33 replies to this topic

[TheHSBR]

Just was wondering how many here have taken the plunge into blu-ray. I have and ive been pretty impressed with some of the stuff Ive seen thus far. What I have noticed is that some transfers of older movies arent all that great because of the original source. I thought maybe we could discuss some stuff here to try to point out the bad before someone else buys it.

Heres some that I have alrady watched:
1. 300 had pretty good picture (despite the bad story IMO)
2. Stargate was pretty good except for scenes that didnt have a lot of light in them. It seems the HD pics up better lit stuff more so than darker/shadow stuff.

[VulcanFanatic]

I cant see switching to bluray until the price and selection gets a bit better.

[slayerone76]

I am too broke to make the leap right now, but you better bet that I will as soon as possible. My biggest concern is backwards compatibility with DVD. I have quite a collection and don't plan on re-buying any titles to own on blue-ray. That said, I have heard that you need at least a 42" screen for blue-ray/HD-DVD to be decent enough to enjoy. Any thoughts?

[The_Donster]

Yeah, I too will be passing on the blu-ray for the moment. Just because they won the big HD Wars doesn't mean the best man one in my opinion. From what I've heard, it doesn't offer that much more than the HD's did and like Slayerone, I can't see upgraded my series of dvd's until some things change.

[TheHSBR]

I am too broke to make the leap right now, but you better bet that I will as soon as possible. My biggest concern is backwards compatibility with DVD. I have quite a collection and don't plan on re-buying any titles to own on blue-ray. That said, I have heard that you need at least a 42" screen for blue-ray/HD-DVD to be decent enough to enjoy. Any thoughts?

Thats a falacy that Ive been hearing repeated in many areas thats completely false! I have a 37" HD LCD (1080i) and the picture quality is far superior! On my Sony Blu-Ray all of my dvd have been playing perfectly fine, the machine evens plays my burned DVD+R/-R pretty much every time. It also upconverts the picture quality of my standard stuff. After watching all 10 season of stargate on the new bluray I have to say the upconvert is a must have feature for the bluray (im not sure if all have it). The true measure of any HD picture is making sure what you buy fits your room! Ive seen people buy a 50" that looks far wose than my 37" because their room isnt big enough and they are practically sitting 4 feet away from the 50" screen. Any HD picture gets distorted when you get too close. My only complaint about my blu-ray is that is takes about a minute to start up which is something Im still trying to get used to. Since nothing else is really in the HD pipeline for movies, I think this will be pretty much the way to go. Ive also seen the prices drop on the machines, I think mine was about $400 and Ive seen some for $300-350. Still a bit pricey, but if your going to buy a $1200 HD TV why not go all in? Im very happy to have my blu-ray and even happier in didnt go the HDDVD route this Christmas!

PS if you did go with HD DVD many stores like Best Buy are giving some offfers like $50 bucks back to make up for the HD going belly up. Its not alot but at least its something.

[A Chimpanzee & 2 Trainees]

Thats a falacy that Ive been hearing repeated in many areas thats completely false! I have a 37" HD LCD (1080i) and the picture quality is far superior!

After all this time, I still go into stores and look at the side-by-side comparison videos of SD and HD (either blu or HD-DVD).. and still, I can't see any significant difference that really impresses me. If it wasn't for the big captions at the bottom that say BLU-RAY or STANDARD, I'd have a hard time differentiating the two. Of course I also suffer from very bad color blindness, so maybe that's why. I know I'm in a very tiny minority when it comes to this opinion.

[TheHSBR]

Depending on how new the movie is and if it was shot originally in a digital format really determines what you see. If you really want to see the difference look at the computer generated menu screens. Thats really where the color pops and the crispness is really visible. Another place to see the difference is in outdoor scenes that take place under the sunlight. Sometimes in the fast moving clips that they show it all looks like a blur anyway so its hard to tell the difference.

