Remember to Appreciate BD

[iam1bearcat]

Sadly, I must admit, that I have started to not notice how exceptional some films look on blu-ray. I just realized it today while watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Let me explain...

While watching the films I said, "wow, these look PHENOMENAL!" and I obviously still feel that way (10/10 for PQ for both from me, easily). But, for anyone who may complain that it's not as good as they expected - watch the bonus features (that are in SD 480p). After watching a few of these SD scenes, I was even more in awe of how the film looked in BD and it really made me appreciate how great it looks.

I've only had my blu-rays for a little less than a YEAR and already I forget how terrible regular DVD's and TV look. I remember the first time I bought a BD and watched it. My jaw was on the floor. And I think (for most BD's, such as these) that that's how it should ALWAYS be. But I guess I'm just so used to expecting greatness that I don't appreciate it as much as I should.

Anyone else come across this feeling / realization?
I almost feel guilty for not sh*tting my pants in amazement at how good Toy Story looked because I'm so used to BD nowadays. Makes me kinda sad almost that I think I'm losing my appreciation for something so awesome.

[P@t_Mtl]

We always get use to things, it's human nature, it's a bit sad yes I will give you that.

[DNinja]

I'm so used to HD that I barely notice anymore, but every time a friend comes over and sees whatever I'm watching they are always amazed. Watching a non-HD channel always reminds me of how bad SD looked though.

[wilky61]

I live in a fraternity house, and I'm the only one out of the 30 of us to own a BR player. Most of my friends still think BR is a scam ("Does it really make that much of a difference?"), so I sense that BR has particularly not caught on among younger consumers who might be strapped for cash. I tell my friends unequivocally to go out and blind-buy a BR player, though, assuming they have a decent enough TV for it.

(Or I just tell them to pick a movie out of my collection to watch with me.)

[Freezeup]

When I first got into blu-ray, I'll admit, while awesome looking, I wasnt amazed. However, when I purchased a 240hz LED TV and that mixed with a blu-ray player....every movie I watch on that now my jaw drops. I feel like I'm watching all these movies for the first time.

[wilky61]

I must also admit, and maybe this reflects kinda poorly on me, that I have become a fan of Pixar (etc.) movies since the advent of Blu-Ray.

[Fighter]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Sadly, I must admit, that I have started to not notice how exceptional some films look on blu-ray. I just realized it today while watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Let me explain...

While watching the films I said, "wow, these look PHENOMENAL!" and I obviously still feel that way (10/10 for PQ for both from me, easily). But, for anyone who may complain that it's not as good as they expected - watch the bonus features (that are in SD 480p). After watching a few of these SD scenes, I was even more in awe of how the film looked in BD and it really made me appreciate how great it looks.

I've only had my blu-rays for a little less than a YEAR and already I forget how terrible regular DVD's and TV look. I remember the first time I bought a BD and watched it. My jaw was on the floor. And I think (for most BD's, such as these) that that's how it should ALWAYS be. But I guess I'm just so used to expecting greatness that I don't appreciate it as much as I should.

Anyone else come across this feeling / realization?
I almost feel guilty for not sh*tting my pants in amazement at how good Toy Story looked because I'm so used to BD nowadays. Makes me kinda sad almost that I think I'm losing my appreciation for something so awesome.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by wilky61

I sense that BR has particularly not caught on among younger consumers who might be strapped for cash.

I was pretty heavy into DVDs when I was in college (1997) and I was REALLY an early adopter........ and everyone I knew thought 2 things....

1) DVD was a HUGE improvement (and not rewinding was awesome!)

2) I was out of my mind spending that much money on that many movies......

It was tough to find places that sold DVDs, and I went to the University of Cincinnati, so it wasn't like I was in a little city/town......

Obviously point #1 isn't as much of a factor for people since the jump from DVD to Blu-ray is usually nowhere near as noticeable as the leap from VHS to DVD (If the DVD was TERRIBLE, and the Blu-ray was reference quality, then 'maybe' )

But when it comes to point #2..... this is more than likely what your fraternity brothers are more concerned with ...... the money involved..... Blu-rays are CHEAP compared to DVDs when I was buying them back then..... but at the same time, my allotment for beer, cigs, and weed was pretty hefty, so buying up DVDs was all-the-much harder......

Originally Posted by wilky61

I must also admit, and maybe this reflects kinda poorly on me, that I have become a fan of Pixar (etc.) movies since the advent of Blu-Ray.

Yeah.... I look back at my 1,200 or so DVDs, and notice that I have VERY few "Family" films..... I had Willy Wonka, The Red Balloon, E.T., Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, etc..... but the total % was VERY small..... I look at my Blu-ray collection, and I buy every Disney/Pixar release (animated that is) released...... I do appreciate the subtle humor in terms of references to adult oriented material that is in the Pixar stuff though...... but I have a 2 year old now.... so I have an excuse to buy these (I think any collection needs the "classic" Disney stuff like Snow White/Sleeping Beauty/Dumbo/Pinocchio/Jungle Book/Etc though)

[dcowboy7]

But already now 3D blu makes 2D blu look not so good anymore.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by dcowboy7

But already now 3D blu makes 2D blu look not so good anymore.

People keep saying this, and I watched a demo of it at a local A/V store, and didn't care for it..... things not in the focal point looked like they lost resolution.

[wilky61]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

But when it comes to point #2..... this is more than likely what your fraternity brothers are more concerned with ...... the money involved..... Blu-rays are CHEAP compared to DVDs when I was buying them back then..... but at the same time, my allotment for beer, cigs, and weed was pretty hefty, so buying up DVDs was all-the-much harder.....

