Is it worth it for me to go Blu-Ray yet?

[tkusterb]

Hi. I'm new.
My television is a 34-inch widescreen direct-view Sony XBR960 with HDMI input. Max resolution it will display is 1080i. My current DVD player already "upconverts" standard DVDs to 720i or 1080i. Would it be worth it to go Blu-Ray at this time? Will I see a big difference with BR discs at 1080i? Should I wait until I can afford a 1080p TV?

Standard discs already look very good, but I'm a gadget freak and would love to push the picture quality even higher!

(That Sony BDP-S1 is coming down in price and is mighty appealing!)

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks!
Tom

[john_1958]

Originally Posted by tkusterb

Hi. I'm new.
My television is a 34-inch widescreen direct-view Sony XBR960 with HDMI input. Max resolution it will display is 1080i. My current DVD player already "upconverts" standard DVDs to 720i or 1080i. Would it be worth it to go Blu-Ray at this time? Will I see a big difference with BR discs at 1080i? Should I wait until I can afford a 1080p TV?

Standard discs already look very good, but I'm a gadget freak and would love to push the picture quality even higher!

(That Sony BDP-S1 is coming down in price and is mighty appealing!)

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks!
Tom

yes it is time to go blu-ray because no matter how well you upconvert it will always be 480i dvd

[Iceman_II]

My 60" sony takes a 1080i signal, but the native resolution is only 760 or somesuch... even still the difference between DVD and BD can be jaw dropping - on The Searchers for instance.

[theknub]

Originally Posted by tkusterb

Hi. I'm new.
My television is a 34-inch widescreen direct-view Sony XBR960 with HDMI input. Max resolution it will display is 1080i. My current DVD player already "upconverts" standard DVDs to 720i or 1080i. Would it be worth it to go Blu-Ray at this time? Will I see a big difference with BR discs at 1080i? Should I wait until I can afford a 1080p TV?

Standard discs already look very good, but I'm a gadget freak and would love to push the picture quality even higher!

(That Sony BDP-S1 is coming down in price and is mighty appealing!)

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks!
Tom

fantastic t.v. by the way. i used to have it till the yoke and tube crapped out. jtk has it and loves it as well. that being said, when i did own it still i had the samsung bdp-1000 hooked up. all i had to say was wow. yes, dvd's looked great but there was an extraordinarily huge difference watching native 1080p content. that being said, i'd personally go for the ps3. better velue imho even though it doesn't upconvert standard dvd's yet (supposed to be a sooner than later type thing). however, there is no going wrong with the sony player.

[meyerste]

Originally Posted by tkusterb

Hi. I'm new.
My television is a 34-inch widescreen direct-view Sony XBR960 with HDMI input. Max resolution it will display is 1080i. My current DVD player already "upconverts" standard DVDs to 720i or 1080i. Would it be worth it to go Blu-Ray at this time? Will I see a big difference with BR discs at 1080i? Should I wait until I can afford a 1080p TV?

Standard discs already look very good, but I'm a gadget freak and would love to push the picture quality even higher!

(That Sony BDP-S1 is coming down in price and is mighty appealing!)

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks!
Tom

I have the Sony BDP-S1 and it's awesome. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Buy a Blu-ray movie that you have already on standard DVD and compare. I bet the first thing you will say is WOW I can't believe how much better the picture quality really is. Plus you'll say why did I wait so long?

Good Luck!

-------------------------------------------
Sony-KDS-R60XBR2- 60" Full HD 1080p
Sony-BDP-S1
Blu-ray Collection-131
Pioneer-VSX-516-K - A/V Receiver
Yamaha - Speakers
Acoustic Research 6' HDMI Digital A/V Cable

[LeoneFan]

XBR960 owner here! Blu-ray makes a huge difference even at 34". Try and you'll be hooked. It looks absolutely gorgeous.

[Best of Both Worlds]

Yes, it's certainly worth buying Blu-ray now, but it may well be worth a short wait for a second generation player. (Of course this depends on what territory you are in. If you're in the UK like me, we're still waiting for the first-generation machine from Sony, aside from the PS3, of course.)

[tkusterb]

I've seen demos and they look fantastic. I just don't want to be disappointed that my 1080i Blu-ray image isn't all that much more beautiful than an upscaled standard DVD.

Also, I found a Panasonic DMP-BD10 new in box for $999. Even more tempting!

[Iceman_II]

Originally Posted by tkusterb

I've seen demos and they look fantastic. I just don't want to be disappointed that my 1080i Blu-ray image isn't all that much more beautiful than an upscaled standard DVD.

Also, I found a Panasonic DMP-BD10 new in box for $999. Even more tempting!

It all depends on the Movie:

House of flying daggers, disappointing
Kingdom of Heaven - Awsome

There is another thread around here talking about upscaling, Here is the my post from that thread:

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

Upscaling...

Many look at upscaling as the holy grail, take a sows ear, and turn it into a silk purse. But come on guys, while it may look a bit better than straight up dvd, to imply that anything upscales DVDs to HD quality is hogwash. If the data to render the pixels isn't there, the data isn't there, and while a computer may be able to interpret the existing pixels to make a reasonable approximation of what the additional "intermediate" pixels SHOULD be, to say that a computer will "upscale perfectly" is darned misleading.

