Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Anyone picked up a Blu-ray player? I just got one over Xmas, and, man, is the picture quality insane! I have a 47" 1080p Vizio, and it's pretty amazing the upgrade from DVD (I did an A-B comparison over different inputs). I don't think I'll build up a collection of discs, but I'll re-buy a few of the classics. I've "upgraded" my Netflix account to Blu-ray.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

I'm thinking of taking that plunge really soon.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

It's called a PS3. I have one and have not used it as one yet. How much better could it possibly be...honestly?

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Depends on the size of the TV. On mine, the picture is distinctly sharper and clearer. You can make out detail that is just blurry on DVD. Of course, some people don't care about the difference. The only way to tell if it matters to you is to rent the Blu-ray version of a movie that you have on DVD and do an A-B comparison. I just paused both discs at the same point in the movie and flipped back and forth.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

I have a PS3 and I love that it's also a Blu Ray player (that was a big reason I wanted it). I have about 160 regular DVDs so since I've spent way too much on movies in the past I really try to limit my purchases now but for some movies (like Iron Man and The Dark Knight) I feel like I have to get them in Blu Ray.

I got season 4 of Lost on Blu ray for Christmas and the picture is freaking amazing! There is also a cool feature for watching the entire season where any of the 4 discs can tell you exactly where you left off even you take out the discs to play something else, which is nice if you take long breaks in between episodes.

Not only is there a noticable difference between Blu Rays and regular DVDs, but it also looks better than the HD I get from crappy old Comcast. I probably won't pay the extra money for Blu Ray for just any movie, but I think it's worth it for certain types of movies.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

PS3 is the way to go considering how expensive players still are. I just watched the Dark Knight on BD...the visuals are pretty bad ass though I'm re-thinking the quality of the Dark Knight storyline, kinda mediocre actually. I'm building a nice collection of [URL="http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?show=comingsoon"]Blu-Ray movies[/URL] and I'm pissed I can't get Gladiator or the Star Wars trilogy on BD yet. Here's what I have so far...recommendations are welcomed:

Dark Knight
Iron Man
Transformers
Golden Compass
Big Fish
Pan's Labyrinth
House of Flying Daggers (I got robbed, not true HD).
3:10 to Yuma
Dark City
V for Vendetta
Apocalypto

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;518003]I have a PS3 and I love that it's also a Blu Ray player (that was a big reason I wanted it). I have about 160 regular DVDs so since I've spent way too much on movies in the past I really try to limit my purchases now but for some movies (like Iron Man and The Dark Knight) I feel like I have to get them in Blu Ray.

I got season 4 of Lost on Blu ray for Christmas and the picture is freaking amazing! There is also a cool feature for watching the entire season where any of the 4 discs can tell you exactly where you left off even you take out the discs to play something else, which is nice if you take long breaks in between episodes.

Not only is there a noticable difference between Blu Rays and regular DVDs, but it also looks better than the HD I get from crappy old Comcast. I probably won't pay the extra money for Blu Ray for just any movie, but I think it's worth it for certain types of movies.[/quote]

Do you have the "new" [URL="http://www.motorola.com/business/US-EN/DCH3416_US-EN.do?vgnextoid=6c2d9e3eeed46110VgnVCM1000008406b00aRCRD"]Comcast Motorola HD box[/URL]? It's bug free and very responsive compared to the older model and if you connect it to your TV via HDMI you can't really tell the difference between 1080i (resolution of HD content on Comcast) and 1080p (resolution of most BD content).

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

i got a ps3 and love the blu ray. i just wish my local red box had more of them. i don't have a 1080p tv, but it looks good in either 1080i or 720p. I also have been impressed with the HD streaming movies on the ps3 and xbox 360. the download times are excessive, but with a little planning ahead it can be worked around.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

I've got a Sony Blu-Ray player not named PS3. I didn't want another game console.

I have a 46" Panasonic 1080p plasma and the picture is excellent.

One thing that really stood out to me with the BR disc, as opposed to a regular DVD, was the difference in sound quality. It is awesome. I don't have great speakers, either. So I would imagine it would sound amazing on a good setup.

I signed up for a BR Netflix account today. I had held off, but the acquisition of this player suddenly made it worthwhile.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

If you have a PS3 and want to use a universal remote, check this out:
[url=http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-3-Blu-Wave-Remote/dp/B000R5H7KE/]Amazon.com: PlayStation 3 Blu Wave Remote: Video Games[/url]

The Sony remote uses Bluetooth, not the regular infrared that most remotes use (including universals), so you supposedly can't program a universal remote to control the BR player on the PS3. This thing gets around that by adding an infrared receiver to the PS3.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=cpayne5;518032]I've got a Sony Blu-Ray player not named PS3. I didn't want another game console.

I have a 46" Panasonic 1080p plasma and the picture is excellent.

One thing that really stood out to me with the BR disc, as opposed to a regular DVD, was the difference in sound quality. It is awesome. I don't have great speakers, either. So I would imagine it would sound amazing on a good setup.

