We already have HDTV, so why are we so excited about blu-ray? - Blu-ray Forum

tron3 · 09-24-2007, 12:36 PM

I'm sure we can all recall the day we bought our HDTV set. We gleefully, and nervously awaited the Hi-DEF glory it affords us. We watched our favorite TV shows, and sports, and everything until our eye balls could no longer stand the eye popping quality.

So, why is blu-ray any different? I mean, it is still HD. Most of us here have been watching HD probably for a good couple of years, or more. Sure, we get some benefits coming from a disc, like 1080p/24p. But it is still only HD, isn't it? Of course not, it's better!

Speaking for myself there is a couple of reasons it excites me. Never before in the history of home video entertainment could you see your favorite movies in HD. Maybe the occasional broadcast, but you probably had commercials, little reception glitches, and those ANNOYING TV channel logo's in the corner of the tv.

Not only does blu-ray eliminate all that, but the transfer tends to be a whole lot better than the DVD version. "A Christmas Story" is one such example. I now see the DVD version for the piece of crap it is. Not just because it is DVD, but because it is crap picture quality. So, yes, it excites me to see my favorite movies in Hi-def mostly for that reason. I also love the idea of being "elite" by being ahead of the technology curve of most people. How about you?

SS316SRV · 09-24-2007, 12:46 PM

HD good. Blu-ray good. Hulk SMASH!

Blaumann · 09-24-2007, 12:55 PM

Many HD TV broadcasts i´ve seen were MPEG2 with low to middle bitrates (under 10Mb/s up to almost 20Mb/s average), which more or less qualifies as bitrate starved for MPEG2 imo.

While some were ok, many had quite prominent macroblocking issues at critical scenes, aspect ratio issues, etc. Also afaik broadcasts are encoded real-time to fit the transponders bandwidth, so with BR you get HD that has been done with love (by the compressionist, that is if he didn´t screw it up

) And lest not forget the audio!

So it´s great to have a nice, beautiful 1080p sitting on a disc and getting spoiled by watching it. I love me some HD.

stringent · 09-24-2007, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SS316SRV

HD good. Blu-ray good. Hulk SMASH!

LOL! That made me smile. Thank you!

TheTenth · 09-24-2007, 01:00 PM

In France, only a few people (maybe the 10 biggest populated towns) have access to HD TV, and you must have the good equipment and internet provider to have it. Most people don't know about it anyway.
So for me, when I put Hellboy in Blu-ray (the second time, the first I was in 480i, not knowing the good display setting) I was amazed at the color richness, the shadow range, and most of all the depth of characters and backgrond, it felt so alive "feeling" when a character approaches one another and the distance of items and furniture.

Malosch78 · 09-24-2007, 01:02 PM

We don't have HD TV in Denmark ... maybe in 2009

Blu-ray is the only way to watch HD, and Blu-ray is the best sollution.

supersix4 · 09-24-2007, 01:10 PM

most of the hdtv(direct tv , comcast, fios exc..) arent even in 1080i so when we get movies that are true 1080p thats a big step up over what programs are on the tube, there was even an article via msn, about how tnt does law and order in 480i which is dvd quality.

tron3 · 09-24-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malosch78

We don't have HD TV in Denmark ... maybe in 2009

Blu-ray is the only way to watch HD, and Blu-ray is the best sollution.

So you have HDTV's but no broadcast for it? That is really odd. Then again, I did buy mine early 2004 mostly for the widescreen for watching DVD and the PIP.

Some time later got the HD tuner for it. Was still a couple of more weeks to get the right antenna. Even then only a few stations were in HD. Fox being one of them, I was very happy. Once in a while I would go back and re-run the tuner and find another station or two were added.

Good times.

HDJK · 09-24-2007, 01:24 PM

Europe settled for 720P as a broadcast standard. There is Full HD over satellite like Premiere but content is rare over all. So I'm really satisfied with what my PS3 can do

jdc115 · 09-24-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tron3

So you have HDTV's but no broadcast for it? That is really odd. Then again, I did buy mine early 2004 mostly for the widescreen for watching DVD and the PIP.

It is the same in Singapore, most of the TV's sold now are probably HD ready LCD and plasma HD almost no content. The cable system only recently started to broadcast HD and only 2 channels (discovery and Nat Geo). A local channel started to broadcast over the air HD last month which has some local programming (Singaporean shows) and some US shows like CSI.

They do sell blu-ray and HD-dvd but both very expensive. The lowest standaline blu-ray player is US$1000 that I have seen. The PS3 is about US$650. Personally, I only know one person that has watched a blu-ray disk here which he plays on a PS3.

