To HD or not Blue-Ray...that is the question!

I remember the DVD release of the Matrix being credited with "the birth of DVD for the masses". So I have to agree that software will more than likely win the war, but it depends on which format is the cleverer.
Casino Royale seems to have won an early battle.

Really, only 6% of ps3 owners bought that title.If thats the spearhead, then what is the average blu-ray film useage going to be.

Regards

John.
 
Really, only 6% of ps3 owners bought that title.If thats the spearhead, then what is the average blu-ray film useage going to be.

Regards

John.


I am not a gamer, so I can only give my opinion in relation to films.

I have no axe to grind.
 
The most popular Upscaling DVD player at the moment is the Chinese made OPPO 981 which costs under £200. It has very good reviews and is considered to be better than most upscaling players up to £1000. Oppo is owned by the Chinese company BKK. If their players are giving the Denon 1930 a run for its money, then we should not assume that Chinese HD DVD players will have low performance of build quality.

If we are talking mainstream again then the OPPO 981 isn't really a player. Nor is upscaling to be honest. The masses will buy whats in front of them that they recognise thru' brand publicity as opposed to forum members like us
 
If we are talking mainstream again then the OPPO 981 isn't really a player. Nor is upscaling to be honest. The masses will buy whats in front of them that they recognise thru' brand publicity as opposed to forum members like us
You should check the sales rankings on amazon.com

The Oppo 981 is the 2nd best selling DVD player and the 970 is at no 5. The Toshiba A2 is at no 4. Check out the reviews of the 981 here.
 
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You should check the sales rankings on amazon.com

The Oppo 981 is the 2nd best selling DVD player and the 970 is at no 5. The Toshiba A2 is at no 4. Check out the reviews of the 981 here.

There has been much debate over Amazon rankings etc.. Difficult to tell what they mean in real terms. and their relevance in the main population. I would still think Joe Blogs buys from John Lewis, Comets, Currys etc...
 
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TBH it looks like I have 2 options!

My display is a 92" Beamax screen with a IN76 projector so the detail should be stunning!

:hiya: Les

I bought the Sony PS3 on launch date simply for 2 reasons...

1 to be able to play Resident Evil 5 when it comes out on the PS3 and
2 to be able to watch BR movies through my 106" Projenta screen and IN76 projector.

I watched 'Flightplan' recently on the projector and the picture / sound was absoultely stunning. So much that after watching BR, I watched a std SD DVD and immediately noticed the difference in quality.

Rented the BR movie from blockbusters. MUST SAY that I was very disappointed with the range of BR movies available for rental (at the most 15 titles????)

Future plans - I would invest in a HD Player if the battle ends up going HD ways!!!!!

Ok?
 
Current chinese players tend to be cheap and tacky and I can't imagine many forum people having bought many if any.

So I wonder if the chinese element is as significant as is being built up to be. ...

There has been much debate over Amazon rankings etc.. Difficult to tell what they mean in real terms. and their relevance in the main population. I would still think Joe Blogs buys from John Lewis, Comets, Currys etc...
The Oppo is very popular amongst the SD DVD player section of this forum and is considered to be better than the Denon 1930.

I think we should distinguish between the bargain basement £30 DVD players bought in Tesco and other Chinese products like the Oppo, which get a 4.5/5 rating from Amazon buyers (much higher than the Samsung P1000 and Sony S1 Blu-ray players on Amazon).

HD DVD players are a premium product and you would expect quality to be reasonable rather than 'cheap and tacky'.
 
The Oppo is very popular amongst the SD DVD player section of this forum and is considered to be better than the Denon 1930.

HD DVD players are a premium product and you would expect quality to be reasonable rather than 'cheap and tacky'.

I'm not disagreeing with you about the quality of the Oppo, although I still think that it looks cheap, but that the opinion is from forum members who we would assume are more in the loop as opposed to joe blog who never has and never will be aware of it.
 
I'm not disagreeing with you about the quality of the Oppo, although I still think that it looks cheap, but that the opinion is from forum members who we would assume are more in the loop as opposed to joe blog who never has and never will be aware of it.

When one is buying a cut-price player, I guess one has to choose between the cuts being made in the appearance or the performance. Myself, I would go for them cutting corners on the appearance.
 
When one is buying a cut-price player, I guess one has to choose between the cuts being made in the appearance or the performance. Myself, I would go for them cutting corners on the appearance.

You and I will prioritise our needs differently (although looks are important to me to an extent) to the mainstream. I am sure they have looks high on thier list.
 
