Worth upgrading??

[duckyduck]

Hey guys, sorry you probably have quite a few of these topics but your help would be much appreciated as I'm in the dark when in comes to blu-ray.

Basically I've been working last year and am now off to Uni and want to spend a bit on a good home entertainment system (mainly I want to be able to watch blu-rays). I already have a Samsung SM226BW 22" (with no hdmi port). But am about to buy a PS3 to play blu-rays.

Do you think its worth upgrading to a better monitor (with a HDMI port) to get the full benefits of blu-ray? Or is it possible/would it look pretty much the same if I just get a hdmi/dvi-d converter and watch blu-rays on my Samsung 22"?

I'm swaying towards this screen:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=1120&subcat=

Or if you guys know any other screens which you would recommend in that price range, would be most helpful. I'm willing to spend up to about £500 on a screen - if it blows everything out the water!

Also one last thing, will blu-ray even look that good on a 22"/26" screen? As I've heard that blu-ray only really starts looking good at 32"+?

Cheers!

[benricci]

Not to dissuade you, but you're really not gonna see the full benefits of blu-ray on a small 22 inch computer monitor.

High-def material is meant to be watched on a larger screen. Sure, blu-rays will look better than DVDs on your monitor, but it's certainly not gonna be as amazing as watching it on a big HD set.

I just want you to have realistic expectations.

[duckyduck]

Thanks for the reply, so you don't think it's worth spending the extra money to watch blu-ray on my pc? How about if I buy that new 27" monitor to watch them on? If it's not going to make much difference then not worth spending £500+ I suppose.

[tlmaclennan]

I would save the money for a proper TV. You can just use your monitor right now, that's what I did, untill you can afford a bigger TV.

[dadkins]

What most people miss is, yes you can enjoy 1080p Blu-ray on smaller screens - the thing is, you have to be within a certian viewing distance to do so.

Everyone *assumes* you will be sitting anywhere from 8 - 10 feet away from the display.
Sure! At 8 feet, you absolutely will need a much larger display than 22 - 32 inches.
8 feet should have a ~60" or better

*BUT*, at a distance of 2-4 feet for a 32" display, you surely can resolve 1080p video.

Now, if you plan on being farther away than 4 feet, you really should go bigger.

[mugupo]

Originally Posted by duckyduck

Hey guys, sorry you probably have quite a few of these topics but your help would be much appreciated as I'm in the dark when in comes to blu-ray.

Basically I've been working last year and am now off to Uni and want to spend a bit on a good home entertainment system (mainly I want to be able to watch blu-rays). I already have a Samsung SM226BW 22" (with no hdmi port). But am about to buy a PS3 to play blu-rays.

Do you think its worth upgrading to a better monitor (with a HDMI port) to get the full benefits of blu-ray? Or is it possible/would it look pretty much the same if I just get a hdmi/dvi-d converter and watch blu-rays on my Samsung 22"?

I'm swaying towards this screen:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=1120&subcat=

Or if you guys know any other screens which you would recommend in that price range, would be most helpful. I'm willing to spend up to about £500 on a screen - if it blows everything out the water!

Also one last thing, will blu-ray even look that good on a 22"/26" screen? As I've heard that blu-ray only really starts looking good at 32"+?

Cheers!

for movie always go for a decent tv, cause to watch good pq blu-ray on a pc you need a nice monitor and very high end video and other good pc specs is too much when you add the bill.

There's pretty of good price 1080p tv under $500

[duckyduck]

Hey guys, cheers for your replies, been very helpful. Though don't think I could go with the TV option because the problem is, my room at Uni is really small. It'd be a squeeze getting a 27" monitor on my desk so I don't think I can get anything larger than that, and wouldn't be able to have a TV/Monitor combo as again just wouldn't fit. I was planning to get a TV card to watch telly over my PC.

Though interesting what Dadkins said, as because my room is so small, I'd probably not be watching from further than 4 feet away.

One quick question. To watch a blu-ray, all I'd need is a monitor attached to a blu ray player (PS3) right?

Thanks again

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by duckyduck

Hey guys, cheers for your replies, been very helpful. Though don't think I could go with the TV option because the problem is, my room at Uni is really small. It'd be a squeeze getting a 27" monitor on my desk so I don't think I can get anything larger than that, and wouldn't be able to have a TV/Monitor combo as again just wouldn't fit. I was planning to get a TV card to watch telly over my PC.

Though interesting what Dadkins said, as because my room is so small, I'd probably not be watching from further than 4 feet away.

One quick question. To watch a blu-ray, all I'd need is a monitor attached to a blu ray player (PS3) right?

Thanks again

Blu-ray Player, PS3, or BD enabled computer/laptop connected to a 1080p display - yes!
HDMI is preferred... HDMI carries both video and audio.
DVI will work but you will also need audio connections/cables.

Let us know how it goes!

[mugupo]

Originally Posted by duckyduck

Hey guys, cheers for your replies, been very helpful. Though don't think I could go with the TV option because the problem is, my room at Uni is really small. It'd be a squeeze getting a 27" monitor on my desk so I don't think I can get anything larger than that, and wouldn't be able to have a TV/Monitor combo as again just wouldn't fit. I was planning to get a TV card to watch telly over my PC.

Though interesting what Dadkins said, as because my room is so small, I'd probably not be watching from further than 4 feet away.

One quick question. To watch a blu-ray, all I'd need is a monitor attached to a blu ray player (PS3) right?

Thanks again

Why don't you get the samsung hd240? is 24" monitor that has tv tuner can use as tv support 1080p and 1900x1200 resolution, very good looking tv price around 300 or under.

[duckyduck]

Hey guys, after a few more days of research think I'm going to go with mugupo's advice and buy the samsung hd240, though might go for the 26" version.

Though I've decided not to get a PS3. Instead I'm swaying towards getting a Blu-ray 'reader', for my PC, and play Blu-rays off that. Would save valuable space etc. Are Blu-ray readers any good? And are they easy to set up? (I've got a Geforce 7950 GX2 graphics card, with two Dvi ports).

Cheers

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by duckyduck

Hey guys, after a few more days of research think I'm going to go with mugupo's advice and buy the samsung hd240, though might go for the 26" version.

Though I've decided not to get a PS3. Instead I'm swaying towards getting a Blu-ray 'reader', for my PC, and play Blu-rays off that. Would save valuable space etc. Are Blu-ray readers any good? And are they easy to set up? (I've got a Geforce 7950 GX2 graphics card, with two Dvi ports).

Cheers

Most are real easy!
Remember though, DVI is video only.
You will still need audio cable(s).

Tossup on which playback software to get(lose the included OEM player!)...
PowerDVD 9 Ultra - or - ArcSoft TMT 3 Platinum are the ideal choices.