Blu-Ray Drive Playback On PC Is As Easy As Plug And Play?

While gathering more fact on a new Blu-Ray external drive posted on blu-ray.com, I found an interesting quote from Lite-on at techradar about their new external Blu-ray drive. According to some Lite-On's blurb, their Blu-ray drive is as good as idiot-proof USB device. Somehow, I doubt so.

"makes Blu-ray playback readily available to even the most novice of computer users without any complicated hardware knowledge" Then there was another direct quote from European marketing manager at PLDS that said "The portable external Lite-On BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB 2.0 cable"

What I know about PC Blu-ray or HD-DVD add-on is the exact opposite; playback is a female-dog due to Advanced Access Content System (AACS) and hardware requirement. My unscientific wild guess is more than 95% of PC in the world can't get this external device to work without additional hardware installed. Hardware constraint is crippled with video card without HDMI-HDCP compliant, less aggressive CPU processing power or monitor without HDCP authentication.

Most PC monitors and graphics cards sold during the first part of 2006 don't have HDCP capability, which also put any analog VGA-HD15 input or output devices out of HD ability. But one can get around the restriction using software decrypted application like AnyDVD to bypass AACS as well as HDCP issue. Then that was muslix64 infamous AACS hack long before such application became available.

In fact, my experience with HD-DVD 360 add-on is better to use decrypted software than rely upon proper channels authentication. But somehow I doubt no legit manufacturer will ever release a Blu-ray drive bundled with forbidden application to bypass AACS. They were right about USB device compatibility with virtually most of the PC out there, but wrong about Blu-Ray playback.