Adding a Blu-ray Drive

[dustnik3]

Right now, my laptop will only play DVDs, but as soon as it is out of warranty (soon), I want to swap out the DVD drive for one that will play blu-rays as well. Can you give me some suggestions what will word with this model?

[banhien]

Hi,

There are few HP products on the following list:

     https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A668573011%2Cp_4%3AHP

Basically you can buy from other brands and you need drivers for Operating System on your computer.

Regards.

[dustnik3]

There is such a variation in price. What's that all about? I also see that at least one says it's for Pavillion models. Which ones will work with Envy models?

I have Cyberlink software installed to run the DVD player already installed. Will any of the Blu-ray drives work with it or just certain ones? I don't wish to purchase new software too.

Is changing it out something I can easily do myself, or do I need to take it to an expert?

[Huffer]

The optical drive on most models is end user replaceable. I do not know your exact model because you did not provide it but on most of the Envys you just flip it over, there is one screw on the back labeled with a little optical disk icon. Remove that screw and the drive slides out. You can buy the HP replacement Blu-Ray disk module either Blu-Ray read or write and it is a slide in plug and play upgrade. Or if the actual HP part is too expensive you can buy a generic drive of the correct thickness and use the old DVD drive caddy and connector pieces to retrofit the generic bare drive into your machine. 

The drives are generic. Any SATA BLu-Ray drive of the correct thickness with enough effort can be made to work on a laptop that uses a SATA DVD drive. Generic means industry standard, interchangeable. 

As far as software, generally only HP models which are sold with a Blu-Ray drive also have the version of the Cyberlink Power DVD needed for Blu-Ray movie playback. The industry has guarded Blu-Ray pretty jealously and generally you do need to pay to play Blu-Rays. I think it is one of the reasons they never fully caught on. But don't get me started. 

One other thing you need to appreciate is that if your laptop has a 1366 x 768 screen you cannot really tell the difference between Blu-Ray and DVD video quality. You almost have to have a FHD or 1920 x 1080 before it makes a difference to the eye. 

A free program, VLC Media Player actually has some well-known open source plug-ins that will allow Blu-Ray playback but installing them into the player is a little bit technical.  

Post back with any more questions

[dustnik3]

My computer model is HP ENVY Notebook - m7-n101dx, and the resolution is 1920x1080. I want a Blu-ray drive because I own a lot of Blu-rays and would like to be able to play them on my laptop. The software I have installed is Cyberlink Power Media Player 14.  I think it will play Blu-rays, but I'm not sure. Do you know? Would this software only be compatible with HP drives or with all of them. I've never messed with the inside of a computer before, and I'm a little leery about doing it myself. I'm even more leery about taking it somewhere with all the private and sensitive information on here. Would it be enough to simply lock the computer, or would an unscrupulous person still be able to access it? Sorry if these are dumb questions.

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Here is the Service Manual:

Manual

See p. 46. You remove the back cover and one screw inside and the optical drive slides out. 

This is the drive you need for the M7 models:

Blu-ray Disc ROM with SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Double-Layer Combo Drive 729728-001

This is a Blu-Ray reader which I gather is all you need as you want to watch Blu-Rays and not burn Blu-Rays. 

You can buy the part as it came from the factory so it is just a slide-in replacement but very expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/HP-729728-001-OPTICAL-DISC-DRIVE/dp/B00G2GJRNC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468928...

Much cheaper to buy just the drive and swap the drive into the mounting bracket your current DVD drive is in. It is a 5 minute job involving maybe 5 or 6 screws. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-UJ172-Blu-Ray-6x-BD-COMBO-Drive-for-HP-ENVY-m4-m6-m7-series-/27173...

If you take it to a technician he or she is going to have access to anything on the computer. I always ask anyone I am helping to give me passwords, etc. so I can test the operation of the parts I am installing. In this case you might see if you could schedule an appointment and watch the technician work since an experienced tech could swap in a new drive in maybe 15-20 minutes. You could buy the drive and take it and the laptop to the technician. I do not think it is necessary I am confident we can walk you through the process but if you really don't want to do it and I understand then this would be the way to go. Likely still cheaper than buying the factory replacement. 

Cyberlink Power Media 14 can play Blu-Rays but it may require that you purchase some kind of plug-in pack. Likely not, however. 

Let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. 

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it. 

[dustnik3]

Thank you for all your help. When my warranty runs out sometime next month, I'll definitely contact you again, if I run into problems installing this.

[Huffer]

Whenver is convenient for you but this is one upgrade you can do without a warranty problem. The DVD drive is end user serviceable is why I am explaining how simple it is. HP has given the green light for you to remove and replace the DVD drive. 

[dustnik3]

Okay, I finally got the part that you recommended from eBay (it came from China). I unplugged the computer, shut it down, and removed the battery. Then I removed the little screw on back with the icon of a disc next to it. The drive came out easily. Now what? It looks like you would snap the outside ends off (the outside piece of the computer) But when I tried replacing the old with the new, it wouldn't stay. What am I doing wrong? Is that all there is to it? Once I can attach the end, just slide it back in place and replace the screw? Please advise.