Is that all there is to Blue Ray?

Today was my very first experience with a blue ray--had never watched one before, ever. A week ago my dvd surround sound conked out and I had to buy a new one. The one with blue ray was only about 30 bucks more than just dvd so I went ahead and bought it and hooked it up to my 52" flat screen. I didn't own any blue rays so I went and ordered the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings sagas blue rays.

Today I decided to put them in and see what all the hoopla is about. While I admit the sound is definately better I really can't see "that much" of a better picture quality. The only time it seems (to me) to be much different is in the close-up shots. Blue ray may not be the best thing for actors because yes, you can see every pore and scar on their faces. But other than that I was not amazed. I was expecting some kinda WOWZA difference--but I'm just not seeing it.

I don't think I will be replacing my movie collection for the fifth time just to get them all on blueray.

I've always had a good movie collection. I started in about 1986. I had one VCR and saved for a year to get another one (they were pretty expensive back then). I would rent movies, hook the two VCRs together and just copy the movies. I didn't know much about tape quality in those days so I would record on SLP so I could fit three movies on a tape.

Later I learned about tape speeds. So I would rent all the movies again and record on SP (one movie per tape). My collection took up a LOT of space.

In the mid 90's tapes got a lot cheaper so I went back and actually bought all my movies on "store bought" tapes.

The fourth time was finally switching to DVDs and buying every-stinking-one AGAIN......

I don't think I'm gonna do it a fifth time just to convert to blueray. And, in addition, then I've got to put a blueray player in all rooms I watch movies in (living room, bedroom, man cave). Plus, my family and some friends occasionally borrow my movies and none of them have blueray players.

So what do you guys think about blueray? Is it that "super-wow-bazooka" incredibly better than DVD in your eyes?

It isn't the leap as it was from VHS to DVD, but it is still an improvement. There is generally more detail in the picture, more clarity and better colors and definitely better sound. I only buy or upgrade the movies I think are really awesome with BR, but general movies I just like to own are fine enough in the DVD format.

It's just a generally sharper picture. And no, I have no intention of re-purchasing my entire collection again. As far as double-dips go, I stick to films that are among my favorites, or those that benefit from the increased resolution (mostly effects-heavy blockbusters). And, of course, all new purchases are in Blu-ray, and have been for several years now. Some of my friends still have only DVD, so I tend to buy the combo-packs so I can still bring movies over there to watch together.

Interestingly, your impression of "when" the improvements are evident is the exact opposite from mine. It's the very wide, distant shots that benefit the most. What was just a shapeless blob in the distance is now clearly defined as a person or tree or whatever.

Keep in mind you won't really notice much unless you have a HDTV. Even then at first viewing you might not notice much. For me, after watching multiple Blu-ray discs, and then switching back to DVD, I notice a huge difference....then again I have a 65" 1080p TV.

For me the wow factor really comes through in computer animation.

The larger the screen, the bigger the difference. Is your TV 1080 or 720? I can tell a big difference between blu-rays and DVDs with my projector showing on a 120" screen and the projector is only 720.

It is over 2x the resolution of DVD, so it is an enormous leap. You're just used to seeing HDTV, so it doesn't seem like it. But look up any web-site showing a comparison frame of DVD vs. Blu-Ray and you'll see that it's like putting your glasses on after years of walking around blind.

Computer animation DOES look amazing in Blu ray. Pixar's UP looks fantastic.

Wait till we get these: Holographic Versatile Disc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

YenChih Lin said:

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Wait till we get these: Holographic Versatile Disc - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Witchcraft!

Godsmulligan said:

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For me the wow factor really comes through in computer animation.

agreed, most of my collection are computer animated. this is what i put on to "show off" how good the picture quality is to guests/friends.

i would say visually the best i have is avatar by a long way.

The picture is better and you get more extras, but I do not think it would be worth it to replace a library. I always think of the line in MIB when Agent K says he will have to buy the White album again.

Sent from my Apple Newton

If you buy a DVD/Blu-ray combo movie, you'll see the difference.

Assuming your new Blu-ray player is a DVD upscaler, put in the DVD and watch the first 10-15 minutes of a movie.

Then put in the Blu-ray and watch the first 10-15 minutes. You will see the difference, and I don't mean with a super-special effects movie. Even a drama or a romantic comedy. The quality and clarity of the Blu-ray will be noticeable on the same equipment. It's a better, sharper picture.

47" 1080p 120hz LCD TV. I can see a difference of night and day between Blu Ray and regular DVD. Let's not even go into HD or standard def broadcast from like HBO or anything. If you can't see a difference, I doubt anything we say will sway you.

As to the big swap, I have only done it for a couple of movies. Everything else I buy is now BR. I always buy the combo pack though as ya never know if someone wants to borrow a flick that doesn't have BR or I visit someone without it as well.

Blue Ray was never impressive. Maybe a couple people that switch from tapes to BR were amazed, but having followed every trend, the BR one, to me, was a marketing scheme.

Anyways, i had my whole collection digitize years ago, i own a home system that i can access on any computer/tablet/tv's. I haven't put a CD in a player in quite sometime. Well unless its to copy it to my system after purchasing the DVD/BR.

I do have a small collection, but i have access to my family's collection in NY via good old internet streaming so i can grab anything from the thousands of movies they have.

Beats Netflix to a pulp.

Live Sports if actually broadcast in 1080 not 720 look fantastic. NASCAR night races look spectacular.

Man I hate blue ray!

Blu-ray though...fricken amazing.

protokev DMD said:

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Man I hate blue ray!

Blu-ray though...fricken amazing.

Godsmulligan said:

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For me the wow factor really comes through in computer animation.

Yep, for me the difference is night and day when it comes to this... And I can easily tell the difference from SD and HD content in almost all cases, as long as the original content was actually good enough for there to be a difference...

Ronan87 said:

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Blue Ray was never impressive. Maybe a couple people that switch from tapes to BR were amazed, but having followed every trend, the BR one, to me, was a marketing scheme.

Anyways, i had my whole collection digitize years ago, i own a home system that i can access on any computer/tablet/tv's. I haven't put a CD in a player in quite sometime. Well unless its to copy it to my system after purchasing the DVD/BR.

I do have a small collection, but i have access to my family's collection in NY via good old internet streaming so i can grab anything from the thousands of movies they have.

Beats Netflix to a pulp.

Dude, where were have you been for the last few years?

If you'd have just posted earlier, you sure could have saved me thousands of dollars and thousand of hours, I have now wasted buying and watching Blu-rays.

And all this time it wasn't impressive. Damn.

Blu-ray does suck compared to....IMAX 3D...but it is way cheaper than trying to watch every movie in IMAX 3D...

The extra resolution on 2d animations made for theaters is nice too. Watching an old Disney flick or a newer NGE movie is very gratifying.

Laspector, I don't think you mentioned it, but is your Blu-ray player hooked up to your TV with an HDMI cable? If you're using the standard VGA cables that typically come with the players, you're basically watching the Blu-ray movie in SD. Also, is your TV calibrated properly? if the settings are off, the picture may not be as clear or vibrant as they should be.

I love Blu-ray movies. CGI films ad the movies that are remastered properly are absolutely amazing. I've noticed that older films like Warner's catalog titles (e.g., Casablanca, Ben-Hur, etc) look ridiculously gorgeous because the studio took the time to clean up and remaster the movies properly. But others that have issues like excessive DNR only look marginally better than their DVD counterparts.

Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about. Bluray looks fantastic, compared to DVD. I think some of the posters above nailed it. Either you're not connected to your TV correctly, or you're tv isn't 1080p. Or you need to get to the eye doctor.
Mike