ARRRGGGggggg....

[GWguy]

So, I'm experimenting with Blu-Ray. I ordered a Blu-Ray internal playback-only deck for my PC. It needs SATA, I don't got SATA, so I order a PCI SATA/eSATA card at the same time. I go to install it... damn, forgot SATA power connectors were different. Drove all over town, no one carries it. Finally find one at Alliance in California. Just installed everything, but not without grief. Damn front cover on the desktop won't come off, wound up breaking bits off.

Power up time. Instructions say there will be a BIOS splash screen for the SATA card. No splash screen. Did I do it wrong? Nope, it's asking for drivers, which install without a hitch. Reboot. Still no splash screen. They lie.....

Look at that... drive J: I put a CD with the new player software, load the new Blu-Ray version of PowerDVD. No prob. Going in too easy, can't be right. Ok, done. Put a DVD in it (don't have a Blu-Ray disk yet) and it plays just fine. Terrif! Ok, what's this in the the Programs menu... ? BD Advisor. Ok, I'll run it. Oh, cool, runs a systems check to see what might not be compatible for Blu-Ray playback.



What the heck are all these red lights????? Processor not fast enough (3Ghz). Video card (GeForce 6200) not supported. No HDCP compliant display. A yellow light... marginal memory for playback.... AW NUTZ!!! By the time I upgrade this POS, I might as well buy a Media PC that's ready to go.

Well, it was an experiment. I can still (hopefully) use this to rip BD disks, no playback required for that.

Yes, even us IT geeks have bad days....

Time to find dinner......

[glhs837]

Damn, thats a rough story...........

[meddauna]

yea, the biggest problem people make when trying to do internal blue-ray drives on their older machines, is that they don't have a video card thats capable of playing the blue ray format. i believe your video card has to be HDCP-compliant which includes a DVI or HDMI output on your card. if you have a PCI-express slot in your comp, you can pick up an nvidia geforce 8 series for relatively cheap. i think the 8800GTs are down close to 100. this should give you enough performance to play a BR without sputters. on a quick side note, i believe (my info may be out of date) powerDVD 8 is the only software available that will play blue rays on a PC, that should have been what came with your drive. unfortunately, the basic version of PowerDVD8 that comes with that stuff only supports blue ray in 2.1 stereo, you need the ultra version of the software to support 6.1 or 7.1 if thats your set up.

yes and even if a video card says it is HDCP capable unless it specifically says it does Hi Def it probably does not ... because the way the licensing goes every video card shipped with it turned on, a fee has to be payed .... so you can guess how many have been shipped, until recently, with it turned on

[tater]

You lost me at the first SATA


Good luck

Originally Posted by tater

You lost me at the first SATA


Good luck

Serial ATA ... opposed to Parallel ATA ( old ATA 100, 133 )

The Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA, IPA: /ˈseɪtə/, /ˈsætə/ or /ˈsɑːtə/) computer bus has the primary function of transferring data between the motherboard and mass storage devices (such as hard disk drives and optical drives) inside a computer.

SATA offers advantages over the older parallel ATA interface: primarily faster data transfer, the ability to remove or add devices while operating (hot swapping) (only when the operating system supports it), thinner cables that let air-cooling work more efficiently, and more reliable operation.

Designed as a successor to the Advanced Technology Attachment standard (ATA), it is expected to eventually replace the older technology (retroactively renamed Parallel ATA or PATA, also known as IDE or EIDE). Serial ATA adapters and devices communicate over a high-speed serial cable.

capable of 3 gb's per second data transfer .....