Upconverting DVD vs. Blue-Ray

[Hauk]

I just got one of these Samsung LN40B550 and am thinking about grabbing one of these Samsung DVD-1080P9.

Any opinions on true Blue Ray vs. upscaling? Blue-Ray hardware/media is still too expensive for my taste; the difference would have to be like night and day. Otherwise I'd wait another year. Thanks...

 

[erwos]

IMHO? Night and day.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

On a blu-ray disc that's well made, the difference is huge. Image quality varies though.

For example, don't watch one of the Tier 5 - Coal versions listed here as your determination on what blu-ray looks like.

"Tier 5 - Coal (Unacceptable)

The titles in this tier have severe limitations in their picture quality that is strongly underwhelming compared to the average Blu-ray. The image has deficiencies in multiple areas that would be obvious upon a casual viewing. Without question the Blu-rays in tier five are among the worst looking on the market. At various times the picture quality is hard to distinguish from dvd material. Softness, artifacting, poor source material, limited resolution and clarity are general characteristics of titles in this tier. "

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316

EDIT:

This is also assuming that you're close enough to the TV to notice the increased resolution. There are other benefits like better color, but resolution is a bit part of it. If you're going to be a primary factor on what kind of benefit you'll see.

Even with 20/20 vision, you'll have a hard time noticing the difference between 480p and anything higher on a 40" TV if you're sitting 13 feet or more away.

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

 

[Hauk]

Good info, thanks. I'm not in a hurry so I read up and make a decision!

Edit: I'm looking at the distance chart now. Very good piece of info.. interesting..

 

[zylander]

I just watched Casino Royal last night on DVD upscaled and compared to it on Blu-Ray, its a huge difference.

 

[Rio Rebel]

I was an early adopter of Blu-Ray and I have no regrets. But I'm watching them on a projector. If I was watching on a 40" screen, I wouldn't pay the premium.

It's not that you can't see a difference (especially if you sit close enough). It's that for the difference you will see on 40" isn't worth paying what Blu-Ray movies cost. I would keep enjoying upconverted movies in your situation, and when the price comes farther down OR you get a bigger screen, you can always make the jump.

Of course, everyone's determination of value varies based on taste and situation...

 

[boomhower]

I am on a 46" at about 10' and IMHO its night and day. Assuming a quality TV and a quality BR. That said I would have to side with Rio and would wait until you have a larger TV.

 

[zylander]

Ill go into more detail as I just watched Casino Royal again and paid more attention.

Im watching on a 42" LCD and from 6-8' away at my desk the difference is VERY noticable. From my couch or bed which is about 10-11' away the difference is less apparent but still noticeable. It all depends on how far away you are from the TV. On a 40" TV if you are watching from about 10' away or more upconverted dvd will probably be good enough.

 

[DaveSimmons]

A huge difference for some titles on my Samsung 50" 1080p DLP.

There's only a $3? month difference in the monthly rate at Netflix, so you can enjoy 10+ blu-rays a month without ever buying one.

 

[techwanabe]

The original comment, it depends on the movie, is true. I've gotten some bluray movies out that I sweared was DVD due to graininess and lack of sharp definition. I have a 46-inch Samsung. The CG movies can be extremely sharp.

 

[erwos]

Yeah, I should have been more clear, as others of you were: a lot will depend on the disc authoring or even the material.

Best example of a problem disc that I can think of offhand is actually an HD-DVD, and that's Battlestar Galactica Season One. BSGS1 on HD-DVD is simply not that much of an improvement over the DVDs due to the overwhelming amount of grain (supposed to be there) and encoding/transfer problems (which aren't). If I watched a single disc to evaluate whether Blu-Ray/HD-DVD was worth it, and I mistakenly chose BSGS1 on HD-DVD, I would think it was overhyped crap.

But, there are also really great transfers, like King Kong and the Pixar movies, that can really show off what high-def is supposed to be about.

 

[techwanabe]

But, there are also really great transfers, like King Kong and the Pixar movies, that can really show off what high-def is supposed to be about.

I first saw a bluray demo of Pirates of the Carribean on a 46-inch Samsung at Best Buy and remember how it looked so sharp and clear, it was like looking out a window at reality. I was impressed!

My first bluray movie I recall watching at home when I got my new Hi Def TV and PS3 bluray player was Meet the Robinsons, and the detail was very crisp and astounding.

As it is right now I haven't been watching a lot of movies and Netflix has upped their price for 2 movies out (including bluray) from $11.95/mo to $16.95/mo. Seems like less less than 1/3rd of the movies I pick to watch are bluray and of those, seems like half are grainy or hardly better than upscaled DVD quality - and with being unemployed, the answer is clear, cut back my netflix to the bare minimum for now.

 

[Hauk]

Thanks for the comments all. There's more to it than just buying a player. I'm learning a lot..

 

[spidey07]

As with other HD sources what you'll immediately notice is the extra color. It's a pretty big difference that you'll notice immediately.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Watch an all digital animated film. Take Wall*E for example. Upscaled looks great, but when it's on Blu-Ray it is absolutely stunning.

I say check animated films because they do not have the flaws of a film transfer, you don't have any grain or the like.

 

[dainthomas]

I bought SCC:S1 on DVD before I got a bd player. Just watched it last week and couldn't believe how bad it looked even upconverted compared to the hd broadcast of season 2. I'll probably buy it again on bluray when season 2 comes out.

 

[erwos]

I guess another way to think about the whole Blu-Ray thing is the same way you look at gaming consoles: if an Xbox 360 game has graphics like an Xbox 1 game, you don't freaking blame the Xbox 360, you blame the game developers. Same thing for Blu-Ray: it can put out some mind-blowing visuals, but disc authors need to take advantage of what the format can offer.