When I reviewed Leawo Blu-ray Player, I ended up saying that it was a promising media player having great interface, but could not recommend it because of its high price w.r.t. the features offered. Today, I am going to talk about another remarkably great blu-ray player, i.e., Aurora Blu-ray Media Player that offers much more than what Leawo Blu-ray Player does.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

Aurora Blu-ray Media Player is a program for playing Blu-ray, DVD, and various video files (both SD and HD).

Pros

• Very smooth playback of Blu-ray discs (BDs), DVDs, high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) videos up to 1080P with multi-format support
• ISO file support
• Preferred subtitles and audio tracks at will
• Font position/type/size/color options for subtitles available
• Simple but great interface
• Large fonts for ease of read
• Drag-n-drop works
• Full-screen playback support
• Right click support with keyboard short-cuts
• Windows 8 supported & and Mac OS X version available

Cons

• Little high price for a media player with no 3D playback

Discussion

I have tested the following types of files in Aurora Blu-ray Media Player for Windows version # 2.12.9.1301 in Windows 7 Professional 64 bit:

• Blu-ray (BD50) & DVD (DVD9) commercial discs; Despicable Me (2010): Played with menu.
• HD video: 720p AVC-x264/AC3-5.1 (or DTS-5.1)/MKV file with English subtitle (UTF-8): Worked with no problems.
• HD video: 1080p AVC-x264/AAC-2.0/MP4: Worked with no problems.
• SD video: DivX/MP3/AVI file: Worked with no issues.

During playback, the software takes ~ 215 MB of RAM whereas it takes ~ 35 MB in standby mode (your mileage may vary). You can right click to bring the menus. Menu options are also available with keyboard short-cuts or at the top. I am happy to report that subtitles’ font position/type/size/color can be changed by going to Tools > Preferences…, and then to Subtitle tab. However, the most important fact is that both BD/DVD menu and DVD playback work here whereas Leawo player fail in those areas. It’s worth mentioning that Aurora offers both Windows and Mac versions! I could not test it myself, but there are reports that supported media players work in OS X as long as you have an external blu-ray drive despite OSX natively does not support blu-rays. When you start this player, you will see that the interface is absolutely neat unlike some widely popular players like CyberLink PowerDVD. Aurora’s player has a contemporary look and ability. Fonts are large enough to read that may be good for older eyes.

I really wish this player would have the capability in playing 3D Blu-ray discs, too (including the stereoscopic 3D files like side-by-side, half-over-the-under MKVs). Nevertheless, for stereoscopic 3D playback, you must have proper hardware set-up. For those who are wondering, the following is the configuration of my laptop where this software test has taken place: ASUS G73JW | Intel Core i7-740QM, 1.73GHz | 8GB DDR3 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M, 1.5GB | OCZ 120GB SSD + Seagate 500GB Hybrid 7200rpm | 17.3? FHD/3D | Blu-ray Write | Win7Pro64.

Conclusion and download link

Is this one that can be recommended without any hesitation? Well, by and large, this is a visually cool Blu-ray software media player with an unpretentious but powerful interface that works without any hitch (so far so good). There is a serious complaint though; in particular, like I always say, 3D options are mandatory for a modern Blu-ray media player to be competent and widely acceptable. Also, the program feels not so cheap ($39.95) for a media player indeed, especially when 3D playback is not supported. For your information, I have personally liked it very much since it did not fail on me at all. One should always know that Blu-ray movie playback is somewhat hit or miss on Windows. Looking for freeware alternatives? Check out either DA Player or VLC (you will need to download the unofficial Blu-ray plugin for VLC; & according to my tests, DA Player is a total failure for commercial BD playback).

Price: $39.95

Version reviewed: 2.12.9.1301

Supported OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/Mac

Download size: 35.9 MB

VirusTotal malware scan results: 1/45

Is it portable? No

Aurora Blu-ray Media Player homepage