Blu Ray

fireman0174 · Sep 4, 2011

What options, if any, do I have to play Blu-Ray movies on a Macbook?

From what I am able to ascertain, I don't think I have any. $:\$

I have WindowsXP partitioned on the hard drive and I wouldn't care if I had to boot into that system.

Thanks.

bobtomay · Sep 4, 2011

The first Blu-ray player for Mac was just discussed here last week. Reading through the thread you'll see there are apparently some glitches with it still.

In Windows, you can use any of the players that work in Windows

fireman0174 · Sep 4, 2011

bobtomay said:
The first Blu-ray player for Mac was just discussed here last week. Reading through the thread you'll see there are apparently some glitches with it still.

In Windows, you can use any of the players that work in Windows

Thanks. Not the most encouraging information.

My real goal here is two-fold:

1: Take my Macbook on the road and watch BluRay movies on the hotel room TV. Currently I can only play non-BluRay movies this way.

2: Convert to mp4 (or other format) so they can be viewed on my iPad.

Thanks.

cwa107 · Sep 4, 2011

fireman0174 said:
Thanks. Not the most encouraging information.

My real goal here is two-fold:

1: Take my Macbook on the road and watch BluRay movies on the hotel room TV. Currently I can only play non-BluRay movies this way.

2: Convert to mp4 (or other format) so they can be viewed on my iPad.

Thanks.

1. Do note that Blu Rays will always require a connection that supports HDCP. So unless the hotel makes an HDMI connection available on their TV, you will likely have issues with that - even with a machine that has a B-R drive and the needed software.

2. We don't discuss illegal activity on this forum, including breaking the encryption mechanisms in Blu Ray discs, which is forbidden by the US DMCA.

fireman0174 · Sep 4, 2011

cwa107 said:
1. Do note that Blu Rays will always require a connection that supports HDCP. So unless the hotel makes an HDMI connection available on their TV, you will likely have issues with that - even with a machine that has a B-R drive and the needed software.

2. We don't discuss illegal activity on this forum, including breaking the encryption mechanisms in Blu Ray discs, which is forbidden by the US DMCA.

Well that lets out option #2!

I do have a cable system, that while cumbersome, permits me to play DVDs on the hotel HD TV (HDMI input). I would obviously prefer to play selections from my Blu Ray library.

cwa107 · Sep 4, 2011

fireman0174 said:
Well that lets out option #2!

I do have a cable system, that while cumbersome, permits me to play DVDs on the hotel HD TV (HDMI input). I would obviously prefer to play selections from my Blu Ray library.

Assuming you want to use the MacBook, your most reliable means of playing Blu-Rays is going to be connecting an external (USB) Blu-Ray drive, using Boot Camp to install Windows and buying something like PowerDVD as the codec.

Figure at least $100 for a copy of Windows and maybe $50 or so for PowerDVD. For that money, you could probably pick up a standalone Blu-Ray player and although not nearly as convenient for portability, will certainly be more cost-effective and easier to configure.

chscag · Sep 4, 2011

I agree. Other World Computing has a nice selection of Blue Ray drives and players. You might also look on Amazon.com.

fireman0174 · Sep 4, 2011

cwa107 said:
Assuming you want to use the MacBook, your most reliable means of playing Blu-Rays is going to be connecting an external (USB) Blu-Ray drive, using Boot Camp to install Windows and buying something like PowerDVD as the codec.

Figure at least $100 for a copy of Windows and maybe $50 or so for PowerDVD. For that money, you could probably pick up a standalone Blu-Ray player and although not nearly as convenient for portability, will certainly be more cost-effective and easier to configure.

I do have Windows XP on the MacBook, installed through Boot Camp.

So I am correct that the only way to play a BluRay movie on the MacBook is to purchase an external player as the internal MacBook player will not play this format whether I use the mac os or Windows XP.

Am I correct here?

cwa107 · Sep 4, 2011

You may also want to consider buying "Blu Ray Combo" packs, which usually come with a DVD (handy to use in cars) and a digital copy, which imports right into iTunes and can, in-turn, be played on your laptop easily.

cwa107 · Sep 4, 2011

fireman0174 said:
I do have Windows XP on the MacBook, installed through Boot Camp.

So I am correct that the only way to play a BluRay movie on the MacBook is to purchase an external player as the internal MacBook player will not play this format whether I use the mac os or Windows XP.

Am I correct here?

That's right. The internal drive is only capable of working with CDs and DVDs. If you want to play Blu-Rays, you'll need a drive that is physically capable of doing so (i.e. an external).

class77 · Sep 4, 2011

Digital copies of blu-rays are great.

MACyMouse · Sep 4, 2011

cwa107 said:
You may also want to consider buying "Blu Ray Combo" packs, which usually come with a DVD (handy to use in cars) and a digital copy, which imports right into iTunes and can, in-turn, be played on your laptop easily.

I usually wait for those. I think they are the best options.

chas_m · Sep 5, 2011

I must be missing something here, but unless this is something you do literally CONSTANTLY, wouldn't it be FAR less hassle to just rent the desired movie in HD from iTunes?

Blu Ray

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