[erik.thysell]

I have an older samsung 5100 bluray player but i recently discovered it wouldn't play dts-hd audio (bitstream).
Therefore I'm thinking of upgrading my htpc with a bluray drive. Does anyone knnow of a good bd drive that I could use for this? Quality, quiteness are also important.

Is the dts-hd bitstreaming (3D etc.) dependant on the bd-drive or is it all software dependant?
Is there a difference between bd-discs for the different audio-tracks or 2d 3d video?

Hw: i5 2405s, asus p8 h67 m evo
(Running kubuntu/xbmc)

[noggin]

In PC terms all Blu-ray drives are pretty much equal in replay terms. They just replay the data from the disc.

3D, Dolby True HD, DTS HD audio etc. compatibility are functions of the software you use to replay (and your hardware set-up in terms of amp and GPU) PowerDVD and Arcsoft's equivalent are both quite popular under Windows.

If you think you might rip your Blu-rays to a server at any point, then it is worth looking at how fast your drive can rip. Many PC drives have some additional speed limitations using a system called "Rip Lock" enabled that limits the ripping speed for Blu-rays and DVDs. Some models of drive can have this disabled by installing new drive firmware - though this is outside any form of warranty! I did it with my LG drive and it more than doubled my Blu-ray ripping speeds.

You mention quietness being an issue. Many of us rip our Blu-rays and DVDs to a central server for precisely this reason, as it means you no longer have to physically spin the DVD/Blu-ray when you want to watch the movie.

[erik.thysell]

Thank you very much for the clearification!