[knightone]

I think it's still too soon to make the switch. Blu-Ray might not be the new DVD or VHS but, rather, the new laserdisc. It will stick around for awhile, but it will never be a mainstream medium. Chances are, by the time HD is relevant for the majority of households, direct downloading and online subscription services will be prevalent and overtake blu-ray or any other physical formats that might come along in the interim. It's how I get HD content now I think that method will be the true winner of the HD wars in the end.

[TheHSBR]

I dont think downloading will ever replace physical discs or formats. I personally like having something physical to let it travel. if i want to take a movie to school or a friends, downloading wont permit it. Im also concerened about the resale value of the downloadable stuff which pretty much has none. As I get new Bluray movies Im selling off the old stuff in effect bring down the price of a new bluray to about $13 ($20 - 7 for the resale of dvd). To me the bluray movies (especially on amazon) have been only a few bucks more than the regular dvd release. I also think HD is prevalent in enough homes where many are going to make the switch now that the format wars are over. Laserdisc to me came at a bad time. Bluray is matching up to the next gen in tvs. laserdisc at the time had no extra value besides being on a disc. If I go to any electronics store, all standard def TVs are relegated to one small aisle whereas the HD stuff covers the entire TV floor space. To me if Im going to drop $2000 on a HD set up why not go the extra $300-400 for Bluray to maximize my HD experience?

[JMW326]

I think the picture looks nice but I dont realy see a big enough difference in quality to offset the difference in price at this time. When prices drop (and they will) I may switch to bluray but I dont plan to do it any time soon.

[reverie]

I won't say "never", but I have no interest in moving beyond standard DVD. Aside from the fact I own quite a bit, I see no real reason to jump into a "new" format. I waited awhile for DVD to make sure it wasn't going anywhere, and now that it seems set to stick around a long time, I'm in with both feet!

Although an HD-DVD player could be a little appealing when stores look to dump them and the HD-DVDs!

[knightone]

I dont think downloading will ever replace physical discs or formats. I personally like having something physical to let it travel. if i want to take a movie to school or a friends, downloading wont permit it. Im also concerened about the resale value of the downloadable stuff which pretty much has none. As I get new Bluray movies Im selling off the old stuff in effect bring down the price of a new bluray to about $13 ($20 - 7 for the resale of dvd). To me the bluray movies (especially on amazon) have been only a few bucks more than the regular dvd release. I also think HD is prevalent in enough homes where many are going to make the switch now that the format wars are over. Laserdisc to me came at a bad time. Bluray is matching up to the next gen in tvs. laserdisc at the time had no extra value besides being on a disc. If I go to any electronics store, all standard def TVs are relegated to one small aisle whereas the HD stuff covers the entire TV floor space. To me if Im going to drop $2000 on a HD set up why not go the extra $300-400 for Bluray to maximize my HD experience?

Laptops are pretty prevalent these days and will be even more so as time goes by, so portability is not an issue. Take into account as well smaller and smaller hard drives and flash drives that offer portability above and beyond a single disc. As MP3/portable media players become more and more integrated into everyday use, it will also offer even more portability and convenience that you can't get by buying separate discs. You will be able to store dozens or even hundreds of movies on a single drive or media player and take them anywhere. Also consider that the computer and media player is slowly but surely being integrated into the average home entertainment system, making them pretty much the heart of any modern system. So anyone's media player or drive can easily be plugged in (or linked wirelessly) to anyone else's entertainment system, thus allowing you to take a collection of movies in a small package to a friend's place or even let them borrowa large portion or your entire movie library just by letting them borrrow your tiny drive or player. Resale value will also not matter much when movies will be much, much cheaper to download as time goes by (not to mention not having to pay manufacturing and distribution fees for physical formats). Movies will be even cheaper if you use a subscription service that allows you access to an entire movie library anytime you want for a low monthly fee (the best deal if you watch a large number of movies every month). Add all that together and the days of disc formats are seriously numbered. HD won't be close to being a standard for at least another 7-8 years. By that time all the technologies I've discussed will most likely be more prevalent, better integrated, and much more advanced than they are now, making them much more desirable and appealing than any disc format.

