Question An External Blu-ray Drive ... for XP SP2??

[ChimasLover46]

Hello, everyone! お疲れ様です (otsukaresama desu). i hope this is the right area of the site to post this question in. If not, sumimasen.

OK so please don't be mad. My desktop PC is still running Windows XP SP2. In 2023. i know ... i know. Hey, it's worked this far. "Why are you still using XP??!" Because i'm a low-income person and it's my only computer. i'm told a newer OS would need all-new hardware. Bought this PC in 2007, and it was a good one at the time. Over time, i've had to replace almost every individual component without really knowing what the hell i'm doing (the motherboard, graphics card, power supply, CPU, RAM, and case fan). But somehow, i've muddled through. Haven't had to replace anything for some time now, since the last power supply i bought was high-quality.

Here's the thing. Buying a whole new PC (in order to be able to upgrade the OS) is not affordable for me. And there are legacy programs i don't want to lose either. So i'm gonna keep doing my best with XP SP2.

But i do want to be able to play commercial DVDs and Blu-rays. i've been putting off buying a new DVD drive (the old one doesn't even want to open anymore), because every time i think about it i'm like: "well if you're buying that, you may as well buy one that can also play Blu-rays. Two birds with one stone." Which brings us to today's question.

- Can i buy an external Blu-ray drive, plug it into the case via USB (there's only 2 ports, both USB 2.0, and one is occupied) ... and watch commercial Blu-ray discs on my XP SP2 PC with it??? ​

i know that software is a separate issue from the hardware; i have PowerDVD 9, so that should suffice (???). i'm not planning to burn anything either (burning discs is the stuff of ancient times) ... just wanna watch stuff.

This is the drive i have my eye on.

Maybe i need to find an older model? The one above is ... well, it's new (it has 4k Blu-ray capability). Or maybe i'm out of luck altogether. Am i asking for the impossible? Can this work somehow? Here are my computer specs, screencapped from AIDA64:

i'm not sure if it says so above, so for the record: this is a 32-bit system. And yes, i know my hard drive space is abominably low. One thing at a time www ~

i still adore my NEC MultiSync 90GX2 monitor ... it won some kind of an award, or was highly regarded at least, back in the day. It's square (i really wanted that), and it works. And the motherboard, despite being a "cheap" replacement, has lasted since 2010. That's 13 years compared to the original (a fancy ASUS one that died after 3 years).

Also, in case the thought occurs: buying a standalone Blu-ray player for use with a television isn't really an option. My television set is a dust collector from 1983, and i haven't used it in years. All my watching is done on the PC. Which is where i want to do my watching, anyway.

All of the singles i buy are Japanese, and they all come with CDs and Blu-rays. A number of big live shows from my favourite idol groups also come on DVD and Blu-ray. i just want to be able to watch the things i've bought, without needing a whole new PC. And having learned that DVDs are only 480p (!!!), i would very much like to start investing in Blu-rays, when it comes to stuff like those live shows. In fact, one such live performance is about to be released.

Thank you in advance for your enlightening replies! i'm itching to immediately purchase a drive (and that live performance) while i can ... it's a rare thing for me to be able to. But i need to be informed before i do anything rash. Seriously can't thank you enough, if you can help.

よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu)

CL46

P.S. Edited to replace screencap ... didn't realize i had left my IP address visible in the earlier version, yabai.

 

[BFG-9000]

Unless you only intend to watch Blu-Rays made before PowerDVD9 went EOL in 2015, Blu-Rays are a no-go and DVDs will work fine. See, commercial Blu-Rays are copy-protected so either your standalone player must receive regular firmware updates or your player software must be updated to play the latest movies, and the last time PowerDVD9 was updated was Sept. 2015. I should also point out that your monitor is well below the standard Blu-Ray resolution of 1080p so how well the player downscales is important.

There is nothing preventing you from installing Windows 10 on your PC. For less demanding tasks like watching movies at your monitor's resolution of 1280x1024, Windows 10 will work just fine despite the low memory--just only do one thing at a time instead of multitasking. And while there's no free upgrade from XP, you can use Windows 10 unactivated for free indefinitely with little more consequence than a little reminder notice on the desktop. You can download the libraries to play Blu-Ray on VLC player for free.

