Blu-ray resolutions

[SheepCow]

Just a quick couple of questions to anyone with an HDTV and Blu-ray discs, are all the discs 1080p, or does it depend on each one?

And if it is film-dependent, what do they tend to be? i.e. are most modern films coming out in 1080p.

M'lady and I are looking into getting an HDTV in the sales and are wondering how worthwhile it is going for the 1080p ones.

 

[Edmond]

i was told not to bother with 1080p if the screen is only 32", cos you dont notice it anyway, but i'm sure someone will put me right, cos i dont know either way

 

[Aada]

Just a quick couple of questions to anyone with an HDTV and Blu-ray discs, are all the discs 1080p, or does it depend on each one?

And if it is film-dependent, what do they tend to be? i.e. are most modern films coming out in 1080p.

M'lady and I are looking into getting an HDTV in the sales and are wondering how worthwhile it is going for the 1080p ones.

40inch + is what you should be looking at.

Every blu-ray i have bought has been 1080p but i assume if you can only get 720p or 1080i then it will downscale to one of those?

maybe wrong

 

[ST^]

All MOVIES are 1080p.

Whether or not you can see the difference on a 32" TV between 1080 and 720 is down to the person. Some can, some can't. Some can't tell the diff between blu-ray and upscaled DVD (though I recommend these people get new glasses).

 

[Aada]

All MOVIES are 1080p.

Whether or not you can see the difference on a 32" TV between 1080 and 720 is down to the person. Some can, some can't. Some can't tell the diff between blu-ray and upscaled DVD (though I recommend these people get new glasses).

I will admit you can see a difference IF you are looking for it.

More so if you want a true HD experience then the movies that are being released now are what you should be buying, the older movies being rereleased can be very dodgy indeed.

Dark Knight is superb on Blu-ray i could instantly see a difference in the colours and how sharp the picture was.

My girlfriend after the movie on the other hand said she was enjoying the movie so much that she wasn't thinking in her mind does it look better?

So my next question is if people are hell bent on looking for the better colours/sharpness are we enjoying the film?

 

[gunner440]

Dark Knight is superb on Blu-ray i could instantly see a difference in the colours and how sharp the picture was.

The pictures were great sure but what took me by surprise was the quality of the audio on that particular blu-ray.

The house shook and I loved every minute of it

 

[Zenith.UK]

All bluray films are 1080p at 24fps (23.976 if you're going to be picky). It depends on your display and player as to what resolution and framerate it finally gets output at.

If you're considering getting a HDTV setup, set yourself a screen size and a budget and then stick to it. As one of the earlier posters said, you can get 32" FullHD (1080p) TVs but you need to sit close to them to appreciate the image quality. If you're serious about your movies then you need to start thinking screens with > 40".

The next thing to ask yourself is whether to get a TV that is HDready (720p/1080i) or FullHD (1080p). If you're looking to futureproof yourself as much as possible, 1080p is the only reasonable choice. Thats because all 1080p sets can display all SD and HD resolutions (480/576/720/1080 interlaced and progressive).

One more thing to bear in mind (and this really is a techy thing) is whether the screen supports 100Hz, 120Hz or even 200Hz. This is for two reasons. The first is to do with how much interpolation the screen can do. If you're watching fast motion action, you MAY notice some combing at the edge of fast things panning horizontally. A 100Hz or higher screen can try to reduce this by making an "in between frame" between TV frames (effectively showing 100 half frames a second instead of 50).
The second reason relates to movie playback and especially bluray films. Most european TV shows are 25fps (50 interlaced) and US TV shows are 30fps (60 interlaced). Bluray films are 24fps to match the cinema framerate. Most HDTV sets use a method called 2:3 pull-down to line up 24fps film with 25/30 fps video.

I can only speak with authority about my AV setup, but the actual parts are common enough.

Toshiba 42Z3030DB 42" 1080p LCD HDTV
Sky+HD
Playstation3

Both Sky and PS3 are linked to the TV by HDMI leads.
Sky box set to output 1080i all the time (it does the upscaling of SD content).
PS3 set to output 1080p (also upscales DVD to 1080p).
The TV is set to "Exact Scan" which means that each screen pixel is mapped 1:1 with the input signal. All I need to do is change between HDMI1 and HDMI2 for Sky or PS3.

So my next question is if people are hell bent on looking for the better colours/sharpness are we enjoying the film?

SD content shows well, transmitted HD content looks great, bluray HD content looks phenomenal.
My example is the film "Sunshine". I have it on DVD and bluray, and I've also seen it on SkyMovies HD (remember, all HD content on Sky is sent down as 1080i, it downscales it for 720p). The DVD version is very good, but looks slightly blurry when directly compared with the SkyMovies HD version. This isn't because it's crap quality on DVD, just that the step up in visual quality is immediately noticeable.
Then I compared the SkyHD version with the bluray playing on the PS3. NO CONTEST! The bluray version was clearer and sharper with better colour definition. The stand out scene is where Capa is in the Earth Room playing the simulation of deploying the bomb. On DVD you can see the computer models, on SkyHD you can see the gridlines making the computer models, on bluray you can read the tiny text alongside each model.


This turned out longer than I expected. If I was to make a recommendation for a HDTV screen to you, I would push you in the direction of the Toshiba 42ZV555DB or 46ZV555DB (42" and 46" respectively). These models have been out just over a month in the UK.

In fact I just price checked a load of places and found the 42ZV555DB for £800 + £20 del. from Empire Direct. If you join up with the edXtra card scheme (£30) you get 3 years warranty as well.
Toshiba 42ZV555DB Ctv Lcd 42" Full Hd 1080p 100hz | EmpireDirect.co.uk Electrical Appliances

As for a bluray player, get yourself a PS3. Not only do you get a bluray player, you also get a games machine, an upscaling DVD player and a PC media stream player.

My last recommendation is to get Ironman on bluray. That is truly a full-on test of your HD setup.

 

[megadave]

^ Pretty good post, easy to understand. I've had HDTV+bluray for awhile but never completely understood all the details til now. All i can add is get Planet Earth bluray if you really want to see what it can do