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baronzee baronzee
 
January 22, 2009 01:20 PM

Which would produce better video quality output? A dedicated Blu-Ray Player or a PC based Blu-Ray drive?

My PC sits next to my Samsung 40" 1080p panel. It has a DVI - HDMI output. Running an  8800 GTS video card, Dual Core Intel CPU.

Tossing up whether to go the standalone Blu-Ray player route, or invest in a PC drive.

Thanks
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robbrown robbrown
 
 January 25, 2009 02:36 PM
The answer to this question doesn't necessarily lie in the quality but in the features.

When connected, both a stand alone BluRay player and your PC will output the same quality to your 1080p television.

Personally, I also have a large Samsung TV that I use as a computer monitor. I use the PC input to connect my computer with a VGA cable, HDMI 1 is connected to my satellite receiver, HDMI 2 is connected to my PS3, and HDMI 3 is currently unused.

I notice no difference between playing a BluRay movie on the TV from my computer or from my PS3.

Beyond quality, there are a few advantages of having a stand alone BluRay player:

First, my BluRay player is a PS3. I enjoy playing the odd game but the ability to easily store and watch video that I download from the Internet is really great.

It is much easier for my friends and family to toss in Bluray into the PS3 and watch it. Disks auto start on my PS3, so folks don't even have to press a button to start a movie.

Last, I don't like my noisy PC running when I'm watching a good movie. The PS3 is silent and does not distract from the audio.

So, no. You will not notice much, if any difference between the quality of a standalone player vs. your computer.  However, when you carefully consider the benefits of a stand alone player, it may be a solid purchase.  Especially if you add the (soon to be$299) PS3.


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johnson905... johnson905...
 
January 22, 2009 01:37 PM
It depends on the monitor/tv display resolution, and the the output quality of the 2 sources. If you have a 1080p tv then I would get the player, but if you have the monitor with that resolution, then get the pc based drive.

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pazaq pazaq
 
January 22, 2009 03:08 PM
This is a trick question I believe. The would both produce the same picture because they would both be displayed on the same monitor. And because they both produce a digital signal they will be identical. With one small caveat.

If your PC doesn't have hate oompft to process a blue-ray video it will look choppy and not as good as the dedicated blue-ray player.

Good luck!

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maxdubin maxdubin
 
January 22, 2009 03:46 PM
Your PC would also have to have all HDCP certified components and Vista.

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pazaq pazaq
 
January 26, 2009 03:23 PM
Well in the case of a DVD the PC and the Xbox360 are doing up conversion of the media from DVD to HD. So in your example the up conversion filtering on the Xbox360 must be inferior to that of your PC. In the case of the blue-ray there should be no such conversion. It's simply rendered for the HD screen and the bits should be identical as I said unless the PC is too slow to keep up with the blue-ray for some reason. Commenter to is also correct you have to have a HDCP supported video card also.

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johnsonaar... johnsonaar...
 
January 24, 2009 03:16 AM
Pazaq basically has the right answer. It takes a beast of a machine to be able to process the full resolution that Blu-Ray can really put out. And maxdubin mentions that you would want HDCP compatible components, and while that is technically true, there are ways to get around that, if it even comes up as an issue at all.

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