• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Blu-Ray Ownership Poll (Please Vote and Post)

Which option best describes your current status with the Blu-Ray format?

  • I am already an owner of a Blu-ray device.

    Votes: 220 45.2%

  • I do not own a Blu-Ray Player, but I may buy one in the next 3 months.

    Votes: 22 4.5%

  • I do not own a Blu-Ray DVD Player, but it is very likely that I will, someday.

    Votes: 141 29.0%

  • I do not own a Blu-Ray DVD Player and I do not intend to purchase one.

    Votes: 97 19.9%

  • Something else. Please tell us.

    Votes: 7 1.4%
  • Total voters
    487
  • Poll closed .
whoaru99 said:
I don't know specifically of what you're speaking, but there seems to be more movies around with what I'll call special effects picture quality. 300 is a good example of what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...


Specifically the look of the movie was hyper realistic. Not soft. Hd is detailed but not harsh. The lighting was flat. Certain scenes looked like the actors were outlined in black. Like a cartoon strip. I'm just asking if this is how Blueray is or the TV or the player... Or the way Tarantino shot it.

I've seen 300 in the theater and it was detailed but looked nothing like Tarantino's Basterds.
 
finnbow said:
I don't have one and I'm still unconvinced that the format will survive. Streaming/downloads seem to be the future. If it does survive, however, I'll probably pick one up. No rush though.
Click to expand...

Well, if it doesn't survive, it still makes a damn fine DVD player. :D

Download/streaming is fine by me, as long as it's not a high quantity vs lower quality thing...which it is so far from my limited experience with streaming/downloads. And, there seems to be format/system divisions going on in the streaming/download sector as well.
 
HandyHamlet said:
Specifically the look of the movie was hyper realistic. Not soft. Hd is detailed but not harsh. The lighting was flat. Certain scenes looked like the actors were outlined in black. Like a cartoon strip. I'm just asking if this is how Blueray is or the TV or the player... Or the way Tarantino shot it.

I've seen 300 in the theater and it was detailed but looked nothing like Tarantino's Basterds.
Click to expand...

I've not seen that movie, but the description is not consistent with the Blu-ray movies I've watched. My money is on an intentional effect by Tarantino.
 
I've had a blu-ray player since Christmas, one built in my PS3. we got a couple of movies, but the only blu-ray I use the most are the ones with games on them. :yes:
 
I suppose it depends on what you're recording, but the BD blank discs are still about $10-$12 each, aren't they?
Click to expand...


depending on where and how many you buy they can be had for $2-$3 each when bought in 25 packs
 
Last edited:
I have the Oppo BDP-83 and love it. I've had it about two months, and already have about 18 movies.

The quality you see also depends a lot on the tv you're watching, and the settings. I've heard that LCD tvs make some BD movies appear cartoon-ish. Turning off the 120 Hz feature may improve the picture too. Calibrating the tv helps a lot too. Definitely doesn't need to be on brightest settings or highest contrast settings. So far, all the BD movies I've watched on my LED DLP look outstanding!
 
I think Basterds was shot that way. I recently saw V for Vendetta on Blu-ray and the video was great, but not spectacular, however the sound was pitiful. I think a lot of this has to do with the way they are converting it for Blu-ray. It is a newish format and I think that soon they will get it right every time.

Some movies are on the second remaster, and these are doing away with the mistakes of the first generation. Full Metal Jacket and The Fifth Element are two examples. I've seen what I believe are the first masters of both and they looked excellent, I can't imagine how they could get better. However, once I see them, I'm sure I will be blown away again.

These days I end up going for the Blu-ray first and if I have to, I'll slum with the DVD. There really is a huge difference to me. I don't buy many though, so I am usually constrained to the rental shelf, luckily a local shop here has around 6-700 for rent, and more out each week.

My only complaint with Blu-ray is the same most had with DVD when it first came out. They won't transfer most films to this next generation of disc. I love foreign films and there are some making it to Blu-ray, but I have a feeling that most will not. I hope I am wrong.

I do agree, there is a big difference in quality from movies to actual HD camera filming. The films/documentaries in true HD are breathtaking.

I've never been an upgrade for the sake of upgrading kind of guy, but these days I want more out of my HT. I have had my Sammy 550 series Plasma 50" for 10 months and I am ready to move up to the 850 series as soon as I can. Audio can be very subjective, video not as much, at least for me.
 
