Blu-ray picture quality - Im confused

[qbngixxer]

Im new to this site and new to blu-ray ... I went to the stores a couple weeks ago to look around, and they had Pirates of the Caribbean 3 playing on blue ray ... and as i was looking at it, it almost looked like it was in 3d. it looked incredible! So I bought a sony kdl46v2500 lcd tv (full 1080p) and a samsung bdp1400 bd player. i've watched a couple of movies on there (into the blue & eight below) and it looks super nice, but it doesnt look like Pirates 3 did in the stores ... is it just certain movies that look that way, or did I not buy the right equipment?

[tiger roach]

Movies definitely make a difference, and Pirates is at or near the top of the heap for PQ. Also the calibration of your set could be an issue...

[stockstar1138]

you probably need to calibrate your tv set. look at avsforum.com for your tv and the ideal calibration for the setting (light room, dark room, etc.) that your tv is in.

is the tv the same tv as what was in the stores. because all 1080p tvs are not made equal, and some give considerably better picture quality than others.

[CptGreedle]

There are a number of things that can be a factor.
For one, are you using an HDMI cable to connect your BD player to your TV?
It could also be the frame rate of the demo. 24p is higher quality than 3:2 pulldown when applicable.
Also, the source (BD itself) can be a different quality than the one you saw in the store. PotC is widely regarded as one of the best Blu-ray transfers, while others are not. Compare the same movie to see if it is your set-up, or the blu-ray itself.

As the others have said, Calibration is also a MAJOR factor. Either have your TV calibrated professionally (I highly recommend this), or use a DVD/Blu-ray calibrator. There are discs that teach you how to calibrate your system and help you do it with different pictures and graphs on the screen to help you find what needs to be changed and how much. Although these work fairly well, a professional calibration is still far better (and more expensive).

[Blue]

I assume you are using a HDMI cable? If so I asssume the TV and Blu-ray player are setup to run at 1080p? Not all movies look the same for many reasons. However an excellent system can be made to look really bad by not being set up correctly.

[actionhank]

Different movies have different picture qualities.

Also TV models and brands have a difference. They might have been using the top of the line XBR4 at the store which is different from what you bought.

[nhaase]

With you saying the in-store display looked 3D, I am very sure the display was running at a 120Hz refresh rate, which Capt. Greedle touched on previously. It allows for the 24fps filming rate to be displayed again, but makes things look more 3D. Your TV probably does not do 120Hz, so there you go.

[qbngixxer]

ok ... well,
-yeah, Im running the HDMI 1.3 cable.
-no, I havent done any calibration (will def. look into doing that first)
-yeah, everything is running and receiving at 1080p
-no, my tv is 60hz not 120 hz ... (but when they had pirates on split screen showing 60zh next to 120hz, yeah there was a little difference but not that much)

I guess I'll have to buy pirates 3 to compare ... does anyone know what are the best movies that show the best pq of the blu-ray technology?

[BoneWSO]

For a live action movie I would say the best PQ would be any of the Pirates movies, and for animation if you want to be amazed watch Cars. Cars is simply stunning and the AQ is perfect as well.

[highdefw]

Most likely your hardware and setup. plus most movies are encoded like that. Disney is very good at it.

[Joe Redifer]

Ug, I hate it when those 120Hz TVs are interpolating (adding) "inbetween" frames. Basically it is adding new frames that were never part of the movie based on the previous and next frame (which will also add a slight delay, obviously). It makes it look more like a newscast or a soap opera (or even like camcorder footage) than a movie due to the differences in motion. Movies are meant to run at 24fps, not more. And when the action gets fast, the 120Hz sets drop frames because they cannot interpolate frames with such big differences in motion fast enough. I wouldn't mind owning a 120Hz set, just as long as that particular awful looking feature was never turned on. I'm all for multiple refreshes of 24fps, just like a real movie theater.

[cam555]

ur tv set doesnt have the motion enhancer like the xbr bravia series. Motion enhancer is that thing that makes the movies seem like 3D.

[sean10mm]

You will also want to turn off any noise reduction and "sharpening" features on your TV. The Blu-ray image is correct off the disc; you don't want your TV mucking things up. Noise reduction tends to over-blur the picture, and sharpening tends to create artifacts and amplify the appearance of grain. Combine the two and it can make things look wierd.

When I had both of these on, the picture looked blurred around the edges AND extra-grainy, a bad combination.

[DealsR4theDevil]

That 3D effect is more of a gimmick than the way your supposed to see the movie. It does get people's attention though!

[qbngixxer]

well, i just traded my tv in for the kdl-46v3000 which has the 24fps (the 2500 did not) and yeah, the movies look a little crisper. i have my tv video set as "VIVID" ... i was looking at the "CUSTOM" feature, but I was wondering if anyone has a preset "custom" setting that looks better than the "vivid" setting that they would like to share with the rest of us.

[Sonny]

Look around some one will have the 'calibrated settings' for this TV.

[JasonR]

I have set my v2500, it should be about the same.

Backlight: set to 5
Sharpness: Min 0 or Off
Color Temp: Set to Warm 1
Color: Set to 46
Brightness: 46
Picture (contrast): 93
Hue: 0


The noise reduction feature should be turned or left on Off position.

Advanced Settings Menu:

Black Corrector: Off
Advanced CE: Off
Gamma: High
Clear White: Off
Live Color: High
Color Space: Wide
MPEG Noise Reduction: Off

This is a good starting point. You can play with it after this to see what looks good to you. The ones I change a little now and then are sharpness and backlight....

[qbngixxer]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I have set my v2500, it should be about the same.

Backlight: set to 5
Sharpness: Min 0 or Off
Color Temp: Set to Warm 1
Color: Set to 46
Brightness: 46
Picture (contrast): 93
Hue: 0


The noise reduction feature should be turned or left on Off position.

Advanced Settings Menu:

Black Corrector: Off
Advanced CE: Off
Gamma: High
Clear White: Off
Live Color: High
Color Space: Wide
MPEG Noise Reduction: Off

This is a good starting point. You can play with it after this to see what looks good to you. The ones I change a little now and then are sharpness and backlight....

SWEET MAN! ... THANKS!!!

[x2white]

I have really struggle to find BD with great picture quality. I have a HDDVD and Blue Ray player both. King Kong is awesome on HD. I want to find a movie that is awesome on Blue Ray.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by x2white

I have really struggle to find BD with great picture quality. I have a HDDVD and Blue Ray player both. King Kong is awesome on HD. I want to find a movie that is awesome on Blue Ray.

CARS

Apocalypto