Blu-ray Drive Suggestion?

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Deeky

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Feb 7, 2008
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I'm looking for a Blu-ray drive. Is there a clear price/performance winner out there? And what would you consider the best possible option, assuming I have no budget restriction? I'm not interested in writing to media, just quality playback with PowerDVD 10. Cheers!
 
I would imagine the drives all perform alike. It's mostly whether your CPU or GPU can handle it. My basic $49 Lite-On Blu-ray drive works just fine in my crappy media center with a Geforce 210. To be honest, I use my PS3 most of the time to watch Blu-ray off the disc, but I use the media center to rip them into my media storage server.

Note: the $49 Lite-On from Newegg.com is OEM. It comes without software. I prefer Arcsoft TotalMedia Theater over PowerDVD anyways. Better 7MC integration. If you want Lite-On with PowerDVD, it's $65.
 
Interesting. So, unlike buying a standalone Blu-ray player, the drives themselves are more or less interchangeable? I recall when I purchased our first Blu-ray player, I had to do a ton of research as some were very vastly superior to others. I suppose that's par for the course with a self-contained unit.

I'll be adding the drive to an existing gaming rig that's hooked up to a 32" HDTV, so I can only assume it has the grunt necessary to power Blu-ray playback.
 
I've got an LG BD/HD-DVD/DVD-RW combo as well as a Lite-On and both have worked great with Power DVD in my HTPC.
 
Zepher said:
I've got an LG BD/HD-DVD/DVD-RW combo as well as a Lite-On and both have worked great with Power DVD in my HTPC.
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Those drives were sweet. I've got two, one for my main rig and the other for my HTPC. Paid a pretty hefty premium for the HTPC drive since it was discontinued. It was a waste since I should have just moved the one from my gaming rig over since I barely use it to read hddvd's anymore (have a few in my movie collection)

Anyway, I don't think it matter at all since every bit of processing and whatever is being done by your computer. The drive's just is just to read the disk and output the data. In a standalone you have multiple different chipsets and firmwares all taking care of the final output and IQ so there is a lot more room for differentiation
 
So with the LG Lite-On, which I can score from Newegg.ca for $49 OEM, I shouldn't be too concerned with firmware? I've seen a few reports complaining that it can't play Dark Knight and other relatively recent releases, but those look to be user error moreso than the fault of the drive.
 
Deeky said:
So with the LG Lite-On, which I can score from Newegg.ca for $49 OEM, I shouldn't be too concerned with firmware? I've seen a few reports complaining that it can't play Dark Knight and other relatively recent releases, but those look to be user error moreso than the fault of the drive.
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The Lite-On I have is probably 2 years old now and never had the firmware updated and it played the Dark Knight just fine.
Are the reports saying that the latest firmware is causing the newer films not to play?
 
Zepher said:
The Lite-On I have is probably 2 years old now and never had the firmware updated and it played the Dark Knight just fine.
Are the reports saying that the latest firmware is causing the newer films not to play?
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No, they seem to suggest the lack of firmware updates might be responsible, but I'm fairly certain it's people blaming playback software issues on their hardware.
 
Newegg is running a promo with %10 off all Bluray drives with promo code: EMCZZYR23 expires 11/7.

I just picked up a Samsung SH-B123L bluray drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151222&Tpk=samsung sh-b123l

I had been using a Samsung SH-B083L for a few weeks without any problems but I just returned that one as it was bought locally. The SH-B083L sells for a little more than the SH-B123L and from what I see, it is also an older and slower model. I saved about $25 by returning the drive and buying the newer model online.

I just jumped on the Bluray wagon so I don't know all the ins and outs. I was just trying to get the fastest drive for cheap. I hope I made the right choice. I'm guessing I could have also picked up one of the 4x drives cheaper. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would have made (4x vs8x vs 12x) or if I would notice any difference when playing back movies/load times. The load times on the SH-B083L wasn't bad at all, I just figured if could save a few bucks, then why not.
 
Saving bucks is all good. Not sure if the 10% off extends to Newegg.ca ... but it's all no nevermind seeing as I stumbled across an LG CH10LS20 for $79 and pulled the trigger about 40 minute ago. It was a limited quantity offer, so I made a snap decision (the link shows $99 because I snagged the last one at $79).

I have no idea if I made a good decision. Worst case scenario, I return it. Direct Canada has a sweet 15-day satisfaction return policy, no hassle. I needed some memory too, it just made sense to order everything and save on shipping + airmail promo means I get it quick.
 
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Arg. The Samsung SH-B123L is available from Newegg.ca for $79 w/ free shipping. 12x opposed to 10x on the LG I just ordered. Wonder if I should cancel the LG and opt for the Samsung?
 
Deeky said:
Interesting. So, unlike buying a standalone Blu-ray player, the drives themselves are more or less interchangeable? I recall when I purchased our first Blu-ray player, I had to do a ton of research as some were very vastly superior to others. I suppose that's par for the course with a self-contained unit.
Click to expand...

To a certain extent all Blu-ray optical drives are the same. What you are really comparing on is part quality (which also leads to drive noise and such).

The reason more research is needed for Blu-ray players is because they also have to handle the playback of the video and audio. With your computer you have pretty much made all those choices (except for playback software maybe).

Deeky said:
Arg. The Samsung SH-B123L is available from Newegg.ca for $79 w/ free shipping. 12x opposed to 10x on the LG I just ordered. Wonder if I should cancel the LG and opt for the Samsung?
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It doesn't really matter for movie playback. It will come into play though for disc ripping or just copying files from a disc in general. So since it is for a HTPC I say you are just fine with the LG.
 
visionviper said:
It doesn't really matter for movie playback. It will come into play though for disc ripping or just copying files from a disc in general. So since it is for a HTPC I say you are just fine with the LG.
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Yeah, the LG is more than I need, really. It was only $30 more than the 4x Lite On, seemed like a good deal for the functionality. Also, retroactive research indicates the Sammy isn't able to reach the advertised 12x even under the best circumstances. Both models are more or less interchangeable in most ways. And the LG has Lightscribe. Woo? :rolleyes:
 
yadnom said:
Newegg is running a promo with %10 off all Bluray drives with promo code: EMCZZYR23 expires 11/7.

I just picked up a Samsung SH-B123L bluray drive.
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looking at getting one of these too, can you tell me if you can take the drive tray bezel off like on most drives with this one? thanks
 
karsten said:
looking at getting one of these too, can you tell me if you can take the drive tray bezel off like on most drives with this one? thanks
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I have never seen a drive since the SCSI and MKE CD drive days where you could not remove the door and frame bezel. I think it's safe to assume that all drives can do this.
 
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