Blu-ray player OR Blu-ray drive?

I don't no wether to get a standalone bluray player for my hdtv or a blu-ray drive/burner for my pc. I have a ATI Radeon HD4870 512MB which will be connected to my tv via HDMI (for gaming)...If i buy the drive, will i be able to view true 1080p through my HDTV or am i best off getting a standalone bluray player.

...also, there is an option to choose certain resolutions or force HDTV format 720, 1080 etc. Will i have to change these options everytime i want to watch a bluray disc through my TV?

 

Both! If you can only afford one though I'd get a drive... since you're hooked to your TV anyway... plus the BD drive is a little more versatile.

With your drive you'll be able to view 1080p as long as your TV supports it. Keep your TV set to it's most optimal resolution, you shouldn't have to set anything with your drive.

 

Blu-Ray drives are also cheaper than players. I got my Pioneer drive for $120.

 

My TV i've just bought turns out only to be 720p (with a res of 1680 x 1050 - which will be good enough for gaming)

Although it says it supports 1080p input, what does this mean?..i suppose it downscales 1080p to 720p right? Its only a 22" so 720p should be ok.

Anyway I think i'll go for the drive as they play HD-DVD's aswell and they are really cheap at the moment due to them being phased out.

 

...so when playing bluray movies through my graphics card to my tv, do you recommend i set the resolution to 1680 x 1050 or use the 'force HDTV mode' option?

 

I would suggest whatever is native to the card, if it is higher than the TV that should be OK, your TV will only output as much as it can.

 

alot of bluray players also claim to upscale regular dvds. (I understand not to bluray standard) , but will dvds be upscaled when using a pc setup?

 

I don't think so, I have never tried though.

 

i dont mean to highjack but can someone help on purchasing a blu-recorder for my pc??? I would perfer an internal but if external is best than that is ok. i have a dell dimension 3010 with a pentium 4 (2.8ghz) 2 gigs of ram?? thanks

 

I'd wait and get a more powerful PC, and then get a drive. But if you must, I have a LG GGW H20L... I think. It reads BD/HDDVD, and writes BD. It works good.

 

Thats the one I'm getting

 

you can play blu ray movies on HDTV connected to your PC, i would buy blu ray drive for pc

 

Hi, I have both versions of the LG optical drive in my machines. Make sure your computer supports SATA drives. Like what was said if your TV supports 1080P it will show in the AMD driver software for your graphics card (you have a top notch ATI video card). Regular DVD looks super through my machines so yours will be good to. You also have more control of the video and audio through the software than what you get with a standalone player.

 

Well I've ordered the LG GGW-H20L for my pc.(will be getting it at christmas) My only problem with watching movies through my pc is the background noise of all of my fans lol...and some of them have been 7v modded.


By the way, I now have an ATI HD4870 1GB - so my 512mb version is for sale on ebay. I don't know if i'm allowed to post a link here but keep an eye out for it if you are interested. 'HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 - HD4870 512 PCI-E'

 

@WPSP

With your HDTV's native resolution being 720P, you'll never see the true 1080p that the drive will output.

 

thats ok, aslong as i can view the highest that my tv will display I'm happy. Its only a 22" so 720 is fine. (The tv will also display a native res of 1680x1050 so thats good - the picture is brilliant for gaming)

 

I'd say get the PC drive. Your PC will upscale regular dvd's better than any stand alone player will. It is pretty much based on the codec that your player software is using. Power DVD does a very good job by default. You can use fddshow and tune it for better results if you put in the time.

Even with only 720p set you will very much notice the difference in Blu-ray. Thats what I have and it is night and I was suprised at just how much better it was when watching the same DVD vs Blu-ray back to back. Very noticeable even at "only" 720p.

 

is there any way to hook up an external blu-ray drive to a HDTV?

 

Hi first time post and I was wondering if you guys could help me out since I was wondering about the same topic.

I have a ATI Radeon HD 2900 Pro video card with i believe 512mb ram and I was wondering if it will be good enough to play Blu-Ray movies just as good as a stand alone Blu-Ray player through my 1080p HDTV?
Or would I be better of with a high end stand alone player?

Hope you guys can help! thanks!

 

I believe you would need a bluray drive in you pc to play Blu-Ray discs. Do you have a Sony PS3-if so you have a BR drive in it.