Need a new DVD player - is it worth going Blu-Ray?

After about a year of playing DVDs through a slightly noisy and few-years-old PC rigged up to my telly, we've decided that we need a new DVD player, but rather than buying a DVD player, is it worth going Blu-Ray?

I don't really know that much about BR to be honest (apart from the fact that the discs are more expensive than DVDs) is it worth buying something that only plays DVDs?

Been looking at this and this.

We've got a 720p 32" Sharp Aquos LCD TV.

Neither of us are particularly big film buffs or videophiles, but it would be nice to have something nice and shiny, if it's worth it.

i went for an upscaling dvd player as the quality on my 720p hdtv is improved over standard dvd.

Blu ray is good but not mind shatteringly good and when it comes to buying films having to pay double the cost of a dvd or even more hurts.

Before i get slated i know upscaling isn't quite as good as high def but the difference between it and my hd-dvd player (xbox 360) is marginal

a half decent upscaling dvd player will set you back about £50 (although i did hear dunno if its true but if you plug something into your hdtv via hdmi most hdtv will upscale anyway) if true a dvd player with hdmi would be the way to go

A lot of it depends on your equipment. If you're going to be using a cheap HDTV, then while there is a noticeable difference between DVD upscaled and Blu-ray (You can't invent quality that isn't there by upscaling), the cost may not be worth it currently. You're also a lot less likely to see the full quality on cheaper sets that Blu-ray can offer.

Having been in that situation previously and now moved to a top end 40" 1080p 24hz Samsung (which hurt the bank balance :() from a cheap £350 "HDTV" The difference is *huge*. Now I know that's a bold phrase, but it the difference is not only noticeable, it makes a real difference to the films.

I recently got Heros on Blu-ray and swapping the DVD for Blu-ray when testing convinced me it was money well spent. The same goes for Stargate, I own both the DVD and Blu-ray and there is a markable difference between them.

So as you can probably guess, for me the difference between an upscaled DVD and Blu-ray is very noticeable, but only when on a screen that's capable of showing this. My previous one wasn't so even though I've owned a BR player for a while, buying the DVD if much cheaper didn't bother me. Now unless there was more than a £10 difference, I wouldn't by the DVD version when a BR one is available.

edit - The problem with your question is that image quality is subjective. What is ok for one person isn't for another. My mum bless her doesn't see the difference between a TV broadcast and blu-ray, my dad on the other hand is absolutely mesmerised by the new setup I brought them, to the point where he will *GO SHOPPING* (which I've not known him do in over 20 years) for Blu-rays.

edit 2 - you're still looking at about 50 quid for a no-cheapo good quality DVD player. When you factor that in against a new Blu-ray player it becomes a bit cheaper. Also check Ebay for Blu-rays, they instantly become a lot cheaper :)

What agent said....

I've had Blu-ray & HD-DVD for a while now - over 2 years, I was a pretty early adopter - and have upgraded from a 50" 720p rear projection set to a 50" 1080p/24 plasma and the quality of some of the new Blu-rays coming out is startling.

You can pick up a decent player for around £150, and if you rent disk via Lovefilm or what have you, it won't cost you anything to rent Blu instead. But again, image quality is all subjective, and will depend on your equipment.

I wouldn't get a BR player right now, and if I did I would make sure whichever one I did get could be upgradeable (firmware wise) IIRC only the PS3 is the current BR player that you can update. The others are stuck at whatever firmware revision number you buy them at.

But it has been a while since I looked at that subject in-depth, so facts could have changed, someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

The Oppo blu/universal disc spinner is upgradable, bit pricey but can be made multi region and is very quick and apparently an outstanding machine in terms of av quality. If I was going to get a stand alone player, that would be the one for me.

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Originally Posted by Singh400

I wouldn't get a BR player right now, and if I did I would make sure whichever one I did get could be upgradeable (firmware wise) IIRC only the PS3 is the current BR player that you can update. The others are stuck at whatever firmware revision number you buy them at.

But it has been a while since I looked at that subject in-depth, so facts could have changed, someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

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PS3 certainly isn't the only one - plenty on the market now that can be upgraded :)

Samsung, Pioneer, Sony....probably others all have players on the market that can be upgraded now.

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Originally Posted by Agent

PS3 certainly isn't the only one - plenty on the market now that can be upgraded :)

Samsung, Pioneer, Sony....probably others all have players on the market that can be upgraded now.

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Ah right, cool. I see, back when I looked at it. PS3 was the only real option.

I thought Tesco were selling a blu-ray player for under £100 a few weeks back ?

I think I remember reading on HUKD that a few places had been selling some "Curtis" branded Blu-Ray players at some point, but I'd expect they've most likely all gone by now - prices were indeed under £100 though, I think the cheapest was £39.99 at Currys or something.

EDIT: £39.97 at Currys the deal was - you might be lucky and still find one, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have all gone. http://hotukdeals.com/item/455948/cu...ray-player-39-

Some interesting opinions either way in here, I still haven't decided (but upscaling is edging forward slightly)

I believe it was a Sharp branded BR player Tesco were selling, but after checking reviews on it, it wasn't great, and it was only Profile 1.something, and I didn't want to buy already-obsolete tech. If I'm going for BR, it would need to be Profile 2 or above (unless I've completely misunderstood the concepts of profiles). I did consider the PS3, but the price difference doesn't really justify it unfortunately.

