Should I move to Blu or wait??

[Yellowjacket]

I want to go true HD but my problem is my set. I have a 4 1/2 yr old Hitachi 51" projection 1080i. Playing regular dvd's on my sony player...they look ok but not anything wonderful. I am worried that even if I upgrade to a Blu-Ray player that it will just still look "ok" on my set. Should I wait 2 or 3 years til I am ready to get a better set and look at Blu-ray at that point or will I be satisfied with only a 1080i TV with the bluray???

[stockstar1138]

blu-ray will look a lot better on your 1080i set than any dvd could possibly look. trust me you won't be disappointed.

worst comes to worse you take the player back, but i don't think you would after watching blu-ray.

[WimeTime]

You're the one pulling the trigger ultimately, but since I've entered the realm of higher definition (blu), it has created a new passion for movies. Prices of TV's will come down, once the war is over, movies probably will too. Have you been able to watch high def movies yet?

[SpikesBluBlooded]

Do like over 3 million other people have: buy a PS3. That way you have everything you need, and to answer your question, yes, you will be able to see a noticable difference...

[CptGreedle]

I don't think you need to wait 2 or 3 years. This summer or sooner, some really good, low priced Blu-ray players will be hitting the market. Make sure whatever you get is at least profile 1.1 compliant.
All BD players up-sample DVDs to a near HD signal, which will look loads better than a DVD hooked up to an HDTV without up-sampling it.
Blu-ray discs will look even better! Plus interactivity, better sound, more features, higher quality, etc.

If you want to wait, wait until summer. If you want to jump into it, buy a PS3. The PS3 is (imo) the BEST Blu-ray player yet. It plays DVDs and up-samples the image to near HD quality, it plays CDs, it plays SACDs for highest quality digital music, it plays PS1 PS2 and PS3 games (PS2 playback depends on model of PS3), it plays Blu-rays and supports the highest quality including HDMI. The PS3 is also future-proof, it can be upgraded to support new changes and additions to Blu-ray, et al. For example, they recently added profile 1.1 to the PS3 for interactive and PiP content on Blu-ray, and will soon add 2.0 for web features on Blu-ray.
It is a great price, does the most of any player/system, and is the most widely used Bu-ray player in the world.

So I say again, if you want to wait, you should find the latest and greatest players by this summer, if you want to buy now, the PS3 is the way to go.

[zMadMonk]

Originally Posted by Yellowjacket

I want to go true HD but my problem is my set. I have a 4 1/2 yr old Hitachi 51" projection 1080i. Playing regular dvd's on my sony player...they look ok but not anything wonderful. I am worried that even if I upgrade to a Blu-Ray player that it will just still look "ok" on my set. Should I wait 2 or 3 years til I am ready to get a better set and look at Blu-ray at that point or will I be satisfied with only a 1080i TV with the bluray???

I think you will be more than satisfied going to Blu now. I just set up my best friend's 1080i (older) LCD with Blu. While it doesn't look AS good as my 1080p, it still is head, neck, AND shoulders above his upconversion. He is very happy.

I got my Sharp 46" 1080p not even a year ago, and already there are TVs out there that blow this puppy away. There is always something new/better coming out. Am I unhappy? Hell no. My Blu's look AWESOME on there!

I also agree with those folks that state PS3 is the way to go. I'm nudging my friends/family in that direction as well, as it is not only future proof as a player - but in a years time, when the software developers start creating games that actually UTILIZE the cell processor and extra space on the Blu-Rays, the PS3 will DOMINATE as a game console. If gaming isn't your thing, not a big deal - but it is something to think about.

So in closing (God, I'm yappy) - I would go Blu now, that way if and when you get your new TV, you have the equipment and movies to actually enjoy the upgrade!

[PLASMA-1080P-FULLHD]

move to Blu

[JTK]

No reason to wait any longer. The format war is winding down and clearly BD is going to be the winner. Buy what you want and enjoy.