If you are not running anything that actually requires Windows, then a lightweight Linux distro is likely to be a more pleasant experience in daily use, and it can also be used to run VLC player.

 

[BFG-9000]

BTW to fix your existing DVD drive, remove the labels and metal disc from the top and make some paper shims to hold the magnet further away from the spindle like this. Seems like as these drives get older, the motor which pulls that magnet away to unlock the spindle and open the drive gets to weak to do so--unless you help it along with a paperclip in the emergency release hole.

 

[ChimasLover46]

@BFG-9000 Hmmmm. Firstly, thank you for your kind reply. i'll definitely check out that DVD ejection repair thing. Although given the price point for a new external DVD drive (and since my old one is an internal drive, and sitting sideways - long story), i'd probably opt fora new one.

OK so, Blu-ray. See the whole point in buying discs, apart from supporting the creators, is to own the content. To know you can watch it anytime, and not have your access revoked on the whim of some distant corporation, or internet disruption, or flaky cloud service. The idea that Blu-rays require regular updates just to let you watch them ... that's bad. Yada.

Is there an older player (software, i mean) which can be installed and used on XP SP2 that lets you update this stuff without installing a newer version of the software? i'm thinking along the lines of MBAM from MalwareBytes. i have an ancient version of that installed (v1.70 i believe), and it still lets me update definitions to the latest ones whenever i want. Is there a similar Blu-ray player software package out there? (Free or paid)

All of that being said, a quick Google search revealed there are potentially methods for sidestepping this DRM intrusiveness. Those methods probably aren't technically legal, but hey ... i'm a legit buyer, an honest fan and i'm certainly not looking to stream or pirate anything. If i buy an official disc, i feel no moral obligation to jump through hoops to watch it in the privacy of my home. i mean we don't need any of that for DVDs, do we? So come on.

As to Windows 10 ... i looked it up again, just to make sure. None of my hardware is "supported" for it. Like, it might work accidentally ... but i'd be surprised if it did. In addition, i have a lot of legacy programs that require Windows, and would be incompatible with newer versions of Windows.

Unless you have good news re: software that lets me update the relevant what-have-you from within an older, XP SP2-compatible version of the program ... it looks like i'm stuck with DVDs. Which would be really annoying, if only because all the singles i buy package the music videos and extra goodies onto Blu-rays.

Say it isn't so ... ; _ ;
CL46

 

[ChimasLover46]

P.S. @BFG-9000 The live show i want to buy is so new, it won't even be released for another 3 weeks lol. And the singles are the newest of the new. My favourite group usually releases 3 singles a year ... there are always 5 different versions, each with their own unique covers, songs and content (as well as some shared songs). And there are two groups like this that i like. Yes, it's expensive lol ... but worth every bit of it. ♥

i'd like to believe that since practically no one in the West even knows about these groups, and since Japanese fans are seriously not interested in stealing this stuff (purchases are largely motivated by enclosed handshake-event tickets, and just to be supportive) ... there may never be a need to update firmware or software permissions for them. But that's a gamble, isn't it? i can't afford to gamble.

i'll wait to see if there's an answer to my post before this one (post #4 in this thread). It's frustrating ... if the singles came with DVDs (which they used to do, until around 2018), i'd be golden. But they don't, and i'm already sitting with a bunch of Blu-rays. Special live shows get DVD and Blu-ray releases (albeit with different bonuses ... and i want all the bonuses!). Anyway ... thanks in advance.

よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu)
CL46

 

[BFG-9000]

The current version of VLC player explicitly supports XP SP3 so you could certainly try running it on SP2. Or upgrade to SP3 which came out in 2008. Surely your other software should run on that.

If nobody in Japan steals stuff, then those Blu-Rays don't need copy protection, and you should check to see if they don't have any. Perhaps the only crime there is licking conveyor belt sushi. We have donut lickers and Blue Bell ice cream lickers over here.

