View Full Version : blu ray player or upconversion DVD player?
Jacob1983
08-14-2009, 10:58 PM
I just got an HDTV yesterday. I was just wondering, what's the best thing to do for an HDTV and DVDs. Is it a smart investment to go ahead and get a Blu Ray player? Or should I just go the cheaper route and get an upconversion dvd player?
koriwhat
08-14-2009, 11:22 PM
here's the best solution... download those movies and save your money! blu-ray is a big-waste in my opinion as is buying dvd movies unless you're gonna just buy the discs to backup files on your computer.
people are to concerned with clarity when in reality your eyes can't see clearly.
ManuTP9
08-14-2009, 11:24 PM
id say upconversion dvd player, netflix ftw
Cry Havoc
08-14-2009, 11:33 PM
I just got an HDTV yesterday. I was just wondering, what's the best thing to do for an HDTV and DVDs. Is it a smart investment to go ahead and get a Blu Ray player? Or should I just go the cheaper route and get an upconversion dvd player?
Depends on where you are financially. One thing I really like about blu-ray discs is that they are nearly skip-proof. I've had several DVDs become unplayable after very gentle usage, but I've never even had a hiccup with a blu-ray disc. They are said to have a superior coating which makes them much more resistant.
Personally I enjoy blu-ray. However if you're watching on a TV that's 40 inches or less, it may be less noticeable in terms of detail.
leemajors
08-14-2009, 11:48 PM
if you have netflix and don't mind paying a bit extra, it's great. Blu-Ray players aren't that expensive anymore, and they usually upconvert anyway. Only problem is 720p rips of Blu-Rays look pretty good, and I prefer to go that way at this time.
ChumpDumper
08-15-2009, 12:46 AM
Get the blu-ray. All of them upconvert DVDs and you'll get one eventually anyway.
The best all-around media choice is either a PS3 or an Xbox 360. Reason being is that they play games and can play media as well, and are designed to be connected to high definition displays, not only that but the price of a PS3 isn't that much more than a quality standalone Blu-Ray player.
As far as what koriwhat said, he/she is totally wrong, you WILL notice the difference between 480i and 1080P unless you're a blind fucking retard.
Jacob1983
08-15-2009, 01:43 AM
Does the size of the tv have that much of an impact on the HD? The HDTV that I bought it only 32 inches and it's 720p but it's bigger than the previous I had which was only 26 inches. The tv was on sale for 379.99 and I got it at my work so I got 10 percent off too which was nice. I've heard both good and bad things about blu ray players. Some people have told me that certain blu ray players don't always play standard DVDs or even blu ray movies. And I've heard some say that the standard DVDs are slow sometimes on blu ray players.
Where do you work?
For a set that size you'd have to be about six feet away to tell the difference, if you are any farther away it won't matter.
lefty
08-15-2009, 01:54 AM
Ps3
iggypop123
08-15-2009, 02:51 PM
depends if you have 1080p
Cry Havoc
08-15-2009, 03:38 PM
Does the size of the tv have that much of an impact on the HD? The HDTV that I bought it only 32 inches and it's 720p but it's bigger than the previous I had which was only 26 inches. The tv was on sale for 379.99 and I got it at my work so I got 10 percent off too which was nice. I've heard both good and bad things about blu ray players. Some people have told me that certain blu ray players don't always play standard DVDs or even blu ray movies. And I've heard some say that the standard DVDs are slow sometimes on blu ray players.
In that case, I probably wouldn't recommend a blu ray for you unless you plan to upgrade your TV at some time in the future.
Jacob1983
08-15-2009, 11:36 PM
So blu ray players are only good with HDTVs that are 1080p? I asked some people at my work today that work in electronics about blu ray players. One said that an upconversion DVD player is a waste of money and another one said that a blu ray player is a waste of money. Can you not experience the blu ray experience on a 720p LCD HDTV?
That Erica Hill pic is classic. :toast
Where do you work?
Certainly something is lost when watching Blu-Ray on that size set, but if you are sitting within six feet there is a difference.
Jacob1983
08-16-2009, 02:28 AM
I work at an amazing store called Target. Ever heard of it? :D
I thought it was kind of bad to be up close when watching blu ray movies on a blu ray player because you can see all the stuff on the actors and actresses' faces. It seems like it would be better to be farther away. My couch is probably 6 or 7 feet from where the tv will be. The main reason why I asked this question is because I've seen standard DVD movies played on a regular DVD player on a 720p HDTV and they looked shitty. However, a component cable was added I think and it made them look a little better. One of the reasons why I might go with a blu ray player is because there would no black bars. I don't mind black bars on fat ass old school tvs but on HDTVs, it annoys me. And the picture and sound are suppose to better on blu ray too but I'm not an expert on the matter. I also have a feeling that DVDs are probably gonna fade out in 5 years because blu ray movies are going to make them extinct just like DVDs made VHS extinct.
lefty
08-16-2009, 02:45 AM
PS3 is one of the best, if not the best Blu-Ray player.
