[Frea74]

Hello to all. My question -no matter how "naive" it may sound- is the following: is there a way to actually control an external standalone BD player from Windows (and, consequently, XBMC) via e.g. a USB or network connection? (given most standalone players are now equipped with USB and Ethernet). I suppose that's probably not possible at the moment, but theoretically maybe it's feasible technically. I guess that would really solve our dilemmas! It would be great if XBMC actually used our standalone players for BD playback! Your thoughts on this?

[jeellei]

In order to read and play blu-ray disc, choosing a great blu-ray drive is the first and import thing, i just compare many and at last, i choose Samsung SE-506BB External Slim Blu-ray Drive, which is very compact and lightweight. and The drive is very quiet -- can't even hear it with blu-ray video playing. The size and weight is such that I can easily put this into a laptop bag and take it on the road with me. Trial software packages to play blu-rays and do other media related things were included with the drive but I did not use them. Instead I installed a tool named UFUSoft Blu-ray Player, as suggested by my friend, and I'm watching the blu-ray discs on HTPC without a problem. I'm happy with this drive, though at ~$97 it's pricier than what I initially thought I wanted.

[nikc0069]

I personally run openelec, and BD runs straight of the bat with the right file int he right place However, one thing it does miss is 3d playback.

Now, to bring this back on topic, I never managed to get a smooth 3D playback from TMT5 or CyberDVD, and the interface is not congruous with XBMC using an external player. Just something to bear in mind if you did want 3d capabilities from Bluray discs.