Pros: Quiet, strong in readability. Easy installation and Blue Ray works OK
Cons: None. PowerDVD 7.3 player is only a 2 CH version but you cannot ask too much, it's free
Overall Review: Install it with a Windows7 HTPC, AMD 2.1Ghz single-core, 780G/B700 chipset, 2GB memory, 1080p LCD. CPU runs 65% (with CnQ) on playing BD DVD. No frame lost
After install PowerDVD 7.3, Rename the "OLRSubmission" folder to "Submission" in your installation to get rid of the registration popup
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
Verified Owner
UDF 2.5 and Sly****11/22/2008 8:11:00 PM
Pros: After getting everything up and running the drive works great and I have tested dual layer movies too which work just as good.
Cons: As usual the DRM is a pain. Just use Slys**** and you'll be just fine.
Overall Review: Make sure you have something that uses UDF 2.5, otherwise your blurays won't show up in "My Computer"
Cons: The software part of playing BluRay is pretty hard to get working. You need a decent motherboard, HDCP capable video card, and decent processing power for the hardware, but software that works with this specific drive can be hard to find.
Overall Review: Ended up having to to find Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 Ultra. I tried version 9 and it didn't work, along with every other HD media player out there and PowerDVD 8 Ultra is the only thing I found that worked.
Hardware Specs:
Phenom x4 9850 Black Edition
Asus M3A78-T Motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 1GB GDDR Video Card
4GB DDR2 1066 RAM
Running Vista 64-bit SP1
Pros: Windows Vista recognized the drive right away.
I installed PowerDVD 9, which plays Blu Ray discs perfectly. PowerDVD 9 actually integrates perfectly with WMC, so now I can watch Blu Ray movies through WMC.
Cons: none.
Overall Review: I read a lot of negative reviews about this drive before buying it, but I tried it anyways, and I'm glad I did. My HTPC is about two years old, and it doesn't have the latest and greatest graphics card or motherboard, but I still didn't have any problems with the installation.
Pros: It works as promised... have it hooked up to my TV with an HIS ATI 4670 gfx card w/ HDMI. Also using Arcsoft TotalMediaTheater and AnyDVD. I'd say it's very quiet: a plus for HTPC builders.
Cons: It's slower than other drives, but it's also cheaper.
Pros: Once you actually get it to work, it works quite well. It doesn't seem to be a particularly fast drive though, no matter what kind of disc its spinning. I suspect this isn't the ideal drive to rip video with. Blu ray video playback is just fine though.
Cons: Software was a huge problem with this drive, at least for me, despite the fact that I meticulously chose my other hardware to be blu ray/hdcp compatible. Powerdvd Version 7.3.3304 is literally the only piece of software on the face of the earth that managed to play retail Blu ray films on this. Slysoft's Anydvd software was no help because all of my hardware is HDCP ready and I still had to struggle mightily to play anything.
I scoured the internet, and tried every existing blu ray player; only the specific version of Powerdvd I mentioned managed to play.
Overall Review: You risk wasting alot of cash if you buy the wrong piece of blu ray software. Arcsoft's totalmedia and Core's Windvd 9 flat out refused to play.
Obtain the specific version of Powerdvd I mentioned, or prepare to be frustrated.
(and yes, I have all the latest drivers for my video card, and my system is brand new and pretty powerful)
Specs:
Phenom x4 9950
Msi Geforce 260
4gigs 1066 ram
Vista 64bit.
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 month to 1 year
Verified Owner
Good Drive5/12/2009 11:36:47 AM
Pros: Blu-Ray player. Didn't need burner at the time. Simple to install. Affordable.
Cons: I have begun to hear and feel a rattle when reading some higher speed disks (DVD's and CD's). Started about 1 month after purchase.
Reads CDs/DVDs slowly but surely, can't tell on BDs...1/6/2011 10:35:51 AM
Pros: Reads CDs, DVDs without a hitch. Installation was simple plug-and-play to Motherboard (SATA) & PSU Cable, no driver issues. Speed isn't amazing, but it is what it is.
Cons: Other than slow speed, ALL the Reviews during my purchase said that this item came with Cyberlink PowerDVD 9, which I could have used to read Bluray discs. I contacted Customer Service, and they said that the reviewers were all wrong. So don't buy this unless it goes on sale with software, even if the site suggests that it does come with software.
Overall Review: Why not make another item listing on the site instead of changing a previously existing one? It's very misleading to have dozens of reviews praising the drive + software combo, only to have customers frustrated that it doesn't actually come with the software that all the reviewers were suggesting.
Pros: Quiet, strong in readability. Easy installation and Blue Ray works OK
Cons: None. PowerDVD 7.3 player is only a 2 CH version but you cannot ask too much, it's free
Overall Review: Install it with a Windows7 HTPC, AMD 2.1Ghz single-core, 780G/B700 chipset, 2GB memory, 1080p LCD. CPU runs 65% (with CnQ) on playing BD DVD. No frame lost After install PowerDVD 7.3, Rename the "OLRSubmission" folder to "Submission" in your installation to get rid of the registration popup