You have a 100% Windows-10 compatible machine, so can install either 64-bit or 32-bit versions for sure. In fact all of the drivers you need are included in the install media except the graphics driver and that would be automatically downloaded from WindowsUpdate. The only suggestion is to get a SSD as that makes Windows 10 feel about as fast as XP is on a hard disk, and would also allow you to boot back into XP whenever you feel like it to run any programs that won't run on Windows 10.

I recently installed Windows 11 (which is 64-bit only) on a G31 board with 3GB of RAM (so even less than your G31 board), and it runs perfectly fine despite definitely not being supported and even lacking the required UEFI and TPM hardware. It's been on Windows 10 since late 2015 build 1511 so I have no idea who told you that system was not supported by Windows 10 or is 32-bit only.

Windows 10 system requirements are no more stringent than Windows 7--with the exceptions being your processor must support XD/NX-bit to install Win 8 or 10 at all, and 64-bit plus CMPXCHG16b to install 64-bit Windows 8.1 or 10. It has all of these. Of course if you are looking for Microsoft to name your specific motherboard or CPU as supported, then you won't find it because they don't list any motherboard or CPU so by that standard they do not support any motherboard or CPU in the world.

The main thing is 64-bit Windows cannot run any 16-bit programs, but 32-bit can. Given that due to chipset limitations you will only have 3.3GB usable memory out of 4GB in either 64 or 32-bit Windows (the rest will be "hardware reserved" just as it is now in XP), I'll suggest 32-bit as it uses less memory for itself. And as mentioned if you install to another disk and find some of your programs won't work in 10, you could simply boot back to XP

 

[ChimasLover46]

@BFG-9000 Thank you again. So are you saying that even with XP SP2 ... apart from potential copy-protection BS, this external Blu-ray player should work on my PC? Like the computer would recognize it (Plug and Play) and recognize discs in it?

Sorry if i sound like a baka ... you obviously know a lot about computers, way more than me. And i appreciate your kindness and time.

But when i was reading up on the subject (and getting confused in the process), i saw posts where people were talking about older hardware (like GPUs etc) being incapable of playing Blu-rays. It got very technical ... sorry, i don't remember the details.

i just don't want to buy an external Blu-ray drive if i can't actually use it with my existing OS and system. If i do buy one, i'll try installing VLC Player too (i've resisted it for a long time). Your advice on Windows 10 is appreciated, and down the line i'll definitely look into that. But it'll mean clearing a lot of space on my existing machine (for the installer), and buying a new external SSD. i'm also mildly concerned that XP SP2 won't recognize or function with that for some reason, thus botching the install. Still, the Windows 10 plan seems a good one, but expensive ... in the interests of more immediate gratification (sumimasen), if there's nothing about my hardware or OS that will automatically prevent the external Blu-ray from working, then maybe i'll take a chance on that after all.

It'll probably fail, and i'll curse the thing's uselessness for ages while i save up for an SSD. Sweating bullets when i someday get one, because i don't know what the frig i'm doing, and this is harder than it should be. Sorry for complaining ... but dammit, this should be easier. To be honest, at this point i'm leaning towards accepting the loss and settling for DVD. But it's such a loss ... yada.

P.S. That sushi guy is crazy. Yabai. As for Japan, i wouldn't say there's no crime (plenty of stuff happens here). But idol fans really have no motivation to steal or pirate disc content. Brand new, unplayed discs that have only had the handshake-event tickets (and raw photo) removed are almost worthless. A single that costs 2,000 yen is suddenly worth 100 yen ($1). A live DVD that sells new for 10,800 yen can be found for 1,500. There are no fans who can't get the actual discs ww

But i digress, sumimasen. And aahh i have to listen to a radio show, it's 7pm on Sunday night! Sunday nights are busy for idol fans. Talk soon and thanks again!

^ ^

 

[TerryLaze]

How much is a used playstation 3 in japan? I'm pretty sure it's going to be cheaper than an external blu-ray player.
You can also jailbreak a PS3 with software only.
And use FTP to access files on blu-ray discs from inside XP.

