Blu-ray doesn't look as good as in the stores

[hojh]

Hi, I have a Sony LCD 52 inch XBR2 and play my blu ray through my PS3 via a HDMI cable bought online. I was at Best Buy the other day and noticed on Sony 42 inch XBR4 that was playing pirates of the carribean the picture seemed so much clearer and "life-like" than my blu ray movies at home. Sales person told me the difference between mine at home and at the store was that my TV didn't have 120Hz refresh rate. I called Sony and they said my TV did have 120 so that shouldn't be the difference. Then another sales rep said it was because I wasn't using the Ultra Monster cables. I was skeptical and bought those but still didn't notice a difference at home(will be returning those cables later.) Now I have been hearing about how stores are using these demo discs that are all hyped up and not near the quality of normal blu rays. Is this possible? If this isn't likely, does anyone out there have any other thoughts as to why my home blu ray movies don't look as good as those I see at local stores? Thanks!

[quirkmanly]

Have you calibrated your TV?

[Sonny]

Take that Monster cable back if you can? That pisses me off when they tell people that they need a 100+$ cable ... Those BD's in BB ect ect are very doctored to be perfect don't sweet it you have a nice TV , just enjoy it

[Blu n Gold]

The XBR2 does not have a 120hz processor. That is the problem.

[Blu n Gold]

Originally Posted by Sonny

Those BD's in BB ect ect are very doctored to be perfect

So why could somebody achieve that in home?

[krazeyeyez]

so many things come into play when viewing blu (and its not your lack of a monster brand cable lol) i don't know your particular sets specs, but it could be a difference in contrast ratio and black levels, it could be calibration related, it could be because thats a newer model you saw etc... i know around here they play the demo's on vivid and i think it looks horrible compared to my home setup, sure its bright but everything else about it looks like crap. size could be part of it to because im sure a 42" doesn't bring out the little imperfections like a 52" does.

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by hojh

Hi, I have a Sony LCD 52 inch XBR2 and play my blu ray through my PS3 via a HDMI cable bought online. I was at Best Buy the other day and noticed on Sony 42 inch XBR4 that was playing pirates of the carribean the picture seemed so much clearer and "life-like" than my blu ray movies at home. Sales person told me the difference between mine at home and at the store was that my TV didn't have 120Hz refresh rate. I called Sony and they said my TV did have 120 so that shouldn't be the difference. Then another sales rep said it was because I wasn't using the Ultra Monster cables. I was skeptical and bought those but still didn't notice a difference at home(will be returning those cables later.) Now I have been hearing about how stores are using these demo discs that are all hyped up and not near the quality of normal blu rays. Is this possible? If this isn't likely, does anyone out there have any other thoughts as to why my home blu ray movies don't look as good as those I see at local stores? Thanks!

The bolded part is one of the lamer things I've heard in a long time. there are no "special" blu-ray hype discs. My guess is the refresh rate. I have 2 PS3 blu-ray setups, one to an XBR3 and 1 to a Samsung, and both are better than what I see in retail demos, which I always think do an awful job of showcasing the product.

[Sonny]

cause he has the XBR2... I get better than in store PQ. I know the XBR2 does not have 120hrz refresh rate I don't know what rep. told him that...?

[krazeyeyez]

total opinion here not based on fact, but i don't think stores in my area get doctored discs. just based on what they look like. and im 100% sure my local blockbuster bravia blu display doesn't.

[NovaBomb]

Originally Posted by hojh

Hi, I have a Sony LCD 52 inch XBR2 and play my blu ray through my PS3 via a HDMI cable bought online. I was at Best Buy the other day and noticed on Sony 42 inch XBR4 that was playing pirates of the carribean the picture seemed so much clearer and "life-like" than my blu ray movies at home. Sales person told me the difference between mine at home and at the store was that my TV didn't have 120Hz refresh rate. I called Sony and they said my TV did have 120 so that shouldn't be the difference. Then another sales rep said it was because I wasn't using the Ultra Monster cables. I was skeptical and bought those but still didn't notice a difference at home(will be returning those cables later.) Now I have been hearing about how stores are using these demo discs that are all hyped up and not near the quality of normal blu rays. Is this possible? If this isn't likely, does anyone out there have any other thoughts as to why my home blu ray movies don't look as good as those I see at local stores? Thanks!

