Which blu-ray drive to get....

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Nety

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#25844 3-Sep-2008 13:14

OK well it looks like I am getting close to taking the plunge and getting a blu ray drive for my media centre. Currently it looks like the cheapest drive is the LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray and DVD reader at $220 plus postage.

So my question is does anyone already have this drive and can confirm that it is good or any reasons not to get it.

I just need to be able to play blu-ray and DVD's. I do not need it to burn DVD's as I have two other PC's that can do that.

It would be going into my LC16-M case which does have a warning about drives that have a tray the same width as the drive. I think this is because the door that opens is not quite the full width of a optical drive.

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

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#161860 3-Sep-2008 14:46

Well, I havn't got it yet but I am about to order it (the LiteOn). It doesnt burn anything in case you cared.

I dont need dvd-rw or HD-DVD so dont really need the LG one ($80 more)

Both seem to get good reviews though. One of the main gripes with the LiteOn was that CD read speed was only 32x but who really cares about that...?

Nety

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#161866 3-Sep-2008 14:57

Asmodeus: Well, I havn't got it yet but I am about to order it (the LiteOn). It doesnt burn anything in case you cared.

I dont need dvd-rw or HD-DVD so dont really need the LG one ($80 more)

Both seem to get good reviews though. One of the main gripes with the LiteOn was that CD read speed was only 32x but who really cares about that...?

I dont care about the burning.. disks are too expensive anyway.

I can't remember the last time I put a CD in the media centre. I have a CD player for playing music CD's.

Asmodeus

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#161873 3-Sep-2008 15:17

Nety:
Asmodeus: Well, I havn't got it yet but I am about to order it (the LiteOn). It doesnt burn anything in case you cared.

I dont need dvd-rw or HD-DVD so dont really need the LG one ($80 more)

Both seem to get good reviews though. One of the main gripes with the LiteOn was that CD read speed was only 32x but who really cares about that...?

I dont care about the burning.. disks are too expensive anyway.

I can't remember the last time I put a CD in the media centre. I have a CD player for playing music CD's.

Looks like the LiteOn is for you then :)

Like I said it seems to get good reviews but at the end of the day it is the cheapest model available (by a fair whack) and I think that needs to be kept in mind.

That said even if it does only last 366 days, by then the prices will be even lower so Im gona go for it. The thing has dropped 60 bucks in the last 6 weeks...

browned

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#161875 3-Sep-2008 15:23

I have the liteon and it is fine. Reads anything and works well. Make sure you update the firmware as peolple have reported problems with the stock firmware.

The only issue is with Disney Blu-ray discs but that is a powerdvd fault apparently.

Cheers
db

Nety

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#161878 3-Sep-2008 15:26

Asmodeus:
That said even if it does only last 366 days, by then the prices will be even lower so Im gona go for it. The thing has dropped 60 bucks in the last 6 weeks...

True... $60? I knew it dropped $30 a week or so ago but I did not know that was the second drop.

Nety

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#161886 3-Sep-2008 15:36

browned: I have the liteon and it is fine. Reads anything and works well. Make sure you update the firmware as peolple have reported problems with the stock firmware.

The only issue is with Disney Blu-ray discs but that is a powerdvd fault apparently.

Cheers
db

So have you upgraded to a version of powerdvd that supports hardware decoding or just using the one that comes with the drive? Speaking of which.. what version does come with it?

gehenna

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#161896 3-Sep-2008 16:25

I use the LiteOn with Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre and Windows Vista & AnyDVD HD- works brilliantly.

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browned

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#161918 3-Sep-2008 18:21

So have you upgraded to a version of powerdvd that supports hardware decoding or just using the one that comes with the drive? Speaking of which.. what version does come with it?

Think is comes with version 7, with stereo surround.

Yes using PowerDVD Ultra version 8. Have been since I brought the drive, actually I have been using it a lot longer with DVBViewer for Freeview HD.

I got an email tonight about a PowerDVD update that fixes some compatibility issues with some blu-ray discs, and also playback performance improvements on AMD platforms.

pirates of the caribbean - at worlds end is a disney disc that I had trouble with....

Cheers
db

mcraenz

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#161926 3-Sep-2008 18:51

Can you hire Blueray at video stores yet? Or are you guys buying movies?

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old3eyes

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#161927 3-Sep-2008 18:51

Will this BD drive play movies from regions A,b,C or is there a region free hack as there is in DVD??

Regards,

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#161929 3-Sep-2008 18:58

mcraenz: Can you hire Blueray at video stores yet? Or are you guys buying movies?

yup the local video store has quite a large br range now

Asmodeus

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#162005 3-Sep-2008 23:55

Nety:
Asmodeus:
That said even if it does only last 366 days, by then the prices will be even lower so Im gona go for it. The thing has dropped 60 bucks in the last 6 weeks...

True... $60? I knew it dropped $30 a week or so ago but I did not know that was the second drop.

Yeah it wormed its way down from $280 to $250 over a month or two then dropped another $30 like you said, just recently

The LG one has only dropped $20 max in the same time.The LG is the more comprehensive solution but the disc writing and HD-DVD capability are unnecessary for my htpc

Nety

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#162018 4-Sep-2008 08:20

mcraenz: Can you hire Blueray at video stores yet? Or are you guys buying movies?

Is dependent on the video store. We have two here in Wainui and one does not the other (which is where we go anyway) has a good selection and are bringing all new releases in on both DVD and blu ray.

Ironically I won some blu ray disks through a mag compitition. Helps me though as it gives me another reason why we need one when getting approval from the minister of finance

Nety

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#162019 4-Sep-2008 08:26

old3eyes: Will this BD drive play movies from regions A,b,C or is there a region free hack as there is in DVD??

Depends on the movie. Some studios are releasing blu rays as region free some are not. Slysofts AnyDVD HD will remove any region encoding if you do want to get disks from other regions. There are web sites that tell you if what movies are region locked.

Currently it seems that the NZ distributers are well out of step for blu rays and although some are resonable there are others that are $100 for one movie. A lot of people import using Amazon or similar to get around the ones that are out of step.

Nety

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#162020 4-Sep-2008 08:28

Asmodeus: The LG one has only dropped $20 max in the same time.The LG is the more comprehensive solution but the disc writing and HD-DVD capability are unnecessary for my htpc

I did look at that but I also thought that it would be far more likely to fail as it is quite a bit more complex.

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