Underwhelmed by Blu-ray

doomjeffs

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Hi all, just a quick question . Has anyone here invested in Blu-ray & found the medium to be less than the hype.
I watch DVDs & Blu-rays on my PS3 through my full HD 37" samsung t.v.
So far i've bought about half a dozen Blu-rays to add to my 300 or so DVDs & to be honest i find the quality to be at best marginal over DVD, in fact some DVDs look better than some blu-rays. Given the hype & encouragement from 'techie' magazines for everyone to go out & buy one, i'm (personally) underwhelmed with the supposed jump in image quality. And given the price differential in the two formats i'd be more likely to carry on buying DVD.
Am i just an cynical old fart or is there anyone out there with the same opinion?
 
Am i just an cynical old fart or is there anyone out there with the same opinion?

No, I don't think you are and I have a similar opinion.

Blu is not a major step up in the way DVD was over VHS for example.
Add upscaled DVD into the equation and the difference is even less.

It's a much argued point and some think it's the bees knees, while others don't.

Me, I think it's an improvement without a doubt, but it's really no great shakes.

And as for HD via transmission :thumbsdow
 
You may not notice the difference on a 37" screen. Moving up in size to 50" and beyond the difference is very noticeable! It also means you can sit a lot closer to the screen (if you wanted to!) and not see any of the artifacting or pixels etc.
 
I agree that 37" is a too small screensize for full-HD.

I use a 108" screen via projector, and believe me, the difference is huge.
 
in fact some DVDs look better than some blu-rays.

You need to list which DVDs "look better than some Blu-Rays", in my opinion that would not be possible, even though it is true some Blu-Rays have been badly authored the greater resolution of HD should always be better than the DVD format.
 
so in essence then, to get the benefit of Blu-ray i need to spend £1000 to £2000 on a 50" screen or a projector that gives me a 108" screen (about the size of my lounge wall) :rolleyes:
I think i'll spend the money on some more DVDs.
 
so in essence then, to get the benefit of Blu-ray i need to spend £1000 to £2000 on a 50" screen or a projector that gives me a 108" screen (about the size of my lounge wall) :rolleyes:
I think i'll spend the money on some more DVDs.

You don't need to do that to get the benefit of Blu-Ray but you do need to be aware of what the improvements consist of. Which DVDs look better ?
 
You need to list which DVDs "look better than some Blu-Rays", in my opinion that would not be possible, even though it is true some Blu-Rays have been badly authored the greater resolution of HD should always be better than the DVD format.


I'm not necessarily saying 'better' but as Badger said, the step change is not as great as the sort of hype you get from magazines like 'what hi-fi'.
The difference between video & dvd was plain to see but the difference between DVD & blu-ray in no where near as pronounced. (just my opinion)
 
I expected to be "blown away" by blu ray, and while I don't deny its good, I wasn't.

I have been using a upscaler for the past 6 months so maybe I have got used to it I don't know
Coupled with the fact that some discs I cant stop and resume like a DVD can (due to the programming on the disc from the studios (thanks to the great people on here who have told me about this, I thought it was a fault/missing function with my DVD player)).

More room on the disc means more rubbish other than the film that I'm not going to watch.

I think blu ray/up scaled DVD is what DVD should have been when it was hailed as the best thing ever when that was launched. a step forward in quality a step backwards in usability IMO
 
I was using upscaling on my Denon DVD player but was receiving a lot of sync issues. :(

Then the move to BluRay and the results were impressive but much depends on the source material too. Transformers2 was less exciting screen wise than say the Underworld boxset which truly show BluRay at its best. I didn't believe that blacks could be that black!

All shown on a 46" Sony. :smashin:
 
If you are expecting to be blown away on a 37" screen then you are missing the major point of Blu rays. They need big screens and this is what they are designed to be used on. I am very luke warm on anything under 50" but this is not where they are aimed. Without scale you miss the resolution that they are capable of, however there are many other advantages of Blu rays.
 
I am very luke warm on anything under 50" but this is not where they are aimed.

I'm not sure I agree with that Nic.

The average size telly in the UK is 37" I believe (???)
And it certainly seems to me that they're aiming at the average joe, not just a niche market.

And if that's true, surely there is some hype going on, if not downright blagging?

