Blu-Ray quality disappointing

[tulegit]

I hate to say it, but the BD movies i have are only slightly better than their DVD counter parts.

I have X3 on both formats and did a head to head comparison and was really really disappointed. $600 for a PS3 and $30 for a BD disc and hardly a noticeable improvement.

When I put MI3 in, my wife commented that "it looks the same". You would think that a BD with 1080p would look amazing, but so far only HDTV over my antenna has been jaw dropping (football especially).

Within 2 weeks, I have a modest collection of BD movies and only one (Crank) is worth showing off. I'm a little embarrassed to show the rest off. I don't own an upscaling DVD player and was never a big fan of upscaling because the source is still 480i but now i'm thinking it would give BD a run for its money.

movies:
Crank
Mission Impossible Collectors set
X3
Talledega Nights
Hous of flying daggers (absolute crap)

btw: I love the PS3 for all the other things it can do like play Hi-Def MPEG4's and Madden 2007 but so far the BD experience has been embarrassing.

[septic death]

Originally Posted by tulegit

I hate to say it, but the BD movies i have are only slightly better than their DVD counter parts.

I have X3 on both formats and did a head to head comparison and was really really disappointed. $600 for a PS3 and $30 for a BD disc and hardly a noticeable improvement.

When I put MI3 in, my wife commented that "it looks the same". You would think that a BD with 1080p would look amazing, but so far only HDTV over my antenna has been jaw dropping (football especially).

Within 2 weeks, I have a modest collection of BD movies and only one (Crank) is worth showing off. I'm a little embarrassed to show the rest off. I don't own an upscaling DVD player and was never a big fan of upscaling because the source is still 480i but now i'm thinking it would give BD a run for its money.

movies:
Crank
Mission Impossible Collectors set
X3
Talledega Nights
Hous of flying daggers (absolute crap)

btw: I love the PS3 for all the other things it can do like play Hi-Def MPEG4's and Madden 2007 but so far the BD experience has been embarrassing.

You need to make sure your settings in the PS3 is 1080p, if not your are seeing 480/DVD!! I had this happen to me when i first got the PS3 and made the change and its a HUGE leap!

[tulegit]

Setting is set to automatic so it detected my 1080P display correctly and my display also shows that it is in 1080p. So all settings are correct.

[u_nick]

My experience so far has been nothing short of amazing. Even Superman 2 looked great, even considering how old the movie was. Defnitely a noticable imporvement over some of my digital cable HD channels.

[kurt vidal]

underworld evolution head to head on my upscale vs PS3 and I have to admit; if there is any difference it is very minimal
Some movies on the other hand, like aeon flux, crank & kingdom of heaven are just immaculate!
Leads me to believe its the movie, not the player.
I would like to see some more input from posters regarding head to head comparisons using upscaling dvd player vs a blu-ray player.

[Iceman_II]

Are you using a good quality HDMI cable? Is it going through a reciever (try hooking it up directly to the TV)

Is your monitor a real, no crap, 1080p monitor, or is it just something less than 1080, and is really only capable of accepting a 1080p signal? If the later, it is down-rezing in the TV, and may well yield sub-optimal results.

My TV says it is 1080i, and while it will take a 1080i input, in reality it is 768, so it takes the 1080i signal and downrezes it... even still, the picture is nothing short of amazing. Maybe you should check to see that your TV is performing as it should.

[JBlacklow]

Originally Posted by tulegit

btw: I love the PS3 for all the other things it can do like play Hi-Def MPEG4's and Madden 2007 but so far the BD experience has been embarrassing.

In both mine and my visitor's personal experience, and every report I've read so far, this isn't the case. I did a direct A-B comparison some time back with "Transporter" from my HD-DVR (HBO, I think) and the BD, and there was a definite improvement. But even the HBO version was much better than the DVD. Maybe your TV needs calibration?

[Ascended_Saiyan]

You also have to check for 20/20 vision. If your eyesight is poor, you won't see much of a difference between anything.

I have the best DVD upscaler under $2000 (Oppo 971 model) and I can clearly tell the difference between the Underworld Blu-ray and DVD (let's not even get started with MI:3).

So, in the end, good vision is the most important thing.

[tulegit]

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

Are you using a good quality HDMI cable? Is it going through a reciever (try hooking it up directly to the TV)

Is your monitor a real, no crap, 1080p monitor, or is it just something less than 1080, and is really only capable of accepting a 1080p signal? If the later, it is down-rezing in the TV, and may well yield sub-optimal results.

My TV says it is 1080i, and while it will take a 1080i input, in reality it is 768, so it takes the 1080i signal and downrezes it... even still, the picture is nothing short of amazing. Maybe you should check to see that your TV is performing as it should.

I have it hooked up directly to my TV, which is a Vizio 47" LCD 1080p. I know for a fact it is not my tv because it kicks ass when watched football and playing games. I've also had a Pioneer 42" plasma, and I can tell you that the Vizio is huge improvement over the pioneer. Everyone who has been to my house has agreed.

I also have a Hi-Def 720p camcorder and picture is amazing. So basically all my hi-def sources are well worth the money except for BD. I know that some BD transfers are better than others, but its pretty sad that a 1080p disc is only a hair better than a 480 disc.

[tulegit]

Originally Posted by Ascended_Saiyan

You also have to check for 20/20 vision. If your eyesight is poor, you won't see much of a difference between anything.


So, in the end, good vision is the most important thing.

My wife just had Lasik surgery a year ago and her eye sight is 20/15 and she agrees. Plus you dont need 20/20 vision to apreciate a picture if you are 7 feet away.

also, you ever heard of eye glasses?