Thanks to the IBM Roadrunner ship :tu
Plus, SOny invented the Blu-Ray, so...
You will still find black bars on Blu-Ray movies.
So the reason I asked twice: Don't they have a Blu-Ray setup at Target?
Look at it.
Seriously, you don't have or want a PS3 or a 360?
Where do you live man?
Heath Ledger
08-16-2009, 03:06 AM
Blu Ray is really only great for 50" and higher displays.
Jacob1983
08-16-2009, 03:31 AM
Yeah, there is a Blu Ray setup at the Target where I work. I have an XBOX 360. I'm gonna have to get an HDMI cable for that. That sucks about the black bars. I have seen blu ray movies on tvs at Blockbuster without the black bars though. That's a bad thing about getting an HDTV. You have to buy all of these extra things for it.
Yeah, there is a Blu Ray setup at the Target where I work. I have an XBOX 360. I'm gonna have to get an HDMI cable for that. That sucks about the black bars. I have seen blu ray movies on tvs at Blockbuster without the black bars though. That's a bad thing about getting an HDTV. You have to buy all of these extra things for it.
You can burn HD movies to Dual Layer disks or put them on a hard drive formatted HFS+ (I think).
Not quite as nice as Blu-Ray but a lot cheaper, and certainly nice in its own right.
What part of town do you live on?
I helped my in-laws get an HDTV and it wound up being a Samsung 32 inch and HD programs from cable look great and HD movies from other sources look great as well.
It kind of sucks if you have to buy things, but for me my 360 Elite came with an HDMI cable, and for short distances you probably won't notice the difference between a five dollar cable and a fifty dollar cable.
Also for the record, the 360 will upconvert DVDs.
I'd only get an upconverter if I had a big DVD collection, and even then I'd try to find the best one (Probably a Toshiba).
Also, at the Target near me their setup for Blu-Ray is either a 32 inch or a 40 inch set so if you can find a similar setup it should be useful to you.
balli
08-16-2009, 12:51 PM
Can you not experience the blu ray experience on a 720p LCD HDTV?
Not even close. 720p is barely better than the resolution that regular, non-upconverted DVD's will give you on a regular ol flatscreen tube.
If I were you, I wouldn't even consider buying a Blu-Ray player unless you plan on using it to play video games.
Cry Havoc
08-16-2009, 01:10 PM
Not even close. 720p is barely better than the resolution that regular, non-upconverted DVD's will give you on a regular ol flatscreen tube.
If I were you, I wouldn't even consider buying a Blu-Ray player unless you plan on using it to play video games.
What are you talking about?
720p displays in a resolution of 1280x720, with progressive scan technology, meaning that the entire image is refreshed every frame.
480i is standard TV, which is 640x480, and it's interlaced, which means that at points effectively half of that lower resolution is being passed through an even less-optimal filter to save bandwidth. So it's almost as bad as watching a display of 320x240 at times. Play games on an old 480i TV and you will see a massive difference, even with component cables.
720p is a larger jump from 480p than 1080p is from 720p. 1080p is 1920x1080, which is roughly a 75% increase in detail and clarity from 720p. 480p to 720p is nearly 100% at it's worst, and at best is a 260% difference.
Blu ray will look great on 720p. Not quite as good as 1080p, but still outstanding for movies. On a 32" display, I'd throw down money that you would not be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p unless you were less than 3 feet away from the screen, and maybe not even then.
720p is barely better
720P is approximately 2.6 times higher resolution than 480P
ChumpDumper
08-16-2009, 01:58 PM
720p is definitely better than 480i. It's fine for a anything up to a 37" tv IMO.
There will be some movies that still show black bars on HDTVs, as they were filmed with an aspect ratio wider than 16:9, and of course old 3:2 programming will have vertical bars unless you choose to distort the picture to fill up the screen (I personally detest that).
Spurtacus
08-16-2009, 09:13 PM
here's the best solution... download those movies and save your money! blu-ray is a big-waste in my opinion as is buying dvd movies unless you're gonna just buy the discs to backup files on your computer.
people are to concerned with clarity when in reality your eyes can't see clearly.
