# Blu Ray not working on comp or DVD player **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647 "2016-04-19T14:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/1 "2016-04-19T14:48:38Z")
I bought Star Wars the other day and tried to play it on the comp, but the comp doesn’t even acknowledge a Blu Ray DVD is in the drive, and it’s the same for my DVD player, however I put in Hangover Blu ray and it worked fine, on both, I even exchanged it because I thought the CD was faulty, but it happened again. What’s going on? I’ve tried MakeMkv and various emulators, I’m outta luck. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/2 "2016-04-19T15:18:29Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > I bought Star Wars the other day and tried to play it on the comp, but the comp doesn’t even acknowledge a Blu Ray DVD is in the drive, and it’s the same for my DVD player Are either of these BluRay drives/players? If not, I wouldn’t expect them to be able to read/recognize BluRay discs. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/3 "2016-04-19T15:46:47Z")
But the thing is, it played my Hangover film which is Blu Ray on both players ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/4 "2016-04-19T15:53:06Z")
I use a Playstation 3 for watching DVDs and Bluray titles and sometimes when I insert a new Bluray, the first thing the player does is to download a new encryption key. It seems that the companies behind Bluray are constantly improving the security on the standard. So perhaps that’s necessary for your computer or your “DVD player”. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/5 "2016-04-19T15:54:37Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > But the thing is, it played my Hangover film which is Blu Ray on both players Are you sure the Hangover film is a Blu-Ray disc? Note that a Blu-Ray disc WILL NOT play in a DVD drive. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/6 "2016-04-19T15:56:03Z")
You need a Blu Ray player or a Blu Ray disk drive in your PC to be able to read Blu Rays disks. If your PC doesn’t have the Blu Ray icon, then it’s not a Blu Ray player. [PC](http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2008/06/pioneer-bdc-so2bk-blu-ray-drive/1-7.jpg) [Laptop](http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Cheap-Blu-ray-Drive-For-Laptops-2.jpg) (shown in the middle of the picture, location may vary) then it’s not a Blu Ray player. A DVD player or the DVD drive on your PC is sadly not able to read Blu Ray disks. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/7 "2016-04-19T16:05:17Z")
Also note that if the “Hangover” disc is Blu-ray, the disc will display the [Blu-ray logo on the disc label.](https://www.google.com/search?q=blu+ray+disc+logo&biw=1469&bih=912&tbm=isch&imgil=mE4SsguhlcEVnM%253A%253BoOvlmtx52WJBaM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fcommons.wikimedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FFile%25253ABlu-ray_Disc.svg&source=iu&pf=m&fir=mE4SsguhlcEVnM%253A%252CoOvlmtx52WJBaM%252C_&usg=__ffs1-QeXMVWjtNNYJ4qyjzX6FPM%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjOhfKjiZvMAhVFyT4KHQw3BxwQyjcILw&ei=LVYWV467McWS-wGM7pzgAQ#imgrc=mE4SsguhlcEVnM%3A) If that logo is not present, the disc is not Blu-ray. It’s the same logo as in the photos **Doughbag** listed. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/8 "2016-04-19T16:48:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I use a Playstation 3 for watching DVDs and Bluray titles and sometimes when I insert a new Bluray, the first thing the player does is to download a new encryption key. It seems that the companies behind Bluray are constantly improving the security on the standard. So perhaps that’s necessary for your computer or your “DVD player”. But where do I get this encryption key? As for the other posts, yeah Hangover was in a Blu Ray box and everything just like the star wars Blu Ray, I’m wondering now if it is something to do with encryption because if it wasn’t it’d of not worked with the Hangover film either. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/9 "2016-04-19T16:56:02Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > As for the other posts, yeah Hangover was in a Blu Ray box and everything Just checking: is there a BluRay logo on the Hangover disc itself? Sometimes a BluRay disc and a regular DVD will be packaged together in the same box, or even as separate sides of the same disc; or if you bought it used, the disc might not match the box. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/10 "2016-04-19T16:56:58Z")
Are the computer and the player connected to the network? If so, they may download updated security automatically. If not, check for firmware or other updates. (Even my PS3 needs periodic updates.) ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/11 "2016-04-19T17:13:38Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Just checking: is there a BluRay logo on the Hangover disc itself? Sometimes a BluRay disc and a regular DVD will be packaged together in the same box, or even as separate sides of the same disc; or if you bought it used, the disc might not match the box. Yeah ☹ Just checked now, Hangover is DVD but the 2nd disc is blu ray. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blu-ray-not-working-on-comp-or-dvd-player/752647/12 "2016-04-19T18:14:40Z")
The more typical sales format now seems to be both Blu-ray and DVD together in one case; especially for children’s shows (which, yes, Hangover is not). This allows you to have something to play in hi-def at home and also plays in those built-in car DVD players.