Say no to Blu-ray on your HTPC!

So with the past month's experiences of getting Blu-ray on my HTPC, the conclusion is that it is not worth it!

I've spent the weekend trying to get the playback of Blu-ray movies on my HTPC and not succeeding. I question this facility at the start of the build and I wish some had advised me against it. Since the price of Blu-ray players have dropped significantly, it is simpler to buy a CE device and place it under the TV than configure a PC for Blu-ray playback. The main problem being the copy protection - without a working version of AnyDVD - playback simply does not work! (I've tried various software that claims Blu-ray support and playback, PowerDVD, WinDVD, and TotalMedia Theatre, and none of them can deal with the AAC protection, producing errors of some sort...

Whereas, a CE Blu-ray player will simply play the discs without a hitch! I even installed my recent purchase of Vista Ultimate, which recognise Blu-ray media, but still presents the copy protection problems. I have decided to return my superficially damaged BD-ROM drive and keep to one side or put it on eBay, and return to Blu-ray playback on the HTPC when the has completely product matured.

Meanwhile, the playback of 2001 and Bladerunner on my Blu-ray player was superb. Although these two transfer did beat broadcast HD, it all depends on which movie you purchase on Blu-ray to be wowed. Unless you are a real film enthusiast and one who likes picking specify titles to buy and watch, you are not missing out on HD on Blu-ray if you only have broadcast HD to watch.