Upscaling can breathe a bit of life into your existing DVD collection, but don't fool yourself into thinking that it makes DVDs true "High Definition" - if its too good to be true, it probably isn't

If you were to compare upscaling to true HD and make it analogous to presidential mistresses, upscaling would be like Monica Lewinski, HD would be like Marilyn Monroe... yes, they both kinda serve the same purpose, but one just looks so much better than the other while doing it.

[theknub]

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

..snip..

If you were to compare upscaling to true HD and make it analogous to presidential mistresses, upscaling would be like Monica Lewinski, HD would be like Marilyn Monroe... yes, they both kinda serve the same purpose, but one just looks so much better than the other while doing it.

HAHAHAHAHA!

awesome analogy

[jubaiweaponx]

Now isn`t a bad time to go BD but waiting on a 2nd gen player wouldn`t be a bad idea (bearing that it may have enhanced connectivity ) compared to now and also it will most definitely be cheaper or toy could scoop up a player cheap on ebay or amazon,depends ,for you if your a gadget guy wait for the newer ones

[jubaiweaponx]

that analogy was just too much ,so should all decisions be made with such ease ....HAHAHAH OMG HAHA.

[jorg]

Originally Posted by tkusterb

Hi. I'm new.
My television is a 34-inch widescreen direct-view Sony XBR960 with HDMI input. Max resolution it will display is 1080i. My current DVD player already "upconverts" standard DVDs to 720i or 1080i. Would it be worth it to go Blu-Ray at this time? Will I see a big difference with BR discs at 1080i? Should I wait until I can afford a 1080p TV?

Standard discs already look very good, but I'm a gadget freak and would love to push the picture quality even higher!

(That Sony BDP-S1 is coming down in price and is mighty appealing!)

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks!
Tom

i would wait to get a profile 2 player

[tkusterb]

Originally Posted by jorg

i would wait to get a profile 2 player

I hate feeling stupid in these forums, but what is a profile 2 player?

[Iceman_II]

I think he means a second generation player..

Your low cost alternative is STILL the PS3

AND you can use it to play Heavenly Sward when it comes out... I was just reading through the thread on it, and looking at the links to new screen shots... finally, a killer app in addition to being a top shelf BD player

[theknub]

the ps3 should/will be the low cost feature enabled alternative for a while still IMO. given its capabilities, pick it up and use it until gen3 players come out or a gen2 at a reasonable price. the plus side is you have the ability to game on it.

[TauRus]

One more resounding "Yes". At this point I also suggest PS3 - great value, great quality. I certainly recommend adding a BD remote for BR playback.

[tkusterb]

I am not a gamer at all, and I like the idea of a console-styled player. My local Ultimate Electronics has the formerly $1299 Panasonic BD10 on sale for $999 and the tax refund WAS more than I thought it would be... hmm...

[Jim]

Originally Posted by tkusterb

Hi. I'm new.
My television is a 34-inch widescreen direct-view Sony XBR960 with HDMI input. Max resolution it will display is 1080i. My current DVD player already "upconverts" standard DVDs to 720i or 1080i. Would it be worth it to go Blu-Ray at this time? Will I see a big difference with BR discs at 1080i? Should I wait until I can afford a 1080p TV?

Standard discs already look very good, but I'm a gadget freak and would love to push the picture quality even higher!

(That Sony BDP-S1 is coming down in price and is mighty appealing!)

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks!
Tom

To quote a movie called "Friends & Family", 'Honey... If you have to ask....."

[jorg]

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

I think he means a second generation player..

Your low cost alternative is STILL the PS3

AND you can use it to play Heavenly Sward when it comes out... I was just reading through the thread on it, and looking at the links to new screen shots... finally, a killer app in addition to being a top shelf BD player

no i mean a profile 2 player

The BD-ROM specification defines four profiles of Blu-ray players. All video-based profiles are required to have a full implementation of BD-J.

profile 1.0

This is the basic profile that all current Blu-ray players (as of April 2007) are based on. Players based on this profile are only required to have 64 KB of application data area storage, which is typically used for bookmarks and other preference storage.[citation needed] Most players have more than the minimum required 64KB.[citation needed] After October 31, 2007 this profile will be superseded by profile 1.1 as the new minimum profile.

profile 1.1 (mandatory October 31 2007)

What is typically referred to as "Profile 1.1" (but is more formally known as "Final Standard Profile") adds a secondary video decoder (typically used for picture in picture), secondary audio (typically used for interactive audio and commentary) and capability of supporting a minimum of 256MB of local storage (for storing audio/video and title updates). Compliance with this profile will be mandatory for player models introduced to the market after October 31, 2007[1], but existing products will be unaffected. No players compliant with this profile have been announced or released.

Some profile 1.0 players may be upgradeable via firmware update to profile 1.1 if they have the appropriate hardware. When software authored with interactive features dependent on Profile 1.1 hardware capabilities are played on profile 1.0 players some features may not be available or may offer limited capability (i.e. director commentary may provide only audio rather than audio and video). Profile 1.0 players will still be able to play the main feature of the disc, however.

profile 2.0 (BD-Live)

Profile 2, also known as BD-Live, adds network connectivity to the list of mandatory functions and increases mandatory local storage capability to one GB. No released players have been announced as compatible with this profile. However it has been speculated that the PS3 will be upgradeable to this profile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray