Upgrading from DVD to Blu-ray. Is it worth it?

[The Great Owl]

Of the 205 Blu-rays in my collection, 196 are upgrades of DVDs that I used to own.

In every single instance, the Blu-ray picture quality has exceeded the DVD picture quality.
Every single instance. Without fail.

Even the Blu-rays in my collection that have scored unfavorable reviews for picture transfer (Near Dark, The Last Starfighter, Clash of the Titans, High Fidelity, Planes, Trains and Automobiles) have turned out to be much better-looking than the DVDs of the same films that I used to own.

[ack_bak]

Originally Posted by Jowiko96

I have 2 setups in my house. First, I have a Harman/Kardon 5.1 surround sound setup and 40' Samsung LED HDTV. The second one is in my gallery.

Money is more of my issue here.

How far are you sitting from your 40" screen? While I agree that Blu-Ray is far superior and worth the extra cost for me, I sit less than 13' from a 125" screen. From 10' away in our family room the benefits of Blu-Ray vs DVD on our 42" plasma are less noticeable.

Your seating distance to the screen is the key. With a 40" screen you need to sit pretty close to really get the full benefit of 1080p.

[kdo]

Originally Posted by Jowiko96

I recently bought a DVD copy of A.I. Artificial Intelligence for brand new and very cheap (like $2 cheap) at Blockbuster closing sale. I had wanted to see it for many years (and I am glad I did as it was fantastic), so I couldn't pass that up. But now, I am trying to decide if its worth upgrading to blu-ray so quickly as I have heard mixed things about the release. Don't get me wrong. I have done this for certain films already (E.T., Jaws, Titanic, etc.). But, with the $14.99 price tag on Amazon (as of 3-11-13), is it truly worth the money or do I just keep my DVD copy.

Have you guys dealt with this before?

Any help will be appreciated.

In my opinion, it all depends on how much you love the movie, how many DVD's you plan to replace, how much you're willing to spend, and whether or not the film is one that received (and really benefits from) a quality HD release. Yes, most of the time the Blu-ray is going to offer a noticeable improvement in video and audio quality, only question is, how many times are you going to watch it? Once a year, once every 2 years, etc.? Obviously, you need to make this decision for yourself, but I have several "more than acceptable as is" titles in my DVD collection that I have no plans on upgrading (unless they were to ever get released on Blu and hit a $5 bin somewhere).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Jowiko96

I have 2 setups in my house. First, I have a Harman/Kardon 5.1 surround sound setup and 40' Samsung LED HDTV. The second one is in my gallery.

Your setup in your gallery looks similar to mine with regard to the size of the size of the television and the distance from the television to the sofa. I have a modest-sized television, because I do not want to make room for a giant screen. Even still, I have made direct Blu-ray vs. DVD comparisons several times with movies that come in combo packs with both formats and such, and I've found that Blu-ray is always the clear winner.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Of the 205 Blu-rays in my collection, 196 are upgrades of DVDs that I used to own.

In every single instance, the Blu-ray picture quality has exceeded the DVD picture quality.
Every single instance. Without fail.

Even the Blu-rays in my collection that have scored unfavorable reviews for picture transfer (Near Dark, The Last Starfighter, Clash of the Titans, High Fidelity, Planes, Trains and Automobiles) have turned out to be much better-looking than the DVDs of the same films that I used to own.

+1.

The only two blu-rays I have which are very similar to the DVD are Inland Empire (which was filmed in SD) and Eyes Wide Shut (badly needs a new remaster).

[Al_The_Strange]

^^^ Additionally, the only other Blu-Rays I don't recommend getting for DVD upgrades are Ong Bak, Ichi the Killer, the first release of Godzilla (the Criterion version is good though), The Killer, 28 Days Later (unless you really have to see those last few shots in HD, but the rest was shot on SD), and certain DNRed ones (like the Predator UHE). Everything else is golden.

[AgentOrange]

I wouldn't pay even $1 for a DVD if there is a blu-ray available. I simply don't "shop" DVD's anymore. Maybe if they made the bargain bins full of $.25 DVD's I would grab some, but mostly only to use as "Upgrade and Save".

Now, not everything is necessarily worth an "upgrade" - if the blu-ray image is poor and I happened to already have the DVD, I might not bother. Even if it's an "upgrade" I can live with the DVD until an actual decent quality transfer comes along. However it sounds like AI has a highly competent blu-ray transfer, so of course it's worth it if you are a fan of the film.

I guess since you've already "wasted" the $2, now you should just hold out and wait for a better price or else it would be like paying $17 for the blu-ray, which is pushing "full-price" territory.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

How far are you sitting from your 40" screen? While I agree that Blu-Ray is far superior and worth the extra cost for me, I sit less than 13' from a 125" screen. From 10' away in our family room the benefits of Blu-Ray vs DVD on our 42" plasma are less noticeable.

