BD vs. HD streaming?

[mishal]

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a thread about it.

Is there a difference in BD movie video and audio quality comparing with HD streaming (Apple TV, Netflex, etc.) ?

[K_Williamson42]

Are you using a wireless connection or a wired? I stream netflix wirelessly (wireless N) through my sony BDP-S570 it is not BD quality. Its more of quality of DVD and because of this I still want the disc, but it is great for when I'm waiting on a disc to show up via mail and the video store just doesn't have anything I'm interested in at the time.

[Molecule]

HD streams (netflix etc) come nowhere near Blu-Ray quality. Especially the bigger your screen is.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by mishal

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a thread about it.

Is there a difference in BD movie video and audio quality comparing with HD streaming (Apple TV, Netflex, etc.) ?

yes a big one. For one none of the DL services offer lossless sound (DTHD or DTS-HD MA or LPCM), and I don't think any of them offer 7.1.

As for video, they use much lower BW and or resolution since if people where to DL 30GB or 40GB or 50GB files it would take way too long and the vast majority of people don't have access to BW large enough (over 40 mbps) to stream BD quality.


Then again you can try Netflix for freee for a month and itunes (not exactly apple TV but the quality is not any better) you can get a single movie.

Vudu's HDX is the best so far but even it does not come close to BD and the price does not make it appealing (for example renting Gnomeo & Juliet is 5.99$ and buying it is 19.99$ while for 19.99$ you can buy the BD/DVD from Amazon and you can probably rent it for <5.99)


P.S. Also I don't know of any DL service that does 3D.

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

P.S. Also I don't know of any DL service that does 3D.

Vudu does 3D and Samsung is about to start streaming 3D VOD for it's 3D smart tv's.

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by mishal

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a thread about it.

Is there a difference in BD movie video and audio quality comparing with HD streaming (Apple TV, Netflex, etc.) ?

Yes. At this point streaming does not offer the same picture quality as BD (although a couple do come pretty close,) and at this point lossless audio is not available. However, this does not mean that HD streaming can not be a valuable part of your overall entertainment picture.

Some streaming services do have better quality than others. I have tried many, and of the ones I have the most experience with I would rate them as follows in terms of picture/audio quality.

Zune > Vudu > Hulu Plus > Netflix > CinemaNow > Amazon

[ManUtd]

For streaming I mainly use Netflix although once in a while I try other services. For video, HD from Netflix is pretty good but let's be honest, it is nowhere near its BD counterpart. Just think about it, a regular BD is 25GB while an HD movie from Netflix is about 2GB. There is no technology in the world right now that can compress 90% of the data and produce similar results in video. Now audio OTOH, is a much bigger gap. The best Netflix can do is lossy 5.1. (my Roku only does 2.0 now).

[icyteddy]

Originally Posted by mishal

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a thread about it.

Is there a difference in BD movie video and audio quality comparing with HD streaming (Apple TV, Netflex, etc.) ?

I don't believe ANY streaming service now that can equal HD quality like blu ray. Whether you are using wired or not, the streaming video is compressed and when video is compress will loose quality. I stream Netflix all the time and even though some of the shows and movies are in HD...it cannot match blu ray...at least not yet.

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by icyteddy

I don't believe ANY streaming service now that can equal HD quality like blu ray. Whether you are using wired or not, the streaming video is compressed and when video is compress will loose quality. I stream Netflix all the time and even though some of the shows and movies are in HD...it cannot match blu ray...at least not yet.

All of this is true (and blu-ray video is compressed as well BTW) but none of it is really relevent to everyone making the decision about whether to use streaming services. I would say that as a rule of thumb, if you are OK with watching some movies on cable or satellite then you would also be OK with watching those movies via streaming. IME, Zune and Vudu are extremely comparable to what I get from Dish and DirecTV, if not better in some instances.

For me it all depends on the movie. If I am watching a horror flick where I want to hear the tiny foot steps behind me, or a music driven movie, a high CGI content sci fi or animated movie... I want to watch that on Blu-Ray. However... if it's a story driven drama or an indie film without a lot of action, CGI and high quality sound effects, I am more than content to watch it on satellite or streaming.

Of course all of this can vary from user to user as it is highly dependent upon the quality of your internet connection and home network, and the ping and latency between you and the streaming server.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

All of this is true (and blu-ray video is compressed as well BTW) but none of it is really relevent to everyone making the decision about whether to use streaming services.

since the OP asked about A/V quality I am assuming it is to some extent relevent to him.

I would say that as a rule of thumb, if you are OK with watching some movies on cable or satellite then you would also be OK with watching those movies via streaming. IME, Zune and Vudu are extremely comparable to what I get from Dish and DirecTV, if not better in some instances.

