To enjoy the HD resolution and sharp picture detail that Blu-ray discs offer, you need to pair your player with a high-definition display. However, if you don’t have an HD television, you can still view movies from your Blu-ray player if you have a laptop or desktop computer with a screen capable of high-definition resolutions. Because most computers don’t have RCA or other video inputs, though, you must use an external capture device to connect the DVD player device to your laptop or PC.
Things You’ll Need:
USB video-capture device and USB cable, RCA A/V cable set
Connect USB Video Capture Device
Power off the computer and then connect the small end of the data cable for the video-capture box to the “System,” “USB In” or “USB” on the device. Plug the opposite end of the data cable into an empty USB port on the PC. If the USB capture box has an AC power adapter (some do and some don’t) connect it to the device and plug the other end it into an electrical socket.
Power on the USB video-capture device first if the device has an “On/Off” switch or button and then power on the computer. After you log in with your user name and password, wait a few seconds for Windows to detect the capture box and prompt you for a driver.
Open the CD/DVD drive of the computer and insert the installation disc for the video-capture device. Click the “OK” button in the Windows driver installation dialog box and then follow the remaining prompts to install the video-capture box driver. Leave the installation disc for the capture device in the CD/DVD drive and restart the computer when prompted. Alternatively, click the “Setup Driver” or “Install Driver” button if a setup wizard window appears after inserting the installation disc.
Eject the CD/DVD disc tray and close it – don’t remove the disc. After a second or two, the USB capture utility setup wizard window opens on the screen. Click the “Install,” “Setup,” “Setup Video Capture Software” or other similar button or link in the setup wizard window. Follow the on-screen directions to install the video capture program in Windows and then reboot the PC if prompted.
Connect one end of an RCA A/V cable set to the “Video Out” and “Audio Out” ports on the Blu-ray DVD player. Connect the other end of the A/V cable set to the “Audio In” and “Video In” ports on the capture device. When connecting the A/V cable ends, connect the plugs to the matching-colored ports. Plug the power cord for the Blu-ray DVD player into an electrical outlet.
Power on the Blu-ray and insert a DVD you want to view on the computer monitor.
Launch the video-capture program on the computer. Wait a few seconds for the preview screen color to change from black to blue or green indicating the program is ready to display or record video captured from the USB device.
Press the “Play” button on the Blu-ray DVD device and then wait a few seconds for the video to begin playing in the preview window of the capture application. Click the “Maximize” or “Full Screen” button in the preview window to view the movie in Full-Screen mode.
Tips & Warnings
If the preview screen in the video-capture program window does not change color to blue or green or if a “No Capture Device Found” message appears, you may need to scan for the capture device manually in the capture application. To do this, click “Options,” “Preferences” or “Tools” on the menu bar, then “Capture Device.” Select the device name of the installed capture device as the default or click “Detect Device,” “Scan” or “Search” if no devices appear in the list. Click “OK” or “Save” to save the device as the default and then restart the application and DVD Blu-ray player.
You can also record video from the Blu-ray player to your computer using the capture application. To do this, first click “Capture,” “Capture Video,” “Record Video” or another similar button in the capture program window before pressing the “Play” button on the Blu-ray player. As the Blu-ray video plays in the preview window, the capture program records and saves the movie clip to your hard drive.
Virtually all USB capture devices ship with a video capture application. However, if you find the included application lacks the player or recorder options you require, you can download and install a third-party capture program that works with most capture devices
. Programs such as AVS Video Recorder, Blaze Media Pro and Debut Video Capture Software work with virtually all USB capture devices and offer many advanced player options for tailoring and tuning the video display (links in Resources).
A few high-end TV tuner cards have RCA inputs for connecting DVD players, VCRs and other video-player devices. If your computer has such as a card installed, you can connect the Blu-ray play to the TV tuner card just as you would a standard television. Connect the white and red RCA audio cables from the DVD Blu-ray player to the “Audio In” ports on the rear of the TV tuner card. Plug the yellow RCA cable into the “Video In” port on the TV tuner card.
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