Your seating distance to the screen is the key. With a 40" screen you need to sit pretty close to really get the full benefit of 1080p.

It's always been plainly obvious to me even on a 32" (8' viewing distance) screen in my bedroom, let alone the 46" (8-10' viewing distance) in my living room. I'm pretty sure that viewing distance "theory" is a load of nonsense (I'm talking about the scientific looking charts where they tell us exactly at what viewing distance vs. the size of the screen... it's all rubbish to me).

I've even had a few DVD/Blu-ray combo packs where they "tricked" me by putting the DVD on the right side and hid the blu-ray behind the digital copy code on the left. So without even looking I accidentally put the DVD in my player instead of the blu-ray. Essentially I accidentally gave myself a blind taste (or vision?) test to the viewing distance theory. Usually within the first couple of minutes I'm wondering why the quality looks so poor - before it hits me that I'm watching the DVD.

This happened to me on both "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and "The Dictator" where they reversed the normal packaging. Presumably these both came from the exact same film elements and the ONLY difference was the authoring and encoding of the discs. That is assuming "all things being equal". Of course with many catalogue films not all things are equal, and the differences are much more than just the resolution but rather an entirely new scan/remaster or restoration of the original film.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

It's always been plainly obvious to me even on a 32" screen in my bedroom, let alone the 46" in my living room (or if I ever go even bigger than that). I'm pretty sure that viewing distance "theory" is a load of nonsense (I'm talking about the scientific looking charts where they tell us exactly at what viewing distance vs. the size of the screen... it's all rubbish to me).

I've even had a few DVD/Blu-ray combo packs where they "tricked" me by putting the DVD on the right side and hid the blu-ray behind the digital copy code on the left. So without even looking I accidentally put the DVD in my player instead of the blu-ray. Essentially I gave accidentally gave myself a blind taste (or vision? test. Usually within the first couple of minutes I'm wondering why the quality looks so poor - before it hits me that I'm watching the DVD.

This happened to me on both "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and "The Dictator" where they reversed the normal packaging. Presumably these both came from the exact same film elements and the ONLY difference was the authoring and encoding of the discs. That is assuming "all things being equal". Of course with many catalogue films not all things are equal, and the differences are much more than just the resolution but rather an entirely new scan/remaster or restoration of the original film.

Despite what you may think or believe there is a science to it. The human eye with 20/20 vision can only discern so many lines at certain distances.

[prozacnation1978]

I only upgrade DVDs during best buy trade in program
Or if I can find the Blu for 4.99 somewhere
It's always been worth it
Last trade I upgraded my extended lord of rings trilogy
In April for next trade In I want the star wars 6 films in Blu

[ack_bak]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Despite what you may think or believe there is a science to it. The human eye with 20/20 vision can only discern so many lines at certain distances.

Exactly. That is not to say the Blu-Ray release may not look superior even on smaller screens or at longer distances. Some DVD transfers were atrocious. I am more forgiving on my smaller screen, but on a larger screen the difference is much less forgiving. Not knowing the OP's financial situation, I would be more inclined to save the money towards a larger screen

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Despite what you may think or believe there is a science to it. The human eye with 20/20 vision can only discern so many lines at certain distances.

Clearly it's something that CAN be studied in a scientific manner.

I'm just saying that I suspect the "viewing distance" charts that float around the net to be a load of BS, and not actual scientific data. Certainly they seem to be way, way off based on my own anecdotal evidence.

If I had listened to them I would have had all 720p TV's in my house because I "wouldn't be able to tell anyway".

[pab1219]

If you do decide to upgrade check out EBAY.

[cricepng]

I doubt that 99.9% would automatically say 'yes'. There are some of us who actually do take other factors into account other than the default "blu-ray is always better". Is it worth the upgrade on this particular title for this price? No one can really say but that person.

I am slowly upgrading DVDs as funds, availability, and interest allow. There are titles in my collection that will never be upgraded. Usually it is because I am content with the quality for my interest level in the title. (If I only wath the Romancing the Stone once every 4-5 years, I'm not gonna spend anything just to get a slight improvement in piture quality.) There are some titles that I am interested in eventually upgrading but will hold off on because either the blu-ray is too expensive right now (hoping for a re-issue to bring prices down again) or because their are issues with the current blu-ray release and I am waiting for a better quality edition to come out. (I held off for quite some time on Total Recall for this very issue even though I occasionally saw it for under $5 new.)

Should I upgrade my 2002 Civic to a BMW? The BMW will surely yield a better experience and one model got over 60 mpg on an episode of Top Gear so it is even somewhat earth-friendly. But if I am content with my Civic, I'll just drive that around. It gets me where I need to go.

I enjoy movies and enjoy blu-rays more than anyone that I know, but I believe that it is reasonable to question the need to upgrade individual DVDs to blu-ray.