I try to iterate to them, though, that my BR collection has cost me an estimated $13-14 per title. And most of my BR purchases have been further subsidized by re-selling my old DVD copy on Amazon Marketplace.

One thing I notice in particular about the BR market (that I'd never noticed in the DVD market) is that BR prices seem to be volatile on almost a daily basis. So I check often and make sure I get a good deal.

I guess that just makes me a "smart consumer," but I really don't think it's that difficult to have money left over for miscellaneous distractions. I try to combat misconceptions about BR to my peers.

Also, I'm not particularly convinced in the "VHS>DVD was a bigger upgrade than DVD>BR" argument because of the role that HDTVs play in enhancing image quality. I guess you can argue that they're two separate advances in technology and that a person can always watch a DVD on an HDTV and receive definite benefits... but all I'm saying is that six months ago I would've watched Up on DVD on a 21-inch CRT-style television set, and now I'm watching it on BR on a 32-inch HDTV. Big difference for me. I am convinced regularly that some of my BRs (details, textures, etc.) must look better on my TV than they did in theaters... and I don't even have that high-end of a setup!

[MTRodaba2468]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Sadly, I must admit, that I have started to not notice how exceptional some films look on blu-ray. I just realized it today while watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Let me explain...

While watching the films I said, "wow, these look PHENOMENAL!" and I obviously still feel that way (10/10 for PQ for both from me, easily). But, for anyone who may complain that it's not as good as they expected - watch the bonus features (that are in SD 480p). After watching a few of these SD scenes, I was even more in awe of how the film looked in BD and it really made me appreciate how great it looks.

I've only had my blu-rays for a little less than a YEAR and already I forget how terrible regular DVD's and TV look. I remember the first time I bought a BD and watched it. My jaw was on the floor. And I think (for most BD's, such as these) that that's how it should ALWAYS be. But I guess I'm just so used to expecting greatness that I don't appreciate it as much as I should.

Anyone else come across this feeling / realization?
I almost feel guilty for not sh*tting my pants in amazement at how good Toy Story looked because I'm so used to BD nowadays. Makes me kinda sad almost that I think I'm losing my appreciation for something so awesome.

I've never really had that issue. I guess it's due to the fact that I still have a large collection of standard DVDs that I still watch frequently, which kinda keeps me on my toes.

I agree, though, that showing someone a comparison between the footage in HD and the same footage in SD is enough to make someone a quick convert...

[DNinja]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I was pretty heavy into DVDs when I was in college (1997) and I was REALLY an early adopter........ and everyone I knew thought 2 things....

1) DVD was a HUGE improvement (and not rewinding was awesome!)

2) I was out of my mind spending that much money on that many movies......

I was an early adopter too and a lot of people didn't understand why I wanted to pay $20-$30 for a movie I could get on VHS for less. I think I must have brought my DVD player over to 5 or 6 different friends just to show them what they were missing. I converted a lot people pretty fast!

[Batman1980]

VHS was a necessary step though. Heck, "back when I was a boy", I could remember when you pretty much had to watch what was on TV or in theatres or nothing at all. I mentioned that to my niece, doubt she got the significance of what I said, though.

[DNinja]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1980

VHS was a necessary step though. Heck, "back when I was a boy", I could remember when you pretty much had to watch what was on TV or in theatres or nothing at all. I mentioned that to my niece, doubt she got the significance of what I said, though.

I still remember when my parents bought their first VCR back in 1982. We loved that thing back then and the video store became like a second home

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by DNinja

I still remember when my parents bought their first VCR back in 1982. We loved that thing back then and the video store became like a second home

Got a Betamax sometime in 79, image being able to taped your TV show and watch it later on instead of when it was actualy playing, paradise

[Stinky-Dinkins]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

Sadly, I must admit, that I have started to not notice how exceptional some films look on blu-ray. I just realized it today while watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Let me explain...

While watching the films I said, "wow, these look PHENOMENAL!" and I obviously still feel that way (10/10 for PQ for both from me, easily). But, for anyone who may complain that it's not as good as they expected -

I didn't even realize people were complaining about these two.

I can't imagine why, they look pretty much perfect.

[Fighter]

Originally Posted by dcowboy7

But already now 3D blu makes 2D blu look not so good anymore.

Nah, disagree on that one.

[item9]

Originally Posted by Freezeup

When I first got into blu-ray, I'll admit, while awesome looking, I wasnt amazed. However, when I purchased a 240hz LED TV and that mixed with a blu-ray player....every movie I watch on that now my jaw drops. I feel like I'm watching all these movies for the first time.

I whole-heartedly agree with this statement. I had a 40" 1080i Samsung LCD for a bit. And although Blu Rays did look better on the TV, once I got my Samsung LED those same movies that I was watching looked ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Almost as if I was there in person watching everything unfold.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

While watching the films I said, "wow, these look PHENOMENAL!" and I obviously still feel that way (10/10 for PQ for both from me, easily). But, for anyone who may complain that it's not as good as they expected - watch the bonus features (that are in SD 480p). After watching a few of these SD scenes, I was even more in awe of how the film looked in BD and it really made me appreciate how great it looks.

I'd been on a string of old DVD movies off the shelf and streaming Netflix for the last month or so--
Until my slow Netflix queue finally started catching up with a string of delayed New Releases, and sent me the Blu for some recent hit I hadn't even bothered to work up enough interest to see in the theaters in the first place.

...The thing looked just darn beautiful.
Once in a while, you DO forget what BD color looks like, once you start taking your permanent shelf for granted.