[SOLVED] High definition capabilities

[robertdonithan]

Yes i have a del optiplex 9010 with a standard definition disc player-burner(stock). What i would like explained to me is how to change the optical component and have it play dvds and cds in high definition providing the dvd is real high definition. Can i buy a new optical drive or what? It currently just sits there and won't play a real hd dvd.

 

[Wolfshadw]

First, you need to clarify what it is you're trying to play. There are four (that I know of) video optical disk formats:

1. Laserdisc - Back in the 1980s, large LP Record sized disks playing standard definition videos.
2. DVD - Also back in the 1980s, but still the current format for standard definition videos.
3. HD-DVD - Failed standard for high definition videos. Think of the Betamax format in the Video Tape Era.
4. Blu-Ray - Current High definition format for videos.

Laserdiscs are obsolete and were never designed for PCs. These things pre-dated PCs. A DVD-ROM drive has been a staple of PCs since the mid-90s up until the mid 2010s, With the appropriate software and codecs, you could play standard DVDs on your PC. If you had a decent graphics card (these days, most any graphics solution) it would upscale the standard definition video format to play on a high definition screen.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are both true, high definition video formats. In the High Definition video war, the Blu-Ray format won out and HD-DVD went by the wayside. Your standard PC DVD-ROM drive will not play Blu-Ray discs. You need an actual PC Blu-Ray disk drive and well as the appropriate software to play Blu-Ray movies.

So if you're just wanting to watch regular DVDs on your PC, you can do that. You just need the correct software to do so. Windows Media Player or VideoLAN's VLC can play standard definition videos and your PC should be able to upscale then so they're viewable on your HD screen.

If you're wanting to watch actual hi-def videos (Blu-Ray), then you would need a PC Blu-Ray drive and the appropriate software (VLC can do it, I believe).

-Wolf sends

 

[robertdonithan]

First, you need to clarify what it is you're trying to play. There are four (that I know of) video optical disk formats:

1. Laserdisc - Back in the 1980s, large LP Record sized disks playing standard definition videos.
2. DVD - Also back in the 1980s, but still the current format for standard definition videos.
3. HD-DVD - Failed standard for high definition videos. Think of the Betamax format in the Video Tape Era.
4. Blu-Ray - Current High definition format for videos.

Laserdiscs are obsolete and were never designed for PCs. These things pre-dated PCs. A DVD-ROM drive has been a staple of PCs since the mid-90s up until the mid 2010s, With the appropriate software and codecs, you could play standard DVDs on your PC. If you had a decent graphics card (these days, most any graphics solution) it would upscale the standard definition video format to play on a high definition screen.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are both true, high definition video formats. In the High Definition video war, the Blu-Ray format won out and HD-DVD went by the wayside. Your standard PC DVD-ROM drive will not play Blu-Ray discs. You need an actual PC Blu-Ray disk drive and well as the appropriate software to play Blu-Ray movies.

So if you're just wanting to watch regular DVDs on your PC, you can do that. You just need the correct software to do so. Windows Media Player or VideoLAN's VLC can play standard definition videos and your PC should be able to upscale then so they're viewable on your HD screen.

If you're wanting to watch actual hi-def videos (Blu-Ray), then you would need a PC Blu-Ray drive and the appropriate software (VLC can do it, I believe).

-Wolf sends

So is there such a thing as a blu-ray optical drive? If so where do i look for it online? And will i need any other software to have actual high definition? I buy movie dvds without realizing they are in a format that won't play on my home theater. I have high definition tv and one hd movie dvd by mistake. But seeing how nowadays everything has changed i just wondered how to update or upgrade my hometheater. I can play the blu-ray through my computer then route it to the hometheater 5.1 (just for sound)and then into my hd tv. I just checked all over the internet and everything seems to be ultra hd 4k and what i have is a regular hd tv. So if i bought a bluray dvd movie will the movie show hd definition on my tv with an ultra hd optical drive? In other words will the hd tv and the ultra hd bluray drive be compatabile?

 

[COLGeek]

So is there such a thing as a blu-ray optical drive? If so where do i look for it online? And will i need any other software to have actual high definition? I buy movie dvds without realizing they are in a format that won't play on my home theater. I have high definition tv and one hd movie dvd by mistake. But seeing how nowadays everything has changed i just wondered how to update or upgrade my hometheater. I can play the blu-ray through my computer then route it to the hometheater 5.1 (just for sound)and then into my hd tv.

See here: https://www.newegg.com/Blu-Ray-Drives/SubCategory/ID-598?Tid=8609

 

[Wolfshadw]

Getting a Blu-Ray drive for your PC is one way to do it. That's how I used to have my theater set up as well. You will need software to play blu-ray discs. VLAN's VLC is open-source and free to use. There are some necessary tweaks/libraries that need to be added for it to work. Other options are fully functional and Pay-To-Use (like Cyberlink's Power DVD)

-Wolf sends

 

[robertdonithan]

Getting a Blu-Ray drive for your PC is one way to do it. That's how I used to have my theater set up as well. You will need software to play blu-ray discs. VLAN's VLC is open-source and free to use. There are some necessary tweaks/libraries that need to be added for it to work. Other options are fully functional and Pay-To-Use (like Cyberlink's Power DVD)

-Wolf sends

The thing i forgot and maybe you may know, will the 5.1 signal go through the hdmi cable to the tv and then out the rca output from the tv to the aux. in the 5.1 hometheater, will it come out surround sound (5.1) in the end? Also will the bluray optical drive play regular dvds?

 

[Wolfshadw]

will the 5.1 signal go through the hdmi cable to the tv and then out the rca output from the tv to the aux. in the 5.1 hometheater, will it come out surround sound (5.1) in the end?

That, I don't know. It depends on your home theater system and whether or not it would attempt to simulate surround sound from a 2.0 source. If possible, you want to go from the PC via HDMI to the Home Theater System (HTS) and then from the HTS via HDMI to the HDTV.

Also will the bluray optical drive play regular dvds?

Yes, it will.

-Wolf sends