BluRay worth it!!!!

[stevieb]

I have been thinking of upgrading to Blu Ray for a while. As it is the last piece of tech that is missing from my home cinema. But Just because it it the last piece of kit to get does not always mean that it is worth it.

I am using thee online media providers (Love film/Netflix etc) more and more.The online quality from these providers is no where near as good as a DVD. But i have a long list of films to buy, but am holding back as i do not want to buy them on DVD when i am considering a BluRay player.

I am not to worried about the addition fwe pounds for a Blu Ray v DVD, as there are plenty of deals on Ebay or Blockbuster for used BluRays.

The player I have been considering is the Sony S370. They can be had for £120 from amazon, but i am also looking at how the whole 3d thing pans out.

Anyone any thoughts on it.

[Torquey]

Nothing much to add other than I use blurays over DVD. Because I can. Wouldn't say it makes it a better experience though.

Also spotted this the other day http://www.reghardware.com/2010/11/25/bluray_disc_...

[Fatman2]

I think it depends. I have a blu-ray player on my laptop that I can connect to my LCD and rate it very highly. The level of improvement over DVD varies depending on the film but generally I think it is like night/day. On films like Avatar, blu-ray is superb with noticably more vibrant colours and a crisper, higher resolution picture. I guess it's the same sort of difference between regular and HD TV.

Whether you're into it will be similar IMHO to buying high end hi-fi so for many DVD will suffice as it's good enough.

As for buying a player, I personally wouldn't as I'm not into ditching stuff just because of something newer/faster/better. If my current DVD player broke then I'd go for blu-ray but I'm not going to bother until that happens or they stop renting DVDs

[stevieb]

Sound similar to the Sky v SkyHD demos that are being done. It just looks like the normal sky stream has been downgraded for the comparison.

Just at a bit of a cross roads, as i dont really want to buy and more new DVDs. But i will not be upgrading my DVD library to Blu Ray just switching to buying BluRays from now on.

[OldSkoolRS]

There's a few swings and roundabouts I reckon, for some anyway:

If you rent online as I do, then there is no extra cost involved in choosing BluRay. However, if you watch on a small TV or sit quite a long way back (say 12' from a 40" as in my living room), then the difference may be hard to spot. Also, if you have an older TV that doesn't accept 24p input then you'll have to use 1080/60i which means there will be a 'pull down' judder which may be more annoying than the lower resolution of DVD.

However, if you're used to seeing DVDs connected via a composite scart connection, even changing over to RGB would give a useful improvement in picture quality. Same for changing to HDMI, so this could be a side benefit to using a BluRay player, even if you still watch a lot of DVDs.

Finally if you have a larger screen, sit closer or have a projector as I do, then it's much more obvious what BluRay brings to the party. I've got a reasonable setup with an external video processor for upscaling, so DVDs can look pretty good even on a 10' wide screen, but the moment I put on a BluRay it jumps to another level.

FWIW I'm using the older BDP-S350 and I'm still currently unconvienced that a more expensive BluRay player will look any better for 1080/24p content...planing a home demo of the Arcam just to see if I'm right.

[Silver Smudger]

Torquey said:

Nothing much to add other than I use blurays over DVD. Because I can. Wouldn't say it makes it a better experience though.

Also spotted this the other day http://www.reghardware.com/2010/11/25/bluray_disc_...

Which were using a 40" screen - Wonder how close they were sitting?

[pb1695]

I use the PS3 as it offer great picture quality and is easy to use.

[Road2Ruin]

StevenJJ said:

I was worried the DVD up-scaling would be a bit naff but it's actually very convincing (to my eyes anyway). Professionals and AVForums types may beg to differ? I don't know.

Your HD TV already does this and it all depends on the UPscalling engine, some are better than others.

OP, with regards to Bluray or not my opinion is that it is the future whether we want it or not. Soon you wont be able to buy DVD players.

[stevieb]

pb1695 said:

I use the PS3 as it offer great picture quality and is easy to use.

But it is loud when playing back BluRays. If i go for anything it will be standalone Blu Ray player and not a Ps3.

I already have a 1080P projector with a 96" screen.

I may bite the bullet and just get one to finish off the system for now. But i dont want to buy them until the everything has settled down with regards to 3d/2d.

[StevieBee]

Have just popped my BluRay cherry and wouldn’t go back – highly recommended.

