Will this drive play Blu Ray movies

unplanned bacon

Distinguished
Jan 11, 2014
1,649
1
19,815
I'm considering this drive
http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-BH16NS40-AUAR10B-Internal-BD-RW-Retail/dp/B00AK29B26/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=369O0DIIFXZJ2&coliid=I113QLY5GFRXJH
Will it play blu ray movies, DVDs (and consequently PC games) and CDs. Not as interested in its writing capabilities

Also, considering this Asus
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007IXNF7M/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1NEPNEKXD4WF56ZGB3BQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=455344027&pf_rd_i=468294
But hopefully, I won't have to buy it as it's £30 more

Or suggest a drive if you know one

EDIT: And the Asus doesn't pack a SATA cable to connect to my motherboard (AMD or Intel? That question is still ongoing) from what I read, but the LG does
 

ddpruitt

Honorable
Jun 4, 2012
1,109
0
11,360
LG is good they've never let me down, also make sure you're system is capable of playing blu-ray. You may want to get one of the Blu-Ray compatibility checkers to see if your system is good to go. I've run across systems that have strange issues playing blu ray due to HDCP.
 

unplanned bacon

Distinguished
Jan 11, 2014
1,649
1
19,815


What would I need to have to make sure it can do it? My build will be something along these lines
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1975146/building-gaming-entertainment-advice.html
Some details still to be hammered out, like the RAM, Intel or AMD and consequently motherboard and anything else that will reduce cost
 
ASUS always commands a premium the LGs are good I've purchased a similar LG model and I've been happy with it. They are both kits but the LG also comes with a SATA cable and media. Both will be good but it looks like you get more value with the LG kit.

When you connect to your motherboard you can connect it to the 1st SATA 2.0 port you won't need to use the SATA 3.0 port for it. They are both retail kits so they both come with mounting screws.
 

ddpruitt

Honorable
Jun 4, 2012
1,109
0
11,360


Believe it or not you'll have fewer issues if you build it yourself. Any modern gpu, a connection that supports HDCP (HDMI, DisplayPort, and most DVI), and a display that supports HDCP (you'll have to check the specs). That plus update drivers and you should be good to go.
 


I agree if you build it yourself you know what is in it and you can get good quality components that will last longer. Plus the unit is much easier and cheaper to upgrade down the road.
 

unplanned bacon

Distinguished
Jan 11, 2014
1,649
1
19,815


I will be building it myself. My card will support HDMI, my TV supports it (don't know if this is different to HDCP). There's a PCI card slot in the side that I have not idea what it's for. So, driver update I'd just do when the build is ready?
 

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Understanding HDCP

Computers that play Blu-Ray discs have to deal with High-Definition Copy Protection (HDCP). This is a system involving both software but also hardware chips that are placed in equipment that might be used to play Blu-Ray content. Because the manufacturers of blue Ray discs do not want unauthorized copy of their material, and because digital copying is the worse for them since no quality is lost and mass copying is easier to accomplish, manufacturers place HDCP on Blu-Ray discs frequently. These should HDCP copy protection is more common at this time than when Blu-Ray first came out.
The HDCP system is easy to understand and it is annoying. If a Blu-Ray disc is manufactured with HDCP copy protection, then when it is played the Blu-Ray disc asks the player whether the player, and every other device in the signal transmission train has a little HDCP chip in it. This is something the manufacturer had to build in. The devices that must have this chip are the Blu-Ray player itself, video card, any switches that switch the video before it gets to the monitor or the TV, and the monitor or the TV itself. If a Blu-Ray disc with HDCP is played on a simple set top Blu-Ray player then that player as well as a TV also must to have this chip.
If an HDCP encoded disc is played on equipment without the chip-that is not "HDCP compliant"- the disc either will not play or will play with reduced video resolution,or may play without the fancier types of audio-play in simple two channel stereo rather than 7.1
Additionally the single chain must be all digital. If HDCP compliant equipment is connected together with any analog connectors then Blu-Ray's with this copy protection will not play. The most common place this will occur is connecting into the monitor. If playing from a computer, using the DVI or HDMI cable is necessary. The old-fashioned analog computer monitor cable will transmit the image to the monitor well but will disrupt the copy protection. Similarly set top Blu-Ray players which are connected to the monitor or TV using the composite connectors-the three red blue and green jacks-will disrupt the copy protection. The high-definition image will get through on non-copy protected material however. If all of the equipment is HDCP compliant than switching over to a DVI or HDMI cable is all that is needed under these two circumstances.
The situation is a little bit more complicated if there are two monitors. Most of the time as long as one of these is HDCP compliant -- and is connected with a digital cable -- the discs will play. Sometimes the window playing the Blu-Ray material can even be played on the analog monitor.
Usually the documentation of each piece will state that it is HDCP compliant. Sometimes checking that is what's needed to determine which part might need to be replaced.


http://www.sevenforums.com/music-pictures-video/61955-understanding-hdcp-blu-ray-copy-protection-its-h.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-bandwidth_Digital_Content_Protection
 


Usually when I build a system I install Windows, then all the motherboard drivers I need. Set a restore point, then I do all the updates for Windows 1st, and then the drivers updates last. Then I set another restore point.