I agree that sat/cable/OTA is very compressed as well and does not match BD (though I would say, at least here, it is better then DL) but there is one difference that unless someone is thinking VOD or PPV, there does not tend to be any cost wit this while with DL there is.

so if the question is PPV vs Vudu there is no reral difference either in price or capabilities so use what you want. But I never bothered to go with Netflix past the free tial because the quality is not there, and I tend to buy movies, so using it to watch an episode I missed did not make much sense (i.e. 7.99 just in case I miss an episode or two a month and usually not even that).

And then there can be other reasons, what internet connection does the person have now and will it be enough for streaming, does he have a cap and how will it be affected.....

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by robinandtami

Vudu does 3D and Samsung is about to start streaming 3D VOD for it's 3D smart tv's.

cool, when I checked none of them showed up on the list. I guess that very few pick the 3D version so they don't show up in popular. They should make so that the 3D and 2D show up on the same page (i.e. rental HDX - 5.99, HD - 4.99, 3DHDX - 6.99, 3DHD - 5.99...)

[Dwayne]

Originally Posted by mishal

I am sure this has been asked before, but I can't seem to find a thread about it.

Is there a difference in BD movie video and audio quality comparing with HD streaming (Apple TV, Netflex, etc.) ?

HD streaming audio is NO COMPETITION at all to BD lossless audio. Even if you have an outstanding audio component set up you will still not get the audio that the physical BD disc can provide " as long as the BD disc has lossless audio". If you have a decent set up for audio streaming HD signals at best will sound like a DVD with dolby digital audio. I say this from what I own and from all the very nice home theater equipment I have had the chance to hear. It is ok if you have to stream but dont expect much in terms of audio. I rarely ever stream anything on my system although I know alot of people who do.

[crow2k5]

This is easy...
Yes theres a difference, Blu Ray is better....

[richieb1971]

A certain amount of quality is lost with streaming. But for most people its adequate enough to be acceptable. Its going to be much better than normal TV.

The bitrates used to transmit or stream HD are always going to be lower than BD because its coming over a wire. 9/10 times if you compare something coming over a wire to something that is physically attached to your screen, the attached hardware will always perform better in the case of HD.

I'll give you an example. If I upload a youtube from my camera it may be 120mb in size for 1080. If I then download the same file to download its only 42mb in size. The reason for this is because youtube encodes it so its as small as possible to fit down the wire. By doing this, a certain amount of quality is lost but the file size is much smaller. Considering most people have small screens on their PC the quality isn't missed.

Basically streaming and transmitted versions of movies is good enough to watch, but if you want the best blu ray is going to be the best.

I would argue it like this. If you have over $1000 worth of equipment (not including your screen) buy the blu ray. If its less than $1000, stream. Simply put, in the case of having a cheapish system, the benefits of blu ray would probably not be missed by you if your streaming. You might miss the extras though.

Obviously all of the above is based on you having a really good connection speed with your ISP.

[steve1971]

Streaming may be good but its not Blu ray quality.

[Pondosinatra]

Maybe they updated it recently, but I know Apple TV used to only be 720p.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

A certain amount of quality is lost with streaming. But for most people its adequate enough to be acceptable. Its going to be much better than normal TV.

That depends a lot on what you mean by streaming and what you mean by normal TV.

I've never seen Dish or DirectTV HD but OTA and Comcast HD are both very good and noticably superior to NetFlix HD streams. Comcast's OnDemand streams are also very good.

They're not BD quality but they're surprisingly good for what I would consider normal TV.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Dwayne

HD streaming audio is NO COMPETITION at all to BD lossless audio.

On the audio front HD streaming really can't even compete with a lot of lossy BD audio. I'm hardly an audiophile but even I can hear the difference between lower bitrate and higher bitrate lossy tracks.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by octagon

I've never seen Dish or DirectTV HD but OTA and Comcast HD are both very good and noticably superior to NetFlix HD streams. Comcast's OnDemand streams are also very good.

They're not BD quality but they're surprisingly good for what I would consider normal TV.

agree. For here I would say OTA> Bell sat /videotron > Netflix

[blu2]

Originally Posted by octagon

That depends a lot on what you mean by streaming and what you mean by normal TV.

I've never seen Dish or DirectTV HD but OTA and Comcast HD are both very good and noticably superior to NetFlix HD streams. Comcast's OnDemand streams are also very good.

They're not BD quality but they're surprisingly good for what I would consider normal TV.

Personally I find the biggest flaw with broadcast HD is macroblocking on action scenes. But for most non-action oriented programming it can be very good.