Your eyes won't see a difference if you use AV cables on your Blu-ray player.
I'll take 40+ inch 1080p HDTV over downloaded movies.
Spurtacus
08-16-2009, 09:14 PM
Blu Ray is really only great for 50" and higher displays.
FAIL.
Even the older 40 inch 1080p models look great.
I'll take 40+ inch 1080p HDTV over downloaded movies.
What exactly does that mean?
Spurtacus
08-16-2009, 09:28 PM
What exactly does that mean?
Did you happen to read the post I was quoting?
"people are to concerned with clarity when in reality your eyes can't see clearly."
I'll take the quality of Blu-ray over the quality of downloaded movies.
Did you happen to read the post I was quoting?
"people are to concerned with clarity when in reality your eyes can't see clearly."
I'll take the quality of Blu-ray over the quality of downloaded movies.
I bet you'd have a hard time telling the difference.
The quality is better (It should be since it's got a higher bitrate) but I'll take the unnoticeable quality difference and lower price of Blu-Ray over Blu-Ray any day.
Plus I don't have to bother with disks, storing them, getting them scratched, etc.
ChumpDumper
08-16-2009, 10:01 PM
You can download 720p and 1080p movies. They take forever to complete and vary in quality due to other encoding options -- but they look good for the most part and are free. I only download hi-def movies and shows I really think are worth it. The computer does a fair job of upconverting standard definition tv and DVDs on its own. I'm sure I'll get a blu ray soon enough, but I've got too many gigs worth to watch as it is.
You can download 720p and 1080p movies. They take forever to complete and vary in quality due to other encoding options -- but they look good for the most part and are free. I only download hi-def movies and shows I really think are worth it. The computer does a fair job of upconverting standard definition tv and DVDs on its own. I'm sure I'll get a blu ray soon enough, but I've got too many gigs worth to watch as it is.
Ugh.
I have Road Runner (Whatever you have it must be broadband) and I can download a movie in under three hours (Which isn't forever). WMV-HD quality does not vary much if it all because the scene has certain specs the videos must abide by.
leemajors
08-16-2009, 10:38 PM
With Uverse I can pull an 8GB 720p rip in about an hour, maybe 90 mins. very worthwhile
ChumpDumper
08-16-2009, 10:40 PM
:lol We might be talking about different kinds of downloads.
Cry Havoc
08-16-2009, 10:46 PM
:lol We might be talking about different kinds of downloads.
:lmao
*dons eyepatch and parrot*
With Uverse I can pull an 8GB 720p rip in about an hour, maybe 90 mins. very worthwhile
What kind of speed are you getting? I get around 20mbps but on Giganews I get about 14mbps and movies usually take about three hours (I've never timed it but that's about how long it takes).
:lol We might be talking about different kinds of downloads.
Yeah what are you talking about?
I'm talking about Blu-Ray rips.
ChumpDumper
08-17-2009, 12:07 AM
If we're talking about torrents, that all depends on what you're downloading and all your software and hardware settings. One can certainly get new movies downloaded quickly.
If we're talking about torrents, that all depends on what you're downloading and all your software and hardware settings. One can certainly get new movies downloaded quickly.
LOL, torrents, shut up.....
ChumpDumper
08-17-2009, 12:37 AM
Newsgroups then? Not much difference between the files found in both places, but there can be differences in HD video files to be sure.
There probably isn't a difference between files found in different locations, and of course HD video files differ, but I've never seen a poor quality rip.
I even once got a rip that was big enough to fit on a single layer DVD, I thought it would look like crap but it was hard to tell the difference.
ChumpDumper
08-17-2009, 12:51 AM
True, blu ray/hd dvd rips are hard to mess up if you are going through the trouble of making one. hdtv rips seem to be a different matter.
koriwhat
08-17-2009, 01:09 AM
blah blah blah blah blah irc... blah blah blah blah blah newsgroups... stop living in the past and stop acting like a /dick!
True, blu ray/hd dvd rips are hard to mess up if you are going through the trouble of making one. hdtv rips seem to be a different matter.
The thing is, the scene has standards, and on top of that there are only a handful of rippers, or even less. This makes sense when you consider the knowledge, equipment, and encoding time involved. Not every John, Dick, and Harry are ripping Blu-Ray movies.
