Blu ray and DVD for HT

[erict]

I don't own a blu ray player yet but will be getting one in the future. My question is how big of a difference is a blu ray over a DVD player for HT 5.1 setup. I have a Sony upscaling DVD player right now.

[Uncle Leo]

Originally Posted by erict

I don't own a blu ray player yet but will be getting one in the future. My question is how big of a difference is a blu ray over a DVD player for HT 5.1 setup. I have a Sony upscaling DVD player right now.

Quite odd???

You have ben on here since April and don't have a blu-ray player??

You must have read a few posts here.

So we obviously think they are way better,

Wait!! Did I just get punked???

[threefiftyrocket]

To answer your question... For some the difference is much greater than others... I have a friend that cant tell the difference between upscaled dvd and blu... I think it makes a HUGE difference. Specially if you get the right movie... i.e. Serenity Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Dark Knight Transformers and so on... Not to mention the difference between Dolby 5.1 or DTS and PCM, DTS HD MA, or Dolby TrueHD... The HD Audio is why I got it, the 1080p is just a plus! This coming from a true Audiophile tho... happy hunting

[Rob J in WNY]

erict,

You'll probably get lots of replies to this thread of yours!

Without a doubt, the video will improve significantly if you have a high-definition TV. That goes without saying, but you likely know how good 1080p (or even 720p) looks over standard definition (480 lines).

Audio-wise, you can only get the largest improvement if you can play back multichannel lossless or uncompressed PCM audio. If not, then your system will default to legacy (standard) Dolby Digital and DTS audio, which are "lossy" multichannel audio formats, and will sound similar or slightly better than your DVDs.

The reason why I say "or slightly better" is that Blu-ray discs will generally (but not always) use higher bitrate encodes for Dolby Digital (up to 640kbps) and DTS (up to 1.5mbps).

In order to hear multichannel lossless audio or uncompressed PCM, a few things must be in order. First, either your Blu-ray player or receiver must be able to decode lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio). Connect the two via HDMI and (aside from a few quick settings adjustments) you are pretty-much all set.

If your Blu-ray player decodes lossless audio and has multichannel analog outputs, and your reciever does not decode lossless audio (but has multichannel analog inputs), you can let the the player do the decoding and send audio via the multichannel analog wires to your receiver. Works just as good as HDMI, and some on these forums like it better than HDMI.

FYI, audio carried via a digital coaxial wire or optical TOSlink fiber-optic cable will only support lossy Dolby Digital and DTS audio, and 2-channel PCM.

One thing to keep in mind is that Blu-ray players will also upscale your DVDs, so your single Blu-ray player can replace your upscaling DVD player.

You will need to update the firmware on your new Blu-ray player from time to time. In reality, you likely need to check the firmware version as soon as you fire up your new player, and see if there is an update available. This website is reasonably good at keeping up with the available updates for every major brand/model of player, but you can always check your manufacturer's website page for your player. Usually, updating firmware a simple matter of downloading it, burning a CD, and inserting it in your player. Or, an internet connection directly to your player can get it done for you.

Not updating your player firmware will likely lead to playback failure of new Blu-ray movie releases, or player operational bugs that go unresolved. The Blu-ray format is still undergoing its own evolution, and new releases, with their new features, tend to re-define the boundaries of player operation. I've had my Sony BDP-S350 since last November, and I've updated the firmware three times since then.

The only real downside to Blu-ray is the wait time after loading a disc. I don't know why DVD players, in themselves, went from "zero" load time to having a loading time to wait to play a DVD disc (my Sony upconverting DVD player shocked me with this). Then came Blu-ray, and the wait time is sometimes significantly longer due to a need to read and process data (such as Java programming) on the disc before playback can begin.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wait time, though. All of us here are used to it, and we've just learned to insert the disc before doing anything else.

There are other differences from DVD, such as BD-Live and the ability of some players to stream content from the web. I'm sure others will comment on anything I've missed!

I say you'll totally enjoy the move up. Even if you can't do lossless audio, you'll be pleased with the overall upgrade to your home theater. It's the next logical step, and an enjoyable one!

[DeadDog]

I believe the difference is huge. That said I must say that when I first got a blu-ray player I thought it certainly looked better but not astounding. What really stood out to me was the vibrancy in color and depth it seemed to provide.

