Blu-ray on a laptop

[Knipples]

My sister has a newish laptop and one of the reasons she bought it was because it had the capability to play blu-ray DVD's.

However she went to play "Watchmen" recently and it said she needed to update the quickplayer so she could play it. There's nothing wrong with the DVD because she played it in my parents blu-ray player.

She did the update with no success, then she rang the helpline she pays warranty for (because its still under warranty) and they told her to update two other things and if that didn't work she would have to do a reinstall of everything on the PC (but that means she has to bung her pics and files somewhere else's obviously - something she could do, but doesn't want to unless its a last resort)

Is there anything else she could download which she could then use to play the blu-ray?

[Davey_Pitch]

I've not used Blu Ray on a computer, but I would suspect that rather than using Media Player or Quicktime she'll need some proper Blu Ray software, much like PowerDVD. I've never used any of the software though so I'm afraid I wouldn't know which one to suggest.

[leowyatt]

how about VLC?

[divine]

BluRay playback on PCs is still a bit of a problematic affair and as far as I know, due to licensing costs only software like PowerDVD-HD will be able to do it, I don't think stuff like VLC can yet. Even with the right software it can be a right work up and half the time just not work at all.

[Mark]

how about VLC?

Unlikely to happen. VLC would never get licensed past the AACS and BD+ hurdles. Of course there are ways around those, and maybe in future VLC might use them, but I doubt it.

[Knipples]

So is PowerDVD something she needs to buy or can it be downloaded from somewhere for free?

[divine]

Buy. It often comes with BluRay drives though.

Has she ever watched any BR films on it? They should have provided some sort of playback software really...

[Knipples]

Buy. It often comes with BluRay drives though.

Has she ever watched any BR films on it? They should have provided some sort of playback software really...

Yeah she has, but the quick player always worked, this blu-ray came with a note inside though that said she might need to update the quick player to get the blu-ray to play, which she has done but it hasnt fixed it.

[divine]

Well if Quickplayer did it before it should still be able to do it by rights, she shouldn't need PowerDVD.

edit - just looked, Quick Play (supplied with HP) is just a stripped down version of PowerDVD anyway.

[Mark]

The version of Quick Play that she has may have been hacked (and thus had its AACS key revoked), hence the need for the update.

Seems a bit silly to have to buy a new version when the old one is supposed to work, but that's what happens sometimes.

[Knipples]

It should yes, and shes done all the updates, but it still doesn't for some odd reason. Would it be of any use to remove quick player completely and reinstall it? Like I said this DVD had a note in to say she might need to update it, but it hasn't fixed it.

[Glaucus]

As blu-ray is a new format the software often needs updates to play it. As the final format and standards of blue ray haven't be written in stone. It sounds like the update has failed or the software is just dodgy. Can you just un-install quickplayer and try reinstalling it.

Blue ray is only problematic in computers as people don't understand the copyright it has. Other than installing upto date ati driver to get a picture, I haven't had any problems. A laptop shouldn't have any of these problems unless trying to play though an external screen.

[divine]

Blue ray is only problematic in computers as people don't understand the copyright it has.

That's a big issue that crops up but it's far from the only thing.

[Knipples]

Knip's sister here this is what i did, put blu ray dvd in laptop saw an advisory note in with the blue ray which said `This blu-ray disc is manufactured to the highest quality available, it is possible this blu-ray disc was manufactured after your blu-ray player. To ensure the best possible viewing experience, your blu-ray disc player may need a firmware or software update. Please consult your hardware manufacturer's website for the latest firmware or software version and if an upgrade is available we suggest that you follow its installation instructions'
My quick player started which is the software on my HP i have used this several times before with blu ray discs and have even successfully connected it through my tv and been able to watch them.
My quick player told me that i needed to do an update - i did this, then half way through it told me i needed to remove my old quick player version to download the updated version - i said yes, but then the download failed and i ended without my quick player.
I then contacted HP and they told me that i needed to update my graphics card at the same time i downloaded the new version of quickplayer - all looked good the film started the classic Paramount screen started but was jumping (disc is clean) it then went to the language page, select english and nothing happens......
I have played it in a blu ray player - no problem and my mates PS3
VLC - doesn't do blu ray
quick player - has been un-installed and installed
Sorry for the long winded message but i really don't know what to do next - any help anyone can be would be great
x

[Mark]

OK, that message is typical. It's a result of the AACS copy protection (in a cat-and-mouse game, the hacker community finds a way to 'crack' the AACS 'keys' used to protect the disc, and new heys have to be issued).

The first thing to do is try to solve the graphics problem. Make sure you have downloaded the correct graphics driver for your laptop and operating system. Completely uninstall the current graphics driver (make sure you remove all parts if more than one is listed) and then reboot the computer, then install the new driver. If that doesn't work, it's worth trying the last-but-one graphics driver as well just in case something is broken in the most recent version.

[Knipples]

Can you explain (for her so I can show her this) how she does that please?

[Mark]

Windows Vista, I presume?

[Knipples]

Windows Vista, I presume?

Yarp. No hurry to do it right this second, if you need to go to bed, I can check this post tomorrow and get her to log in on her laptop cos I will be out.

[Mark]

Start, go to Control Panel and open Programs and Features.
Look for the graphics drivers there. I don't know what graphics the laptop has so can't be specific, but it should be fairly obvious. If unsure, post a list of anything that looks graphics-related and we should be able to take it from there.
Uninstall the graphics software. You'll probably have to reboot the laptop, possibly several times. If not, reboot anyway.
Install the new graphics drivers.

If this isn't detailed enough, we'll probably need specific laptop name/model and specifications to point you in the right direction. The original laptop order or the appropriate support web page for the laptop should have those.

[Knipples]

where does she get the new drivers from. She has a hp laptop and its less than a year old.

[divine]

HP should supply some, if not it'll be a case of figuring out what the graphics chip is and then fetching them from Intel, nVidia or ATi most likely.