 

[ChimasLover46]

@TerryLaze i wouldn't have the slightest clue on how to begin hooking up a used PS3 to my PC wwww

In fact, i've never used any Playstation system before, for games or anything. So many buttons, and the expense ... put it this way, i struggle with some Super Famicom (SNES) games. That controller was my limit for buttons ww

But i'm open to your idea, if you can help me understand how to do it!! ♥

 

[BFG-9000]

The drive should be recognized and play DVDs and unprotected Blu-Ray discs fine if you have the software. Its predecessor even specifically supported XP as it shipped with PowerDVD12. The problem is even before that stopped being updated, XP support was dropped because it didn't support SHA-2 driver signing.

VLC player isn't updated often enough to warrant installing it, so I usually use the portable version. The downside is it cannot update itself, but that doesn't sound like it would be a desirable feature for you anyway.

Older hardware especially has a difficult time decoding 4k Ultra-HD Blu-Rays because it requires plenty of computing power to decode such a high bitrate stream of H.265 in real time. Your E8500 can barely decode 1080p60 H.265 in software at a noisy 100% CPU and your GPU has no hardware to offload this workload. Fortunately however, lower resolution Blu-Rays are H.264 instead which isn't as computationally intensive, and your GPU can even offload it.

 

[ChimasLover46]

Thank you, @BFG-9000 ^ ^ It's very useful to know that if nothing else, it would at least work as an extraordinarily expensive DVD drive www.

Regarding 4k Ultra HD Blu-rays: i don't think any of the discs i want to buy are 4k. That seems to be more for Hollywood releases etc. There's no mention of 4k or "Ultra HD" etc in the listings ... and i'm reasonably sure there would be, if they were HD.

... it's still a gamble. The discs are crazy expensive. This recent live i mentioned before ... it's 23,100 yen for the limited DVD and 25,300 for the limited Blu-ray. Not a casual purchase. Whichever one i buy, i'm committing to that format. So if i choose Blu-ray and the copy-protection stuff stops me ... yadaaaa. i find myself making excuses now ("do you really need Blu-ray?? DVD is fine"). There are also a lot of free Blu-ray software players in Google that allegedly bypass the restrictions. But they look sketchy.

Anyway, you've provided me with some useful information, and i'm grateful. i think what i'll do is try to find a used Blu-ray drive for cheap (good luck to me on that ... buying used electronics is risky, and i haven't seen any cheap Blu-ray drives in my searches so far). A used one which i can test on my machine. The discs from the singles can help with that. If it goes well, i'll feel a lot better about shelling out for a brand-new Pioneer drive. Buying a quality piece of new equipment that you can look after is always recommended. But in this case, hai.

ありがとうございました (Arigatōgozaimashita)

 

[TerryLaze]

@TerryLaze i wouldn't have the slightest clue on how to begin hooking up a used PS3 to my PC wwww

In fact, i've never used any Playstation system before, for games or anything. So many buttons, and the expense ... put it this way, i struggle with some Super Famicom (SNES) games. That controller was my limit for buttons ww

But i'm open to your idea, if you can help me understand how to do it!! ♥

If a used PS3 is more expensive than a blu-ray player then forget it.
The ps3 can use the same A/V output cable as the PS2 so you can hook it up to an old style TV to watch whatever you want there, it also has HDMI output so you can hook it up to a new TV or pc monitor that has hdmi.
If you put in a blu-ray disc it will automatically go to the correct menu item so all you have to do is press the X button on the controller and it will start playing.

To make it accessible by windows is pretty complicated but it would just be a ethernet cable from the PS3 to the router and since your XP system is connected to the same router they would be able to share files.

 

[BFG-9000]

Egad, US$193 for a disc. I am starting to understand why so many Japanese tourists visit Hawaii to buy luxury goods and even cameras made in Japan--everything is just cheaper in the US.

The PS3's HDMI cable could be adapted to single-link DVI for OP's monitor, which could display 720p directly but would have to have the PS3 downscale 1080p. I'm not sure that's worth the trouble just to watch on a TN monitor.