I signed up for a BR Netflix account today. I had held off, but the acquisition of this player suddenly made it worthwhile.[/quote]

I'm looking to buy a new plasma here pretty soon and had my eye on the 46" Panasonic. I can't decide between the 42" and the 46" though. I just don't want it to be too big for the room. Decisions, decisions.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

i got the 42 and wish i had a bigger one. i was worried about space, as I mounted it above the fireplace in a room with 8' ceilings. it fits nicely, but I would rather not have the space in exchange for the larger screen.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=EternalEnigma21;518038]i got the 42 and wish i had a bigger one. i was worried about space, as I mounted it above the fireplace in a room with 8' ceilings. it fits nicely, but I would rather not have the space in exchange for the larger screen.[/quote]


You have a 42 inch mounted above the fire place? How far are you sitting? If you're sitting too close that's not good for your neck and posture and if you're sitting too far you're not [URL="http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html"]maximizing your viewing pleasure[/URL].

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=EternalEnigma21;518038]i got the 42 and wish i had a bigger one. i was worried about space, as I mounted it above the fireplace in a room with 8' ceilings. it fits nicely, but I would rather not have the space in exchange for the larger screen.[/quote]

I did the same thing when I bought a 37" Panasonic for my living room a few years ago. To this day I wish I would have went with a 42".

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=saden1;518042]You have a 42 inch mounted above the fire place? How far are you sitting? If you're sitting too close that's not good for your neck and posture and if you're sitting too far you're not [URL="http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html"]maximizing your viewing pleasure[/URL].[/quote]


im about 13 feet away usually. That's why i want a bigger screen. the nice thing is that the kids and wife can go about their business witout walking in front of my movies or games. mostly the kids. when they're playing together they can really mess up my gaming.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

To those who have been using Blu-Ray...is your A-B comparison using a regular DVD player or an upconverting DVD player?

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=BDBohnzie;518152]To those who have been using Blu-Ray...is your A-B comparison using a regular DVD player or an upconverting DVD player?[/quote]


My dad has a blu ray and I brought over my up convert player. To be honest not a huge step IMO, considering the price. I feel like the future of DVD is going to go the way of CD's. There is going to be some type of "iPod" that will download movies for you and you will watch them on your TV.

It just makes sense people want instant and it would elimante overhead for hollywood. Shipping DVDs, making the dvd, marketing the DVD, etc...

The blu-rays will be kicked to the curb soon.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Upconverting DVD players are hype. You can't "create" information that doesn't exist - you are still getting DVD-resolution. Granted, many upconverting DVD players have a better scaler than some TV sets, but there is simply no way DVD can approach Blu-ray, because Blu-ray has 6x the resolution of DVD.

Of course, there is a limit to the resolution the eye can perceive. Still, on a sub-65" set, that limit is around 720p, not 480p.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

im a gadget type, but i say no to blue ray

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=mredskins;518163]It just makes sense people want instant and it would elimante overhead for hollywood. Shipping DVDs, making the dvd, marketing the DVD, etc...[/quote]
I agree - digital downloads are the future for HD+ quality.

[quote=mredskins;518163] The blu-rays will be kicked to the curb soon.[/quote]
At their current pace, I agree. However, if the players drop in price (~$100-$150) and the discs drop as well (~$15-$20), then I think it will supplant DVDs and stick around as an "ownership" medium. There are a lot of folks out there who like to own their movies and not deal with DRM.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=onlydarksets;518165]Upconverting DVD players are hype. You can't "create" information that doesn't exist - you are still getting DVD-resolution. Granted, many upconverting DVD players have a better scaler than some TV sets, but there is simply no way DVD can approach Blu-ray, because Blu-ray has 6x the resolution of DVD.

Of course, there is a limit to the resolution the eye can perceive. Still, on a sub-65" set, that limit is around 720p, not 480p.[/quote]


To each is own. I agree the BR is better picture but not enough better to justify the extra dollars.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Is this much of an upgrade over my VCR? I was thinking about upgrading that to a DVD player sense its hard to rent VCR tapes. I can find them by the box at garage sales but how many times can you watch Jaws.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

lol, nah, it's all hype. I hope your VCR is a Beta, though - I hear VHS is dead.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=onlydarksets;518214]lol, nah, it's all hype. I hope your VCR is a Beta, though - I hear VHS is dead.[/quote]

No never could afford the Betta so I stuck with VHS.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

In the day a Beta machine was like a couple hundred bucks, I feel bad for the people who jumped on that wagon.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

My step-dad still has one...

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Nothing beats the awesome inconvience of an oversized Laserdisc. I can still remember staring at them in awe at the old Erol's video.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

My step-dad had that, too, along with about 200 laserdiscs. And we had Erol's around the corner. Red box meant VHS, black meant Beta.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

With respect to Blu-Ray longevity, it's gonna be here for at least 10 years. Honestly, people shouldn't be discouraged by whether it has staying power, it actually beat out HD-DVD and the people advicing the studio executives aren't smart enough yet to figure out what the public really wants yet. They're simply too scared to take the streaming movies over the internet pludge without making the whole process painful and a turn off. I ****ing hate DRM but maybe most people don't care enough to care either way. Me? I like owning physical things and I loath iTunes and Zune...renting music my ass.

