Film Blue-ray barely better than DVD

[Ormorof]

Blu-ray barely better than DVD ? reghardware

so, basically the way it sounds to me is that most people THINK theres a big difference, but in reality only films/shows filmed specifically for HD/3D/whatever (Avatar etc) will actually show any difference?

personally i have little experience with HD having never owned a HD capable player or watched any HD channels

so is there a difference or is at hoodoo vooodoo marketing from Sony et al?

 

[Raven]

Can't tell a huge difference but then most DvDs are up-scaled by the AV equipment anyway.

I think bluerays are marginally better.

I have HD for TV anyway and there most certainly is a difference between standard and HD

 

[old.Tohtori]

I think the biggest difference comes from believing there's a big difference.

There's a difference ofcourse, one that would go by most people if not shown and only those hifi nerds would go "Meeeeh this is not blublu!"

 

[Shagrat]

I think the biggest difference comes from believing there's a big difference.

so much the same as the guy who used to turn up in your village selling medicine to make your hair grow etc....

im pretty sure people used to get tarred and feathered for that sort of thing.

 

[FuzzyLogic]

No surprise that poorly made transfers are either inferior or identical to the previous generation format. Happened on DVD (see Gremlins for a particularly bad transfer) and it'll happen on whatever comes next.

It all depends on what the studios spend on remastering the negatives and what the features were filmed on. If they don't put the effort in it shows, some are pretty much using their DVD masters and just sticking it onto bluray.

Saying that Bluray is all snake oil isn't strictly true but as with anything the effort needs to be made in order to see the improvement.

 

[Lamp]

Honestly, I'm happy enough with DVD quality. I don't need to see every single miniscule detail down to the pixel when I'm watching Heat (Robert de Niro, Al Pacino). All I need is a large-ish screen & a good surround speaker set up & I'm happy.

Besides, we watch a lot of movies on the computer, and many DVDrips are A10V10 anyway

BluRays will eventually go the way of VHS / cassettes. Even DVD will go one day. It'll all be about hard drives, digital media & downloads.

 

[Ch3tan]

What Fuzzy said.

There are good transfers and bad. A bad transfer is going to be no better on BD than simply upscaling a DVD.

Good transfers look stunning, and there are lots. As with all things, you should research. Some films are worth buying on BD even if you have it on DVD, some aren't.

 

[Sparx]

New films there is a massive difference between BD and upscaling. Older movies and ones the companies just throw on a BD and claim its bluray there isnt.

Alot of my films on DVD i havent bothered to buy on BD as the upscaling is fine, ones that have been digitally remastered for BD (Like Back to the future) are definitely worth getting. Even Terminator 2 on BD is amazing.

In my opinion i find special effects heavy films are better on BD

 

[cHodAX]

Avatar on Blu-Ray says it all really, incredible detail difference from the DVD. Most films aren't a big difference though, definately.

 

[Job]

Up to 32 inch TV , you won't notice the difference, project as 16ft image and it's really noticeable.
Interlacing far superior as well, DVD's get jagged edges as they do a pan shot, on a projector that looks awful.
But fuck Bluray, it's worse than Apple lockdown bolax, I download ripped films in MKV etc, leaves me in control.

 

[megadave]

As said before it depends on the blu-ray.

I have an older blu-ray of Terminator 2 and a new Blu-ray of Terminator 2. There is a noticable difference between those 2 as well as a difference between the DVD version. This is on a 32"

 

[cHodAX]

As said before it depends on the blu-ray.

I have an older blu-ray of Terminator 2 and a new Blu-ray of Terminator 2. There is a noticable difference between those 2 as well as a difference between the DVD version. This is on a 32"

Yep spot on, a good encode can make all the difference but MOST releases these days are rushed out. The good films occasionally follow up with a superior version later.

 

[Lamp]

so its another marketing ploy then? just like DVD's release directors cut, special extended directors cut, 3D version, with blueray they release an initial crappy one, then a remastered one later on ??

personally I CBA to keep up with it all. I bought the digitally remastered star wars trilogy & the special directors cut of close encounters of the 3rd kind. apart from that, I've stuck to the original dvds i bought in the first place.

 

[megadave]

Yeah pretty much. You just need to be aware of what you're buying and not just see it in the supermarket for £7 and think "ooh, blu ray!" because a lot of the time there is a proper release lined up somewhere down the pipe line.

Plenty of places to check.

 

[Ch3tan]

It was the same with DVD, always, always read the review before buying. It's why I never buy on release day now.