[blitz6speed]

You remind me of my brother. He also is never impressed with any blu-ray i show him, but put on some HD Video recorded content and hes in love! Film is supposed to look like film, HD Football is shot on HD Video, totally different beast. Its MUCH sharper but less detailed. Most people who arent die hard film fans prefer HD Video. But thats not what these formats are about. If you cannot get passed that, i'd stick to watch HD sports and tv shows instead.

[Davej]

I will say that high def is like being there. I have not seen an HD-DVD, just blu-ray and HDtv. I have normal vison for a 46 year old. I have glasses and need them for reading, can get by with out them, and see everything pretty good. Normal tv, direct tv and dvds glasses do not make a difference. When I star watching the BR, or true HDTV, I put on the glasses I hate, and wow, better start using a better face scrub, I see the actors pores.
1080p
got to love it, I wanted blu ray or hd dvd, (got blu-ray because it was there) then had to get a new tv to support it.
I have close to 3500 DVDs, I will not buy every blu-ray , but will buy the movies I enjoy.
Hey.....I like to watch movies, what can I say, you guys do too, or you would not be here,.............
Glad I got bluray, would hate to get rid of the HD DVDS like I did my betas,
Dave

[theknub]

tulegit, you still haven't told us what the setting were on the ps3

[tulegit]

Originally Posted by blitz6speed

You remind me of my brother. He also is never impressed with any blu-ray i show him, but put on some HD Video recorded content and hes in love! Film is supposed to look like film, HD Football is shot on HD Video, totally different beast. Its MUCH sharper but less detailed. Most people who arent die hard film fans prefer HD Video. But thats not what these formats are about. If you cannot get passed that, i'd stick to watch HD sports and tv shows instead.

Good points. I do prefer HD broadcast over the movies. But I do think that anything less the Crank is unacceptable (for me at least). And I'm a little pissed that I wasted $30 to buy X3 BD when I could have just stuck with my X3 DVD.

From now on, I will have to really do research to see if it's worth it to "double dip" and buy BD's of movies I already have on DVD.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by tulegit

I have it hooked up directly to my TV, which is a Vizio 47" LCD 1080p. I know for a fact it is not my tv because it kicks ass when watched football and playing games. I've also had a Pioneer 42" plasma, and I can tell you that the Vizio is huge improvement over the pioneer. Everyone who has been to my house has agreed.

I also have a Hi-Def 720p camcorder and picture is amazing. So basically all my hi-def sources are well worth the money except for BD. I know that some BD transfers are better than others, but its pretty sad that a 1080p disc is only a hair better than a 480 disc.

Sorry man but you're talking horsefeathers. If you can't tell the difference between an upconverted DVD and a Blu-ray disc then you're either blind or your set-up is incorrect. There are no two ways about it.

[tulegit]

Originally Posted by theknub

tulegit, you still haven't told us what the setting were on the ps3

Not sure what settings you're asking for, but here are the basics:

PS3:
HDMI-Video output set to automatic (1080P auto selected to match display)
-Audio: optical (bitstream)

Harman Kardon AVR:
No HDMI input
audio-optical (Dolby or DTS-ES)

Vizio 47" LCD
HDMI Input
1080p / 60

[tulegit]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Sorry man but you're talking horsefeathers. If you can't tell the difference between an upconverted DVD and a Blu-ray disc then you're either blind or your set-up is incorrect. There are no two ways about it.

Those are some well thought out comments. Thanks.

by the way, kurt vidal seems to agree with me with Underworld.

[theknub]

Originally Posted by tulegit

Not sure what settings you're asking for, but here are the basics:

PS3:
HDMI-Video output set to automatic (1080P auto selected to match display)
-Audio: optical (bitstream)

Harman Kardon AVR:
No HDMI input
audio-optical (Dolby or DTS-ES)

Vizio 47" LCD
HDMI Input
1080p / 60

i'd try turning off 1080p and leave 1080i on. see if there is a difference. the tv may not be able to take in a native 1080p signal and simply converts the 1080i to 1080p

[PeterTHX]

I have it hooked up directly to my TV, which is a Vizio 47" LCD 1080p. I know for a fact it is not my tv because it kicks ass when watched football and playing games. I've also had a Pioneer 42" plasma, and I can tell you that the Vizio is huge improvement over the pioneer. Everyone who has been to my house has agreed.

Vizio? I think we have the problem right here.

Brightness and contrast are probably set to maximum. Football & games look good because they are somewhat monochromatic (brightly lit single colors).

Vizo at 1080p may look better than the Pioneer, but what was the spec of the Pioneer? Vizio is soft and noisy at proper settings. I've seen a 720p Panasonic kick its butt. One company's 1080p is VASTLY different from another company's 1080p. Needless to say I'm willing to bet you don't see anything resembling a true "black" either.

You really really get what you paid for.

[tulegit]

I don't think you understand. EVERYTHING looks good on my display. So we can eliminate that right now. the only thing thats not impressive is BD movies. Even DVDs look great. Crank on BD looks great. so nothing is wrong with my equipment or setup.

My point is that other movies like X3 and Underworld (as the other poster mention) are very similar in quality to DVD.

And if you do research on Vizio, it has been getting nothing but praise and rewards.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/bes...sons-best.html

Like I said earlier. The pioneer I had was crap. My parents have a 50" Panasonic 720p plasma and the Vizio is way better. Some people are bothered by the name. I tend to keep an opened mind. I have no problem saying the pioneer is crap and Vizio is better. Or that BD is not impressive. I call it like it is.

And you don't always get what you pay for. I paid a pretty penny for the pioneer. I don't have a problem paying for quaility. But if i can get good quality for cheaper, than that's even better.