Blu-ray vs. HD DVD (2007) - Page 100

Originally Posted by emig647

ok... so I officially bit the HD bullet yesterday.

I purchased a 42" Panasonic plasma 1080p (42pz77u), my cousin's 60gb ps3 for $300, and over spent on a monster hdmi cable (it's going back for one that avsforum members recommend for 1/70th the price).

I purchased, The Last Samurai, The Corpse Bride, and Troy. I watched all of TLS, parts of TCB, and about 20 min of Troy. I didn't want to watch too much as I want to break in my Plasma and didn't want any letterboxing / etc getting Image Retention or Burn-in. I'm currently using a break-in DVD that changes the color every 30 seconds at full 720p.

Anyways... I gotta say... I'm not THAT impressed. There were some beautiful scenes in Troy and TLS. And there were some crappy ones. It seems when you have a blurred background and sharp foreground objects, the background is blurred... I'd say about 2/3 of the movie was gorgeous. So I blame how the film was mastered vs HD technology. Troy seemed to be a little better, but still had the same issues with certain scenes. These are rated almost perfect hd video quality via hidefdigest.com.

Again, I was impressed with some of the beautiful scenes on this set up. I'm still trying to optimize my settings on my tv, but I went with what was suggested on AVSforum.

I still want to get a 1080p hd-dvd player to see how movies compare. I spent enough money yesterday so it will be a while before I go down that road. I will say that while I was in Circuit City, I saw more movies that IIIII wanted to see. That is just my personal choice though. I'm sure people can say that about blu-ray as well.

Back to my original statement. I'm not THAT IMPRESSED with hd so far. It takes up to 100 hours to "break-in" my plasma (according to people at avsforum and circuit city and panasonic), the set was "expensive" for j6p, I got a good deal on the ps3 but it still was "expensive", and the HDMI cable retailed for $99 but I got an open box for $75. I knew I was getting ripped off on the HDMI cable... but at least I know it isn't the HDMI cable's fault for any bad quality video / sound.

With all of this in mind, I don't see the common consumer going HD any time soon. This was a lot to go through $$ and time wise. I know some of you will say, then go LCD. IMO from what I've seen and read, LCD isn't ready for primetime with fast action scenes. To each his own though.

I want to check out The Departed and Mission Impossible III. Soon as my TV is broke-in I'll form a final opinion.

Originally Posted by backtomac

Wait till you see the pq in hd cable channels. I believe it's only 720p and quality can vary considerably. Some content I've seen on the discovery channel hd is good but otherwise pretty unimpressive as well.

Originally Posted by vinea

Well jeez dude...at 42" there's usually no difference between 720 and 1080 at the common seating distances. At 9 feet they're going to look more or less the same. What does that imply?

You aren't getting the full impact of 1080. To get the full impact you need to sit at 5 or 6 feet. And then you feel like you're sitting too danged close to the screen.

As far as the blurry scenes I guess it all depends on if it was in the film itself. Its unlikely a transfer issue.

And yeah...Monoprice. Never pay inflated prices for cables again.

Originally Posted by bitemymac

Hm.. Are you sure you got a 1080p plasma? Is it 1080p compatible or is 1080p? I thought the smallest 1080p plasma is 50" from pioneer. But this was about 6 months ago, perhaps it's different now. I'm more interested in the microLED backlight LCD's these days.

Anyway, the first thing you should do is try to do a simple calibration, if you haven't done this already. A simple Contrast & Brightness adjustment alone can improve image quality. If you do not own a calibration disc, you can just use the THX free tools in most Pixar DVD's.

If you have a 1080p TV that can deinterlace 1080i properly(most newer models do), you don't need a 1080p HDM player. In this case, 1080i = 1080p. Unless, you have a 1080p screen that can manage 1080p24/48/72/120 and want pass through 1080p24 directly from the HDM disc.

Just make sure to use the right demo HDM disc. The Corpse Bride is a better demo disc than Samurai or Troy. I'm sure there are many other demo materials some of the BD supports on the thread can recommend.

BTW, if you can, return that HDMI cable. Can't believe it cost as much as the HD-A2 HD-DVD player. I've been using monoprice cables for some time now. You can get 24 guage net-jacketed HDMI cables for 1/4th of the Monster price.

Originally Posted by emig647

Yah it's a 1080p tv. Just came out in September.

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...00000000005702

TH-42PZ77U
42" Class (41.6" Diagonal) 1080p Plasma HDTV with Anti-Glare Filter, EZ Sync HDAVI Control and Built-in GalleryPlayer®-Capable SD Card Memory Slot

I basically tried different settings that members who own the tv on avsforum.com suggested. I tried 3 different ones and chose the best one.

Oh you best believe that hdmi cable is going back. I bought 2 6ft hdmi 1080p cables from monoprice today. Like I said, i only bought the cable so I had something in the mean time till the ones from monoprice get here.

BTW: I got a smoking deal on the tv. I got it for 1350. If I had to pay a penny more, I wouldn't have done it. I don't watch enough tv to justify it. I spend most of my time on the computer.

