as my tv is not full hd, is it a waste of money buying a bluray player, as they are 1080p. thank you.
Something sounds horribly wrong. Blu-ray shouldn't look worse than DVD. The contrast shouldn't be any different on a Blu-ray disc than on a DVD (perhaps a little truer to the source, but this will be due to more transparent compression and more accurate colour reproduction). Perhaps your HDMI input is calibrated differently from your component input. When it comes to detail, however, you won't get much benefit from a 32" 720p display, especially sitting 9 feet away! I sit about 8 feet from my 42" 720p plasma, which is about right.I have a Sony 32" HD ready TV, and I sit around 9ft from the screen. My DVD player outputs a progressive signal over a cheap component cable, and I can see no improvement between it and a Sony 360 blu-ray player. In fact, if anything it's too contrasty, and I'd rather watch a DVD.
My eyesight is pretty good, I see a big difference switching between SkySD and SkyHD (especially the BBCHD channel), but blu-ray is a turn off for me I'm afraid.
Something sounds horribly wrong. Blu-ray shouldn't look worse than DVD. The contrast shouldn't be any different on a Blu-ray disc than on a DVD (perhaps a little truer to the source, but this will be due to more transparent compression and more accurate colour reproduction). Perhaps your HDMI input is calibrated differently from your component input. When it comes to detail, however, you won't get much benefit from a 32" 720p display, especially sitting 9 feet away! I sit about 8 feet from my 42" 720p plasma, which is about right.
awink1. my tv is a philips pfl3755220d. cheers.
This is my personal experience. I have a Yamaha DVD -S 2700 DVD player. I also have a Panasonic DMP BD 60. Both of these are are connected via HDMI to a Yamaha RXV3800 which in turn is connected to a Panasonic 37" HD ready TV (native 720 P).
Although the screen has a native resolution of 720P, Panasonic use the same chip set and start by converting signals to 1080P, then down converting to 720P on the "HD ready" models.
So, with both the DVD S2700 and the BD60 set to output 1080P I can play both together and switch AV inputs to do direct comparisons. I have Planet Earth in DVD and Blu Ray formats.
IMO, purely in terms of picture quality, the difference between the two is very slight. So, to say that you will certainly see an improvement over SD material is a very sweeping statement. It depends on a number of factors, but if you have a good SD source, then IMO (and from my own tests) Blu Ray will only give a slight improvement on a 720P screen. Whether this improvement is "worth the cost", only you can decide.
There are of course other factors which may influence your decision such as HD Audio but you have to also remember that Blu Ray discs are still twice the price of the same thing in DVD.
I have a Sony 32" HD ready TV, and I sit around 9ft from the screen. My DVD player outputs a progressive signal over a cheap component cable, and I can see no improvement between it and a Sony 360 blu-ray player. In fact, if anything it's too contrasty, and I'd rather watch a DVD.
My eyesight is pretty good, I see a big difference switching between SkySD and SkyHD (especially the BBCHD channel), but blu-ray is a turn off for me I'm afraid.
You might disagree however, can you borrow a blu-ray player from someone to try it out?
If you have a native 720p Panasonic TV, you must be talking plasma right?
The 37" Panasonic plasmas are probably the best ever made TVs for SD (I know I have one too ), but if you can't see much difference between SD and HD you might have something wrong with your set up (no disrespect intended).
SD DVD and/or TV broadcasts are very, very good indeed on my TV (especially coming from the Oppo and Foxsat HDR), but you can certainly tell when there is a blu ray playing