Thinking of Blu ray

[jackuna]

I just started to look into blu ray, but I'm not sure if my current tv will handle it. I have a mitsubishi WS55857 that can get 1080i. It does not have HDMI or DVI, but does have component hook ups. Before I start doing all of the research on players or a PS3 system, can someone tell me if it would be worth it to invest the money in a blu ray player? Will I be able to watch movies in 1080i or the 480 which my current player does? Buying a new tv right now is out of the question.

[My_Two_Cents]

YES! It is definitely worth it. You'll have to send the picture as 1080i/720p, but that's still HD and will look exponentially better than your DVDs. Don't let the 1080p snobs try to convince you that your set will not benefit from BDs or HD content, because it will.

[swingle007]

You should be able to get the 1080i with no issues, althought if it were me I'd just keep saving for a newer 1080p tv with a few hdmi slots first. For what you'll pay for a decent entry level blu ray player (299-399) you'd have half the amount you'd need for a 42" lcd that would offer the options above. if that just won't work right now then enjoy the blu ray player and all the wonderful titles available already on this format!

p.s. no snobbery here on the 1080p issue btw....lol I own a 60" 1080i Sony wega that looks good with a blu hooked to it. Just saying if and when you do upgrade go for all the newest/best options available in your budget. :-)

[Anthony P]

Will I be able to watch movies in 1080i or the 480 which my current player does?

yes you will be able to do 1080i which will be much better then 480 (DVD). I would go with the BD player, this way you can enjoy the TV you have now and if you buy movies you won't be wasting it on DVDs. Before I bought my BD player I thought I would be able to deal with my extensive DVD library, but once I started watching blu I soon realized that DVD was unacceptable and I would need to re-buy on BD the titles I would want to watch again

[JackHunt]

You'll get full 1080i for BD's, but you won't be able to upconvert DVD's.

It's definitely worth it to get into to Blu-ray right now. There are plenty of cheap starter players to be had.

[joegs300]

Originally Posted by jackuna

I just started to look into blu ray, but I'm not sure if my current tv will handle it. I have a mitsubishi WS55857 that can get 1080i. It does not have HDMI or DVI, but does have component hook ups. Before I start doing all of the research on players or a PS3 system, can someone tell me if it would be worth it to invest the money in a blu ray player? Will I be able to watch movies in 1080i or the 480 which my current player does? Buying a new tv right now is out of the question.

If I were you I wouldn't buy a cheap starter player. I would save up to buy a PS3 or one of the upper echelon players that have wireless network built in so you can upgrade firmware with no problems. Do not buy any cheap Funai brand players or Insignia or lesser known players. I made the mistake of starting off with one and it was a nightmare. I returned it for a full refund and purchased a PS3. Also, you might want to start saving overall and purchase a new TV because they will be a lot cheaper the next few months. You might be able to find a good deal before the SuperBowl. Good luck to you in your search and let us know what you have come up with!

[jackuna]

OK, just so I have this right. Buying a PS3 or a good brand Blu Ray player will give me at best 1080i for blu ray movies. But I will still only get 480 for regular dvd movies. No upconverting. And for sound should I use optical cable for the best quality?

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by jackuna

OK, just so I have this right. Buying a PS3 or a good brand Blu Ray player will give me at best 1080i for blu ray movies. But I will still only get 480 for regular dvd movies. No upconverting. And for sound should I use optical cable for the best quality?

That is NOT true. Not sure about other players, but the specs on the PS3 spell-out 720p/1080i/1080p DVD upconversion. I would imagine most are are similar. As for sound, what is the model/brand of your receiver/AVR? Does it accept HDMI audio? If not, then optical from your BD player will at least get you lossy DD and DTS.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

That is NOT true. Not sure about other players, but the specs on the PS3 spell-out 720p/1080i/1080p DVD upconversion. I would imagine most are are similar. As for sound, what is the model/brand of your receiver/AVR? Does it accept HDMI audio? If not, then optical from your BD player will at least get you lossy DD and DTS.

And let's not forget that on BD, DD and DTS have a higher bitrate than typical DVD so even with lossy sound you'll still get higher quality audio than just with DVD.

[jackuna]

We went shopping at Fry's today hoping to talk to a knowledgeable salesperson about BD and TV's. I ended up talking to a younger gentleman about the PS3 vs BD players. He told me that if I only watch movies and don't play any games I can burn the PS3 out. I have a very hard time believing that so I tried to get him to explain the difference between 2 different sony models the s350 and s550. Since they were sold out of both models he could not tell me what the difference was. $100.00 difference, I just wanted to know why. He could not tell me. That was the end of the conversation, and I left, no more informed than when I walked in. So I guess the best source of information is not with salesmen, but here on the internet. Time to get into lots of reading.

[crackinhedz]

the main difference between the Sony S350 and S550 is that the S550 has Multichannel Analog output. This is a good feature for those who have Receivers with no HDMI connections.

Other than that there is not a real advantage. You would enjoy the Sony S350, I own one and its a very nice player. Has not given me any trouble. Has an ethernet port for direct connection to the internet for firmware updates. Makes life extremely easy.

I enjoy my PS3 much more, but if video games is not your priority list than the S350 would impress you.

Another option to look into is the Panasonic DMP-BD35.


So to recap...good recommendations (for the price) would be:

PS3
Sony BDP-S350
Panasonic DMP-BD35


...you would be happy with any of these.

[Anthony P]

OK, just so I have this right. Buying a PS3 or a good brand Blu Ray player will give me at best 1080i for blu ray movies. But I will still only get 480 for regular dvd movies. No upconverting. And for sound should I use optical cable for the best quality?

the PS3 will up convert DVD, and for audio it depends. Since you can't do HDMI (the best option for the best sound) there are two options , optical or stereo (red/white) as far as I know there is no 5.1 analogue option. If you have a receiver that can receive optical then that will be your best bet for surround sound (5.1) but if you will plug it directly into the TV and all you have is stereo, then I would go with the red/white since then you can use and get the whole glory (in stereo) of PCM/DTS-HD MA and DTHD

PS for audio, it is simple but will depend on the equipment you have and will buy,
HDMI - as far as you said you can't use, but it is the best, it can pass up to 7.1 lossless
optical - you seem to say you can do it, it can pass legacy DTS and DD and stereo PCM (this is the best sound, but through optical it will be limited to stereo and so not worth it)
analogue (6 RCA cables) - if your player has that output and your audio equipment as well then you can pass 5.1 PCM and decode (most players) internally DTS-HD and DTHD which are lossless encodes of the PCM track.