Blu -ray Player|The Saga Continues

Blu-ray player|The Saga Continues

In my previous blogpost, entitled Blu-ray Player|My First Blu-Ray Experience, I described my very first experiences with blu-ray players, both in terms of hardware and software. As I was just getting to understand the technology, I had to use the KISS principle, which means to “keep it short and simple.” This meant starting out taking baby steps using what equipment and software that I had and only obtaining anything I needed (such as an actual player) for as low a cost as possible. I had a good laptop already – at the time it was an HP G62-SX355, which could handle blu-ray playback more than adequately, and I had just downloaded PowerDVD version 13 from Cyberlink. I went online to E-Bay and found a sweet external blu-ray/DVD combo for 49 dollars US and quickly purchased it. For those who don’t know what a combo is, it is an external optical drive that has two functions: as a blu-ray player and a DVD –burner. It has two lenses – one for blu-ray playback, and one for DVD and CD burning and playback.
This drive was ideal for my initial foray into blu-ray playback. I have already described in detail that experience, but remained frustrated as the only machine I could use for blu-ray playback was my laptop. My desktop computers only had VGA cards and monitors and could not be used. Blu-ray playback requires the use of DVI-capable and higher video cards and monitors. Today, HD is the technology of choice, and with the upgrade of my video card on my Compaq Presario desktop PC, and the purchase of a DVI –capable monitor, I now had the capability to use Blu-ray technology. I attached the external player to the PC, and it functioned alright. I tried it using three different blu-ray player software – Nero 2015; PowerDVD 15, and WinDVD.
For some reason, WinDVD was very flaky, but Nero and PowerDVD performed well. However, playback is only one part of the technology. With the development of the Blu-ray recordable discs, storage became part of the picture, and the 25 GB storage is a far cry from the 4.7 GB on a DVD. At this time, I only had the external player and could not burn any Blu-ray discs. This was about to change.

My First Blu-ray Burner

Once I had the video card and monitor, it was time to change out the DVD burner that had been in the desktop since I had it, and replace it with a Blu-ray burner. I held back for the longest time due to the cost of the hardware. The average price was about $100 for the burner, more or less. Too much for my budget. However, this past September, I located a very good deal at

LG Blu-ray Burner

LG Blu-ray Burner

MicroCenter in Westmont, Illinois. They had a LG internal SATA blu-ray burner for $50, and I snapped that up fast.
I didn’t waste any time shifting out the DVD burner and replacing it with the blu-ray. I had hardly arrived home before the cover was off my computer and the DVD burner was unplugged and unscrewed from its place. Soon the blu-ray burner was in place and that evening, I was putting the burner through its paces.

Burning

The very first task I performed with the burner was to burn my entire picture collection. I have about 72 GB worth of pictures, and it took three discs to hold all that data, but the burner performed above expectations. I used Roxio Creator NXT to do the burning and it too performed up to expectations. The whole process took about an hour to accomplish. I was impressed. The next task to burn my collection of home-made and YouTube videos. I have about 50 GB of these, and it took two discs to hold the data, and another hour to accomplish this. So far, 100 percent on both tasks!

Playback

I then put on the blu-ray version of The Hobbitt: An Unexpected Journey, and was amazed at the difference from the DVD version. Of course it helped that I had a 19 inch DVI monitor and upgraded video card, but the player recognized my default player software, which is PowerDVD. Details were sharp and clear, even more than on my laptop and the sound was fantastic. Another A+ for the player and the technology. I have tried playback both with Nero 2014 and PowerDVD 13 and can report that both do an excellent job. I am a little leery of WinDVD as it can get flaky, but that was on my older laptop and desktop.

Recommendations

I’ve said it before. When it comes to blu-ray playback both Nero 2014 and PowerDVD 13 come out tops, with CyberLink’s player ahead on points. For blu-ray burning, I very much like Roxio Creator NXT. Since I bought the new burner, Nero has come out with Nero 2015 and CyberLink has come out with Version 14. I plan on upgrading this year and will report back when I do.


Here are the blu-ray player software publishers that I highly recommend:

Nero 2015 – The ultimate standard in multimedia! NEW! Nero AirBurn: Burn files straight from your smartphone


Roxio's New Release!


US - PowerDVD 14