Now after almost a year of watching only blu-rays I tried to watch a dvd the other day, Saving Private Ryan. I was amazed at how "bad" it looked. I kept blinking and trying to get my eyese to focus . It really felt like everything was just soft and out of focus. Not to mention the difference in sound. HD audio is a huge step up from dvd quality. Half way through the movie my wife even asked if I wanted to finish it since it looked so bad, and she originally thought the difference wasn't even there.

Bottom line. Blu-ray is a definite upgrade and one that I'm glad I made almost a year ago now.

[erict]

Originally Posted by Uncle Leo

Quite odd???:confused:

You have ben on here since April and don't have a blu-ray player??

You must have read a few posts here.

So we obviously think they are way better,

Wait!! Did I just get punked???

Why yes, you're post certainly is

[erict]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

erict,

You'll probably get lots of replies to this thread of yours!

Without a doubt, the video will improve significantly if you have a high-definition TV. That goes without saying, but you likely know how good 1080p (or even 720p) looks over standard definition (480 lines).

Audio-wise, you can only get the largest improvement if you can play back multichannel lossless or uncompressed PCM audio. If not, then your system will default to legacy (standard) Dolby Digital and DTS audio, which are "lossy" multichannel audio formats, and will sound similar or slightly better than your DVDs.

The reason why I say "or slightly better" is that Blu-ray discs will generally (but not always) use higher bitrate encodes for Dolby Digital (up to 640kbps) and DTS (up to 1.5mbps).

In order to hear multichannel lossless audio or uncompressed PCM, a few things must be in order. First, either your Blu-ray player or receiver must be able to decode lossless audio (Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio). Connect the two via HDMI and (aside from a few quick settings adjustments) you are pretty-much all set.

If your Blu-ray player decodes lossless audio and has multichannel analog outputs, and your reciever does not decode lossless audio (but has multichannel analog inputs), you can let the the player do the decoding and send audio via the multichannel analog wires to your receiver. Works just as good as HDMI, and some on these forums like it better than HDMI.

FYI, audio carried via a digital coaxial wire or optical TOSlink fiber-optic cable will only support lossy Dolby Digital and DTS audio, and 2-channel PCM.

One thing to keep in mind is that Blu-ray players will also upscale your DVDs, so your single Blu-ray player can replace your upscaling DVD player.

You will need to update the firmware on your new Blu-ray player from time to time. In reality, you likely need to check the firmware version as soon as you fire up your new player, and see if there is an update available. This website is reasonably good at keeping up with the available updates for every major brand/model of player, but you can always check your manufacturer's website page for your player. Usually, updating firmware a simple matter of downloading it, burning a CD, and inserting it in your player. Or, an internet connection directly to your player can get it done for you.

Not updating your player firmware will likely lead to playback failure of new Blu-ray movie releases, or player operational bugs that go unresolved. The Blu-ray format is still undergoing its own evolution, and new releases, with their new features, tend to re-define the boundaries of player operation. I've had my Sony BDP-S350 since last November, and I've updated the firmware three times since then.

The only real downside to Blu-ray is the wait time after loading a disc. I don't know why DVD players, in themselves, went from "zero" load time to having a loading time to wait to play a DVD disc (my Sony upconverting DVD player shocked me with this). Then came Blu-ray, and the wait time is sometimes significantly longer due to a need to read and process data (such as Java programming) on the disc before playback can begin.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wait time, though. All of us here are used to it, and we've just learned to insert the disc before doing anything else.

There are other differences from DVD, such as BD-Live and the ability of some players to stream content from the web. I'm sure others will comment on anything I've missed!

I say you'll totally enjoy the move up. Even if you can't do lossless audio, you'll be pleased with the overall upgrade to your home theater. It's the next logical step, and an enjoyable one!

Thanks Robb. Great explanation Just for the record I have a Yamaha 663.

[erict]

OK, I ended up buying the Panasonic DMP-BD60k from Costco. I am now a proud owner of a Blu-Ray player

[Rob J in WNY]

Very nice.

Now, you can enjoy the benefits of BD. Many here will say that audio is half the equation, and I will agree to that. Your Yamaha 663 will decode all the lossless audio options, so you are in a good stead!

Congrats on your player purchase!