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    Invelos Forums->General: General Home Theater Discussion Page: 1 2  Previous   Next
Time to make the jump to Blu?
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorEagle
Registered: Oct 31, 2001
Registered: March 15, 2007
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Last week I picked up a new 42" LCD to replace my "aging" 8 year old 51" rear projection.  It's an 1080p Element, not the best of brands, but I couldn't knock the price of $250 (I had various discounts that added up to about 60% off)!  Since the 51" takes up about a 1/4 of the room, even with the smaller size, this LCD will be an upgrade.    Now...with the Extended Edition of Avatar coming out next week, and Black Friday around the corner, I feel the time may just be right to go Blu.  Target's Black Friday (actually, their 2-Day) ad has been leaked online, I see they will have the Sony S370 for $99 (with my discounts, it'll come down to $84).  How can I say no to that? 
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantBlair
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Registered: October 30, 2008
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Not for me. I'll hang on to non-Blu as long as I can probably.

I still use TVs that are 20 years old (and still run perfectly) and I'm perfectly fine with that. But for all who want to switch, more power to you, I'm not criticizing (though I find it ironic how only a few years ago so many people were complaining they wouldn't switch to Blu because the increased quality wasn't enough of a reason)


Personally I hate that all TVs (and especially computer monitors) are widescreen now. All it means to me is the possibility of stretching of video because it wasn't encoded, still having black bars at the top unless you have a video that is just the right size, black bars to the left if you are watching any of the millions of 4:3 TV episodes and video clips online, or possibly black bars at the top and sides making things look smaller than they did with a 4:3 TV of the same size.

But that's just me. I know that I am now in the minority.
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 Last edited: by Blair
DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantjmbox
Registered: April 14, 2007
United Kingdom Posts: 415
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Quoting Blair:
Quote:
Personally I hate that all TVs (and especially computer monitors) are widescreen now. All it means to me is the possibility of stretching of video because it wasn't encoded, still having black bars at the top unless you have a video that is just the right size, black bars to the left if you are watching any of the millions of 4:3 TV episodes and video clips online, or possibly black bars at the top and sides making things look smaller than they did with a 4:3 TV of the same size.

I know I probably won't change your opinion - that's fine - but I'd like to refute your statements.

A widescreen computer monitor makes it easier to have 2 documents side by side without having 2 screens. It also fits better with the keyboard in a laptop.

"Stretching of video because it wasn't encoded" is usually a non-issue because you can set the zoom/aspect yourself and correct it. Except for those non-technical people who don't know how to work their screen.

"Still having black bars .. unless you have a video that is just the right size" applies equally to a 4:3 screen. Unless you like cropping the image, there's no way to get around it (except with a projector?). Personally I can't stand watching a 2.35:1 movie on a 4:3 screen or pan-and-scanning it. For movies, a widescreen is the best way to go to have the largest image possible. If you want, you could still crop the image to fill your screen (just don't stretch it - ick!)

The only thing a 4:3 TV is good at is 4:3 TV and movies, so I guess it depends on what you spend most of your time watching, but most new TV is now in widescreen.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributormdnitoil
Registered: March 14, 2007
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Any time you decide that you can afford it is a good time to jump.  There is no perfect time as it will always be cheaper later.  Personally, I'm not bothering but only because I'm just not that interested.  Every time I get the itch, I run the report in Profiler that shows how much I spent on my collection and that cools me down in a hurry! 
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTaro
Registered: February 23, 2009
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For me, the time to make the jump was over 2 years ago, because I purchased my HDTV and PS3 (first Blu-ray player then). The free Blu-ray movie (Spider-Man 3) that came with it blew me away! I took the jump and never looked back.

However, something like that is a very personal thing and you need to think for yourself how much value you attach to the video/audio upgrade, if your equipment will be able to push that extra quality out and if not, if you're willing to invest further to be able to do so and so forth ...
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributorsynnerman
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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I jumped into Blu-ray pretty early, mostly due to the fact that I received a PS3 for my birthday.  I wasn't expecting a major jump in quality, so my enthusiasm for the format was pretty muted.  But I quickly become a believer and will always choose the Blu-ray over the DVD.  In fact, I've been upgrading a ton of DVDs when I find the Blu-ray cheap.

It all depends on what you are watching it on.  If you have a small screen, it won't be as dramatic as something large.  I am planning to buy an overhead projector in the next couple of months, along with a screen somewhere in the 110" to 135" realm.  Blu-ray is pretty much a necessity at that size.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorEagle
Registered: Oct 31, 2001
Registered: March 15, 2007
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I don't see price as a big issue anymore.  Sure, the players do cost more than a standard DVD player, but great deals can be had this time of year.  As for the discs, I have no plan to upgrade any of my current collection, but I'm thinking more going forward.  The cost of Blu-ray movies has dropped to almost where new DVDs were several years ago, and more & more titles have (unfortunately, IMO) pushed most of the features onto Blu-ray only. 