Originally Posted by bitemymac

Wow..... I'm really impressed, 1080p plasma for under $1500 is incredible.

Originally Posted by bg_nyc

<snip>
But higher bit rates and larger files does not translate to better picture and audio. Its also about the compression method and how much care went into translating the movie onto disc.
<end snip>

Originally Posted by emig647

It was definitely the film. Some scenes would be absolutely stunning. Other scenes were garbage in the background.

Originally Posted by bg_nyc

Can someone please help me understand this...

Is this thread about which format is better, or is it about which format has better movies?

The second argument is irrelevant. We all know that if a clear winner in demand started to emerge, studios would drop the loser format like a hot potato (except Sony of course).

If its about the first argument, then I have to ask how many of you can actually tell the difference between uncompressed PCM / TrueHD and compressed DD+ audio? How many understand that bit rate ultimately does not determine picture quality? Blu-ray obviously is a format that has more potential (if potential is measured my the sheer amount of data that can fit on a disc). But higher bit rates and larger files does not translate to better picture and audio. Its also about the compression method and how much care went into translating the movie onto disc.

So... what are we really talking about here? Data storage or movies? If you want movies, you should want the best tradeoff between cost and quality. Long term, thats HD-DVD. It has more potential for price drops because of its simpler manufacturing process and cheaper raw materials (and lack of Sony kickbacks). If you want data storage, Western Digital MyBooks are on sale at your local electronics store.

Originally Posted by Fishyesque

I think Sony should send a 'memo,' in a sense that everyone with a PS3, when they get online or whatever, a box comes up that says, "Do you realize you have a BluRay player? Go out and buy some movies!!"

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

First of all congrats on your new stuff

I'm not sure if I'm reading it wrong, but are you saying that the background scenes in (samurai) are blurry in places??

cos thats called "focus" and is how the film is shot. has nothing to do with your gear - {scratches head} I can't believe thats what your saying though?

Originally Posted by Fishyesque

Haha we are an injury free environment!!!

I don't think it ever got TOO heated.

Originally Posted by emig647

AVSForum has come out and spoken against supporting either format. Apparently they went as far as shutting down posting in these areas because of threats and lies.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/annou...hp?f=114&a=116

Originally Posted by emig647

I'm not saying it's my gear. I'm saying it's the FILM... ie the movie... ie the master... ie the movie? Heh I dont' know how else to explain it. In other words, Troy and Samurai have issues with how they were moved to HD. I am not saying it's my ps3, my hdmi cable, or my hdtv.

And thank you for the grats, cause it was a big step for me.

For the record, I bought Ratatouille last night and watched it. It was crystal clear. It just seems a lot of transfers aren't done that great. Looking at AVSForum....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316

You can see which ones have been slapped together, and which ones haven't.

Originally Posted by emig647

So I wanted to bring something else up...

As you all know, the hd-dvd vs blu-ray can get pretty heated. AVSForum has come out and spoken against supporting either format. Apparently they went as far as shutting down posting in these areas because of threats and lies.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/annou...hp?f=114&a=116

I guess we should feel lucky to have made it to 100 pages w/o marz or murch getting hurt

Originally Posted by Guartho

I'm so glad I get my format-war discussion here where it's mostly civil. I do not see Murch and Marz fighting it out and getting restraining orders. I see Murch and Marz having some beers together and trying to draw PQ graphs on napkins.

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

Video Business is claiming that 90,000 HD DVD players were sold this past weekend. I honestly didn't expect there to be enough leftover stock of A2's to sell that many, so I'm surprised. This is of course a fraction of the PS3 installed base who realize they own a Blu-Ray player, but every little bit helps.

Originally Posted by bitemymac

Well... not sure how many of you guys live in AVSforum, but that place used to be very civil and informative site until the PS3 was released. Then the whole site turned into a hostile place like most gamers xbox vs. ps forums.

Originally Posted by OldCodger73

emig, I predict within six weeks you wish you would have been able to buy a 50".

Originally Posted by emig647

I'm not saying it's my gear. I'm saying it's the FILM... ie the movie... ie the master... ie the movie? Heh I dont' know how else to explain it. In other words, Troy and Samurai have issues with how they were moved to HD. I am not saying it's my ps3, my hdmi cable, or my hdtv.

And thank you for the grats, cause it was a big step for me.

For the record, I bought Ratatouille last night and watched it. It was crystal clear. It just seems a lot of transfers aren't done that great. Looking at AVSForum....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316

You can see which ones have been slapped together, and which ones haven't.

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

erm.. ok, I think I was wondering, are you sure its not HOW the movie was shot? at what point in the film is the problem? 42 mins in? 1hr 16mins? gimmie an example, I'm curious.

yeah, going HD was a big deal for me too, but fun!

Originally Posted by Guartho

I'm so glad I get my format-war discussion here where it's mostly civil. I do not see Murch and Marz fighting it out and getting restraining orders. I see Murch and Marz having some beers together and trying to draw PQ graphs on napkins.