Blu-ray or Standard Def?

[fogenthedemon]

I'm at a loss here. I have read several reviews on different websites that are generally in agreement over the picture quality of certain Blu Ray titles. Lets just use "3:10 to Yuma" as an example. I've checked several reviews and they all seem to rate the picture quality on it between 4 and 41/2 out of 5. I head over to Amazon.com to read some consumer reviews and after flipping through page upon page of reviews of the SD edition I come across one or two reviews for the Blu Disc. These reviews claim that there is virtually no difference between the Blu Disc and an up-converted SD edition. Who's right here? I've been doing this for hours and I'm making no progress, is there a definitive Blu Ray review site out there? Are the nay sayers at Amazon the same type who decried DVD back in the day? A little help would be greatly appreciated as I'd rather not rent a Blu Disc and SD edition of every film I want to buy to make a comparison.

[The Lion King]

The best reviews you'll ever find for Blu-rays, in my opinion, are the reviews on this site.

I'm sick and tired of people saying a DVD can actually have better PQ than a Blu-ray. Sorry, but unless someone accidentally through the source master of the film off a cliff then transferred it to a Blu-ray, a DVD, having a sixth of Blu-rays storage capacity, can not possibly look better than a High Definition BD.

If they mean there's no point in buying the BD because the DVD has good enough quality and the BD would be unnecessary, then that's certainly understandable.

[ThePhantomOak]

Originally Posted by fogenthedemon

I'm at a loss here. I have read several reviews on different websites that are generally in agreement over the picture quality of certain Blu Ray titles. Lets just use "3:10 to Yuma" as an example. I've checked several reviews and they all seem to rate the picture quality on it between 4 and 41/2 out of 5. I head over to Amazon.com to read some consumer reviews and after flipping through page upon page of reviews of the SD edition I come across one or two reviews for the Blu Disc. These reviews claim that there is virtually no difference between the Blu Disc and an up-converted SD edition. Who's right here? I've been doing this for hours and I'm making no progress, is there a definitive Blu Ray review site out there? Are the nay sayers at Amazon the same type who decried DVD back in the day? A little help would be greatly appreciated as I'd rather not rent a Blu Disc and SD edition of every film I want to buy to make a comparison.

I think your question is; will YOU see the diference.

Maybe you will not. There are several factors involved. (ie my dad is mostly deaf, so audio on VHS and Blu-ray is about the same for him.)

No matter how good the DVD upscaler, it will never be as good as the worst Blu-ray player. Same idea that the best VHS player cant hold a candle to the worst DVD player. HOWEVER!

There are small things that make a huge change in how you see your movies. an Upscaled DVD looks GREAT if you are used to DVD or SD TV. This could fool you into thinking Blu is not that great when you see it a couple days later. One blew you away, and then a few days later, it jump is not great enough...

OR, the TV is of poor quality. My 32" 720p Vizio was and is garbage. HDTV, Upscaled DVD and Blu all looked about the same on it. BUT Upscaled DVD vs Blu on even a $1000 1080p 40+ inch and there is no contest at all.

MAYBE sound is an issue. A crappy 5.1 system will make DVD and Blu sound 100% the same. But, upgrade to even a so-so 5.1 system and you can start to hear the change if it is tuned fairly well.

MAYBE (and this is one of my problems) you cant see. 1080p and 720p look the same to me up to about 47 inches. 720p and upscaled DVD look the same to me. It is a tough life when you get older and dont want to wear goggles.




Bottom line, what are you looking for? My setup is as cheep as someone can get. Everything is either bottom-of-the-line or hand-me-down. I STILL buy Blu, because the day I buy that nice TV and sound system, it WILL change how I watch them, so why waste money on DVDs? Personally, the quality is not such a big step until you get the ability to use it.


Hope that helps.

[ThePhantomOak]

Originally Posted by The Lion King

If they mean there's no point in buying the BD because the DVD has good enough quality and the BD would be unnecessary, then that's certainly understandable.

I know a couple people who STILL try to loan me VHS tapes because they are SURE I cant own a DVD player. They are just to new a machine for someone like me to own.

For those people, Blu-ray and DVD would look and sound the same. AMAZING. Because, simply, they are looking at it from a low quality expectation view.

[Beta Man]

As far as the movie in question goes..... 3:10 to yuma looks STUNNING on Blu-Ray.


House of Flying Daggers for example is a crappy transfer......

this site is good... we'll call a turd, a turd..... do a quick search for the movies in question, and you'll find TONS of praise for certain titles..... and tons of negative feedback for others.... rarely are people in complete disagreement about the quality of a Blu-Transfer.