As for laserdiscs, GMU library had a large collection of laserdisc movies when I went to school there...I wonder if they still have them...I watched all the classic movies on them.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

I remember trips to [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erol%27s"]Erol's[/URL] to rent videos. Before Erol's, there was a small chain (I know of stores in Bethesda and Gaithersburg) called The Video Place that we went to. And we also had a Beta machine, that had a wired remote that essentially had 2 functions on it: Play and Pause.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Don't forget MAJOR VIDEO!!!!!

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=BDBohnzie;518537]I remember trips to [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erol%27s"]Erol's[/URL] to rent videos. Before Erol's, there was a small chain (I know of stores in Bethesda and Gaithersburg) called The Video Place that we went to. And we also had a Beta machine, that had a wired remote that essentially had 2 functions on it: Play and Pause.[/quote]
Does that mean your family also had to invest in a rewinding machine?
We had one for some reason. I think it got used twice.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=ArtMonkDrillz;518581]Does that mean your family also had to invest in a rewinding machine?
We had one for some reason. I think it got used twice.[/quote]


Actually I had a rewind machine it did it faster and was less wear and tear on the VCR.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

Got myself a PS3 for Christmas and it's beautiful. Though I've only really rented the Dark Knight to see how it looks on Blu Ray (my family has a 1080i 50 inch). It was so good it almost gave me another seizure that's how much detail was in the picture. The funny thing is they really used the whole disk for the Dark Knight (50 GB) and put the special features on a seperate disc.

At this point though Sony is probably wondering why the Blu Ray isn't taking the world by storm when to fully utilize a Blu Ray you have to get a player in which the cheapest is around $200. Then you have to make sure you have a TV thats at least 720p which can run you up another $1,000+ then if that wasn't enough you have to pay around $30 per movie. But hey the picture is absolutely fantastic. So technically to watch the Dark Knight on Blu Ray you have to pay at least $1,230 and thats being cheap. Maybe $1,208 if you rent it. :D Still the picture really is unbelievable especially the scene in the Dark Knight where Batman takes on the Joker for the first time in the movie.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

The cost of progress? It's an investment? Once you see blu-ray you never go back?

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=mredskins;518601]Actually I had a rewind machine it did it faster and was less wear and tear on the VCR.[/quote]

Hell yeah. I had a rewind machine that was shaped like a red sports car. The top popped up like a convertible, and that's where you stuck the tape in to be rewound. It was friggin sweet.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=saden1;518621]The cost of progress? It's an investment? Once you see blu-ray you never go back?[/quote]
You know I heard the same thing about HD TV but after watching one I did not have the desire to run out and spend a grand for a new TV. I curently have a large TV which gets a great picture so its just hard for me to justify buying one without a real need to have one. I have always been pretty conservative when it comes to spending so maybe one day I'll jump on some of this new tec stuff. I did just upgrade my phone to one that takes pictures.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=firstdown;518633]You know I heard the same thing about HD TV but after watching one I did not have the desire to run out and spend a grand for a new TV. I curently have a large TV which gets a great picture so its just hard for me to justify buying one without a real need to have one. I have always been pretty conservative when it comes to spending so maybe one day I'll jump on some of this new tec stuff. I did just upgrade my phone to one that takes pictures.[/quote]

In regards to tech. Always be one step behind and you are golden. If you are on the cutting edge of any new tech you probably spending a ton and that same product a year or two down the road will be cheaper and better.

My poor dad bought a Samsung DLP 61 720p inch five years ago for about $7K. Now that same TV is 1080p and probaly around $2K.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

[quote=mredskins;518637][B]In regards to tech. Always be one step behind and you are golden. If you are on the cutting edge of any new tech you probably spending a ton and that same product a year or two down the road will be cheaper and better.
[/B]
My poor dad bought a Samsung DLP 61 720p inch five years ago for about $7K. Now that same TV is 1080p and probaly around $2K.[/quote]I like that philosophy. It reminds me of when I bought my PS2, the cashier at Best Buy seemed like he was trying to stop me from spending money. He was going on and on about how I should just wait until the PS3 came out because as soon as it did I'd want that instead (basically telling me that I was an idiot for buying the PS2 at the time). Well, that was back in [I]2002[/I], so I'm glad I didn't take his advice because I got a good 6 years out of that PS2. I am mad that I didn't decide to spend my money at Circuit City though just to spite the D-bag cashier.

Re: Who's down with the Blu-ray?
 

It's getting easier, though, as it seems that technology has hit an equilibrium. Sets aren't going higher than 1080p, 120Hz is about as high as you need to go (although 240Hz is on the way), and Blu-ray maxes out every consumer set on the planet. The biggest pushes these days are to make sets thinner or to add other features, like NetFlix Watch Now. I've had my TV for 2 years, and I have no real desire to upgrade. In the 2 years before that, I probably went through 7 different sets, because a new one with appreciably better features would come out every 3 months.