Old Movies Upscaled via HD/Blu Ray

[quacker]

Similar to the recent thread of old movies transferred to HD, I have noticed DVD when watched via my PS3 improve as they do via HD DVD.

We all will have collections of standard DVD's - so do we need to pay the extra?

I will be honest and say I have not actually watched a BR or HD disk on the correct player - as it was meant to be watched, and I accept that until I watch a DVD AND it's HD/BR equivalent I cannot make an informed decision.

Having watched an upscaled DVD via my PS3 on my new Sony V3000 (40in) the whole purchase of new equipment was worthwhile.

Is the picture quality really that much better justifying the extra cost?

Steve

[Pincho Paxton]

Originally Posted by quacker

Similar to the recent thread of old movies transferred to HD, I have noticed DVD when watched via my PS3 improve as they do via HD DVD.

We all will have collections of standard DVD's - so do we need to pay the extra?

I will be honest and say I have not actually watched a BR or HD disk on the correct player - as it was meant to be watched, and I accept that until I watch a DVD AND it's HD/BR equivalent I cannot make an informed decision.

Having watched an upscaled DVD via my PS3 on my new Sony V3000 (40in) the whole purchase of new equipment was worthwhile.

Is the picture quality really that much better justifying the extra cost?

Steve

Old Upscaled movies look very good, but it depends on what movie. (Stanley Kubrick Collection)The Shining has a picture quality that is very close to HD, I think it is my best example of Old = great! But there is no reason for old movies to look bad anyway.

Blu Ray looks better in some cases.. House Of Wax Blu Ray actually has a worse picture than The Shining DVD. But Harry Potter Blu Ray looks fantastic.

Blu Ray cost is all over the place, but for new releases it is hard to justify the high prices. £15.99 is the perfect price for a new release, and that's what I am waiting for. Another problem currently is that the Blu Ray releases do not interest me. I either have them on DVD already, or the titles are just boring.

[quacker]

Originally Posted by Pincho Paxton

Old Upscaled movies look very good, but it depends on what movie. (Stanley Kubrick Collection)The Shining has a picture quality that is very close to HD, I think it is my best example of Old = great! But there is no reason for old movies to look bad anyway.

Blu Ray looks better in some cases.. House Of Wax Blu Ray actually has a worse picture than The Shining DVD. But Harry Potter Blu Ray looks fantastic.

Blu Ray cost is all over the place, but for new releases it is hard to justify the high prices. £15.99 is the perfect price for a new release, and that's what I am waiting for. Another problem currently is that the Blu Ray releases do not interest me. I either have them on DVD already, or the titles are just boring.

Thanks for confirming that mate - I was beginning to think there is a lot of the Emperors New Clothes with this technology. I scour the bargains and 3-for-2 offers and like you I find nothing of interest. I will have 7 HD DVD movies when the extra 5 arrive (as part of the Toshiba EP30 deal). I wonder if I am the only person who has a PS3 and not a solitary BR disk?

Anyway, I have all my "classics" on DVD - and as you mentioned hopefully they will upscale etc. I suppose a stunning picture quality is secondary to a stunning plot/movie. I have always argued this. After all, I struggled to choose my 5 free movies as there was little I wanted !

[google]

I only have 1 Blu-ray disc, Casino Royale that I got 'free' with the PS3. I've also got a Toshiba EP-35 and only have 12 discs, 7 of these were 'free'. I've had the ability to play HD discs for over a year but they are too expensive to buy. I joined Lovefilm about a year ago and have seen loads of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs. Fantastic service for £12.99 per month.

I would like to watch all the films in HD but watching SD on the PS3 and EP-35 is very, very good second best.


Scott

[Indiana Jones]

Originally Posted by quacker

Thanks for confirming that mate - I was beginning to think there is a lot of the Emperors New Clothes with this technology. I scour the bargains and 3-for-2 offers and like you I find nothing of interest. I will have 7 HD DVD movies when the extra 5 arrive (as part of the Toshiba EP30 deal). I wonder if I am the only person who has a PS3 and not a solitary BR disk?

Anyway, I have all my "classics" on DVD - and as you mentioned hopefully they will upscale etc. I suppose a stunning picture quality is secondary to a stunning plot/movie. I have always argued this. After all, I struggled to choose my 5 free movies as there was little I wanted !

If it wasnt for the Blu-Ray playback I probaley wouldnt even have my PS3 as that is all I use it for and while I am sure there are some upscaled DVD's that do look great, watching a film like Cars on Blu-Ray at 1080p is breathtaking and reminds me why I paid so much upgrading my setup from 32" CRT and normal DVD to player to what I have now.

[Dave H]

There is nothing to compare upscaled DVD to Blu Ray.
Cars is a good example I had this on DVD and upscaled with my PS3 I thought why buy the Blu Ray ?
well when I did buy it I couldn't believe the extra detail and the audio is so much better !
I now have over 50 Blu Rays and can honestly say I will never buy a DVD again.

Dave.

[quacker]

Originally Posted by Indiana Jones

If it wasnt for the Blu-Ray playback I probaley wouldnt even have my PS3 as that is all I use it for and while I am sure there are some upscaled DVD's that do look great, watching a film like Cars on Blu-Ray at 1080p is breathtaking and reminds me why I paid so much upgrading my setup from 32" CRT and normal DVD to player to what I have now.

Sony V3000 will help there of course

[quacker]

Originally Posted by Indiana Jones

If it wasnt for the Blu-Ray playback I probaley wouldnt even have my PS3 as that is all I use it for and while I am sure there are some upscaled DVD's that do look great, watching a film like Cars on Blu-Ray at 1080p is breathtaking and reminds me why I paid so much upgrading my setup from 32" CRT and normal DVD to player to what I have now.

Originally Posted by Dave H

There is nothing to compare upscaled DVD to Blu Ray.
Cars is a good example I had this on DVD and upscaled with my PS3 I thought why buy the Blu Ray ?
well when I did buy it I couldn't believe the extra detail and the audio is so much better !
I now have over 50 Blu Rays and can honestly say I will never buy a DVD again.

Dave.

It's all down to opinion though Dave. I know when I watched Monsters Inc. on PS3 even if I buy the BD disk it will not be better, or noticeably better. Hey perhaps it isn't the PS3 or HD Player but the Sony making the difference. Either way I'm happy.

I actually obtained Casino Royale on BD - now I have a disk lol

[philbam]

Originally Posted by Dave H

There is nothing to compare upscaled DVD to Blu Ray.
Cars is a good example I had this on DVD and upscaled with my PS3 I thought why buy the Blu Ray ?
well when I did buy it I couldn't believe the extra detail and the audio is so much better !
I now have over 50 Blu Rays and can honestly say I will never buy a DVD again.

Dave.

I agree with you whole heartedly!
I too would never buy an 'ordinary' standard definition dvd anymore, the difference is so vast - like VHS to DVD all over again - both for picture and sound.
I now have over 100 Blu-rays and over 100 HD-dvd's and do not regret any one of them - they are all immensly better than standard definition dvd's, whether upscaled or not.
I am still looking out for more to add to my collection, but by shopping around over the internet usually only pay £10 to £12 for hd's and between £10 and £14 for blu-rays.That is pretty comparable to buying 'ordinary' dvd's.