Blu-ray on a nonHDTV?

[FrenzyBanana]

is it true that if you watch blu-ray on nonHDTV it will just look like a dvd movie?

[Kirsty_Mc]

Originally Posted by FrenzyBanana

is it true that if you watch blu-ray on nonHDTV it will just look like a dvd movie?

Easy to answer for a non insider.

If it's a non HDTV, then you will be watching SD (Standard definition) on your television even though the Blu-Ray is playing HD (High definition). So you'll only be getting 1/4 of the resolution.

So it will look like DVD (maybe slightly better). Don't worry... You've future proofed yourself. When you buy a HDTV, then you will be able to enjoy your Blu-ray discs in HD.

[FrenzyBanana]

Originally Posted by Kirsty_Mc

Easy to answer for a non insider.

If it's a non HDTV, then you will be watching SD (Standard definition) on your television even though the Blu-Ray is playing HD (High definition). So you'll only be getting 1/4 of the resolution.

So it will look like DVD (maybe slightly better). Don't worry... You've future proofed yourself. When you buy a HDTV, then you will be able to enjoy your Blu-ray discs in HD.

thank you

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by FrenzyBanana

is it true that if you watch blu-ray on nonHDTV it will just look like a dvd movie?

Mods are free to my post if they want, but I felt the need to answer this question.

Years ago, I got DirecTV HD before I got a HDTV due to the fact that I had gotten a 16x9 TV to watch DVDs on... and I wanted to be able to see some TV shows in 16x9 as well... and I was amazed at how good shows like "CSI: Miami" look in downconverted SD compared to regular SD or 16x9 DVD.

Since that time, I have shown people how much HD can improve even SD sets by showing them DirecTV HD, OTA, HD DVD last year, and Blu-ray this year.

The most noticable difference is in the color. Shows like "CSI: Miami" are night and day difference from SD as the colors come to life. The blues of the ocean, the green of the plants, and the blue or orange colors of the sky. "Stargate: Atlantis" on Sci-Fi HD can also look amazing as the texture of Ronon's hair is extremely more detailed on the HD version.

As for Blu-ray, it really depends on the movie, the TV set you have, and the cables you use. I always use component cables for showing off HD on a SDTV... compared to SD via Component.

Animated movies look fantastic thanks to difference in color (among other things)... "Open Season", "Surf's Up" and the Pixar films come to mind.

Older titles can look great as well. "Forbidden Planet" on HD DVD, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "Blazing Saddles" and "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" all look considerably better their SD counterparts.

Newer titles like "The Scorpion King", "The Chronicles Of Riddick" on HD DVD, and "The Transporter", "Identity", "License To Wed", "The Fifth Element (Remastered)", "Pearl Harbor" and other titles look superior or FAR superior depending on the title to their SD DVD counterparts.

Again, it really comes down to the quality of the SDTV, the quality of the movie, the cables used, and above all else, the eyesight of the person viewing it, but no, Blu-ray does not HAVE TO look like a DVD on a SDTV.

~Alan

[Brandon B]

Blu-ray (and the other format) will also look better on movies with a lot of fast motion and pans. Breakup in those type of scenes in going to be worse with DVD due to the much more severe compression.

BB

[darkedgex]

Yeah, I was about to say the same thing re: compression. I always hated compression artifacts on SD DVD, and even on an SDTV, you'll notice complete lack of compression related issues. And as noted above, colors are a lot better too.

On the audio side (I know the OP just asked about HDTV, but this might be relevant), if you have an HDMI capable receiver you can still benefit from the lossless audio (and even older receivers will benefit from the 640kbps DD or the 1.5 mbps DTS on certain titles when connected via SPDIF).