Yeah, I would say calibration. Something is definity not right in your setup. I actually think store displays look worse then my setup at home, cause the stores have such bright lighting, and they usally split video lines to display in multiple TVs

[Luis_A51]

1) There are no special bluray demo discs
2) Monster brand HDMI cables are no better than other HDMI cables
3) 120hz is over rated. it wont make THAT much of a difference

3) have you had your tv calibrated? either by yourself or professionally?
4)what movie are you using? Video quality varies greatly between some movies.

[miokti]

First off... calibrate your TV... default settings aren't usually the best for watching movies. Go to the store and muck around with the demo TV so you can see their settings, then try to emulate that at home. One issue would be that the demo you saw at BB is at 120hz, and they probably have motion enhance turned on. Since you don't have this feature on your TV, then you really can't get as good a picture as in the store. It has nothing to do with your player or your cable, it's all in your tv.

[Luis_A51]

Originally Posted by Sonny

Take that Monster cable back if you can? That pisses me off when they tell people that they need a 100+$ cable ... Those BD's in BB ect ect are very doctored to be perfect don't sweet it you have a nice TV , just enjoy it

Virtually all tv displays in stores are in torch mode, far from "doctored to be perfect"

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by quirkmanly

Have you calibrated your TV?

usually its the stores that dont do it, but like he said above its worth it to try to calibrate it

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

total opinion here not based on fact, but i don't think stores in my area get doctored discs. just based on what they look like. and im 100% sure my local blockbuster bravia blu display doesn't.

Blockbuster uses the in-store rentals blu's. At least the one by me does.

[owa]

The 120hz sets definitely look very different from the non-120hz sets so that's probably the difference you're seeing. If you search the forums here, you'll find this has happened to several people already. They end up thinking that the "3D-ish" picture they're seeing on the 120hz sets is the result of blu-ray and then they get home and find out it was actually the TV that made the picture look like that.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Luis_A51

Virtually all tv displays in stores are in torch mode, far from "doctored to be perfect"

Maybe in canada...

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by owa

The 120hz sets definitely look very different from the non-120hz sets so that's probably the difference you're seeing. If you search the forums here, you'll find this has happened to several people already. They end up thinking that the "3D-ish" picture they're seeing on the 120hz sets is the result of blu-ray and then they get home and find out it was actually the TV that made the picture look like that.

120hz won't affect the three dimensionality of the picture. All 120hz monitors have over other lcd monitors the ability to accept 24/1080p sources and eliminate the judder that can be evident from video conversion in action scenes or pans.

He just needs to tweak his settings to match what he wants the images to look like.

[miokti]

Motionflow™ 120 Hz with Full HD high frame rate capability
Taking motion performance to the next level requires innovation and expertise. Enter Sony's Motionflow™ High Frame Rate technology. Motionflow™ detects the incoming video signal and applies the appropriate processing for optimum motion reproduction. Taking full advantage of film sourced 24fps encoded content available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Motionflow™ eliminates the need for 3:2 pulldown and delivers smooth, judder free video, faithfully preserving the integrity of the original film. When 60fps content is detected, Motionflow™ doubles the amount of frames and uses real-time calculation to create a new level of natural motion reproduction. You'll experience movies and sports with a greater sense of realism than ever before.

120hz TVs have this feature for example in Sony XBR4's. It does get rid of jutter because 120hz is divisible by 24, so 3:2 pulldown is not required. But the Motionflow™ also interpolates and fills in the extra frames instead of just repeating them, making the movement smoother and more fluid. This is what gives it the 3D look, specially when everyone in the screen is moving.

[kolasi]

they conned you into buying a monster cable? lol eek go return it.