Your first real "Wow" moment with BD (1 Viewer)

Having jumped into the Blu this past Friday, I immediately sought out titles I knew I had to see in the format.

I had plenty of experience with both HD formats last year, thanks in part to a temporary position in a high-end electronics store. However, viewing something at home on your own system is an entirely different experience and is much more satisfying. It's on your terms, in the comfort of your own home, your own preferences.

So what was your first "Wow" moment like?

This isn't about the merits of the film you saw, but its presentation.

I picked up a handful of titles, and started with my most wanted.

For me, it was of course "Independence Day", a film long considered to be a must-have title for both DVD and BD. Reviews haven't been as strong regarding its video quality but I must say I was more than impressed.

For the first time I felt like I was watching actual film being projected, only on a Plasma in my living room rather than a giant theater.

Therefore, what I saw did not look "High Definition" at all, and that's the highest compliment I could give.

For me it was not the visuals but the sound. I put on the BluRay of Underworld, and the rain falling on the gothic buildings and streets, and the thunder in the air, enveloped me in a way the DVD did not. Which I can't really explain since I don't think Underworld has a lossless soundtrack or anything. But it impressed nonetheless.

The visuals, not so impressed by. BluRay is what DVD should have looked like all along. BluRay lacks the defects present on DVDs, and as someone who notices defects I am personally pleased. But the added resolution for which BluRay is known, is for me only sometimes noticeable. But bear in mind my lcd tv is 720 not 1080.

For me, it is the sound that impresses.

Blade Runner Hades shot.


Oddly enough, whilst I do see the eye-candy aspect of it, with images being that much sharper (and this on a mere 43" HD-ready only plasma), I'd agree that I have been pleasantly surprised that I perceive a big qualitative improvement in sound, everything is just that crisper and clearer. Admittedly this might also be linked to the fact that I had to get a new receiver as well (Marantz 8200 v. 8002).

Hard to say what my first WOW! moment was with BD.

I had a HD-DVD player before a BD player and the first
WOW! moment I had with HD was while watching the
Masquerade number from Phantom of the Opera

I just bought my second BD player this week, the Panasonic
BD50, and I had another satisfying moment with Nightmare
Before Christmas, particularly the scene where Jack first
visits Christmas.

My first "wow" moment was with the Blu-ray demo-disc, via first (European) Panasonic model (that I tested back then). The teaser was for "Ice Age: The Meltdown". It was my first, proper "1080p moment" and I just had bought my 1080p LCD. My first "proper" film in Blu-ray was "Ultraviolet", which sucked major as*..

Now I´m kinda used to 1080p and lossless-audio. Business as usual.

Same here. In fact, my jaw was hanging open during the whole opening sequence, including the reveal of the Tyrell building. So much detail, it's mind-boggling.

This may sound strange, but my first wow moment was the credits sequence of THE SEARCHERS. The titles seemed to jump off the screen. They featured razor sharp edges, and I just couldn't get over how dimensional they looked. Had never seen anything that sharp ever before on my TV, not even in HD broadcasting which I had been enjoying for years.

The first shot of people was equally astounding in its depth of field and utter sharpness, but those credits still amaze me.

My first "WOW!" moment with high-def also had to do with sound. "Live Free or Die Hard" was one of the first movies I saw after jumping into Blu-ray. The DTS-HD MA soundtrack was about as subtle as a sledgehammer ( ), and heightened my enjoyment of the film considerably. I never did an A-B test with the DVD, but I swear I'd never heard my system come alive like that before.

My first "Wow" moment was with the first disc I purchased...Casino Royale. I've been finding it harder and harder to watch SD DVD ever since.

My first great moment was disturbia. The opening scene where the father and son are fishing and you seen the mountains and the high weeds or the fields there in are just jaw dropping. I only wish this movie had a lossless track. It just has a DTS core track , which is good. Maybe they will revisit this title and give it a lossless track. I am legend is also another jaw dropping video as well as great audio to.I am totaly impressed with both video and audio on blu ray equally.

First "wow" moment was my first HD-DVD viewing shortly after the launch in the summer of 06. Watching The Last Samurai on an HD-A1.

The scene that stands out in my memory involves Cruise in the rain at the village. The color saturation and subtlety of the blues in that scene, including the variety of color graduations was simply incredible.

First 'wow' with Bd was probably Casino Royale - the film release that nudged me into purchasing my first Bd player.

- Walter.

I haven't made the jump to BD yet, but my first WOW! moment would have to be The Bourne Identity on HD DVD. When the medic first starts cutting into the scuba suit and you can see the texture of that suit and the wrinkles on the medic's hands.

Next WOW! moment was Beowulf. The movie almost jumps off the screen.

When I puchased my Blu-ray player about 4 months ago, I also rented Kingdom of Heaven. As soon as the movie started, the picture and sound blew me away.

Like Ron, I had HD-DVD first. The first disc I bought when I got the player was Batman Begins. As soon as I started watching it I couldn't get my jaw off the floor. There have been several Blu-Ray discs since then that have that same effect on me, including Casino Royale as referenced above.

I apologize, I should have said HD media.

I'm hoping that because of the examples mentioned we'll check out those titles and be just as impressed.

Like some of you here, I'm not 1080p capable either, instead 1080i.
No lossless audio for me, but the higher bitrate 'core' audio tracks are still a wonder!

I sampled the Tumbler chase from Batman Begins and was blown away by the sound.

If The Dark Knight prologue is representative of what the film will look like on BD, then that will be THE reference disc for quite some time.

December can't come fast enough!

The first disc that I watched was Halloween. It's my favorite movie and I've seen more times than I can remember but seeing it in HD was amazing. It's not a demo disc by any means and I've seen much nicer discs since then but it was the first "Wow!" moment for me.

I got my player and some titles yesterday.

And for me it was the Dark Knight preview on Batman Begins. It looked sharper than it did in the theater and made me realize it was the right time to upgrade.

My first "Wow" moment came back in the day, when HD DVD was new and BD was barely a glimmer.

I had rented 'Serenity', one of the handful of HD discs available from Netflix, holding onto it for a couple of days until the player arrived. I'm not crazy about the movie, but the first few scenes blew me out of my chair. The detail seemed so amazing.

The "Wow" moments continue, on occasion, less frequently with the passing of time. It's kind of sad to say, but high-def is becoming the expected norm. I'll miss the rush when it's gone altogether.

My first WOW moment came when I popped in Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. I was just scanning the movie and watched the opening chase scene. The sound was so much thicker I couldn't believe my ears! I was just hearing standard DD5.1 and it sounds incredible on BD. Then the scene that caused me to freak out was the scene where Roy is climbing up the side of the hill and the reveal on Devil's Tower happens. I watched it over and over again thinking that it could have been filmed this year!

Reverse WOW moment: I watched The Dark Knight prologue over and over again on BD before seeing the movie in IMAX. The three times I watched the movie there at the theater, I couldn't help but think it looks better at home!

First disc I ever played: Serenity on HD-DVD. Like others have said, the audio (even though it was just DD+) blew me away.