Don't get me wrong.
I watch on a 50" and have just moved over to Blu, so it's not as though I'm an anti :)
 
Selling tvs to someone is very different to asking what is required to show off Blu ray. 37" is fine so long as you are very close and I mean VERY. You can't get away from the fact that the rate limiting step here is your eyes and what they can distinguish resolution wise. Your eyes are basically limited to 1 arc second. This means that you will see resolution difference ONLY if the viewing distance, screen size and resolution allow you to distinguish the resolution difference. This is just the basic science of perceiving resolution differences. True that is far from the only difference, we also have better coding etc but just because some one talks people into buying a Blu ray player for there small screen doesn't get away from this. That is advertising / selling call it what you want....but our eyes are the limiting facor here wrt to resolution determination.
 
I wouldn't dare to contest that going bigger is better, but I was thinking more from this angle in the OP's post;

Given the hype & encouragement from 'techie' magazines for everyone to go out & buy one

You certainly don't get people saying "ideally you should get a bigger telly".
Mind you, it's the same in any field I suppose.

Question is, will the sales people be recommending 200" screens when Super HD comes out? :D
 
these are the same techie magazines full of advertising? If so they will always try and sell new things whether you need them or not.
 
I often find expectations are high, perhaps too high and often overhyped by some with vested interests, but I think this is down to listening to non authorative sources of info. The BBC white paper on this makes good reading ;). Many here have warned about this over the years, and even though 43" plasmas may appear great on the surface, when you seen a full blown projector in full swing people soon realise what the fuss is about and the limitations of 'small' screens.
 
Leads need to be fit for purpose and many have found out that some 10 pounds are fine and others they are not, it is not about money but engineering. The item needs to be designed for the job and that doesn't mean throwing money at a job.
 
If you are expecting to be blown away on a 37" screen then you are missing the major point of Blu rays. They need big screens and this is what they are designed to be used on. I am very luke warm on anything under 50" but this is not where they are aimed. Without scale you miss the resolution that they are capable of, however there are many other advantages of Blu rays.

So presumably by that comment, two thirds of the population that don't have 50" screens are missing out on any benefits of Blu-ray, & have spent money needlessly.
 
Whoa there. Hang on a minute. Am I alone in being really impressed by Blu-Ray?! Particularly the Pixar type stuff which, at its best, is gob smacking. I do have a 50" plasma but I was just as impressed with the good BRs on my previous 46" LCD.

There are definitely some BR discs that really weren't worth the bother - either the film stock or the transfer were of insufficient quality to really warrant the higher bandwidth. I can only imagine that the OP has been really unlucky in choosing 6 films of that type...

Do yourself a favour and read the AVForums Blu ray reviews, choose a disc that rates 9 or 10 for picture and then see.

Also, and sorry to say this, but you have got the PS3 set up as 1080p in the display settings have you, not 576p? ;)
 
So presumably by that comment, two thirds of the population that don't have 50" screens are missing out on any benefits of Blu-ray, & have spent money needlessly.

I can't vouch for the 2/3 figure but agree with the sentiment I think you are trying to say. This is why Blu ray has always been described as a niche market place product and will never reach the scale of DVD sales. Yes people will always see / hear improvements but what they won't see is the full effect of what is possible. It is a sliding scale and visible resolution on 42" plasma may be limited in typical UK living rooms (hence optimised dedicated rooms nowdays). Most who rave about the massive jumps on the plasma are not the projector owners.Those that own both are much more reserved in their praise on the small screens.
 
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A major thing with BR, and HD television in particular, is viewing distance.
Once you get further away than 4 times the TV size the picture quality drops off significantly (37" TV max viewing distance 12 feet, but less is better).
Until recently I had a 40" screen, and sit approx 18 feet away from the screen. When watching a BR I would move the chair closer, and notice a significant difference in picture quality. I now have a 52" screen but still move to within 10 feet of the screen when watching BR or 3D.
You could also check the output settings of your player.
 
The following chart provides an indication of the general relationship between screen size, resolution benefit (based on human typical visual acuity) and viewing distance.

As an example for a 40" display the optimum viewing distance is 5' to gain full benefit.

Chart: 1080P Does Matter - CarltonBale.com

Avi
 
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