Blu Ray VS Upscaled HDMI

[dan1981]

How good is bluray?

Is there gonna be a massive noticable difference between a bluray player and a dvd player that upscales fully to HDMI?

They would be playing through a samsung LCD TV that goes up to 1080 (not sure if its p or i)

Cheers

Dan

edited cos i can't speel or tpye

Edited by dan1981 on Sunday 28th December 11:21

[rabw]

On a 1080p screen, yes big difference.

[trooperiziz]

Yes, there will be a big difference.

Luckily BR players are getting cheaper and will also do DVD upscaling. I bought a Sony S350 for my parents for christmas and they are more than happy, cost around £160.

[dan1981]

Hmm just been looking at the spec of the TV - its a Samsung - LE37R8 - and from what i can find it does 1080 - but only does I not P.

Any difference?

Cheers

Dan

[NDA]

Our DVD hasn't been used in months - Sky + being the lazy option.

I wonder if recorded (rather than broadcast) films on disc will eventually phase out?

[buddhabelly]

World of difference between blu-ray and upscaled dvd; you will need decent TV quality and blu-ray compression codec, this will have more of an effect on viewing quality rather than "i/p" discussion.

[dan1981]

buddhabelly said:

World of difference between blu-ray and upscaled dvd; you will need decent TV quality and blu-ray compression codec, this will have more of an effect on viewing quality rather than "i/p" discussion.

Ok - so my Samsung - its a year old LE37R8 - will this be suited for Blu Ray or should I stick to the DVD? (sorry i can't find a link to a full spec for the TV)

[chris watton]

dan1981 said:

Hmm just been looking at the spec of the TV - its a Samsung - LE37R8 - and from what i can find it does 1080 - but only does I not P.

Any difference?

Cheers

Dan

Our TV is the same (resolution-wise, I think - Panasonic Viera)- there is a difference, just watched Narnia - Prince Caspian on B/R, and the picture is sharper and the sound slightly crisper - but not by much, compared to an upscaled DVD. We still buy DVD's simply because there is a DVD player in virtually every room, and if we changed to B/R, they could only be watched on the PS3!

I have a remastered DVD of Spartacus, and on the older Sony DVD player, the picture was very grainy, but on the PS3 (and a new upscaling HDMI DVD player), the picture is nigh on perfect, making it look like it was filmed yesterday!

If you have the 'full on' HD TV, I am sure B/R is well worth it, but on anything less, you may be slightly disappointed, as I was, but I am talking about this from a country where B/R films are €20 more expensive than the €10.00 DVD's.

Edited by chris watton on Sunday 28th December 12:00

[AstonZagato]

On a 60" Pioneer, I can quite clearly see the difference between BD and upscaled DVD. Not night-and-day but the BD has a real "WOW!" factor. On a 40" Samsung, it is noticeable but not so worth it.

[jonnyb]

dan1981 said:

buddhabelly said:

World of difference between blu-ray and upscaled dvd; you will need decent TV quality and blu-ray compression codec, this will have more of an effect on viewing quality rather than "i/p" discussion.

Ok - so my Samsung - its a year old LE37R8 - will this be suited for Blu Ray or should I stick to the DVD? (sorry i can't find a link to a full spec for the TV)

Your TV will play Blu Rays very well. The differance between I (interlaced) and P (Progressive scan) is minor, and you would only be able to tell on full action shots and then only very slightly. Its all to do with how the picture on the screen is updated.

Also, Blu Ray holds alot more info about each picture on the disk. So upscaling DVD is not the same, even with the best upscalers it cannot reproduce information if its not on the disk. You will also benifit from amazing HD sound, if you have the kit.

Go Blu Ray, you will be amazed!

[rabw]

NDA said:

Our DVD hasn't been used in months - Sky + being the lazy option.

I wonder if recorded (rather than broadcast) films on disc will eventually phase out?

I'd imagine that's the way the industry would prefer it as they'd see it as a way to reduce piracy?

[pies1981]

dan1981 said:

How good is bluray?

Is there gonna be a massive noticable difference between a bluray player and a dvd player that upscales fully to HDMI?

