Question about upgrading to blu - Blu-ray Forum

mick3rick · 06-29-2009, 08:23 AM

Hey guys. So I have a Samsung LN40A550. It's an LCD, 1080p, and 40", which we sit about 8-10 ft. away from. DVDs upscaled look quite nice on it, but I'm wondering whether or not it would be worth the cost to upgrade to blu-ray. I don't have any external speakers (which kinda sucks...) so I'm looking at this just for the picture improvements. I've actually watched Pirates of the Caribbean on blu-ray through my friends PS3, and the difference between it and good DVDs was slight. However, it was hardly the best conditions to judge (it was sunny and we happen to have direct sunlight on the screen. Well, I closed the curtains, but they are white. sigh). Thanks to everyone!!

Geezer00003 · 06-29-2009, 09:03 AM

Short answer.......YES!

Watched my 3rd DVD in year and a half last night, yikes I say.
Resolution totally lacking and so inferior to BR!

Johnny Vinyl · 06-29-2009, 09:09 AM

Hi Mick and welcome to Blu-ray.com!

To answer your question in one word...YES. There is no doubt that the PQ on Blu-ray discs outshines that of DVD discs hands down. There is the odd exception when bad transfers are released, but Blu-ray should give you a far superior visual experience than any DVD can provide.

I'm a little surprised that you saw only a slight difference on the POTC blu-ray as they are some of the best transfers put out. It could be, like you said, that the lighting in the room was off. Have you ever calibrated your Samsung, as that could be another reason.

John

BlackLightShark009 · 06-29-2009, 09:26 AM

It is worth it. Also maybe have your friend bring a few other movies and watch at night to demo the for you.

djc11369 · 06-29-2009, 09:40 AM

I'll throw in my yes also. It's not just resolution you'll see a difference in, the colors are much more vibrant on Blu-ray. As John pointed out, there are some exceptions of bad transfers but the majority are excellent. In addition to lighting and TV calibration, maybe the PS3 wasn't setup to output 1080p (requires HDMI for 1080p, component is limited to 1080i in case you weren't aware). Something to check anyway.

threefiftyrocket · 06-29-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mick3rick

Hey guys. So I have a Samsung LN40A550. It's an LCD, 1080p, and 40", which we sit about 8-10 ft. away from. DVDs upscaled look quite nice on it, but I'm wondering whether or not it would be worth the cost to upgrade to blu-ray. I don't have any external speakers (which kinda sucks...) so I'm looking at this just for the picture improvements. I've actually watched Pirates of the Caribbean on blu-ray through my friends PS3, and the difference between it and good DVDs was slight. However, it was hardly the best conditions to judge (it was sunny and we happen to have direct sunlight on the screen. Well, I closed the curtains, but they are white. sigh). Thanks to everyone!!

You gotta think, you are asking this on blu-ray.com. We're kinda biased. You gotta weigh your options and see if its better for you. Personally, after getting my blu... Pirates blu > 1000 * Pirates DVD so I would say hell yeah... go for it... I'm biased towards blu tho.

detector19 · 06-29-2009, 12:28 PM

It's definitely worth the money you will like it...

ak808 · 06-29-2009, 11:51 PM

I'm going to answer at the risk of getting flamed. At a screen size of 40 inchs at 8-10 feet away the PQ improvement maybe slim. Sharpness, and clarity probably won't be so pronounced compared to a larger screen. Colors may have a broder spectrum it also depends if your screen is calibrated or not.

To me the best thing about blurays are their audio quality. Without a sound system good or bad, you could say that the glass is either half full or half empty. You could think hey at least I have a great picture compared to Dvd, but at the same time you could say, man I wish I had a sound system.

So again, the bigger the screen the more you'll probably appreciate bluray. For me I haven't watched a dvd in 2+ years and since blurays I've only seen transformers 2 in the theaters.

repete66211 · 06-30-2009, 05:10 PM

The larger the screen and the closer you are to it the more you will notice Blu-ray's improved picture quality. I could tell the difference on smaller screen than yours, but it wasn't like night and day. A good upscaled, anamorphic DVD looked almost as good on a 32" at 10' as a Blu-ray did.

Is that little bit extra picture quality worth the cost of Blu-ray? My answer to that question would be, "Only if you can afford it." Personally, if I were you I'd invest in a decent sound system before I'd make the leap to Blu-ray.

ronjones · 06-30-2009, 10:49 PM

With 20/20 vision you would need to view a 40" 1080p display from no more than 5.2 feet in order to see all of the 1080p resolution (calculator is HERE). At a viewing distance of 7.8 ft. the max. resolution that can be seen (again with 20/20 vision) is 720p and at the DVD resolution of 480p the full resolution can be seen at viewing distances out to 13.2 ft. So at your viewing distance of 8 to 10 ft. with your 40" display you will only be able to see something around 30% to 50% higher resolution than what's possible with DVDs. This is due to the smallish screen size for your viewing distance and the limitations of human eyesight.

K_Williamson42 · 06-30-2009, 11:47 PM

There is a huge difference from a DVD thats done in 480p, and a blu-ray thats 1080p. Upscaling... its a huge joke and just away that company's try to sell you a really expensive DVD player thats supposed to UPSCALE. Should of spent an extra $100-$150 and got a blu-ray player. Even if you dont have sound...I dont either and I love having one...sure my sound will come in the future once my Sony XBR tv is paid off...but I'm really enjoying just the PQ now...put your over expensive dvd player in a bedroom and get a blu-ray player...there are tons of deals on finding movies cheap....just shop around!

