Blu-Ray Software

This morning I decided to pop a Disney movie into my machine to keep the toddler distracted while I got some cleaning done.

It turns out that Windows 8.1 doesn't include a player for Blu-Ray or DVDs. DVD playing isn't a problem; there are plenty of good, free options for playback. However, after poking around the web, it looks like there ia no reliable free software to play commercial Blu-Ray discs - Disney discs being known to be particularly tricky to play back.

So - does anyone have any thoughts on paid software to play back DVDs? I'm currently looking at four options:
Aurora Blu-ray Player, for $39
http://www.bluray-player-software.com/blu-ray-media-player.htm

WinDVD Pro, for $59
http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4090069&gclid=CLezjviDqb0CFRFnOgod2GEA0g
(This one gets some bad reviews, so I'm leaning against it)

PowerDVD 13 Ultra, for $59
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd-ultra/features_en_US.html?&r=1

TotalMedia Theatre 6, for $87
http://www.arcsoft.com/totalmedia-theatre/overview.html

Has anyone used any of these for Blu-Ray playback, or just used them in general? Obviously I'd prefer to spend less than more, but I'm willing to shell out the cash if it's for a reliable piece of software that will do its job for years to come. (I don't want to have shell out again for some upgrade or other due to content protection tech changing).

Originally posted by forrest74 Counsel: I just found this by Internet search; I have not used this method as I do not play Blue-Ray disks.  The link below contain information that describes a method to enable VLC (32-bit version) to play Blu-Ray. =====http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=105955which seems to come from here:  http://www.ufusoft.com/free-way-to-play-blu-ray-disc-movie-with-vlc-in-windows-8-64-bit32-bit/It occurs to me this might be a terribly complicated solution that no one can possible make work ...to make you buy their product.  This method is referenced on MANY forums and users report lots of problems getting it to work.=====And I also found this:  http://lifehacker.com/5806252/how-can-i-play-blu-ray-discs-on-my-computer, a totally different approach, i.e rip the movie file so will play on VLC without any VLC modifications.EDIT:  I keep adding and deleting information.

Thanks - I was digging around on the VLC modifications myself, and the general consensus seems to be that it's not reliable, especially with newer Blu-Ray discs. Disney's known for using some fairly stiff anti-piracy measures on their discs, and I need a solution that works reliably on all our discs for the less tech-savvy members of the family.

Ripping is definitely an interesting option, though it would require adding an extra HD or SSD to store my movies on. Useful for later streaming, but no cheaper than buying specialist software.

For Blu-Ray playback I had PowerDVD 9.6 that came with my Dell Alienware 3+ years ago, but that won't install on my new DS Krypton (looks for Dell mobo).  My Krypton came with a Cyberlink Media Suite, and it appears to have a version of PowerDVD in it, but I'm pretty sure it won't play Blu-Rays.

Do I need to bite the bullet and pay for PowerDVD retail?  I do need Blu-Ray playback on this laptop.  I'll be using AnyDVD HD with it. I paid for lifetime upgrades for that when they still offered it.

I've tried the VLC playback and couldn't ever get it to work either.