[TheHSBR]

Downloading would be very nice for the average film but for the films that are favorites like Star Trek Id like to keep a solid copy on hand. Downloading of music has been around for nearly 10 years and the stores are still filled with cds. Granted cd sales have gone down but it could also be simply value shoppers who dont ant t pay for 15 songs when they only want 2. I also worry about the studios limiting the number of times one can watch a film or how many devices one can play the film on. Who knows what the future holds...

[VulcanFanatic]

This thread is over two years old, but i was wondering how many folks have gotten Blu Ray players now? I have a bluray now and while i like the features and quality, my favorite feature is the ability to stream netflix shows and movies onto my TV, its wonderful and better than cable IMO.

[TheHSBR]

Well obviously I still have one, but am also wondering how serious this 3D movement is. I was just reading an article in Maxim and they portrayed it as the real deal. It will require all new equipment (both TV and disc player unless you have a ps3 according to the article) so Im not so sure I want to jump in right away. Apparently the major stations are jumping on providing content and ESPN is dedicating a whole station to it.

I think the coollest thing is that the home glasses are actually powered to give a better 3D experience than what you see at the theatre. How far off are the holodecks?!

[VulcanFanatic]

I cant see how a movement that will requirw buying all new equipment again is going to happen unless its an option for those that want to change over. I bought a HD tv and bluray last year, but that was for several reasons.

1. Digital broacasts that wouldnt look right on my old analog tv.
2. HD widescreen capability.
3. More capabilities with the newer tv technology.
4. bluray technology,better features and picture quality.
5. Ability to have streaming content wirelessly streamed to my TV from netflix.

I cant see 3D technology as enough to make me want to replace my equipment.

[A Chimpanzee & 2 Trainees]

I've gotten 2 blu-ray palyers, but they're both very low end models. One I purchased, and another as a christmas gift. They don't do Netflix streaming or anything. Bit of a bummer that I can't at least try it out, especially since one of them does have built in ethernet for BDLive. Honestly, I'm just glad I didn't pay a lot of money for them, because even though there is picture quality improvement, I'm underwhelmed with the degree of difference over standard DVD. I own only 2 blu-ray movies and actually prefer buying DVDs since they're much much cheaper. Maybe if they did do Netflix I'd feel differently. A lot of times, you never really notice how much you'd use a service until you get it, then you wonder how you got along without. I suppose in the interests of disclosure, I should also state that I don't have a full HD TV. It only does 720p.

[VulcanFanatic]

most of my blurays are star trek and just a few others that are my favorites. I wouldnt have bought Bluray if it didnt play DVDs as well. I have all of the Star trek series and movies on DVD and all of the released star trek blurays.

The low end models may not have the ability to upgrade the firmware and i think its worth it to pay a little more to get more capabilities and features. I have upgraded mine twice as upgrades become available for free.

Samsung has a few models that will stream netflix content, mine also will do Blockbuster, Youtube, and pandora internet radio.

[Sybeck1]

I have a Blue Ray and have a few disks. I also bought a HD before Blue Ray won the war, and really found it a better picture than Blue Ray as I have TOS the first season on HD DVD.

Most DVD's I have are Disney which have a standard copy with them, because I see the value of having a DVD copy you can play in the mini van. I think this would more genres if they made more double packs.

[MarcelS]

most of my blurays are star trek and just a few others that are my favorites. I wouldnt have bought Bluray if it didnt play DVDs as well. I have all of the Star trek series and movies on DVD and all of the released star trek blurays.

The low end models may not have the ability to upgrade the firmware and i think its worth it to pay a little more to get more capabilities and features. I have upgraded mine twice as upgrades become available for free.

Samsung has a few models that will stream netflix content, mine also will do Blockbuster, Youtube, and pandora internet radio.

I was an early adaptor of HD-dvd,
I imported a Toshiba A1 player, later I bought A Toshiba EP35,

After that I bought a ps3 for blu-ray, and last month a LG BD570

I don't buy much blu-ray titles, sometimes when the're cheap.
Sometimes I buy a HD-DVD they almost given away these days.