[Bluyoda]

Originally Posted by Jowiko96

I recently bought a DVD copy of A.I. Artificial Intelligence for brand new and very cheap (like $2 cheap) at Blockbuster closing sale. I had wanted to see it for many years (and I am glad I did as it was fantastic), so I couldn't pass that up. But now, I am trying to decide if its worth upgrading to blu-ray so quickly as I have heard mixed things about the release. Don't get me wrong. I have done this for certain films already (E.T., Jaws, Titanic, etc.). But, with the $14.99 price tag on Amazon (as of 3-11-13), is it truly worth the money or do I just keep my DVD copy.

Have you guys dealt with this before?

Any help will be appreciated.

A.I. looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray, and it's true to source.

Why are people still buying DVDs?

In the end you need to upgrade to BD anyways, if you want more than a fuzzy picture, and mediocre sound.

Save yourself the DVD purchase in the future, and get the BD right away.
It will save you money in the end.

At least sell that nasty DVD again, and take that money and upgrade to the glorious BD. Just my 2 cents.

[benricci]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

In the end you need to upgrade to BD anyways, if you want more than a fuzzy picture, and mediocre sound.

I always find these comments funny.

Now, look. I'm as obsessive about upgrading my DVDs to Blu-ray as the next forum member, but maybe let's turn down the hyperbole a notch, huh? DVDs aren't nearly that bad...

In a pinch, if there's no blu-ray version available, I'll still pop in a DVD every now and again. And guess what, most of them look pretty darn sharp, even on larger screens, and a lot of the 5.1 tracks on DVD are pretty darn impressive, if you can get past codecs/bitrates, etc and just listen to the movie.

Again, blu-ray is way better, I'm not debating that at all. Please don't pull my quotes out of context and paste some immature "troll" meme JPEG.

But when I see people shouting "DVD is crap" from the rooftops, I wonder if they've actually remember what DVD looks like.

/rant

[Dark.Devil.21]

Personally, I have never seen or heard of this movie. But just checked the review from this site. Based on the review and the screenshots, I am going to say yes, it is a good choice to upgrade. As far as the price goes. Amazon tracker shows that this title has gone down in price before i.e. below 10 dollars. I have no doubt that it will go down again. So, the real question is: Are you wiling to wait? If you can answer that question, then you would know what to do.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by benricci

I always find these comments funny.

Now, look. I'm as obsessive about upgrading my DVDs to Blu-ray as the next forum member, but maybe let's turn down the hyperbole a notch, huh? DVDs aren't nearly that bad...

In a pinch, if there's no blu-ray version available, I'll still pop in a DVD every now and again. And guess what, most of them look pretty darn sharp, even on larger screens, and a lot of the 5.1 tracks on DVD are pretty darn impressive, if you can get past codecs/bitrates, etc and just listen to the movie.

Again, blu-ray is way better, I'm not debating that at all. Please don't pull my quotes out of context and paste some immature "troll" meme JPEG.

But when I see people shouting "DVD is crap" from the rooftops, I wonder if they've actually remember what DVD looks like.

/rant

Yeah, they are that bad. I recently watched Robot & Frank (good film) and Sony decided to release it on DVD only. It is macroblocking central. It literally looked like a 480p feed off YouTube complete with compression galore. It looks even worse to me now because I have been watching 1080p from the correct distances for nearly 6 years.

[bobbydrugar]

Here is an Idea. Why don't you use the price tracking tool on this site to set a $ value that you think is worth it to upgrade and wait untill a sale hits and the price drops to a more manageable number that you are comfortable with. In the long run yes it is probably a worth while upgrade but as you stated the $15 price point is clearly not where you are comfortable for this upgrade so I say don't pay it and wait it out for a bit.

As some have said it all depends on how much you really want a film and the quality of the transfer and most reasonable people will also consider at what price point is it a good value.

Just a Thought,
T

[benricci]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yeah, they are that bad. I recently watched Robot & Frank (good film) and Sony decided to release it on DVD only. It is macroblocking central. It literally looked like a 480p feed off YouTube complete with compression galore. It looks even worse to me now because I have been watching 1080p from the correct distances for nearly 6 years.

One example doesn't really render an entire format as awful, though. Do I have DVDs with lousy transfers that don't hold up on larger HDTV sets? Sure, but a lot still look OK when upscaled. Notice I said "OK" and not amazing...

I'm not advocating upscaling vs blu-ray. I'm not saying blu-ray's not worth it. I'm not even really a DVD supporter anymore (probably haven't bought one in 3 or 4 years) - my opinion was just that a lot of the ones I still have aren't nearly as terrible as some of the more zealous forum members want me to believe.

Sometimes I think it's just people trying to justify all the $$$ they spend, by badmouthing a format many of us loved and praised just as much as blu-ray a scant few years ago.

Again, just some personal observations, nothing I really care to debate any further. If you have a different opinion, that's cool.