Originally Posted by SiM
erm... its no "slower" than DVD...
No offence, but anyone who says/thinks that has at least one of the following:
1) A SDTV
2) A crap HDTV
3) Bad eyesight
4) Low standards in video quality
Well sound is something that most people don't appreciate. You do need to have to a good sound system and good hearing to notice the difference. My dad can't tell the difference between the stereo sound on sky and a DTS track on a DVD... but to me there is a huge difference...
SIM there's some very sweeping statements there mate. Boot up times on my EP-30 are horrific compared to my DV79, my mates Pioneer Blu-Ray player is no better at least 3 times as long as a standard DVD player.
As for the quality issue I agree with others that it is no a huge leap forward over DVD. I have a fairly high quality set up that has been calibrated (Panny PH9, Arcam DV-79, Tosh EP-30, PS3, Yam RVX-1600) and with some transfers the difference between HD and SD is almost negliable. Serenity springs to mind as one.
My eyesight is 20-20 and I have high standards video quality, my Panny does an excellent job in upscaling but I attribute it mainly to Arcam DVD player doing an excellent job in feeding the panel.