New to Blu Ray, Just installed BR drive on computer last night, need help!

[thomasward00]

Well, I built a new system last month, Quad core with all the goodies... Installed the LG internal BR drive without a hitch my question is I have a Samsung Synchmaster 2220wm 22inch LCD monitor with an DVI connector, my videocard is a Radeon 4850 512 card connected to my monitor by the DVI connector. My question is my monitor runs at a max of 1680X1050, and I have my audio running from my optical out from the Mobo to my receiver, my question is not about audio, I have DTS and Dolby, I don't need DTS-HD or anything right now....

My friend then tells me that the difference between 1680X1050 and 1920× 1200 is a night and day difference and that it's just not even worth having a blu ray player at all since unless i'm running a monitor that can handle the higher rez i'm not actually displaying high def....

What is the actual difference between 1680x1050 VS 1920x1200 for a bedroom setup, is it worth throwing away a 4 month old monitor?

Thanks in advance

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by thomasward00

What is the actual difference between 1680x1050 VS 1920x1200 for a bedroom setup, is it worth throwing away a 4 month old monitor?

No, it's not worth throwing the monitor away. Your friend is just a pompous fool.

The truth of the matter is that even 720p television show an improvement when watching blu-rays over dvd's. A dvd is 480P, which is less resolution than your monitor, a 1080P source will look better because of the greater fidelity of the source information.

The fact that a blu-ray is a greater resolution than your monitor only goes to show that while your picture will be great it could be even better.

[Thundarr]

When I got my new monitor it was a Samsung T240 which runs at 1920 × 1200 and I don't have a Blu ray player in my computer yet. That being said I have it cranked to the highest res and it really shows the flaws in everything. I wouldn't worry about having the 1680 X 1050 because there is not that much 1080P source material as yet. I am running 1280 x 1024 on this computer and I always thought it was great.

[thomasward00]

What are some movies that really take advantage of Blu Ray?

I rented Wanted and The Strangers last night, it seems that Wanted made a nice difference but The Stangers wasn't "That" much of a difference than DVD...

I'd like to buy some titles that really POP Hi Def!

[ckent22]

Originally Posted by Thundarr

When I got my new monitor it was a Samsung T240 which runs at 1920 × 1200 and I don't have a Blu ray player in my computer yet. That being said I have it cranked to the highest res and it really shows the flaws in everything. I wouldn't worry about having the 1680 X 1050 because there is not that much 1080P source material as yet. I am running 1280 x 1024 on this computer and I always thought it was great.

I bought a Samsung monitor about a year ago with 1920 X 1200 resolution with HDMI and plugged up my PS3 into it and oh man it is awesome. The picture on it is unbelievable. I can't speak for 1680 x 1050, since I don't own a computer with that resolution. I have a laptop with 1440 x 900, and it is a definite improvement over DVD, but the picture on my Samsung is amazing.

[ckent22]

Originally Posted by thomasward00

What are some movies that really take advantage of Blu Ray?

I rented Wanted and The Strangers last night, it seems that Wanted made a nice difference but The Stangers wasn't "That" much of a difference than DVD...

I'd like to buy some titles that really POP Hi Def!

I, Robot.

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by thomasward00

What are some movies that really take advantage of Blu Ray?

I rented Wanted and The Strangers last night, it seems that Wanted made a nice difference but The Stangers wasn't "That" much of a difference than DVD...

I'd like to buy some titles that really POP Hi Def!

planet earth, sleeping beauty, anything from pixar

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by thomasward00

Well, I built a new system last month, Quad core with all the goodies... Installed the LG internal BR drive without a hitch my question is I have a Samsung Synchmaster 2220wm 22inch LCD monitor with an DVI connector, my videocard is a Radeon 4850 512 card connected to my monitor by the DVI connector. My question is my monitor runs at a max of 1680X1050, and I have my audio running from my optical out from the Mobo to my receiver, my question is not about audio, I have DTS and Dolby, I don't need DTS-HD or anything right now....

My friend then tells me that the difference between 1680X1050 and 1920× 1200 is a night and day difference and that it's just not even worth having a blu ray player at all since unless i'm running a monitor that can handle the higher rez i'm not actually displaying high def....

What is the actual difference between 1680x1050 VS 1920x1200 for a bedroom setup, is it worth throwing away a 4 month old monitor?

Thanks in advance

1920x1200 is better and more inline with what Blu-ray discs are delivering, but 1680x1050 will still look great.

No matter what anyone tries to tell you, the difference is, and should be, noticable between the lower resolution screen and one capable of displaying 1080.
While it is not as night and day as DVD vs Blu-ray, there *IS* a difference.

Don't trip though! Your display should give you years of service and will do nicely.
I have one BD laptop @ 1440x900 and two other laptops @ 1920x1200 - one BD and one not BD.
The 1440x900 has a tendency to hide some of the "blemishes" you notice on the 1920x1200 displays *OR* on the HDTV when connected via HDMI.

Some may consider this a plus actually.
Me? Naw, I really do prefer seeing everything - even the bad parts.


Great BDs for PQ...
anything PIXAR or Disney/PIXAR
I, Robot
Disney Classics and/or Disney Animation(other than the PIXARs)
Kung Fu Panda(Dreamworks) also has a lot of *pop*.

[thomasward00]

Actually this is only my bedroom setup...

