What's so great about DVD?

[Dedpuhl]

I have my Sony DVD player hooked up to a 27" Sony Flatscreen TV. I don't have speakers. It still is AWESOME. I would really like to get some speakers, but I can't afford them right now.

 

[Yeeny]

We just bought a new entertainment system last month, and it is awesome. The picture, sound and just everything about it is so much clearer. But you also need the kind of movies that help you appreciate the difference. I love watching movies like The Matrix and Armageddon on it, because to me I can really see it then. And you would not believe how nice it is to be able to go directly to where you want in a movie, without having to fast forward or rewind continuously.

 

[snow patrol]

Gf- do you have the Criterion version of Armageddon?

 

[Adul]

I have been lookoing for the criterion version of Armagedon myself. I rented it twice from blockbuster and notice the extra footage. Anyone know where to get it?

 

[divinemartyr]

<< Yep, and every TV I have seen &quot;sux&quot;. TVs SUCK. Or should I spend thousands on a TV so I can see the difference with DVD? If I ever actually get a DVD I'm going to get it for my computer though, so I will be able to see if the quality really is good >>



Actually, I prefer the non-pixelation of TV pictures as opposed to computer DVD pictures. On even a low end 21&quot; TV, my DVD picture looks FAR superior than on my roommate's Sony Trinitron 21&quot; monitor. Putting your DVDs on a computer screen will most likely only disappoint you further.

As far as why you haven't been able to appreciate how much better a DVD is, the PS2's DVD player sucks. After watching 2 movies through it rather than on my Toshiba SD-3109 (rated one of the best in its price point) I immediately switched back to my DVD player. The PS2 doesn't deal well with aspect ratios, despite what anyone else may have to say to me. I have first hand experience with it and if they can't see the difference, I suppose that I'm more picky about how my picture looks.

To REALLY appreciate DVD format you must have the audio outputting via optical or coaxial digital, and use either an S-video out or colorstream out from your DVD player for the video. Also a 5.1 speaker setup makes 10 times the amount of difference when compared to VHS videos. You simply don't know what you're missing until you watch a movie setup like this.

dm

 

[snow patrol]

Adul - DVD-Depot have it for $39.95 exc shipping. Pretty pricey...

 

[N8Magic]

Yes, better picture quality and sound are the benefits of a DVD system, but you have to use the proper patch cables etc to take full advantage of it.

Did you have the PS2 hooked up by coaxial? If so, that could give you mediocre image quality. Even hooking it up via composite (RCA) cables wouldn't give you the best picture. For the best picture, you would want to use the S-Video out, or the component out. Those two separate luminance (brightness) and chrominance (color) to enable a higher resolution and a wider color palette. (Component out separates chrominance into two streams, for even better quality).

Basically if you didn't use one of the last two, you wouldn't have seen all DVD has to offer.

As for audio, unless you have it patched through a decent sound system (crappy TV speakers are still going to sound crappy no matter the source) you again wouldn't have heard all DVD has to offer.

Hope this helps.

 

[Yeeny]

snow patrol: No I don't, I did not even know there was such a thing. What is the difference between that and the regular one?

 

[snow patrol]

GF - take a look here for some info on Criterion DVD's.

 

[konichiwa]

GF

Criterion is an independent company that buys the rights to classic and modern-classic movies and re-releases them on DVD. Their DVDs are considered the top of the line, but you'll pay for it. They're usually MSRP $39-59, but IMO, they're worth it. Most of the releases are 2-discs, they are PACKED with extra features, vignettes, behind-the-scene's, journals, interviews, the whole bit. And they re-transfer the video and the audio in the best manner possible.

 

[Zucchini]

grumble just look at the video formats, dvd is like ~712x500, psx video is ~320x240. Just watch them on a decent computer with decent software and its obvious.

 

[snow patrol]

Konichiwa - although, to be fair, certain special edition 2-disc DVD's which aren't Criterion releases (such as fight club, Se7en, T2:UE and Gladiator) are probably on a par with the best Criterion releases any way, without the inflated price tag..IMHO any way.

 

[divinemartyr]

<< And they re-transfer the video and the audio in the best manner possible. >>



Sure they do but so do the original producers of the movie when they make a platinum edition or special edition. There are times when movies slip through the cracks and don't get a proper transfer, but the problem with criterion is they have to pay a ton of money for licensing and rights.

If there was a $35 special edition of a movie and a $50 criterion, I certainly wouldn't spend the extra money on the criterion is my whole point.

dm

 

[CromNogger]

The sound setup was pretty nice, I wasn't using TV speakers, they were shut off.

I don't know how it was hooked up, so that could have affected it too. I like the fact that you don't have to rewind and all, that's really handy. I noticed the better graphics in the game (less jaggies), but it wasn't anything spectactular.

I'll have to get a real DVD setup some day to discover what it's really all about.

 

[snow patrol]

Also, Criterion have yet to produce a disc with a DTS sound-track (although I believe the very-soon-to-be-released 'The Rock' has one), and many of the discs aren't anamorphic...

I have to say, that sometimes I think the whole Criterion thing is hype, and that the price of their DVD's is a tad too high. Having said this, I am tempted to get 'The Rock' and 'The Life of Brian'...