and don't have the means to do it.

And that's why, for better or worse, no one would ever attempt it. The player manufacturers are only going to support updates directly from them.

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by Duran Durandall

If I could suggest something to Blu Ray production companies... how about taking an example from Sony's PSP. They include updates (if necessary) on the game that requires it. For instance... if like... Castlevania required version 2.03... then it was on the disc - ready to install it for you.

This wouldn't work for one simple reason, the amount of players they would have to update at once. It would end up half the disk is just updates for a small percentage of people that need them.

Your best bet is to get a usb drive (1-2 gigs should be enough for what you need), learn the contents of your computer (video card, monitor, printers, motherboard, cpu, graphics card, drives) and the programs you run. Then once every month or two, do a check for updates from the manufacturers websites. Then you download the updates to your usb drive, and bring it home, and connect it to your computer.

I've done this lately because my internet at home is quite unstable lately. My BIOS, PS3, wifi, and windows xp all got updated like that.