The enhanced quality draws you in far more than DVD. I purchased the Planet Earth box set on Friday and spent most of yesterday with my 11 year old son watching them – not something he’d normally be interested in but the quality is genuinely mesmerising!

As for 3D…

Having recently invested a bit in a new set up, I did look at this and concluded it to be a fad, nowhere near worth the premium and unlikely to be so for a long while yet.

I have a good friend who is currently putting the final touches to a new (animated) TV series that he has written. His view from the other side of the fence is that it is not likely to become mainstream for a good while yet – if at all. The only entertainment sector that is enthused about it is – quite genuinely – the porn industry.

For 3D to work at its best, the film has to be shot with a 3D camera. This is very, very expensive so few are. Most films offered as 3D are shot 2D then rendered to replicate 3D so you end up simply looking at what is effectively, different layers of the same thing.

[Fatman2]

^^ from my (relatively short) experience with 3D TV I'd tend to agree.

I was hoping for a cinema-esque experience but was disapointed due to the lack of projection.

[stevieb]

Fatman2 said:

^^ from my (relatively short) experience with 3D TV I'd tend to agree.

I was hoping for a cinema-esque experience but was disapointed due to the lack of projection.

Having watched a few 3d movies at the cinema it does work for some films, but it can be a distraction for others.

At home i have already ruled out 3d for the next 3 years as i just purchased a HD Projector

[eybic]

stevieb said:

pb1695 said:

I use the PS3 as it offer great picture quality and is easy to use.

But it is loud when playing back BluRays. If i go for anything it will be standalone Blu Ray player and not a Ps3


Really? I don't notice any increase in console volume when playing a blu ray through it

Edited by eybic on Monday 29th November 13:33

[Legend83]

Don't know if this is of interest, but this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=11...

is a ranking of best Bluray films by picture quality as surveyed by AVS Forum bods. So, yes, it is not a technical study but it gives you an idea of the films to look prioritise.

[stevieb]

Legend83 said:

Don't know if this is of interest, but this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=11...

is a ranking of best Bluray films by picture quality as surveyed by AVS Forum bods. So, yes, it is not a technical study but it gives you an idea of the films to look prioritise.

Thanks i have been reading through the forums there. Quality seems to be dependent on the film house and cash avalible.

[RedLeicester]

stevieb said:

Thanks i have been reading through the forums there. Quality seems to be dependent on the film house and cash avalible.

Same game that's been played forever and a day - just like the seriously dodgy series of DVDs which came out a decade ago which were little more than VHS transfers to the new media. There are absolutely stunning blu-rays out there of new films, and crap ones of new films - 300 being a classic example of the latter. Then you have the digitally remastered ones like Zulu or Dr No which are mindblowingly good, despite being ancient.

Only after you ensure the quality of the source is good do you then look to the player and the screen.... and if they're not up to snuff, then you're stuffed either way!

[rhinochopig]

Definitely worth it. Surprisingly, it was the sound quality that really impressed me. It's a quantum leap over DVD.

I've bought a couple of BDs versions of DVDs - I have Alien / Aliens for example - and I won't be replacing them all, but it is a much better viewing listening and watching experience.

[swiftpete]

If you're already running a 1080p projector, you're insane to not already have bluray. Or a media streamer that plays downloaded bluray images, which is what I have. Either way, with a projector, yes it's definitely worth it. I have one and there is a big difference in quality at 100 inches.

[Fatman2]

stevieb said:

Fatman2 said:

^^ from my (relatively short) experience with 3D TV I'd tend to agree.

I was hoping for a cinema-esque experience but was disapointed due to the lack of projection.

Having watched a few 3d movies at the cinema it does work for some films, but it can be a distraction for others.

At home i have already ruled out 3d for the next 3 years as i just purchased a HD Projector

I think that's a fair move. 3D TV won't be a truly viable medium for a while yet IMHO and in most cases HD is perfectly adequate.

To be fair Avatar was superb in 3D but for most other films I doubt the 3D effect is worth it. Can't imagine it's worth donning the 3D specs for Sex and the City LOL

[RedLeicester]

Fatman2 said:

To be fair Avatar was superb in 3D but for most other films I doubt the 3D effect is worth it. Can't imagine it's worth donning the 3D specs for Sex and the City LOL

Same issue as above - Avatar was ace in 3d because it was filmed in 3d. The likes of Clash of the Titans were transferred into 3d in post production, so aren't "true" 3d... So all 3d films, like all Blu-ray films in general are not created equal.