06-29-2009, 08:23 AM	#1
mick3rick Junior Member Member since:Jun 2009	Question about upgrading to blu Hey guys. So I have a Samsung LN40A550. It's an LCD, 1080p, and 40", which we sit about 8-10 ft. away from. DVDs upscaled look quite nice on it, but I'm wondering whether or not it would be worth the cost to upgrade to blu-ray. I don't have any external speakers (which kinda sucks...) so I'm looking at this just for the picture improvements. I've actually watched Pirates of the Caribbean on blu-ray through my friends PS3, and the difference between it and good DVDs was slight. However, it was hardly the best conditions to judge (it was sunny and we happen to have direct sunlight on the screen. Well, I closed the curtains, but they are white. sigh). Thanks to everyone!! Last edited by mick3rick; 06-29-2009 at 08:30 AM. Reason: clarity

06-30-2009, 10:49 PM	#10
ronjones Active Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Ft. Myers, FL	With 20/20 vision you would need to view a 40" 1080p display from no more than 5.2 feet in order to see all of the 1080p resolution (calculator is HERE). At a viewing distance of 7.8 ft. the max. resolution that can be seen (again with 20/20 vision) is 720p and at the DVD resolution of 480p the full resolution can be seen at viewing distances out to 13.2 ft. So at your viewing distance of 8 to 10 ft. with your 40" display you will only be able to see something around 30% to 50% higher resolution than what's possible with DVDs. This is due to the smallish screen size for your viewing distance and the limitations of human eyesight. Last edited by ronjones; 06-30-2009 at 10:53 PM.

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06-29-2009, 09:03 AM	#2
Geezer00003 Senior Member Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Dec 2008 Location:GTA Ontario, Canada Home Theater Gallery:12 4K collection:207 Blu-ray collection:669	Short answer.......YES! Watched my 3rd DVD in year and a half last night, yikes I say. Resolution totally lacking and so inferior to BR!

06-29-2009, 09:09 AM	#3
Johnny Vinyl Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:At the crossroad of Analogue Dr & 2CH Ave Home Theater Gallery:19 Blu-ray collection:205 DVD collection:7 Blu-ray reviews:3 Trading Score:8	Hi Mick and welcome to Blu-ray.com! To answer your question in one word...YES. There is no doubt that the PQ on Blu-ray discs outshines that of DVD discs hands down. There is the odd exception when bad transfers are released, but Blu-ray should give you a far superior visual experience than any DVD can provide. I'm a little surprised that you saw only a slight difference on the POTC blu-ray as they are some of the best transfers put out. It could be, like you said, that the lighting in the room was off. Have you ever calibrated your Samsung, as that could be another reason. John

06-29-2009, 09:26 AM	#4
BlackLightShark009 Special Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:California Blu-ray collection:11	It is worth it. Also maybe have your friend bring a few other movies and watch at night to demo the for you.

06-29-2009, 09:40 AM	#5
djc11369 Active Member Member since:Apr 2009 Location:NY	I'll throw in my yes also. It's not just resolution you'll see a difference in, the colors are much more vibrant on Blu-ray. As John pointed out, there are some exceptions of bad transfers but the majority are excellent. In addition to lighting and TV calibration, maybe the PS3 wasn't setup to output 1080p (requires HDMI for 1080p, component is limited to 1080i in case you weren't aware). Something to check anyway.

06-29-2009, 12:28 PM	#7
detector19 Active Member Member since:May 2007 Location:New York 4K collection:97 Blu-ray collection:437	It's definitely worth the money you will like it...

06-29-2009, 11:51 PM	#8
ak808 Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Home Theater Gallery:17 Blu-ray collection:342	I'm going to answer at the risk of getting flamed. At a screen size of 40 inchs at 8-10 feet away the PQ improvement maybe slim. Sharpness, and clarity probably won't be so pronounced compared to a larger screen. Colors may have a broder spectrum it also depends if your screen is calibrated or not. To me the best thing about blurays are their audio quality. Without a sound system good or bad, you could say that the glass is either half full or half empty. You could think hey at least I have a great picture compared to Dvd, but at the same time you could say, man I wish I had a sound system. So again, the bigger the screen the more you'll probably appreciate bluray. For me I haven't watched a dvd in 2+ years and since blurays I've only seen transformers 2 in the theaters.

06-30-2009, 05:10 PM	#9
repete66211 Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Kansas City area Home Theater Gallery:10 Blu-ray collection:196 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:3	The larger the screen and the closer you are to it the more you will notice Blu-ray's improved picture quality. I could tell the difference on smaller screen than yours, but it wasn't like night and day. A good upscaled, anamorphic DVD looked almost as good on a 32" at 10' as a Blu-ray did. Is that little bit extra picture quality worth the cost of Blu-ray? My answer to that question would be, "Only if you can afford it." Personally, if I were you I'd invest in a decent sound system before I'd make the leap to Blu-ray.

06-30-2009, 11:47 PM	#11
K_Williamson42 Active Member Member since:Oct 2008 Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray collection:418 Trading Score:16	There is a huge difference from a DVD thats done in 480p, and a blu-ray thats 1080p. Upscaling... its a huge joke and just away that company's try to sell you a really expensive DVD player thats supposed to UPSCALE. Should of spent an extra $100-$150 and got a blu-ray player. Even if you dont have sound...I dont either and I love having one...sure my sound will come in the future once my Sony XBR tv is paid off...but I'm really enjoying just the PQ now...put your over expensive dvd player in a bedroom and get a blu-ray player...there are tons of deals on finding movies cheap....just shop around!

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