So for example a rip can only be 2 Pass VBR. Also movies 81 minutes or more must be DVD9 and DVD9 rips must use the entire space on the disk.
koriwhat
08-17-2009, 01:22 AM
The thing is, the scene has standards, and on top of that there are only a handful of rippers, or even less. This makes sense when you consider the knowledge, equipment, and encoding time involved. Not every John, Dick, and Harry are ripping Blu-Ray movies.
So for example a rip can only be 2 Pass VBR. Also movies 81 minutes or more must be DVD9 and DVD9 rips must use the entire space on the disk.
the scene... hahaha. am i back in the '90s or what? /join #blu-ray rips
Jacob1983
08-17-2009, 01:35 AM
If you have to have a 1080p HDTV in order to have a good blu ray experience then what's the point? I think the PS3 would probably be the best deal if I was going to get a blu ray player because it's a blu ray player and video game system. Two things would stop me from getting one right now: the price and I already have too many video game systems as it is. I have a PSP, PS2, and XBOX 360. I just want to experience DVDs in an enjoyable non sucking ass way on my new HDTV. I have seen standard DVDs on an HDTV. It's not a pretty sight. :depressed
And a bad thing about HDTVs is that you have to buy all this shit for them to work the right way.
If you have to have a 1080p HDTV in order to have a good blu ray experience then what's the point? I think the PS3 would probably be the best deal if I was going to get a blu ray player because it's a blu ray player and video game system. Two things would stop me from getting one right now: the price and I already have too many video game systems as it is. I have a PSP, PS2, and XBOX 360. I just want to experience DVDs in an enjoyable non sucking ass way on my new HDTV. I have seen standard DVDs on an HDTV. It's not a pretty sight. :depressed
And a bad thing about HDTVs is that you have to buy all this shit for them to work the right way.
In all honesty, after this discussion I watched a DVD on my Elite with HDMI upscaled to 1080P and it didn't look bad at all. Without question it was no Blu-Ray (My laptop has a Blu-Ray drive) nor was it as good as Blu-Ray rips, but it wasn't bad by any means either.
What part of town do you live on? I could probably hook you up with a Blu-Ray rip you can play on your 360, you'd just need (or at least want) an HDMI cable.
What are you doing for cable, do you have satellite or cable HD?
the scene... hahaha. am i back in the '90s or what? /join #blu-ray rips
Yeah that's what they call it dick head. You can see the scene rules here:
http://www.sbytes.info/wp/?page_id=151
ChumpDumper
08-17-2009, 02:34 AM
If you break the scene rules do you go to scene jail?
Jacob1983
08-17-2009, 02:39 AM
I'm gonna get the HDMI cable this week for my XBOX 360. How can you play a Blu Ray rip on an XBOX 360? I thought Blu Ray movies could be only be played in Blu Ray players?
koriwhat
08-17-2009, 02:42 AM
If you break the scene rules do you go to scene jail?
haha... chump knows what's up!
I'm gonna get the HDMI cable this week for my XBOX 360. How can you play a Blu Ray rip on an XBOX 360? I thought Blu Ray movies could be only be played in Blu Ray players?
It's a rip, the files are removed from the Blu-Ray, converted (and compressed) into a format that the 360 (Or PS3 Alternately) can read, in this case WMV-HD.
Thought I'd post some screens of some movies, in this case these are 1080P movies but the screen on my laptop is only capable of a resolution a little higher than 720P:
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7940/30424162.png
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8431/88758717.png
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8819/27149604.png
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7632/18487437.png
By the way, The Unborn is the worst movie you'll ever see, but still see it.....
Blu-Ray:
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9855/60830429.png
And finally DVD upscaled by my video card:
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/1724/10562264.png
Also, for the record: The quality of Blu-Ray releases varies from studio to studio, I don't think any of these are in anyones top ten list for video quality, but it's what was on hand.
leemajors
08-17-2009, 07:57 AM
i get 2Mb down off giganews, usually grab .mkvs.
jacobdrj
08-17-2009, 08:34 AM
Bluray looks great. I am holding out for an internal PC player.
Jacob1983
08-17-2009, 09:31 PM
I finally got an HDMI cable for my XBOX 360. I could definitely tell a difference with it when I played games on it. The picture looked a lot better. I played some movies on it and they looked better too. I also went to Best Buy to get that HDMI cable for my XBOX 360. I talked a person that worked there about Blu Ray players and the guy really has me leaning toward getting a Blu Ray player. He even hooked up an LG Blu Ray Player to a 32 inch Samsung 720p LCD HDTV. He put in Spiderman 3 on Blu Ray. I was surprised. I could really tell a difference. The picture was clear and crisp. And I could tell a difference in the detail and texture. He also put a standard DVD in it and I saw the difference. The standard DVD did look good but it wasn't as good as the Spiderman 3 Blu Ray movie.