My Favorites.


2001 (still my reference title)
Rat/Cars, etc... Pixar....
Shining
Clockwork Orange
Remastered Full Metal Jacket
Pan's Labrynth
Blade Runner
Galapagos
Planet Earth
Patton


As you can tell... I'm not just an "action junkie" so I don't think a movie needs to be full of special effects to benefit from Blu-Ray..... I actually think Blu-Ray makes some older films chock-full of special effects look WORSE (because you can tell how fake it is)

[lateralus85]

My worst transferred movie looks just a tad better than the dvd upscaled (dracula)
What I find very interesting, and this is without me being bias; is that all new released dvd movies eg Batman begins upscaled does not look as good as a really good transfer for a old movie, eg Blade Runner on blu ray.
However take this into consideration when you read these people reviews comparing sd to blu ray. That playing a sd movie on your blu ray player *without a hd tv* is close to equal to watching a blu ray movie without a hd tv. The blu ray movie’s colours maybe a little bit more vibrant, but apart from that its like driving a Porsche in a 10 zone.

On a HD TV however, the difference is as clear as vhs to dvd, wav to mp3, or ps2 to ps3. There is a huge difference, and like all the above, the better your set-up is, the clearer it becomes.

[fogenthedemon]

Thanks to all, you guys have been extremely helpful.

[thelaserdisc2000]

I have seen a considerable change in PQ from DVD to BD on my non-hdtv. Me and my brother watched Spiderman 3 (he has the DVD, I have the BD) and he said the BD looked better, even on a SDTV

[xander]

Originally Posted by ThePhantomOak

No matter how good the DVD upscaler, it will never be as good as the worst Blu-ray player. l

This is such a true quote. I bought a Oppo 981-HD when I got my new tv and Blu-ray player to "protect my investment" of my hundred's of dvd's (as I was informed it was a amazing upscaler), and it was a foolish purchase as I have already begun replacing that collection and hardly want to watch upscaled when you just KNOW you could be watching Blu. It's not even close, IMO. I wish I had done more appropriate homework like you are now. Blu for the win!!

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by fogenthedemon

I head over to Amazon.com to read some consumer reviews and after flipping through page upon page of reviews of the SD edition I come across one or two reviews for the Blu Disc. These reviews claim that there is virtually no difference between the Blu Disc and an up-converted SD edition.

No offense, but that was your first mistake. I would not put much faith in a review of SD vs. BD quality from the sheep who post on Amazon. You want informed (for the most part) reviews, then search this site and forums. With a proper set-up, BD will ALWAYS look better than standard (upconverted) DVD's.

And no offense intended to anyone here who posts on Amazon

[Canada]

Blu Ray will always look better than standard def.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Canada

Blu Ray will always look better than standard def.

not necessarily...... a blu-ray will disply VHS quality, if that's what is put on the disc.......

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

not necessarily...... a blu-ray will disply VHS quality, if that's what is put on the disc.......

Point taken.

[Grif32]

Originally Posted by thelaserdisc2000

I have seen a considerable change in PQ from DVD to BD on my non-hdtv. Me and my brother watched Spiderman 3 (he has the DVD, I have the BD) and he said the BD looked better, even on a SDTV

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Grif32

don't be confused..... read the exchange of actual information amongst users who posted replies... and you'll see that it's as clear as crystal pepsi

[fogenthedemon]

Thanks for all the help, and now for a second question. I'm getting a 80 GB PS3 next week. Am I going to be able to plug it in and play Blu Ray or do I need to download and update a bunch of crap first? If the latter is the case could someone please give the specifics of the various processes as I am more or less a high tech retard.

[xander]

Originally Posted by fogenthedemon

Thanks for all the help, and now for a second question. I'm getting a 80 GB PS3 next week. Am I going to be able to plug it in and play Blu Ray or do I need to download and update a bunch of crap first? If the latter is the case could someone please give the specifics of the various processes as I am more or less a high tech retard.

Nope, its a plug in and play machine. You should have no problem. Although if you are wanting the best quality picture to take advantage of it, you are going to want the HDMI cable instead of the cables that come with it. And if you are into convenience, I recommend the PS3 Blu-ray remote for it, which is easier than using the controller all the time.

[WickyWoo]

Man I miss crystal pepsi....

[jw]

I always thought crystal pepsi was better, but wicky we are derailing the thread? Somebodys gone to complain

I always like the soda when it was in glass, I thought it tasted better, Just me?

[WickyWoo]

Damnit, it made me thirsty is all