Quite often, I have gone for the 2-disc DVD just for the extra features, but those are becoming more scarce lately.  Looking forward to the new Avatar release, which I had been holding out for, if I go with the DVD version, I get the film split in half over 2 discs, with 1 disc of deleted scenes & features.  If I go Blu, for only $5 more, I get the film one 1 disc, and 2 full discs of features.  Makes it an easy decision, IMO 
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DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantxyrano
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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I have to reply here as I'm now (this week) officially a blu-ray collector. Got my hands on 4 blu's that seemed cheep. My favourite site offers a bunch of sheep(er) blu's, but I can't afford, plus I'm not entirelly sure it will be worth "the jump" for all individual blu's. Still no player though   
Obviously I'm a noob here 
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorNexus the Sixth
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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Sorry, couldn't resist. 
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantRobAGD
Registered: June 3, 2007
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Well, I don't really see going BR any time soon. I am watching stuff on an older 32" ProScan. Also I am not a fan of $30 DVD's. And yea I know there are some cheaper disks. I do like that the newer releases come with the DVD as well as the RB and Digital Copy.

While I am lusting after one of the Samsung LED/LCD 55" flat pannels but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

An odd thing, while at the local Best Buy, I was watching Avatar BlueRay on a HD 55" tv and it seemed too clean, too clear too much like a high end game cut scene. I found that kinda odd. Where the regular DVD to me looked better and more real.

-Robert
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorAce_of_Sevens
Registered: December 10, 2007
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The regular DVD of Avatar is just the Blu-ray scaled down to a lower resolution. An occasional blu-ray gets digitally processed all to hell, but for the most part, it's an accurate representation of how the movie looked on film. Avatar looks so clean because it was shot with digital cameras, so you don't get the usual film grain.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantOWFie
Registered: October 28, 2009
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Had a bluray player for awhile and it made my DVD's look even better on my standard def TV.

I still bought some blurays, but only my FAVORITE films, for the better quality and extra features.  The quality wasn't THAT much differant on my standard def TV.

I just recently bought a 46" LED HDTV and when I popped in my first bluray to watch on that HDTV....My JAW DROPPED.  HOLY COW, I had NO IDEA what I was missing.  I refuse to buy any more DVD's, blu ONLY.

Now, sadly, many of my DVD's look like old generation VHS compaired to my blurays, but I'll never regret making the switch.
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTaro
Registered: February 23, 2009
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Quoting OWFie:
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I just recently bought a 46" LED HDTV and when I popped in my first bluray to watch on that HDTV....My JAW DROPPED.  HOLY COW, I had NO IDEA what I was missing.  I refuse to buy any more DVD's, blu ONLY.

Now, sadly, many of my DVD's look like old generation VHS compaired to my blurays, but I'll never regret making the switch.
You hit the nail on the head there. The key point is that Blu-ray (in most cases, provided it's a good transfer of course) will offer a substantial upgrade, provided you have the right equipment that can actually handle that increase in quality.

For example, way back I used to be happy with standard mono or stereo tracks ... until I invested in a surround system and now I catch myself actively checking which discs have a sound track with good surround separation.

Oh and about some DVD's looking like crap on you HDTV set ... yeah, I had that too with a few discs. It was quite a shock for me the first time to see how little detail they actually contained, even more so after I upgraded some of the to Blu-ray and had a hands-on comparison 
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantDave Jerrard
Registered: October 3, 2008
Posts: 21
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Quoting Eagle:
Quote:
Last week I picked up a new 42" LCD to replace my "aging" 8 year old 51" rear projection.  It's an 1080p Element, not the best of brands, but I couldn't knock the price of $250 (I had various discounts that added up to about 60% off)!  Since the 51" takes up about a 1/4 of the room, even with the smaller size, this LCD will be an upgrade.    Now...with the Extended Edition of Avatar coming out next week, and Black Friday around the corner, I feel the time may just be right to go Blu.  Target's Black Friday (actually, their 2-Day) ad has been leaked online, I see they will have the Sony S370 for $99 (with my discounts, it'll come down to $84).  How can I say no to that? 


This sounds familiar.  Up until Thanksgiving, I had a 56" CRT rear projection HDTV, and had just finally bought a PS3 the week before (so I could finally play some blu-rays I've had for a year).  Then, just as I was about to enjoy a five day weekend of some blu-ray viewing, the TV died.  It gave me a good 8 years, and I was planning on eventually replacing it with something bigger & better, but just not quite so suddenly.  That Wednesday night, I ended up rushing out & found a nice 58" Samsung plasma, which was also 3D capable (not a requirement, but more of a "I'll take it if it's there" sort of thing), for LESS than the old TV was, and it included 2 pairs of glasses, all four Shrek BDs in 3D, and a BD player (Still waiting for the player & fourth disc).