 

[ChimasLover46]

Hai. The PS3 thing sounds needlessly complicated, @TerryLaze ~ i appreciate the kind thought, but i think i'll pass on that route. i'm looking for the simplicity of Plug and Play. And i'm terrified of anything that requires me to mess with connecting something to the monitor. It works great, but the cables connecting it to the GPU are an older-style (i don't know which kind). An extremely touchy, fussy kind. If you so much as breathe near the connecting wires, it can refuse to turn on for days. i don't go anywhere near it ww

"Egad, US$193 for a disc. I am starting to understand why so many Japanese tourists visit Hawaii to buy luxury goods and even cameras made in Japan--everything is just cheaper in the US. "​

@BFG-9000 Hai. Sumimasen, i'm about to gush a little bit www

This may not be the best example regarding prices in Japan. It was an absolutely magical two-day concert with hundreds of songs and over 140,000 fans attending (myself included). A basket full of experiences you'll never forget. Many more people couldn't go (tickets are so desired, that you literally need to win a lottery just for the opportunity to buy one). These fans paid for a much more affordable live-stream ticket online.

It was the group's 10th anniversary~ and some of the biggest graduated members returned as a surprise, shocking everyone. We were all so overjoyed that for this concert only, the pandemic-era ban on cheering and chanting was abandoned en masse, and stayed that way for both days. After 2 long, silent years where only clapping stick balloons together was allowed, it was very emotional. (The voice ban returned after that ... but they just announced today that it's been officially lifted!!!!^^)

Just seeing this again made me weep a lot. Ikuchaaaaan~ And this is a great example of the camera crew's brilliance. i also want to share this from the 8th birthday (if i'm sharing, i'm all in). These girls are truly humble, but they're shining. Nogizaka is the highest!!

But back to disc prices. Japan may seem expensive, but there's options. A good example is first-pressings of AV films, vs reprints ... the reprints are still brand-new and official goods, but the packaging is different and they're only about 1/3 of the original price. Or Hi-Chew candy! Do you want a box of a premium, region-specific flavor with 5 packs? Or a 'normal' flavor with 20 packs for roughly the same price?

Or toasters! i've been wanting to buy the Mitsubishi Electric Bread Oven (because Nogizaka loves it ww ~ and they should, it's pure luxury). But it's 30,000 yen!! Conversely, the Balmuda toaster (another very popular one, which uses water and steam to ensure the bread is toasted on the outside, but pillowy-soft on the inside) is like 12,000 yen. There are options.

i'm looking at the most expensive option. Day 1 or 2 this time can be purchased standalone for less than 7,000 yen. The 23,100 and 25,300 yen versions come with lots of extras:

1) A fancy limited-edition display case or other benefit, depending on where you buy. (The price is always static no matter where you shop, and many different stores have pre-order benefits that are unique to their store. This prevents any one place from monopolizing sales.)
2) A lottery ticket for a special gift
3) A handshake-event ticket
4) A luxury photo booklet with 100 pages of live photos
5) Postcards from the live (one set of 5, out of 40, will be randomly enclosed)
6) Trading cards featuring solo shots of each member (out of 44 sets of 5 cards each, one set is included at random)
7) A backstage-pass replica of the day of the live (one of two, at random)

And the limited editions include extra disc content! One previous Blu-ray release had a beautiful 2-hour documentary that was only on the first-press. The DVD first-press didn't have it, but it had high-production PVs (personal videos) from every member that the Blu-ray lacked. Regular editions had neither.

The 11th birthday (which will be this month) is going to be 5 days and nearly 300 songs! That's hard work! You get very emotionally invested in cheering for the girls to do their best ... in the beauty of the music and the members, and the shared experience between you (audience and members).

So when they release a birthday live (usually a year later), filled with love and precious memories, even if you're broke you're like "aaahhh i have to buy it!" Especially when it includes members who have since graduated, i.e. left the group after many years. i'm poor but i've already spent a lot on goods for it (t-shirts, acrylic stands, muffler towels, posters, etc). And i'll spend a lot more afterwards www. A hungry day passes quickly ... no one wants to be the baka who didn't do their best to support the group.

i think you can see now why i wanted to get the Blu-ray for the 10th, if possible. i could probably find it for free online. But being a part of it, before, during and after ... that's priceless.

Sorry for rambling! i'll let you guys know what happens with testing for a used Blu-ray drive (if i can find one). If it's too hard to find a used one, maybe a super-cheap 'slim' one will do. i wasn't considering those for the long-term, because a lot of people said they're no good.


CL46