I would guess everybody here will own a HD by the time they really embrace HD content.

CptGreedle · 09-24-2007, 02:02 PM

There are NO HD signals from Sat or Cable that come close to the quality of a Blu-ray. I look closely at some of the best scenes in HD such as Sunrise Earth, Planet Earth, and other HD films, and the compression is enormous. I have to sit a ways back to watch it to avoid cringing from the compression error. (Luckily I can do this so there is no problem). But the Blu-ray is just PERFECT! There is no compression errors, no signal interruption, no signal degradation, and no commercials in SD

.
Watching films like Happy Feet and the like on Blu-ray have such high quality, that I gladly use BD to show off my system every time!

Sonny · 09-24-2007, 02:44 PM

The BD movie open season is prefect even the HBO-HD version is near perfect

Blu Tiger · 09-24-2007, 03:14 PM

I love blu-ray! We might have had HDTV's, but how much 1080p source material have we had so far? That's the difference.

MasterXeus · 09-24-2007, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tron3

So, why is blu-ray any different? I mean, it is still HD. Most of us here have been watching HD probably for a good couple of years, or more. Sure, we get some benefits coming a disc, like 1080p/24p. But it is still only HD, isn't it? Of course not, it's better!

Not everyone has HD cable/Sat.

Buying Blu-ray means you can watch the movie/TV show in HD anytime you want, instead of waiting for a channel to air it.

No commercials.

tron3 · 09-24-2007, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterXeus

Not everyone has HD cable/Sat.

Buying Blu-ray means you can watch the movie/TV show in HD anytime you want, instead of waiting for a channel to air it.

No commercials.

Absolutely. Heck, I only have terrestrial channels, so FREE HD is a beautiful thing.

The PBS 13.x channels and some others are nice extras. In that respect, I love PBS because there are no commercials during the show. They do the darn show, and 5 or 10 minutes of filler in between.

I think PBS would be a great movie channel if they would just start showing them on the HD channel. Just sent them an e-mail asking such. They do listen. We all should!
http://www.thirteen.org/homepage/contact.html

cawgijoe · 09-24-2007, 04:18 PM

I like both. HD and Blu-Ray.

Problem is I can't watch SD anymore. I have a gazillion Directv channels and only watch the 10 or so HD ones!!! Literally.

EricJ · 09-24-2007, 05:51 PM

BECAUSE...Guys don't watch network TV.
(I mean, Fox NFL is all right, but what's the point of having an HDTV, if all it picks up is "Chuck", "The Bionic Woman", and the six or seven monthly lame on-demand flop movies from the cable list that the studios are trying to make back their losses with?)

Guys watch DVD's. That's what we do. And right now, that means SD, unless we can do something about it.

pro-bassoonist · 09-24-2007, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malosch78

We don't have HD TV in Denmark ... maybe in 2009

Blu-ray is the only way to watch HD, and Blu-ray is the best sollution.

But you have stunningly beautiful women! So, get you priorities straight....k?!

Pro-B

WickyWoo · 09-24-2007, 06:18 PM

Quote:

BECAUSE...Guys don't watch network TV.

I'm a guy, I watch network TV, and I never watch sports except maybe the Olympics

aygie · 09-24-2007, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonny

The BD movie open season is prefect even the HBO-HD version is near perfect

Why so much equipment?

09-24-2007, 12:36 PM	#1
tron3 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Aug 2004 Location:New Jersey Blu-ray reviews:3	We already have HDTV, so why are we so excited about blu-ray? I'm sure we can all recall the day we bought our HDTV set. We gleefully, and nervously awaited the Hi-DEF glory it affords us. We watched our favorite TV shows, and sports, and everything until our eye balls could no longer stand the eye popping quality. So, why is blu-ray any different? I mean, it is still HD. Most of us here have been watching HD probably for a good couple of years, or more. Sure, we get some benefits coming from a disc, like 1080p/24p. But it is still only HD, isn't it? Of course not, it's better! Speaking for myself there is a couple of reasons it excites me. Never before in the history of home video entertainment could you see your favorite movies in HD. Maybe the occasional broadcast, but you probably had commercials, little reception glitches, and those ANNOYING TV channel logo's in the corner of the tv. Not only does blu-ray eliminate all that, but the transfer tends to be a whole lot better than the DVD version. "A Christmas Story" is one such example. I now see the DVD version for the piece of crap it is. Not just because it is DVD, but because it is crap picture quality. So, yes, it excites me to see my favorite movies in Hi-def mostly for that reason. I also love the idea of being "elite" by being ahead of the technology curve of most people. How about you? Last edited by tron3; 09-24-2007 at 04:21 PM.

