Considering C200

[alfaandrews]

Hi,

I am considering a PCH C200 and need some advice (read convincing Smile).

I live in New Zealand and am here at CA for a short period. I was thinking of buying a c200 and a Blu ray drive back and take it home when i leave. My laptop, as of now, is old and not grunty enough to run BRs and i dont hav a BR drive. My intentions are to use the C200 as my player, to which i want to copy my DVD collection (about 200 Movies) and use it as a BluRay player for BluRay movies i get from a DVD rental place. In future i also want to rip BR movies (when i buy a new laptop).

Now, my doubts are:

Will i be able to change the region encoding of the BR drive i buy so that i can play NZ BRs and DVDs? if so will i need a PC or will my laptop do? With the wireless networking option, can i connect to my Wireless adsl gateway and peek into youtube with my PCH?

Can i use a 2TB internal hard drive via sata as my primary memory on PCH and then use a USB hard drive (external) as a secondary. I use this hard drive for my laptop as well. Can i rip BR movies to the internal hard drive?

any other things i should be aware of? as i will be flying far far away, i need to make sure everything works together before i leave. is there any particular BR drive i should buy so that i am 100% sure it will work with PCH?

sorry for all these stupid qstns... trust me, it isnt stupid for me Smile

[halfelite]

1. Yes you can run an internal 2tb drive and as many usb drives as you like.
2. the region on the c200 can be changed up to 5 times but there is a hack out for this in the forums if you need more. Although im not sure how the region is set on the drives themself.
3. you can see the compatibility list here for bd rom drives http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/i...ray_drives
4. You cannot rip movies directly to the pch this has to be done on a pc running anydvd

[NodNarb012]

Since I'm unaware of any 2TB 2.5-inch hard drives on the market, you'll probably have to make some modifications to use a 3.5-inch hard drive and a Blu-ray drive in the C-200.

http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/i...00_Modding

[Auggie]

As NodNarb012 pointed out, I'm not sure if you are aware of the internal expansion capabilities of the C-200. Neither was I until I actually got the unit.

The C-200 can internally mount 1 2.5" SATA, which is directly underneath the "convertible" 3.5"/5.25" SATA cage. There is absolutely no room height-wise to stuff a 3.5" underneath that cage. I can't remember when I installed my 500GB 2.5" if a 12mm hard drive would fit. It was really tight with the standard 9mm. Something to keep in mind as this may limit which drive (and by extension, maximum capacity) you can install.

The externally removable cage itself has an adapter already in-place that accepts a 3.5" SATA drive to slip in, or you can remove it to slide in a 5.25" SATA drive (optical, of course, as 5.25" hard drives went the way of the dinosaur).

There is also an internal USB "A" receptacle on the tiny mobo that was designed for flash USB drives. Perhaps you can sneak a non-powered USB drive into that port, but non-powered would probably mean a 2.5" drive, which is limited to 1TB presently.

So your "internal" drive expansion options are 1 internal non-powered USB drive, 1 2.5" SATA internal drive and either 1 3.5" SATA drive OR 1 5.25" drive (optical) in the removable cage. Since you implied installing a BR player into the C-200, your remaining internal drive expansion options are the 2.5" SATA and internal USB plug.

[cheaper_popcorn]

All the above is true in the basic configuration.

However, there are a few people who have done some handywork inside the case to fit an additional 3.5" SATA drive. Here are some modding examples from the C-200 Wiki - some googling should reveal more.

[Auggie]

(07-11-2010 06:13 AM)cheaper_popcorn Wrote:  All the above is true in the basic configuration.

However, there are a few people who have done some handywork inside the case to fit an additional 3.5" SATA drive. Here are some modding examples from the C-200 Wiki - some googling should reveal more.

Yes, of course, there is PLENTY of room to use an internal SATA "extension" cable to reach an internal 3.5" custom-mounted "elsewhere" within the case. But then again, most anything can be modded to overcome case restraints, some going so far as to use an entirely different case like what's being done with the A-series...

[accident]

your probably better off with an external bluray drive.. this will make changing the drives region easier and allow you to move it to the laptop to rip movies with it.. don't go used on a bluray drive, there is a very small limited amount of times the region can be changed and you don't know if its run out on a used drive until you have it to try..

[Flashkick]

I have successfully converted my BD ROM to region free (LG-CH08-LS10).

Follow the instructions on "http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/i...on_Setting" And scroll down the bottom too "Guide to making a ROM Drive Region Free on the C200"

[alfaandrews]

(07-11-2010 06:40 AM)accident Wrote:  your probably better off with an external bluray drive.. this will make changing the drives region easier and allow you to move it to the laptop to rip movies with it.. don't go used on a bluray drive, there is a very small limited amount of times the region can be changed and you don't know if its run out on a used drive until you have it to try..

Thank heaps guys!!!!! I am convinced to buy one and also convinced i can pretty much do anything with it cos all u guys are very helpful...

Can you please advice me of a an external BluRay drive. I think it makes sense to put an external BluRay drive so that i can use is with my computer and i wont destroy the C200 with my DIYs on it.

Also, as my amplifier is a bit old school, i dont hav hdmi, but projector does. can i use optical SPDIF output for sound while my projector is playing via hdmi?

[Dave_D]

(07-11-2010 06:24 PM)alfaandrews Wrote:  Thank heaps guys!!!!! I am convinced to buy one and also convinced i can pretty much do anything with it cos all u guys are very helpful...

Can you please advice me of a an external BluRay drive. I think it makes sense to put an external BluRay drive so that i can use is with my computer and i wont destroy the C200 with my DIYs on it.

Also, as my amplifier is a bit old school, i dont hav hdmi, but projector does. can i use optical SPDIF output for sound while my projector is playing via hdmi?

I'm using a Pioneer BDC-S02 (sourced from ebay). It's a half-height slot loading USB BD-ROM drive.

It's small, light, cheap. I've used it playing retail BD on the C200 as well as ripping them when attached to a PC/Mac.

[cheaper_popcorn]

Quote:Also, as my amplifier is a bit old school, i dont hav hdmi, but projector does. can i use optical SPDIF output for sound while my projector is playing via hdmi?

Yes - to do so, you need to specify "HDMI audio: Off" on the Settings//Audio/Video page. In other words, you need to pick either S/PDIF or HDMI audio, outputting both types of audio at the same time is not an intended function and probably does not work reliably (I have not tested this for some time).

[larryp7639]

(07-11-2010 03:16 AM)NodNarb012 Wrote:  Since I'm unaware of any 2TB 2.5-inch hard drives on the market, you'll probably have to make some modifications to use a 3.5-inch hard drive and a Blu-ray drive in the C-200.

http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/i...00_Modding

Such a very amazing link!

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