I'm not disagreeing with you about the quality of the Oppo, although I still think that it looks cheap, but that the opinion is from forum members who we would assume are more in the loop as opposed to joe blog who never has and never will be aware of it.

but if joe blogs was given the choice to get the oppo - i.e via the high streets - just like with the asda £20 dvd player - im sure they would fly off the selfs and again people would comment on the amazing quality of the player.

so i guess it comes down to choice and availability.

as for the original posters question about which format to go with .

i guess that comes down to the catalogue of movies available and the original posters tastes.

check the exclusive titles available for each format... which DO YOU prefer?

the choice should then be simple
 
You and I will prioritise our needs differently (although looks are important to me to an extent) to the mainstream. I am sure they have looks high on thier list.

No doubt you're right, but Denon is far from the mainstream choice. It's looks are certainly excellent, but it's hardly cut price. If I look at a mass market retailer's offerings (Walmart or perhaps a single step up), the appearance of their players is probably a tad below Oppo. I suspect the Oppo would be considered a good looking player by the truly average consumer.
 
You think PIP and JAVA make HD DVD appealling?
I think "gimmicky add-ons that no one really cares about", but I may be wrong.

Picture and sound quality is all I care about.

I have HD and Blu-ray. HD since October 06, and BD since February 07. In terms of picture quality there is not a "fag paper "difference between the two. In terms of audio, I think Blu-ray has the edge, due mainly to the widespread adoption of uncompressed PCM, and increasingly wider choice of titles.

Interactive features however are of no interest whatsoever - am I alone on this?

When you refer to uncompressed PCM in BDs above do you mean Dolby Digital HD? or is it something else? sorry for the stupid question, i am trying to understand these new audio formats...
 
When you refer to uncompressed PCM in BDs above do you mean Dolby Digital HD? or is it something else? sorry for the stupid question, i am trying to understand these new audio formats...
LPCM (Linear Pulse Coded Modulation) is not Dolby Digital at all, and existed before Dolby Labs came into being. LPCM is the same format that's used on CD. DD-THD is also lossless, but it's compressed, unlike LPCM.
 
so LPCM is the best. Can the players output that by analogue? If yes which ones? How do we know which discs have the LPCM soundtrack? Also if it is the best why do we need DDHD and DTS MA?
 
because it is fully uncompressed. So you are saying that DDHD and DTS MA are of the same quality? How do they compare?

Is LPCM listed on the specs or on the cover of the discs like DD+ or DDHD are?

I had a look around and it seems that the best "audio" BD use the LPCM soundtrack and best HD-DVD ones use DD TrueHD. Why is that? Why don't they use DD TrueHD on BD as well?
 
because it is fully uncompressed.
You appear to misunderstand.

DD-THD is stored in a compressed format in order to save space on disc. The word "compression" here refers to the number of digital bits required for representation, it does not refer to "compression" of dynamics. If the dynamics were compressed, it would not be acceptable as a product, especially as a "High Definition" product.

The key word is that DD-THD is "lossless" -- the same word that applies to LPCM. The ultimate difference is that one takes FAR less space on the video disc than the other.

So you are saying that DDHD and DTS MA are of the same quality? How do they compare?

Is LPCM listed on the specs or on the cover of the discs like DD+ or DDHD are?

Are discs out that contain the LPCM soundtrack but not the DDHD one?

By DDHD I'm pressuming you mean DD-THD (TrueHD). Lossless is lossless, regardless of what acronym is applied to its storage. If it sounds different from the master, the word lossless MUST be incorrect.

I would say yes to both, but I suggest you go browse some HD DVD and BD titles (in person or on the internet). Sometimes a little homework is helpful in pulling the pieces together.
 
I had a look around and it seems that the best "audio" BD use the LPCM soundtrack and best HD-DVD ones use DD TrueHD. Why is that? Why don't they use DD TrueHD on BD as well?

For that you need to go browse the BR players and review what audio CODECs they support. Studios have an inclination to only provide soundtracks that all players support, though sometimes they include others.
 
At the moment there are pros and cons to each format - I am happy with my PS3 and HD-E1 (upgraded from a X360 drive due to terrible sound options)

In a blind test on any decent transfer most wouldnt be able to tell whether it was BR or HD-DVD.....and there are just as many bad transfers on both formats
 
At the moment there are pros and cons to each format - I am happy with my PS3 and HD-E1 (upgraded from a X360 drive due to terrible sound options)

In a blind test on any decent transfer most wouldnt be able to tell whether it was BR or HD-DVD.....and there are just as many bad transfers on both formats

I have the same kit, and couldn't agree more.

Steve W
 

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