Within the year I'll buy a standalone Blu Ray player and a Hi Def TV, Just waiting for the wrinkles to be ironed out of the stand alone players and for 1080P sets to drop in price, because I don't see the point of buying a 720 set...

Once 32 inch 1080P sets get to below 500 i'm gonna take the plunge.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by thomasward00

Well, I built a new system last month, Quad core with all the goodies... Installed the LG internal BR drive without a hitch my question is I have a Samsung Synchmaster 2220wm 22inch LCD monitor with an DVI connector, my videocard is a Radeon 4850 512 card connected to my monitor by the DVI connector. My question is my monitor runs at a max of 1680X1050, and I have my audio running from my optical out from the Mobo to my receiver, my question is not about audio, I have DTS and Dolby, I don't need DTS-HD or anything right now....

My friend then tells me that the difference between 1680X1050 and 1920× 1200 is a night and day difference and that it's just not even worth having a blu ray player at all since unless i'm running a monitor that can handle the higher rez i'm not actually displaying high def....

What is the actual difference between 1680x1050 VS 1920x1200 for a bedroom setup, is it worth throwing away a 4 month old monitor?

Thanks in advance

On a 22 inch monitor - you won't even notice the difference between 720p and 1080p. Your just fine

[thomasward00]

I just picked up The BBC Blu Ray Earth The Biography for 19.99 at Best Buy, I wanted planet earth but that is 60 bucks, I'll wait a couple of years on that one....

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by prerich

On a 22 inch monitor - you won't even notice the difference between 720p and 1080p. Your just fine

*from across the room.

Sitting at the desktop display, within 3 feet, yeah... you'll see the difference.
Sitting here with my 17" 1440x900 laptop and then switching to the 17" 1920x1200 laptop - you can see the difference when watching a Blu-ray.
720 to 1080? Oh yeah!

[lch]

for 1050, i think your pc will play the show in 720p and your monitor will do the upscaling to fit the screen.
this is bad as you will notice blurring as monitor don't have good upscaling engine.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by dadkins

*from across the room.

Sitting at the desktop display, within 3 feet, yeah... you'll see the difference.
Sitting here with my 17" 1440x900 laptop and then switching to the 17" 1920x1200 laptop - you can see the difference when watching a Blu-ray.
720 to 1080? Oh yeah!

I'm myopic and I wear bifocals

[dadkins]

Originally Posted by prerich

I'm myopic and I wear bifocals

LOL!

[hendra]

If you decide to replace your monitor, buy the one with native resolution 1920x1080 (16:9 aspect ratio) and not 1920x1200(16:10). With 16:9 you will see less or no black bars, depending on the movies. And for high resolution like that, don't settle for anything less than 20". Having 1920x1080 resolution for a monitor less than 20" is not advisable, because it would make texts too small to read. Some people have suggested a workaround this problem by lowering the DPI or simply lowering the resolution but neither solution is perfect. And BTW, buy the one HDMI port.

[thomasward00]

Actually I lay down in the bed when watching movies, actually I think that i'm a bit higher than 720 since my res is 1680X1050, Kinda in the middle, but so far so good, as i'll purchase a 1080P set when the prices fall a bit. I know that i'm gonna get flamed for this but I think if HD-DVD would have won the format war that by now it would have had more market penetration because of the players being priced lower and the lower cost for manufacturers to combine the production of DVD HD-DVD, as opposed to blu ray... From looking at the selection at several movie and electronic stores, as well as blockbuster, Blu Ray is still a niche product and will stay that way for at least another few years, it will get bigger, but won't explode like DVD, the cost gap is just too high for the majority of consumers, add to that the constant firmware upgrades, although not difficult for me to understand, it certainly will be for Grandma or most soccer moms, DVD never had these growing pains. Sony or whoever controls things needs to decide on a standard, stop at that standard and upgrade all older players to that standard and call it a day... Un needed confusion kills marketshare and adoption, problems that I think HD-DVD would have had an easier time with over the long haul, success is not about being 5 or 10% better, it's about mainstream market penetration and I don't see that happening for at least a few years with Blu Ray...

[aesnakes]

Remember it all depends on the space you are trying to fill with 1920 pixels X 1080 pixels. I really don't think you are going to find any difference on most computer monitors. I have 2X 22" monitors here and at work Im doing FX work on a 40" samsung monitor and ony there am I at higher resolutions then 1600.

Now about this space issue. Most movie theaters and Film transfers are done at either HD or 2K which is 2048x858 and at the very highest 4K 4096X1714. Then on to Imax at 8K and beyond. So I think that 1080P and 720P is great for our home theaters and Computer monitors.

[thomasward00]

O.K., I've ordered a new monitor, an Asus 24 inch that has DVI/HDMI and runs native at 1920X1080 and is advertised as 1080P, I was able to sell my 22 inch for a very good price...

Here is a link to the monitor..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tent-_-text-_-

Let me go over this one more time to make sure that I have this correct, I use the optical connection from my motherboard to my receiver, so sound is NOT an issue.... Should I stick with my DVI connection or must I switch to HDMI to get full 1080P? Please keep in mind that i'm not worried about the audio that HDMI passes, I"m purely worried about video quality.

Thanks in advance

[dadkins]

DVI and HDMI are the same - aside from HDMI carrying audio as well as video.
DVI is video only - usually.