Blu-ray all hype?

[Canetoad]

The cheap Sony BD-360 I was using was fine with Blu-ray but was dire when playing standard DVDs! I replaced it with a Panasonic BD80 and it actually does a very good job upsampling non-HD pictures.

It depends on the machine as well.

[UV101]

The cheap Sony BD-360 I was using was fine with Blu-ray but was dire when playing standard DVDs! I replaced it with a Panasonic BD80 and it actually does a very good job upsampling non-HD pictures.

It depends on the machine as well.

Absolutely! Better players use more sophisticated methods to reproduce an up scaled image. Most TV's do a dreadful job of this. My personal pet hate is std def output from a sky HD box which looks awful on my TV.

[Reid Malenfant]

You can add any of the Pixar films to that as well

One of the issues for anyone with a HD tv is the dreadful performance when used with a std def source. Its caused when averages are used to fill pixels in. The recording in a dvd only contain 640 lines and the screen 1080.

Nearly, but not quite... I think you are thinking of the TV broadcasts in the UK that are or used to be 650 lines

Well you are forgetting that a good few of those lines are/were for teletext!

A UK DVD has 576 lines, VHS was about 250 & SVHS was around 400 lines, all at 25 frames per second interlaced.

The US versions were/are different, the standard DVDs run 480 lines, but at a higher frame rate than in the UK, 30 frames per second interlaced. No idea what the VHS equivalent is...

Other than that I can't argue with you

[UV101]

For some reason, I'd got 640x480 in my and quoted the 640 based on VGA resolution and not TV.

Bit crap considering I did my apprenticeship mostly on video and TV servicing!!!

I think all the 405 was gone before I started

[Reid Malenfant]

I doubt you'd be surprised at the things I forget, it's a fact of life when you get a little older

If only I could remember what I had forgotten I'd be laughing right now

Yeah, the VGA thing etc I can understand, damn confusing 800 x 600 I reckon (or is that SVGA?). Just don't ask me about the rest of it ffs

You are right... 800 x 600 = SVGA now I come to think about it... But as stated earlier, don't ask me about resolutions above this lol.

[pwood]

its the DTS MA sound that really puts DVD in its place. Its for this reason i subscibe to lovefilm rather just have Sky movies.

Mind some fims are grainy due the director liking the look. Minority Report is the best example of this. The sound though on blueray is neighbour baiting

[roob]

As mentioned earlier there are some pretty poor blu-ray transfers about, its worth doing a bit of research before you part with your cash.
One example is Blade Runner, you need to get the Final Cut version for best quality
and Gladiator you need the latest Sapphire release (both are surperb)
Having just purchased a new tv and player I have been on a mini blu-ray spending spree, there are plenty of bargains about if you trawl the net.

[Spectral Morn]

As mentioned earlier there are some pretty poor blu-ray transfers about, its worth doing a bit of research before you part with your cash.
One example is Blade Runner, you need to get the Final Cut version for best quality
and Gladiator you need the latest Sapphire release (both are surperb)
Having just purchased a new tv and player I have been on a mini blu-ray spending spree, there are plenty of bargains about if you trawl the net.

I thought the recent BBC HD showing of Blade Runner was pretty poor loads of image artifacting and some motion drag effects. It wasn't a great advert for going HD more fully i.e the subscription channels.

Best HD I have seen so far was BBC HDs James Bond Music concert - stunning.

I asked on another thread re video scaling SD to a flat panel - worth doing or a case of putting lip-stick on a pig?


Regards Neil

[roob]

BBC1 HD Africa was pretty good.
I watched Blade Runner when it was on then my Final Cut Blu-ray came two days later, no contest Final Cut is the mutts nutts
The end result will depend on how good your panel is though and blu-ray is another step up on HD broadcasts imho.

[Rare Bird]

tbh: I ordered a BR player for my mate, the reviews claimed brilliant picture Quality, to be honest my Sony standard DVD player walks all over it .