Right, Do I really need a Blu-Ray player ,

[CedGTV]

If i get a Panasonic SC-PT560EB-K 5.1 home cinema system, connected to a PANASONIC TH-50PZ80BA 50" digital 1080p HD ready plasma TV.

What is the benefits of the Blu-Ray versus the up-scaling HD DVD player ?

I have been on the net all day and now would rather ask the PH massive for their two penneth worth than sit and trawl through any more web pages.

Thanks.

[LeoSayer]

Only get one if you value a much more detailed picture, films played at normal speed and excellent motion tracking.

I've got a Panasonic 37" plasma and the difference is very noticeable and well worth the money (only £183 for a Panasonic BD35) which also upscales DVDs.

Edited by LeoSayer on Saturday 14th March 21:46

[FrankDrebbin]

get one if you value better picture at 10 quid per film. on your surround system, the sound won't be hugely different. It will make more sence to buy a blu ray when the disc prices become more realistic compared to dvd.

[jnm23]

I have a 32' LCD telly linked up to PS3 - difference between upscaled DVD and Blu-ray is pretty clear, and this is only at 720p

Sony BDP-S1 is a well regarded budget blu ray player.

[hilly10]

Do not forget TrueHD sound a noticeable difference over DD 5.1 With a Bluray you will have access to all the HD sound formats they are fantastic

Edited by hilly10 on Sunday 15th March 12:15

[Zod]

hilly10 said:

Do not forget TrueHD sound a noticeable difference over DD 5.1 With a Bluray you will have access to all the HD sound formats they are fantastic

Edited by hilly10 on Sunday 15th March 12:15

If you have a new processor/receiver to decode them (99.9% don't) or your processor/receiver has 5.1 or 7.1 analogue inputs to take a decoded analogue signal from your Blu-Ray player.

Edited by Zod on Sunday 15th March 13:32

[LeoSayer]

FrankDrebbin said:

get one if you value better picture at 10 quid per film. on your surround system, the sound won't be hugely different. It will make more sence to buy a blu ray when the disc prices become more realistic compared to dvd.

Instead of buying them, rent using lovefilm etc. The charge for blu-ray is the same as for DVD.

[JustinP1]

When you bought your first DVD, how many videos did you buy after that?


You'll end up getting a blu-ray player someday, the technology is here to stay. In a two or three years time when they sell the players in Asda for the price of a basket of shopping, Blu Ray will be the de facto standard anyway.

From an audio point of view the difference is not that huge unless you have a high end audio system, however with a 1080 TV you will definitely tell the difference between DVD and blu-ray.

It'll just look really sharp and defined compared to before, and then you'll kind of get used to it.

Then.... go back and watch a DVD and you'll think you are watching a dodgy copy as it will look fuzzy and flat in comparison.

[Mr E]

LeoSayer said:

Instead of buying them, rent using lovefilm etc. The charge for blu-ray is the same as for DVD.

Is exactly what we do. I own exactly zero blu-rays.

[page3]

Zod said:

hilly10 said:

Do not forget TrueHD sound a noticeable difference over DD 5.1 With a Bluray you will have access to all the HD sound formats they are fantastic

Edited by hilly10 on Sunday 15th March 12:15

If you have a new processor/receiver to decode them (99.9% don't) or your processor/receiver has 5.1 or 7.1 analogue inputs to take a decoded analogue signal from your Blu-Ray player.

For older Amps (or new ones that don't use HDMI) simply get a Samsung Bluray player. They have an option to re-encode TrueHD into max bitrate DTS, which sounds excellent

[spydersingh]

Or get yourself a PS3 which is technically the most up to date and future proof BluRay player out there! And its a game console/media centre to boot!

[Zod]

spydersingh said:

Or get yourself a PS3 which is technically the most up to date and future proof BluRay player out there! And its a game console/media centre to boot!

No it's not.

[spydersingh]

Zod said:

spydersingh said:

Or get yourself a PS3 which is technically the most up to date and future proof BluRay player out there! And its a game console/media centre to boot!

No it's not.

Really? Please enlighten me. (Not meant in a sarcastic way but I am genuinely interested!!)

[page3]

Certainly when I compared the PS3 to the Samsung, the Samsung had the following advantages:

1. better picture quality
2. 1.5Mb DTS over HDMI (HiDef sound re-encode)
3. Proper IR compatibility allowing universal remotes to be used
4. cheaper

Unfortunately, the UK model has no (DVD) region hack which is a real pain, but it is the only make to do (almost) full HD sound for those of us without HDMI.

[Mr_Yogi]

page3 said:

Certainly when I compared the PS3 to the Samsung, the Samsung had the following advantages:

2. 1.5Mb DTS over HDMI (HiDef sound re-encode)

1.5MB/s DTS from Dolby TrueHD over SPDIF?

Surely if you have HDMI you would use LPCM?

All Bluray players should offer DTS core @ 1.5MB/s providing they have a DTS HD/ DTS MA soundtrack.

Edited by Mr_Yogi on Thursday 19th March 11:44

[page3]

Mr_Yogi said:

1.5MB/s DTS from Dolby TrueHD over SPDIF?

Yes. It sounds brilliant. Don't know why I said 'HDMI' - wasn't thinking clearly.

Mr_Yogi said:

Surely if you have HDMI you would use LPCM?

Yes. But many of use don't have (or choose not to have) HDMI.

In my case I bought a better sounding Amp (Arcam) knowing full well it didn't have HDMI. Sounds so much better than those in the same price range I listened to which do. Additionally, my home is wired for component not HDMI and my projector only does component.

Edited by page3 on Thursday 19th March 20:23