Hi RLacey,
Thanks for your reply. I finally got around to downloading trial version of PowerDVD 14 and it plays my BLURay discs just fine. I actually had two free patches that upgraded my version 8 to version 10 but it wouldn't work with Windows 8 and strangely enough Version 8 did. Anyway, it looks like I'll have to shell out for Version 14. It's cheaper than buying a good video card.
Thanks again.