System Requirements for Playing Blu-ray movies on a Computer

How can I know whether my computer is able to play Blu-ray movies?

Blu-ray is the latest technology in optical storage and allows you to experience high-definition video with superior realism to DVD quality movies. In order for you to be able to play Blu-ray movies on your PC (currently no Blu-ray playback support for Mac OS X), your computer must meet certain minimum requirements.

HDCP supported hardware is generally required to play any commercial Blu-ray movie. HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection and is a copy protection method applied to most commercially produced Blu-ray movies to prevent unauthorized reproduction. In order for a commercial Blu-ray disc to play on your computer, your video card as well as your monitor must support HDCP. If either your video card or monitor does not support HDCP then you will not be able to view Blu-ray movies.

In addition to HDCP, your system specifications must meet minimum hardware requirements as well. A useful tool to use to check whether your system meets the requirements for Blu-ray playback is Cyberlink's BD Advisor. BD Advisor is free to download and it will diagnose your system and generate a report that will help you see whether your PC is ready to play Blu-ray movies, or provide suggestions on what needs to be upgraded.

Cyberlink's BD Advisor software can be downloaded: here

Note: Cyberlink's BD Advisor software is a product of Cyberlink and is not affiliated with Kanguru in any way. Please contact Cyberlink regarding any issues you may experience while using the BD Advisor software.