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09-24-2007, 12:46 PM	#2
SS316SRV Blu-ray Guru Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Appleton, WI Blu-ray collection:74	HD good. Blu-ray good. Hulk SMASH!

09-24-2007, 12:55 PM	#3
Blaumann Special Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:verge of breakdown	Many HD TV broadcasts i´ve seen were MPEG2 with low to middle bitrates (under 10Mb/s up to almost 20Mb/s average), which more or less qualifies as bitrate starved for MPEG2 imo. While some were ok, many had quite prominent macroblocking issues at critical scenes, aspect ratio issues, etc. Also afaik broadcasts are encoded real-time to fit the transponders bandwidth, so with BR you get HD that has been done with love (by the compressionist, that is if he didn´t screw it up ) And lest not forget the audio! So it´s great to have a nice, beautiful 1080p sitting on a disc and getting spoiled by watching it. I love me some HD.

09-24-2007, 01:00 PM	#5
TheTenth Special Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Clermont-Ferrand, France Home Theater Gallery:9 4K collection:98 Blu-ray collection:681 DVD collection:1 Blu-ray reviews:11	In France, only a few people (maybe the 10 biggest populated towns) have access to HD TV, and you must have the good equipment and internet provider to have it. Most people don't know about it anyway. So for me, when I put Hellboy in Blu-ray (the second time, the first I was in 480i, not knowing the good display setting) I was amazed at the color richness, the shadow range, and most of all the depth of characters and backgrond, it felt so alive "feeling" when a character approaches one another and the distance of items and furniture.

09-24-2007, 01:02 PM	#6
Malosch78 Senior Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Denmark Blu-ray collection:219 Blu-ray reviews:1	We don't have HD TV in Denmark ... maybe in 2009 Blu-ray is the only way to watch HD, and Blu-ray is the best sollution.

09-24-2007, 01:10 PM	#7
supersix4 Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Mar 2007 Blu-ray collection:572 Blu-ray reviews: 53 Trading Score:3	most of the hdtv(direct tv , comcast, fios exc..) arent even in 1080i so when we get movies that are true 1080p thats a big step up over what programs are on the tube, there was even an article via msn, about how tnt does law and order in 480i which is dvd quality.

09-24-2007, 01:24 PM	#9
HDJK Blu-ray Guru Member since:Oct 2006 Location:Switzerland Trading Score:2	Europe settled for 720P as a broadcast standard. There is Full HD over satellite like Premiere but content is rare over all. So I'm really satisfied with what my PS3 can do

09-24-2007, 02:02 PM	#11
CptGreedle Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Sworn super-hero now services Atlanta (and suburbs). Blu-ray collection:128 Blu-ray reviews:5	There are NO HD signals from Sat or Cable that come close to the quality of a Blu-ray. I look closely at some of the best scenes in HD such as Sunrise Earth, Planet Earth, and other HD films, and the compression is enormous. I have to sit a ways back to watch it to avoid cringing from the compression error. (Luckily I can do this so there is no problem). But the Blu-ray is just PERFECT! There is no compression errors, no signal interruption, no signal degradation, and no commercials in SD . Watching films like Happy Feet and the like on Blu-ray have such high quality, that I gladly use BD to show off my system every time!

09-24-2007, 02:44 PM	#12
Sonny Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:1	The BD movie open season is prefect even the HBO-HD version is near perfect

09-24-2007, 03:14 PM	#13
Blu Tiger Special Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Denver, CO Blu-ray collection:725 Trading Score:27	I love blu-ray! We might have had HDTV's, but how much 1080p source material have we had so far? That's the difference.

09-24-2007, 04:18 PM	#16
cawgijoe Special Member Member since:Feb 2007 Trading Score:1	I like both. HD and Blu-Ray. Problem is I can't watch SD anymore. I have a gazillion Directv channels and only watch the 10 or so HD ones!!! Literally.

09-24-2007, 05:51 PM	#17
EricJ Banned Member since:Jul 2007 Location:The Paradise of New England Blu-ray collection:6	BECAUSE...Guys don't watch network TV. (I mean, Fox NFL is all right, but what's the point of having an HDTV, if all it picks up is "Chuck", "The Bionic Woman", and the six or seven monthly lame on-demand flop movies from the cable list that the studios are trying to make back their losses with?) Guys watch DVD's. That's what we do. And right now, that means SD, unless we can do something about it.

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