Which would produce better video quality output? A dedicated [[Blu-Ray
|Blu-Ray Player]] or a PC based Blu-Ray drive?
Tossing up whether to go the standalone Blu-Ray player route, or invest in a PC drive.
Thanks
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M$4 Answers
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$299) PS3.
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M$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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M$
Not sure of they would necessarily be the same. Case in question. DVD's look better played back on my PC, than they do on my Xbox360. Same TV and both through HDMI. I suspect the 'player' software, whether it be something like PowerDVD, or the decoder behind the dedicated player become an important factor.
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.
Your PC would also have to have all HDCP certified components and Vista.
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M$
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M$
Thanks for all the answers. The sound factor of my PC, was previously not a consideration and is an important point. Standalone player seems the best bet.