My old system is JVC (I like their compulink system), but they seem to be leaving the home theater market, and didn't have any TVs larger than 46" (my mom's TV is bigger than that), and I wasn't about to 'upgrade' to a smaller screen, so the brand switch was apparently inevitable.  So far, no regrets.  I did end up re-watching every BD that I watched on the old TV on the new one, and I'm thoroughly pleased.  Before I got the PS3, I'd already been a bit of an HD snob, avoiding standard def broadcast TV when possible (and trying to stick to anamorphic DVDs), but HDTV broadcasts suffer from over-compression like all the other digital channels, so I was looking forward to the cleaner BD for a while.  And yes, Avatar was one of the first BDs I watched on that new screen.  The other was Fifth Element - one of the other 'home theater workout' discs I have. 

Seems to be a good time to jump to BD now.  TV prices are pretty good, and players are even more affordable.  Most people I know still recommend the PS3, and I don't blame them, but it is a bit more expensive than most dedicated BD players - even the 3D ones. 

One thing I'd recommend, which I don't normally, is get an extended warranty for the TV if you get a new one.  Our plasma arrived with a dead pixel (never seen a dead plasma pixel before), and our extended warranty netted us a full replacement. Now we're still eagerly awaiting the ISF calibration that we've signed up for in Feb.  Having had the old TV calibrated, I'll definitely recommend having that done to anyone that's serious about their screens.


He Who Is Finally A Member Of The Blu-Ray Snobfest. 
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantDave Jerrard
Registered: October 3, 2008
Posts: 21
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Quoting Blair:
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Not for me. I'll hang on to non-Blu as long as I can probably.

I was the same.  I'm not a Sony fan, and was hoping for the success of a holographic format, but at the same time, I was eager to get away from the over-compression that plagues HD broadcasts.  I tried watching Alien & Aliens on HDNET, and while the image quality is usually superior to DVD, when those strobes start, the screen turns into a horrible checkerboard due to mpeg compression.  Blu-rays use far less compression.

Quote:
I still use TVs that are 20 years old (and still run perfectly) and I'm perfectly fine with that. But for all who want to switch, more power to you, I'm not criticizing (though I find it ironic how only a few years ago so many people were complaining they wouldn't switch to Blu because the increased quality wasn't enough of a reason)
It's definitely not for everyone. Nothing is really.

For years I was holding off, not because of quality, but for compatibility.  My entire system was JVC, all linked through their compulink system where each component talks to each other. Unfortunately, JVC was taking their time entering the Blu-ray arena.  Also, none of my gear was HDMI capable yet, and the original threat of BD content through component being reduced to 480i held me back.  Cost was another issue, though that's not as big a deal as it was before.  You can get a pretty good HD flat panel for less than what a 32" CRT cost ten years ago.


Quote:
Personally I hate that all TVs (and especially computer monitors) are widescreen now. All it means to me is the possibility of stretching of video because it wasn't encoded, still having black bars at the top unless you have a video that is just the right size, black bars to the left if you are watching any of the millions of 4:3 TV episodes and video clips online, or possibly black bars at the top and sides making things look smaller than they did with a 4:3 TV of the same size.
All of these are issues you have with 4:3 TVs now, so they're actually non-issues.  Every widescreen TV I've seen has controls that let you adjust the image for content that isn't encoded properly.  They'll even let you zoom letterboxed content so you can push those burnt-in black bars off the screen entirely. 

Personally, the only problem I have with widescreen displays is that some cable channels just don't 'get it' and constantly screw things up on their end (AMC, TNT, I'm looking at you).  Frequently they'll employ that horrendous fisheye stretch effect on 4:3 content, or they'll vertically squash 16:9 content on HD channels, for absolutely no reason.  This isn't the fault of the displays, but the people at the cable channels that don't know what their doing. 

Black bars, either top & bottom or on the sides, are just a fact of life with TVs, unless you want to restrict your viewing to a single aspect ratio.  Projectors can let you get around them (though the black bars are still technically there, they're just not as evident since you can position them off the screen), and I've only seen one TV that actually adjusted its screen by physically moving the sides in & out to change the shape of the visible portion of the screen.

But entertainment is entirely a personal preference.  The entertainment industry, on the other hand, is driven by popularity and $$$.


He Who Would Like A Projector, But Doesn't Have The Appropriate Space For One Yet.
 Last edited: by Dave Jerrard
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorCubbyUps
Registered: March 14, 2007
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Quoting OWFie:
Quote:
Had a bluray player for awhile and it made my DVD's look even better on my standard def TV.

I still bought some blurays, but only my FAVORITE films, for the better quality and extra features



I just got my first Blu-Ray player and I also see that it makes DVDs look better on my SD TV. Something I wasn't expecting.

I just watched the Blu-Ray of Star Trek and even on my SD TV the picture was much better. I even noticed the lighting effects in the nacelles.

I'll likely do the same thing, but for older titles that I already own on DVD it'll really depend if it has more extras. But I would likely re-buy action. adventure, fantasy and science-fiction films again on blu-ray. But everything else I will just likely keep the DVD version for now.

As far as new titles, I won't be buying the combo packs anymore unless that is the only way to get the Blu-Ray.
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