It's not just pixels that are important remember, colour-depth, the type of compression used on the disk and how it was originally mastered matter a lot.

One of the most extreme examples is Stargate:

http://comparescreenshots.slicx.com/comparison/50#

Die Hard also does another good job at showing how remastering, more pixels, and better colour representation can help with the image:

http://horn.hdtvtotal.com/hdtvtotal/...bd5copymk0.jpg

Another less extreme example : http://horn.hdtvtotal.com/hdtvtotal/...bd1copykm8.jpg

Links from : http://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/foru...pic.php?t=4078

I'm a bit confused by that - are you saying that it's still definitely worth getting Blu-Ray even though I won't be able to make the most of it on my current screen?

Just to add to this, I've just got the Richer Sounds newsletter with this BR player in it:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...0/sams-bdp1600

For £119.99

With 2 free Harry Potter movies (which i couldn't actually give a damn about TBH)

Yup, that would be my suggestion Mike (just had the same email!).


Future proof as much as is possible, and a decent DVD player out of the end of it too :)

I think I've found my birthday present :)

I'm in the process of getting my setup sorted, but the gist of it is this:

Pioneer Kuro 32" 1080p LCD
Pioneer VSX-1018AH AV Amp
BK Electronics XLS200 sub
Mirage Nanosat Prestige satellites & centre channel
PS3 for Blu-Ray
Denon DVD-1920 Upscaling DVD player.

On the old tv (Samsung 26" 720p), the difference between upscaled DVD from the Denon, and HD from the PS3 was noticeable, but not particularly stunning unless you were on top of it, when you could spot the extra detail.

With the Pioneer however, it's like night and day in comparison, especially with the black level of the Kuro, and the enhanced white level of the latter spec HDMI standard, Blu-ray on a good tv however, will show up any duff transfers, and even when the camera is different from shot to shot.

I've found a fair few blu-ray bargains too, even though I have to be careful which disc I buy, as I have a Japanese import PS3. Movietyme, Blockbuster, and Head entertainment (ex Virgin, iirc), have had quite a few good discs for around the £10 mark which has led to my collection growing for around 10, to 65 titles..

:embarrassed: :surrender:

What is the current state of the region-free-ness on bluray players?

remote hacks / modchips etc.

I think it is worth the little extra for a bluray player, the increase in quality is noticable - especially when watch cgi films - up looks amazing
theres an LG on amazon for £57

Considering you have a 1080p screen and a HDMI amp for the new HD sound standards, I would definitely get a BD player.

necro :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danroyle

i went for an upscaling dvd player as the quality on my 720p hdtv is improved over standard dvd.

Blu ray is good but not mind shatteringly good and when it comes to buying films having to pay double the cost of a dvd or even more hurts.

Before i get slated i know upscaling isn't quite as good as high def but the difference between it and my hd-dvd player (xbox 360) is marginal

a half decent upscaling dvd player will set you back about £50 (although i did hear dunno if its true but if you plug something into your hdtv via hdmi most hdtv will upscale anyway) if true a dvd player with hdmi would be the way to go

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This was something I had to think about last few days because of a promotion and being in the market for a tv. Some questions I thought about are, do I watch blu-ray? No. Can I see myself renting lots of Blu-ray disc in the future? Not presently. Can I see myself consuming media on Blu-ray sometimes? Yes/ possibly. Based on that blu-ray on its own would not be worth it. So it was the other features that helped make the decision including the price.

A NECRO WORTH ALLOWING TO BREATHE!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Agent

It's not just pixels that are important remember, colour-depth, the type of compression used on the disk and how it was originally mastered matter a lot.

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never, in the history of a forum, has such a truer statement arrived on your screen.

When a film in put onto DVD or Blueray, someone makes a budget and space judgement-call.
Shall we/can we fit it all onto one DVD? If we do, can we get both Dolby Digital AND a DTS soundtrack on?

Can we be bothered to spend thousands of hours remastering the original film to justify an HD experience?

So, in my opinion, the following DVD's are worth keeping as DVD because they are pin sharp, deep and true.... although they're spread across multiple DVDs:
Lord of the Rings (all three films) on the 4 disc sets... 2 for each film.... ie spread the quality, and use 2 disks
Kingdom of Heaven... same thing... big box set , with 2 discs for the film.

Bad examples of films compressed to fit a DVD
Saving Private Ryan....

but there was a better batch later... how long ago was I ranting about this?
Oct 2005 http://forums.hexus.net/dvd-blu-ray/...e-quality.html

and an example of a BLUERAY THAT IS SIMPLY NO BETTER QUALITY THAN A VHS VIDEO... Harry Potter Philosphers Stone... truely bloody rubbish image quality.

You could buy a used PS3 for about £80 and use it as a Blu ray player and gaming machine / media centre.