BluRay / Hi-Def Laptop on the cheap - Any Thoughts?

Zarch

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I've been looking for a laptop for my mate capable of playing file based HD media (ie mkv) and also Bluray discs to hook upto LCD/Plasma and in the future a AMP. But with the deal breaker being it had to be as cheap as possible.

For a fully functional HD mediacentre type laptop i narrowed it down to the Acer 6920G and the Sony FZ21M, both of which have 16" plus screens and Bluray drives included. Unfortunatley, these are £699 each, which is a little more than my pal wanted to spend.

A bonus of the Acer is that it has spdif output too, for direct access to an AMP.

So I got me thinking cheaper options, i suppose for mkv, all i need is a 2ghz core2duo(as per my perf charts) and a HDMI connection. (with the premise that the HDMI connection will carry the surround sound, ie DTS etc in case he gets an HDMI enabled amp).

From a PC Pro review i was interested to see that the Dell Inspiron 1525 had a HDMI connection, so it got me thinking about configuring one of those.

Prices came out like this.

2GB Ram, 120GB Disk and T5750 (2ghz core2duo)
With DVD-Writer : £419
With BluRay Combo: £539

Maybe get the DVD-Writer version first and then buy the blu-ray drive later down the line?? (when prices drop!)

The graphics chipset is the Intel X3100, which according to the following article is on the PowerDVD compatibility list for High Definition playback: http://www.cyberlink.com/eng/press_room/view_1373.html

So could i have found the cheaper option?

I suppose the killer is whether the HDMI output carries surround sound AND the graphics card/cpu combo is upto playing BluRay discs?

Anyone got any thoughts?
 
Wouldn't he be better off getting a cheap laptop and a PS3, or cheap BR standalone player like the Samsung?

Regards

Mark
 
Wouldn't he be better off getting a cheap laptop and a PS3, or cheap BR standalone player like the Samsung?

Regards

Mark

LOL, we've had this conversation.

But he needs a method of "file-based" HD playback which the standalone player and the PS3 don't provide (granted, the PS3 can, but he'd need somewhere to store the files anyway!)

So its gotta be a PC.
 
You can add a large USB external HD to the PS3, I believe, which would allow it to store and run file based material.

But the words 'cheap', 'laptop', and 'Blueray' just don't go together at the moment, I don't think. Maybe in a year, or so, if/when they start to become more standard?

Regards

Mark
 
You can add a large USB external HD to the PS3, I believe, which would allow it to store and run file based material.

But the words 'cheap', 'laptop', and 'Blueray' just don't go together at the moment, I don't think. Maybe in a year, or so, if/when they start to become more standard?

Regards

Mark


Thanks Mark.

He's just not a gamer at all, so the PS3 would be wasted on him.

the more i think, the more i might recommend the Inspiron 1525 with the DVD drive and think about the bluray element later down the line, like you say, when the prices come down to a more reasonable level.

Just need to find out if the HDMI carries the surround audio, now that is a question.................. anyone?
 
Thanks Mark.

He's just not a gamer at all, so the PS3 would be wasted on him.

the more i think, the more i might recommend the Inspiron 1525 with the DVD drive and think about the bluray element later down the line, like you say, when the prices come down to a more reasonable level.

Just need to find out if the HDMI carries the surround audio, now that is a question.................. anyone?

My sony fz31z will only output 2.0 PCM via HDMI so I guess all the FZ range will be the same.
 
LOL, we've had this conversation.

But he needs a method of "file-based" HD playback which the standalone player and the PS3 don't provide (granted, the PS3 can, but he'd need somewhere to store the files anyway!)

If that's the only problem then why go for a laptop over a PC? A PC should be cheaper.
 
If that's the only problem then why go for a laptop over a PC? A PC should be cheaper.

Sorry, it has to be a laptop rather than a desktop/htpc for the portability.

Quite a demanding brief eh? :rolleyes:
 

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