Blu-Ray burners....which one for playback as well

[gmcman]

So I'm going to add a Blu-Ray burner to the PC and it seems that having a unit that plays retail discs as well requires additional software. I'm ok with the software but do I need to re-new this software after a set time or is it permanent?

I mainly want the burner for making BD discs but doubling as a layer would be nice as well. Dedicated players aren't terribly expensive so I will surely pick one up but this is for the PC.

I have browswed Newegg and Toms for info but wanted some opinions here.

 

[The_Roadie]

I thought every retail boxed kind of drive came with some sort of player software. They can all play retail disks.

What you're thinking of is software to suppress the DRM/copy protection so you can make an archive copy of your disk for safety, etc. For that, the industry standard seems to be AnyDVD by Slysoft.com SlySoft Products | Backup Movie DVDs with AnyDVD and CloneDVD

Recommend AnyDVD HD for Bluray support, and CloneDVD for easier copying. You pay a higher price for longer-term update support as copy protection technology evolves. There are many other vendors, but I don't have experience with them.