Don't have one and no plans to buy one, our DVDs provide as good a picture as we need. More interested in a good DVD recorder without a tuner as it will be hooked to the cable box.
 
PS3 in the living room and a Samsung in the bedroom. They just blow away regular dvd's at least IMHO.


Downside is the cost of a disc versus dvd.
Upside is they play dvd's for those of you who like to burn your own.
 
finnbow said:
I don't have one and I'm still unconvinced that the format will survive. Streaming/downloads seem to be the future.
Click to expand...

I bought my LG-390 bluray player more for it's ability to stream Netflix, Vudu and Youtube than for it's ability to play bluray discs.

Netflix and Vudu stream some material in HD quality and most things look at least as good as DVD.

On the other hand there are very few pictures that I'm interested in their being on bluray that are available on bluray: things like The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, El Cid, Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia; movies shot in big formats like Todd-AO and VistaVision that have a scope and picture quality that bluray can show to advantage. Very few such pictures are now available on bluray and I have half that are; The Searchers, Patton and How the West Was Won. The only big format pictures available on bluray I don't have (as far as I know) are South Pacific (Todd-AO) and North by Northwest (VistaVision) and Battle of the Bulge (Ultra Panavision and a terrible movie I'd never buy anyway). Pretty slim pickings so far.
 
Last edited:
Got a used one off of CL a year ago: the Samsung BD-P1500. Blu-rays movies look excellent on our 42" LCD. But, some DVDs look different for whatever reasons (i.e. artistic, etc.) This player started to have a problem with the audio cutting out when the audio is connected to our H/T receiver's digital audio inputs. This problem was reported by many users. Sound is fine through the HDMI cable directly to our TV. After some research, finally decided to upgrade to a new LG BD 390 Network Blu-ray Disc Player. Haven't brought it home yet. Like to see how the youtube HQ videos sound and look like as streamed by WI-FI. I only have a few Blu-Rays. May get on netflix someday.
 
outlawmws said:
I don't own one, and I'm not likely to buy one anytime soon. I've heard too many times that a particular medium is going to be "the" medium (Beta max, laser disk, mini disc…), so until it becomes the defacto standard, I'm on the fence.
Click to expand...

The fence right now has Blu-Ray on one side and Blu-Ray on the other (for high definition). There are no competing formats and because of the sheer amount of data required (20-50GB per movie) non-optical disc formats (which will probably use the same codecs) are nowhere near here yet for distribution, although archiving on HDD is possible.

Beta max - lost to VHS- settled
Laser disk - lost to DVD- settled
Mini disc- never had a chance- settled
DVD-A- lost to SACD pyrrhically- murder-suicide
HD-DVD- lost to Blu-Ray- settled

I too straddled the fence too by buying a combo HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive for my HTPC, but if it were today, I wouldn't bother with the combo and would just get a Blu-Ray drive. I also added an Asus HDAV 1.3 Deluxe soundcard to allow full bitstreaming via HDMI or full resolution analog out of Blu-Ray audio which also came with great Blu-Ray playing software. Looks and sounds fantastic!

Edit: BTW, I use Hidefdigest.com reviews to get an idea of the transfer quality to Blu-Ray and audio quality. They haven't steered me wrong yet. I have yet to see a Blu-ray that isn't obviously better than the DVD although the quality of the mastering/re-mastering and transfers do vary (just as they do with DVDs).
 
Last edited:
I got one of the first Sony BD players for free over Christmas. My brother in law is a techno guy, so when he upgraded his flat panel, he bought a fancier BD player. I've watched one BD so far, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. I have to say, the picture was amazing, and the sound was incredible. I am eager to find out what an actual movie does. I will probably snag the Dark Knight on BD to give that a whirl. My Sony DVD changer did a pretty good job on the upconvert, but man, the BD is something.
 
I have a Sony 40" LCD and their model 300 BDP. It's pretty slow to load and required a firmware upgrade, but plays outstanding.

Enjoy the music,
-Mark
 
Will probably get one now that prices are in the $100 range, after my el-cheapo interim DVD player croaks (it did upscale via HDMI better than the old player via component to our then-new Samsung 40 inch LCD on 08/08/08 - yep got it to watch the Olympics.) Looking for lower disc prices too. We have zillions of DVDs yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom