Does getting a BluRay drive for my computer require a hardware upgrade?

In this excerpt from
Answercast #80, I look at the possibilities of adding a BluRay drive to an
older computer.

]]>
<![CDATA[

Hardware upgrade for BluRay

So, ultimately, playing BluRay discs on that computer will probably work just fine.

The actual limiting factors are two-fold. One is the drive (which is what you’re looking at). The other would be your video card.

Remember that high definition is 1980 x 1200. If your display is not able to display that resolution or if your display can’t keep up with full motion video at that resolution, that tells you then that yes, your CPU may be underpowered – and your graphics card may be underpowered. That’s the time when you might be looking at a new computer.

But by and large, it should “in theory” work.

Certainly, if you’re doing data from something like a BluRay disc, data should be fine since there’s not nearly as much of a speed expectation, a continuous-type speed expectation from the drive.

But personally, based on what you’ve described here, I would be tempted to give it a try. And if it doesn’t work, then take the drive that you purchased out and install it the replacement computer that you may end up buying.

(Transcript lightly edited for readability.)