 

[Zenith.UK]

I broadly agree with the point that bad transfers cause bluray letdown.
I've got a number of DVDs and I don't feel an overwhelming urge to update them to bluray as they come out, partly for cost reasons, but mainly because the mastering process is usually rushed for old productions onto bluray. I really love "The Crow" but I'm holding out on getting the bluray because I've heard many stories that the bluray mastering is based on the same source as the DVD release. If a bluray master is done properly, it will be mastered from the original film in HD end-to-end.

I also only get a film on bluray if the format will bring something extra to the presentation. I've got these (* = got on DVD as well):

• The Matrix Trilogy
• Animatrix
• Starship Trooper *
• Underworld *
• Blade Runner: Final Edition 5 disc *
• Sunshine *
• Iron Man
• Watchmen
• Star Trek

I'm pretty sure that I'll be adding Inception and Avatar to that list come Christmas. The common theme (apart from being scifi/fantasy) is that they all have strong visual impact, style and colour.
I've had my HDTV almost 3 years now and I *STILL* think "Wow!" on FullHD content because it isn't just a clarity issue, the colour processing seems more vivid and has more impact. Playing Starship Trooper on my PS3 and then playing the bluray shows a difference that is clearly visible... the colour processing gives it away.

so its another marketing ploy then? just like DVD's release directors cut, special extended directors cut, 3D version, with blueray they release an initial crappy one, then a remastered one later on ??

Pretty much. The markets call it double dip, where a studio tries to milk customers for cash twice on the same film.
James Cameron is just as guilty with Avatar. He released a disc version earlier in the year which was the film and nothing more. The studio have just released the Avatar Collector's Edition which is the "proper" extended version with branching for original, extended and collector's edition on the same disc. It's why I held off at the time because I knew a director's/collector's edition would turn up eventually.

Peter Jackson got around to releasing the LOTR trilogy on bluray, but they're the theatrical releases only. If you want the full OMG-how-long-is-this trilogy with all the extras, commentaries and everything in a boxset then you'll be waiting a while. The talk is that New Line will release it aroudn the time of The Hobbit... and since that's not even started filming yet, that's going to be quite some time.
Same with Star Wars 6-pack extended bluray boxset... one day, but not yet.

 

[ford prefect]

In my experience some ar absolutely fantastic, others just look poorly upscaled. Really does depend on the original format of the film and how much the production company ect have been willing to spend on a blu-ray release.

To be honest, despite owning a player ect - I have never been particularly convinced by the whole format - I suspect the days of optical media are numbered.

 

[Job]

Remember guys, it's not the resolution, it's the bit rate that counts, I have a few high bit rate Imax DVD's and they are as good as any Bluray.

I have to agree, I think Bluray is a poorly supported optical endgame, just look at the titles supported in the supermarkets and another
major freakin bugbear of mine is that stupid letterbox format, why
the fook don't they produce them in true 16:9.
That's the main reason I use ripped files, cause I can force the aspect to 16:9 and it looks 100% better projected.

 

[Ch3tan]

Because Tv's are 16:9, but movies are not filmed in 16:9. They are filmed in a 2:35:1 or something ratio.

They are maintaining the original aspect ratio, I don't want a distorted image from a stretched picture.


And I assume you mean superbit DVD's when you say Imax? The higher bitrate is nice, but it's nowhere near comparable to BD quality.

 

[old.Tohtori]

The aspects ratios for movies are 1.85:1 and 2.39:1, while 4:3 is 1.33:1 and 16:9 is 1.78:1.

Google, go figure.

 

[FuzzyLogic]

You might be wanting one of these then Job: Philips - Cinema 21:9 -

 

[Sparx]

i cant find anywhere the price for that TV

 

[Lamp]

its more than £17

 

[Ch3tan]

The orginal non 3d version from last year was £3,500 Sparx.

It is a top of the range screen though, so it's worth the price tag - if you can afford a TV purely for widescreen content.

 

[TdC]

aha, this is what messed me about when I got to see my first BR film. I actually thought I'd messed up my settings in the NAD and my ps/3. Turns out this was not the case, and that if you're a real film buff you would want to invest in....indeed....a TV that actually shows the proportion filmed, eg -and only presumably- 2.39:1.

nice to see the marketeers have managed to absolutely fuck up the market yet again. thanks for that guys.

 

[FuzzyLogic]

Not the marketers apparently Teedles, but a compromise of the existing widescreen formats, if Wikipedia is to be believed:

Aspect ratio (image) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Lamp]

don't believe everything in Wikipedia. There's a lot of arse snot on that site. A lot.

 

[Job]

Actually I mean cutting off the ends to get 16:9, pan and scan, It's only a little bit of the picture and all the action is centered anyway, lots of movies are shown on TV that way and I don't miss the peripherals.