playing blu ray films?

Hi
Just got a laptop and it has a blu ray drive so i tried to play a film using CyberLink PowerDVD 9.6. It brings up a box saying loading blu ray and then says unsupported format? The film is d13 u and it has the same region.

So can I play a blu ray films or have I wasted £80 adding the drive?

 

Some blu-ray disks will not play on notebook optical blu-ray drive - one reason why I personally stay away from a blu-ray option on notebooks

Saying all that, make sure that you have latest firmware update for your device and see if PowerDVD has an update as well for your version.

cheers ...

 

Also, make sure that you aren't using modified graphics drivers.

 

I have the new AMD drivers and have updated the player software. There is no firmware update on dell site for the drive so its probably up to date.

which is the best player software for blu rays?

 

This applies to quite a few blu-ray movies, actually. Usually, the 1080p full quality original can only be viewed in set top boxes, while a 720p "digital copy" is included on the disk for PC playback.

Gotta love DRM...

 

Is this true for external blu-ray drives as well?

Edit: as for the best blu-ray software I have always heard really good things about total media theater (TMT) 5. Bit pricy but apparently worth it.

 

Just tried that software and it works and looks very good. Not going to buy it though as its expensive.

 

From the little that I understand, blu-ray has a very elaborate system of permissions. Anything meant for PC usage is supposed to be assigned to one of the most restricted classes, whereas something like the PS3 or a set top player has far more permissions. There's nothing technical about it, it's just that Sony would probably sue the pants off of any manufacturer (hardware or software) who violates the contract.

 

Hmmm, thanks for the info. Not sure I like the answer though.