[dperrone]

GO NOW....GO NOW.!!!!!! you will see a difference, like the others have said, it might not look the best possible (to it's full potential) BUT it will still look better than what you are watching now.
put a PS3 on a credit card...hehehe

[Jonalan34]

Soon as NOW, it ll give you headstart on collection.

I started DVD late(2000) and I started early in this format war with both(Sept 2006) but it is great to have headstart now by jump on bandwagon of Blu-ray!

PS3 is best player as today.

It will look alot better on your 1080i set. I have family tv set 40 inch HDTV 1080i. It look noticable better than DVD on Blu-ray. More details can seen on Blu-ray. I did experiement myself with Casino Royale both dvd and blu last summer (2007).

[CptGreedle]

One more thing... For highest quality sound and video, use HDMI. For highest quality sound, use an AV receiver with HDMI support (HDMI input and output).
Blu-ray (and PS3 games) support up to 7.1 surround sound, while most DVDs only go up to 5.1, and a few reached 6.1. You have to use an HDMI compliant AV receiver to reach full quality audio.

[BoneWSO]

You will see a huge difference on your 1080i set. I still have my 1080i Sony from 2003 (one of the first hi-def projection sets to come out) and watching Blu movies on it is night and day compared to SD DVD or even broadcast HD. I use a PS3 for movies and games and I can never go back to SD. It's even hard to watch regular cable now with it's horrible SD quality. Get a PS3 now and enjoy, you won't be dissappointed.

[Go Blu]

Blu will put an image on your screen you never thought possible.
Welcome and I hope you stay around here and share your Blu experience.

[davidPS3]

I just upgraded my tv from 1080i to 1080p and it is a big difference when watching blu movies. Remember, right now the retailers have alot of sales going on so you can buy a hi def tv on deal and remember, many have no interest payment plans you can spread out over a years time.

For sure pick up a PS3 player (40gig) and you will be very pleased with the investment.

Great advice from everyone here!

[Joe Cain]

Do it!

My TV is only a 32" 1080i CRT and the difference between BD and upscaled/upconverted DVD is generally quite obvious. The PS3 does a really nice job with S-DVD, especially with CG animation (which seems to me to benefit from upscaling more than anything else), but even on my (relatively) tiny and technologically challenged TV there's a noticeable improvement in image quality when I compare Cars on S-DVD to BD, and the difference in audio quality is just about jaw-dropping.

You didn't mention your sound system; it's half the HD experience. If you are equipped to take advantage of uncompressed or lossless audio---if you don't have to buy a new receiver as well as a BD player---then I can't think of any reason to wait.

[scragham]

Originally Posted by Yellowjacket

I want to go true HD but my problem is my set. I have a 4 1/2 yr old Hitachi 51" projection 1080i. Playing regular dvd's on my sony player...they look ok but not anything wonderful. I am worried that even if I upgrade to a Blu-Ray player that it will just still look "ok" on my set. Should I wait 2 or 3 years til I am ready to get a better set and look at Blu-ray at that point or will I be satisfied with only a 1080i TV with the bluray???

when i first got my ps3 back in may, the only tv i could play it on was my old 480p/1080i panny 50". there was no comparison between this and SDVD (even upconverted SDVD). i've since upgraded my video equipment because i absolutely had to have 1080p, but like all of the others have said - if concerns about how good BD will look on your TV is all that's holding you back, then make the jump.

the difference is very obvious.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by SpikesBluBlooded

Do like over 3 million other people have: buy a PS3. That way you have everything you need, and to answer your question, yes, you will be able to see a noticable difference...

like he said. Trust me even on 1080i tv compared to hd NFL, basketball you will be like OH MY GOD

[seto]

ようこそ! Welcome to the Blu-ray forums. I would recommend switching to a Blu-ray player. 1080i is amazing in of itself. Sure, it isn't 1080p but you'll get eventually anyways. Believe everyone here when they say you will still see a very noticeable difference from the SD material you are accustomed to.

[kurtlingle]

Go blu now!

Don't wait - if you have the $$$ you will love it. Some of these BD's look just incredible.

[GoBlu08]

Do it now. I did about 2-3 months ago and have like 37 titles.