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TWIGBy Fierce said, (186 days ago)
the short answer: visual and sound quality
how MUCH of an improvement depends on both your tv set and your sound system
ipe said, (186 days ago)
It's not often a night-and-day improvement, depending on the film and the quality of its transfers. My simple view is that I'll buy new films blu-ray, but don't feel a need to upgrade my dvd collection.
Hot_Rod said, (186 days ago)
right now i just have plain old dvd, because my system cannot support blu-ray. i have to get new everything, tv, tuner, player. i don't have the money for that. anyways, downloaded video will beat it out in a few years.
TWIGBy Fierce said, (186 days ago)
for visual you need an HD tv, if you don't have a tv that can't do at least 720 p you're wasting your time with blu ray. that said the differences between 720p and 1080p (higest resolution possible) are minimal, so if you're looking at smaller sets like 30 inches if they're 720p it's good to go.
that said there's still issues with "old school" directing. Only in the last few years have directors, cinematogrpahers, special effects etc. have been filming with HD resolutions in mind. Older movies I tend to find don't get a huge visual boost to blu ray that they got from vhs to dvd. Newer movies have a few visual problems. One example is 300, where the filter used to create the "grain" on the visual because TOO prominent due to the higher resolution it looks like the spartans are being attacked by mosquitoes. Another is any movie with a lot of CG work with real back grounds, like Spider Man 3's fight scene between Sandman and Spider Man. The visual is so clear that you can see a noticeable outline around the CG elements.
as for sound I say the lower grade your sound system the better value you get. Blu ray movies have uncompresed "lossless" audio on them. On entry level and mide level sound systems i've noticed a vast improvement espcially in bass and ambient sounds. On a higher grade sound system i tested noticed little difference
there's probably tons of literature online on this though, this is mostly personal experience
TWIGBy Fierce said, (186 days ago)
also i'm not convinced that the digital downloads will beat it out "in a few years"
you have to remember your average person doesn't like having to delete and re add stuff. they just like it to be available. MP3s didn't start getting big till we had gigbyte hard drives. I think for the digital downloads to take off we'd need to see at least 5 terrabyte drives be the "norm" in the market. I already know tons of people who bitch about their PVRs all the time.
Centropomus said, (186 days ago)
Now that HD-DVD has lost the format war to Blu-ray, you can expect adoption to increase substantially, so prices will start coming down soon.
Unless you have a high-def TV and/or a high-end speaker setup, it's just a waste of money.
Coin-Operated Boy said, (185 days ago)
Everyone seems to be saying the same thing, and I agree.
I'm with ipe as well, I might buy new movies on Blu-ray, but I don't plan on going out and re-buying all my moves on Blu-ray
soulcamp said, (176 days ago)
It depends on a lot of factors. Equipment is a huge one - with a Runco Signature Cinema SC-1 projected on a 20-foot screen, you're gonna see a shitload of difference - a $800 LCD from Costco, not as much. Next is probably the source itself - films shot with HD cameras tend to look much better. Take the BBC series Planet Earth - WAAAY better in HD. Movies that were shot to film usually wind up picking up more grain, and most un-calibrated sets wind up losing this because of exaggerated black levels, white balances, and out of control sharpness settings.
I have a precisely calibrated CIR Engineering calibrated 65" CRT being fed by a Faroudja line doubler. This gives most SD DVDs a wonderful film-like quality already, so HD doesn't make as much of a difference. But on HD video, there is no comparison.
Personally, I think convenience is going to be the deciding factor. I am strongly considering going with an Apple TV over a Blu-Ray player for one reason - instant access. I can pick and choose a movie without having to leave my couch. When the available number of titles reaches levels near DVDs, the physical format will eventually be overtaken. Music has been heading this way for years. SACD and DVD-Audio literally destroy the sound quality of even $60K analog turntable systems, yet people prefer compress MP3 and AAC because of convenience. When you can turn on your TV, pick a movie from a list, pay a few bux to watch it immediately, in HD, and then keep it for a few bux more if you liked it, DVD and Blu-Ray will become a thing of the past.
Does it really matter? We're all going to die anyway.