Might as well get a PS3 with the new price drop. A standalone player (A decent one) will run you 199.99, while a price dropped PS3 will run you 299.99.
Oh yeah I forgot to say: I fucking told you so.
Unless you're fucking blind you can easily tell the difference of 2.5 times the resolution, even on a 32 inch screen just as long as you are within six feet or so.
spurs_2108
08-17-2009, 10:33 PM
Don't tell me you spent 60+ dollars on a hdmi cable to?
Don't tell me you spent 60+ dollars on a hdmi cable to?
He went to Best Buy, what do you think?
Cry Havoc
08-17-2009, 11:13 PM
He went to Best Buy, what do you think?
:lmao
:lmao
It just goes without saying. I think the cheapest HDMI cable they have is probably thirty bucks.
Jacob1983
08-17-2009, 11:24 PM
It was 50 dollars but it was for my XBOX 360. I figured that the Microsoft brand would be the best. I saw cheaper HDMI cables but I figured the cheap ones weren't that good and the reviews of the cheap ones were mostly bad. I can't wait forever on that PS3 pricedrop. Sony needs to hurry up on that and get it down to 299.
PM5K, you were right. I give you props on being right. This might sound like a dumb question but do you usually see wires in the movies on Blu Ray? I watched the standard DVD version of The Rock on my XBOX 360 using the HDMI cable and I saw wires on Nic Cage's stuntman. It was very obvious. I just would hope that Blu Ray isn't like that.
Cry Havoc
08-17-2009, 11:43 PM
It was 50 dollars but it was for my XBOX 360. I figured that the Microsoft brand would be the best. I saw cheaper HDMI cables but I figured the cheap ones weren't that good and the reviews of the cheap ones were mostly bad. I can't wait forever on that PS3 pricedrop. Sony needs to hurry up on that and get it down to 299.
PM5K, you were right. I give you props on being right. This might sound like a dumb question but do you usually see wires in the movies on Blu Ray? I watched the standard DVD version of The Rock on my XBOX 360 using the HDMI cable and I saw wires on Nic Cage's stuntman. It was very obvious. I just would hope that Blu Ray isn't like that.
You wasted $50. I would return it. You can buy a quality HDMI cable from monoprice.com for $5. They're ripping you off.
It was 50 dollars but it was for my XBOX 360. I figured that the Microsoft brand would be the best. I saw cheaper HDMI cables but I figured the cheap ones weren't that good and the reviews of the cheap ones were mostly bad. I can't wait forever on that PS3 pricedrop. Sony needs to hurry up on that and get it down to 299.
PM5K, you were right. I give you props on being right. This might sound like a dumb question but do you usually see wires in the movies on Blu Ray? I watched the standard DVD version of The Rock on my XBOX 360 using the HDMI cable and I saw wires on Nic Cage's stuntman. It was very obvious. I just would hope that Blu Ray isn't like that.
I have The Rock in 1080P but I've never noticed wires, but it's also not the type of thing I typically notice. Which part in particular?
Shit for fifty bucks I would have sold you mine.
You wasted $50. I would return it. You can buy a quality HDMI cable from monoprice.com for $5. They're ripping you off.
Yup. I understand your desire to get the Microsoft brand cable, but if I were you (And I'm not I'm super cheap) I would order this one from eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/GENUINE-OEM-MICROSOFT-XBOX-360-HDMI-CABLE-ONLY-BLOWOUT_W0QQitemZ110341649192QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVi deo_Games_Accessories?hash=item19b0dff328&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_2107wt_1165
And once it arrives return yours to Best Buy. This auction is for the exact same cable, from the exact same place.
Jacob1983
08-18-2009, 12:18 AM
Damn it. I will check that ebay item and try to get it. I just don't know if Best Buy will take that HDMI cable since I opened. I don't think they normally take that shit back if it's opened.
The part in The Rock where I saw wires was when Nic Cage does the famous pose of the movie where he is on his knees on the outside part of Alcatraz and waves the flares to signal the jet fighters to not bomb The Rock. Anyways, you can see the wires during the explosion from the missle that is dropped by one of the pilots. The explosion sends Nic Cage into the water. If you look closely during the explosion, you will see some wires on Cage's stuntman and I also think I spotted some type of safety helmet on the guy too.
I'm pretty sure they will take them back, I buy Best Buy returns and I've gotten plenty of HDMI cables in the past, mostly Rocketfish though.
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