May 11, 2008

Tips For Buying A Computer Blu-ray Drive (BD-ROM)

When it comes to standalone Blu-ray players, we recommend buying a Playstation 3 at the moment. Until prices come down, you mine as well take full advantage of the multimedia superpowers of the PS3 for the same price that'll buy you standalone Blu-ray playback. But what about for you HTPC types that would rather watch a movie on your monitor than your HDTV? Now that Blu-ray has won the format war, Blu-ray drives are starting to hit the market.

Pure playback devices are cheap, starting at about $130. But there are a few things you need to be aware of. First off, Blu-ray isn't the best way to back up your computer data. Blank discs are just plain expensive; you're better off springing for an external hard drive at the moment. If you have anything buy the newest computer technology on the market, there is a chance a Blu-ray drive will be incompatible with your graphics card and your monitor may not have proper inputs. And if you do have a newer computer, make sure your monitor is at least 24-inches, or Blu-ray's excellent picture won't display too well on your screen.

In the end, HTPC fan or not, the best Blu-ray solution right now is still the PS3.

Via Earth Times