They would be playing through a samsung LCD TV that goes up to 1080 (not sure if its p or i)

Cheers

Dan

edited cos i can't speel or tpye

Edited by dan1981 on Sunday 28th December 11:21

The gadget show did this test about 3 weeks ago, i watched it. The blu-ray st all over the dvd upscaler.

[chris watton]

pies1981 said:

dan1981 said:

How good is bluray?

Is there gonna be a massive noticable difference between a bluray player and a dvd player that upscales fully to HDMI?

They would be playing through a samsung LCD TV that goes up to 1080 (not sure if its p or i)

Cheers

Dan

edited cos i can't speel or tpye

Edited by dan1981 on Sunday 28th December 11:21

The gadget show did this test about 3 weeks ago, i watched it. The blu-ray st all over the dvd upscaler.

Yes, true, but they used the best HD TV's, with FULL HD - most people still haven't got those TV's - on 'lesser' HD/HD ready TV's, the difference is there, but not by as much.

So it’s a little like saying “My mid range spec car can do 140MPH because a show reviewed the top spec with better engine car, and trounced other like models....”

Edited by chris watton on Sunday 28th December 17:33

[jnm23]

I have an upscaling dvd player and a ps3 linked to a 32" lcd (which only goes to 1080i, so not even full HD). Difference between blu ray and dvd is huge. To the extent that the dvd player is pretty redundant.

I find it quite odd that people will spend top dollar on a 40" HD screen and not bother to invest in a HD source; i.e. blu ray or sky HD.

[Scuffers]

dan1981 said:

buddhabelly said:

World of difference between blu-ray and upscaled dvd; you will need decent TV quality and blu-ray compression codec, this will have more of an effect on viewing quality rather than "i/p" discussion.

Ok - so my Samsung - its a year old LE37R8 - will this be suited for Blu Ray or should I stick to the DVD? (sorry i can't find a link to a full spec for the TV)

all a bit accademic when you consider that your TV's natural Resolution is 1366 x 768

so, even if it supports 1080(i/p) it's going to have to downscale to fit the screen.

not sure how they cope with 720(i/p)?

[allgonepetetong]

I have a PS3 and a Marantz DVD 7001 top of the range DVD upscaler both being shown on a full HD Pioneer plasma panel. Even with a 600 quid upscaler, when compared to the PS3 showing blu ray there is no comparison.

[flat-planedCrank]

Just to stand up for the up-scalers a bit even on a 1080p TV decently upscaled DVDs (say via a PS3) look great. So good in fact that I don't feel a massive pressure to re-buy all my DVDs on Blu-ray....


...but saying that Blu-ray looks terrific noticeably better than up-scaled DVD. Watched Wall-e on blu-ray last night, awesome



Cheers.

[PJ S]

rabw said:

On a 1080p screen, yes big difference.

• cough, cough*

Not quite correct - caveat that with "depending on viewing distance being close enough to see the extra resolution over 720p output on a 768 panel."

[PJ S]

Scuffers said:

dan1981 said:

buddhabelly said:

World of difference between blu-ray and upscaled dvd; you will need decent TV quality and blu-ray compression codec, this will have more of an effect on viewing quality rather than "i/p" discussion.

Ok - so my Samsung - its a year old LE37R8 - will this be suited for Blu Ray or should I stick to the DVD? (sorry i can't find a link to a full spec for the TV)

all a bit accademic when you consider that your TV's natural Resolution is 1366 x 768

so, even if it supports 1080(i/p) it's going to have to downscale to fit the screen.

not sure how they cope with 720(i/p)?

Upscales a 720p signal, downscales a 1080p one, if able to handle it.
Some 3 year old ones can't accept 1080p - processing ability not available, so you've no choice but to use 720p (or 1080i for period dramas, and other slower moving films) for the majority of viewing.

[dan1981]

Well i've been thinking hard about this and i think i'm gonna go for blu-ray - loking at Sonys entry level one and it seems to have very good reviews and do everythign i need it to - Richer Sounds also have it on sale at £160 at the moment - I can then build my own surround sound system around it - (i think?) (as in my other thread)

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=sh...