To Blu-ray or not to Blu-ray

[Zelig]

Wow, i didnt think it would be so bad of an example. You're comparing a 1981 movie with a 2001 movie. Guess which one will look better on any medium?

And frankly, that 'Hi-Def' shot of the Matrix looks no different than the SD DVD on my monitor. So no, I can't guess which is which.

Again, The first two shots look like SD DVD's, and the Iron Man shot you chose looks like its from youtube or something. Meaning that is most definitely not representative of dvd quality

There is no way anything at 720x480 resolution can look as good as stuff at 1920x1080, unless you have really bad eyesight, a puny monitor, or sit excessively far away from your screen.

The Chariots of Fire shot is from the DVD, and the Iron Man shot is from the 480p "HD" trailer from apple.com. That's what standard DVDs look like on big HD TVs. Seriously, standard DVD looks like crap.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

There is no way anything at 720x480 resolution can look as good as stuff at 1920x1080, unless you have really bad eyesight, a puny monitor, or sit excessively far away from your screen.

I have a 22 inch monitor, and I sit 2 feet away from it. I honestly cannot really tell. It could be just that the images are bad on their own, but Im willing to bet its partly.

The Chariots of Fire shot is from the DVD, and the Iron Man shot is from the 480p "HD" trailer from apple.com. That's what standard DVDs look like on big HD TVs. Seriously, standard DVD looks like crap.

Again, Chariots of Fire was made in 1981. Whether or not its on DVD is of little importance afaik. It would still be at the same resolution, but upscaled to fit the NTSC standard.

Now, I am not against BD, but atm its not worth it. As Speedo said, in 2 or 3 years it will be fine, but now its much too expensive. For one, that disk drive requires a computer, one that can support HD playback ( 500$+). Which puts the total cost at 650$ or so. Thats with a smallish 17" or 19" monitor. if you really want to notice the difference, you have to get a 24"+ inch monitor, which is another 350$. So now the cost is at 1000$. For what, a rather small atm selection of DRM-ridden movies?

To the OP: Unless you absolutely need to be able to play BD right now, save the money, or spend it on a different upgrade ( RAM, a new CPU cooling solution)

 

[Enkidu Warrior]

Now, I am not against BD, but atm its not worth it. As Speedo said, in 2 or 3 years it will be fine, but now its much too expensive. For one, that disk drive requires a computer, one that can support HD playback ( 500$+). Which puts the total cost at 650$ or so. Thats with a smallish 17" or 19" monitor. if you really want to notice the difference, you have to get a 24"+ inch monitor, which is another 350$. So now the cost is at 1000$. For what, a rather small atm selection of DRM-ridden movies?

To the OP: Unless you absolutely need to be able to play BD right now, save the money, or spend it on a different upgrade ( RAM, a new CPU cooling solution)

That's pretty much what I'm thinking. It just depends how extravagant I'm feeling when I make the purchase. One thing about my situation that's different from the one you outlined is that I don't have to worry about the extra costs associated with monitors and CPU upgrades, it's just a one-off cost to go with a Blu-ray drive instead of DVD. It will cost me about 40,000 yen, which is a lot for the limited use it will see. I want to buy a system that can last though, I'm not into upgrading all the time. And I do enjoy watching HD movies, though the current range available is not exactly exciting, especially if you don't like Hollywood movies. We'll see.

 

[mdwh]

Posting screenshots from different films doesn't show anything.

The obvious test is to show the exact same frame (or as close as possible) in both SD and HD.

 

[Enkidu Warrior]

I just made a list of movies that I'd like to buy and only one is available in BD. Bizarrely, they don't seem to have caught on for movies in Japan at all. In several cases the UK version of a Japanese movie is available in BD, but you can only buy the DVD here. I'm gonna take a look around a couple of shops today but I'm definately leaning towards not bothering if Japan is going to be so slow at adopting.

 

[Enkidu Warrior]

I'm gonna take a look around a couple of shops today....

The result being that the shops I looked in didn't even stock Blu-ray movies. Decision made.

 

[Abaddon]

Good show!

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

Since blue ray will be the standard for a long time we might aswell by our drives now and we can install them in our new computers when we upgrade.

 

[azzaman333]

Since blue ray will be the standard for a long time we might aswell by our drives now and we can install them in our new computers when we upgrade.

Words cannot describe how stupid that comment is...

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Words cannot describe how stupid that comment is...

Actually, they can, but would get me nailed with a multitude of infractions.