HL-DT-ST BD-RE BT30N Not Playing Blu ray

[Zuhan]

I just got this new laptop and the drive plays DVDs just fine but when I put a Blu Ray in the drive, in My Computer it knows that it is a Blu Ray because the Icon changes from a drive to a CD with BD-ROM under it, but when I go to play it in POWERDVD 10 it states that there is no disk in the drive. When I open the Blu Ray in my computer it acts like its a blank blu ray. I play my movies on my PS3 just fine but my laptop insists that there is nothing on it. How can I rectify this problem. It would be nice watching some movies while im in my BEQ sitting at the QD.

[usually_quiet]

Which version of PowerDVD 10 do you have? The standard and Deluxe versions of PowerDVD cannot play Blu-Ray discs. The Pro and Ultra versions can.

[hech54]

The standard and Deluxe versions of PowerDVD cannot play Blu-Ray discs. The Pro and Ultra versions can.

Isn't that absolutely freakin' ridiculous? And they wonder why so many people(like me) have not YET taken the Blu Ray plunge.

[usually_quiet]

The standard and Deluxe versions of PowerDVD cannot play Blu-Ray discs. The Pro and Ultra versions can.

Isn't that absolutely freakin' ridiculous? And they wonder why so many people(like me) have not YET taken the Blu Ray plunge.

Confusing, but at least those who can only play DVDs are not forced to pay extra for features they can't use. The difference in price between the standard/Deluxe versions and the Ultra version is significant.

Cyberlink has to pay AACS licensing fees to support Blu-Ray playback and there are costs associated with providing updates so users can play original Blu-Ray discs that use new forms of copy protection. They pass those costs on to their customers, not to mention the software development costs for Blu-Ray playback.

[Kerry56]

^Arcsoft does pay licensing fees, but I don't believe they do so for Cyberlink's PowerDVD. Arcsoft's TMT 6 player only comes in one edition, with full capabilities.

[usually_quiet]

^Arcsoft does pay licensing fees, but I don't believe they do so for Cyberlink's PowerDVD. Arcsoft's TMT 6 player only comes in one edition, with full capabilities.

I had Arcsoft on the brain from another thread. Yes, I meant that Cyberlink pays the fees. Thanks. Will correct.

[Baldrick]

I'm moving you to our software playing section as I guess you aren't authoring the blu-ray yourself?

Windows xp required a udfreader but in windows 7 it should work to read blu-ray udf 2.5 discs.

[hech54]

The standard and Deluxe versions of PowerDVD cannot play Blu-Ray discs. The Pro and Ultra versions can.

Isn't that absolutely freakin' ridiculous? And they wonder why so many people(like me) have not YET taken the Blu Ray plunge.

Confusing, but at least those who can only play DVDs are not forced to pay extra for features they can't use. The difference in price between the standard/Deluxe versions and the Ultra version is significant.

7 years later and you still can't go out any buy a Blu-Ray (ROM), take it home, hook it up and play a disc without forking over even more cash.
Ridiculous.

[usually_quiet]

The standard and Deluxe versions of PowerDVD cannot play Blu-Ray discs. The Pro and Ultra versions can.

Isn't that absolutely freakin' ridiculous? And they wonder why so many people(like me) have not YET taken the Blu Ray plunge.

Confusing, but at least those who can only play DVDs are not forced to pay extra for features they can't use. The difference in price between the standard/Deluxe versions and the Ultra version is significant.

7 years later and you still can't go out any buy a Blu-Ray (ROM), take it home, hook it up and play a disc without forking over even more cash.
Ridiculous.

Blu-Ray is a much more complicated distribution format than DVD, but developers are trying to reverse engineer the AACS library for free media player software and add menu support. Using an AACS plugin, some versions of VLC are supposedly able to play many Blu-Ray discs without decrypting first using other software. However there is no menu support. I think there is another free player that can do the same, and offers limited menu support, but I can't recall its name.

You really need to start another thread if you want to engage in a real discussion on this subject. This thread should be about the OPs concerns.

[DB83]

Surprised that the laptop supplier would put on a blu-ray drive and not provide sw to play a BD.

I use PowerDVD 10 Pro and when you start that up you get a flash screen with various icons including 3D and blu ray. If you do not see these then you clearly have the standard version.

Of course, even with the pro version some disks may refuse to load/play but you might be able to ugrade it. That may not apply to a OEM version of the sw tho.

[Zuhan]

Under the Power DVD information it says.

Player information:
Player region code: 1
Current drive: E:
Title region code: Not available
Audio attributes: Not available


Hardware Information:
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4700MQ CPU @ running at 2394 MHz
3DNow! technology: Not Detected
Enhanced 3DNow! technology: Not Detected
3DNow! professional technology: Not Detected
IA MMX technology: In Use
IA sStreaming SIMD extensions: In Use
IA SSE 2: In Use
Video accelerator: DirectX VA (not in use)
Multispeaker audio device: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) (not in use)
S/PDIF output device: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio) (not in use)

[Zuhan]

In the About PowerDVD is says.

PowerDVD 10 Version 10.0.4125.52
Version Type BD - OEM 3D 6CH+6CH


Sorry for the double post

[DB83]

Well the version suggests that it plays blu-rays.

Did you physically hit the 'play' button ? PowerDVD does not automatically play a blu ray.

[Zuhan]

I do and it sits for a second and then reads no disk in drive E:. I know theres a disk in there lol.

[DB83]

Just a thought. Why drive E. Surely you only have one HDD in the laptop unless that is partitioned.

The other thing you can try. Go to the video tab (top of screen) and open it up. Double click on the drive it shows.

[Zuhan]

I have an SSD and an HDD on this laptop. My CD drive is designated drive E

[usually_quiet]

@Zuhan Have the drivers or firmware for the Blu-Ray drive been updated recently? Updates can fix problems but can also cause them.

There is also a possibility that this is a case of "infant death", where a component fails even though it is relatively new. One sign that a drive is failing is that it looses the ability to read a type of optical media that it is designed to use, but still reads others.

If the drive was pre-installed in the laptop, you should talk to the laptop's manufacturer support regarding your problem, and failing a solution, find out if you can have the drive replaced under warranty.

[Zuhan]

I had to reinstall all of the drivers because the OS at the time was Japanese and I installed the english version ov Win7. I`m not sure where i can update the drivers for it. Going to the manufacturer may be just a little difficult as they mostly speak Japanese lol. I guess I should have mentioned that I am stationed in Japan ATM. What other things can I try before going to the manufacturer?

[usually_quiet]

I did see that your location was listed as Japan, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the laptop was purchased there.

If the laptop was made by a Japanese company that does not sell computers in any English-speaking countries, then I guess you are out of luck. However, if the laptop was manufactured by Toshiba or Sony, they do have substantial US operations and may be able provide support via the Internet.

[Edit]I found the US page for the LG BT30N drive http://www.lg.com/us/data-storage/lg-BT30N

They don't have download links for that model, which may mean you must rely on either Windows or the laptop manufacturer to handle updates. However, they have links on the page for asking support questions if you want to try asking LG where to find driver and firmware updates.

[TreeTops]

Zuhan, in post #16 you say this: "My CD drive is designated drive E" I assume that was a typo as I don't know any CD drive that plays Blueray.