How good is it? (1 Viewer)

[sjh500]

Is Blue Ray really that much better than the upscaling DVD players?

 

[BethHarrison]

Originally Posted by sjh500

Is Blue Ray really that much better than the upscaling DVD players?

Yes, it's 4X the resolution. Upscaling can make DVDs look nicer, but sometimes they just make the flaws in the SD transfer and encoding more visible. Blu-rays also use far better compression codecs (MPEG4-AVC, AKA H.264 or VC1) at much higher bitrates, so there is less likely to be compression artifacts which are common in MPEG2.

 

[Robert Harris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjh500

Is Blue Ray really that much better than the upscaling DVD players?

The attainable image on Blu-ray vs. standard definition is totally based upon the quality of the master used to create the specific disc, not the Blu-ray technology.

Blu-ray, as a technology, has capabilities beyond those of standard definition, but a more highly resolved image is not guaranteed.

In a general sense, Blu-ray software has been superior, but again -- no guarantees of higher quality, as there is no specification of actual quality written in stone for the system.


I should add, that in a general sense, when a master is properly produced, Blu-ray can give you up to six times the resolution, higher quality color, better blacks and shadow detail, and far less noise.



RAH

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Mr. Harris, is of course, right. (Not exactly a news flash, I know. ) The quality of a given Blu Ray disc depends on the master it is derived from. This is also true of SD-DVD, and in the early days of DVD there were many discs that left people asking if DVD was really better than laserdisc - or even better than VHS, in some cases. The technology can only process what it is given and the output depends on the input.


However, it strikes me that Sean's question is really more about the technology. I think the short answer to the question is "No." Even a good SD-DVD transfer, upscaled by a good upconverting player or TV, is not going to look as good as well-mastered Blu Ray of the same title. And a shaky Blu Ray is probably also going to look better than a poorly-mastered SD-DVD of the same film. In other words, all things being about equal, BD still beats DVD. Every time I've done an A/B comparison of titles that were done well on both formats, the BD wnis, hands down.


Regards,


Joe

 

[RobertR]

Originally Posted by Joseph DeMartino



However, it strikes me that Sean's question is really more about the technology. I think the short answer to the question is "No."

Don't you really mean "yes", Joe, since his question was is Blu Ray really better than upscaled DVD?


Here are direct screen grabs (not screenshots) showing how much better Blu Ray is:


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1070952


Note that the captures would be scaled to the resolution of your monitor.

 

[David Wilkins]

Originally Posted by sjh500

Is Blue Ray really that much better than the upscaling DVD players?

Sean,


By the way: seeing that this is your first post...welcome to the forum.


I would say that the answer to your question as it relates to you, depends somewhat on context. The impressions that people have when watching any particular format technology or medium, vary greatly from one person to another, and from one equipment set-up to another.


Are you trying to decide whether or not to drop a large chunk of money on multiple pieces of hardware? Or, if you already have an HDTV, and are trying to decide whether or not to simply buy a BD player, the answer could be very different.


I've never once regretted the foray into high-def software and hardware, and I'm thoroughly convinced about the superiority of BD versus up-scaled SD DVD.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hi, Sean.

Welcome to the forum.

Beyond what others have already said, how much better in practical terms as it relates to you will also depend on your screen size to viewing distance ratio (and your own eyes of course). Roughly speaking, if your viewing distance is significantly greater than ~2x the diagonal of your 16x9 display, then you're not likely to notice a big improvement (unless you're very sensitive to compression artifacts and/or color inaccuracy in DVDs).

Some do also appreciate a substantial improvement from the lossless audio on most BDs -- and again, that will depend on your setup and your own ears.

And at least in my case, I'm also loving the BD expansion into the music/concert area where I used to be much less interested w/ DVD.

Enjoy!

_Man_

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Don't you really mean "yes", Joe, since his question was is Blu Ray really better than upscaled DVD?

Details, details.


Regards,


Joe

 

[Marko Berg]

Details, details.

Yes, a typical Blu-ray release has many more of those visible than its upscaled SD DVD counterpart.