It's time to go Blu-ray

Ron-P

I'm reading Pearl Harbor is one of the tops, also happens to be one of my all-time favs. Can't wait to spin it, along with UV of course. UV will be my first Blu-ray experience.

millerman 3732

Not try and say I know what your thinking but it seems like you have really high expectations for BR, almost like you are expecting more from BR than you already get from HD DVD, do you think that will be the case?

tonyb

At 30 bucks a movie and players at 1000 bucks that don't do upconverting or the new DD and DTS formats,they have allready sealed their fate.

scottvamp

See Ron, you are just throwing your money away.;)






And your DOOMED!!


















To have the best sound and PQ in the Home Theatre industry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


SWEET

Frank Z

tonyb wrote:

At 30 bucks a movie and players at 1000 bucks that don't do upconverting or the new DD and DTS formats,they have allready sealed their fate.

I paid less than $1K, the player does up-convert, and the Audio is wonderful.

polksda

Both formats are going to be around for a long time... now whether either ever makes the leap to mainstream acceptance, or are doomed to perpetual DVD-A/SACD status is anyone's guess.

Ron-P

do you think that will be the case?

No, not really, infact I am expecing it to not look as good as HD-DVD only because a lot of the early title releases panned for poor PQ. But, the ones as of late seem to be giving what HD-DVD has been giving all along. Blu-ray got off to a much rougher start then HD-DVD but they seemed to have caught up and are now moving full steam ahead.

At 30 bucks a movie and players at 1000 bucks that don't do upconverting or the new DD and DTS formats,they have allready sealed their fate.

Ahh, the price we pay to enjoy this hobby. For me, it's worth every penny, even at $30 a pop, and even if both formats die. For you, it's not, to each there own. I want the best I can get and right now that's HD-DVD and Blu-ray.

I spend a lot of time watching movies, heck, Friday I watched 3.

dane_peterson

szhleppy wrote:

Have any of you come across a BR player that also does a good job on upconverting...comparable to the Tosh for HD?

Well, my PS3 displays SD-DVDs in better quality than my Onkyo HDMI upconverting player. So yes, go with a PS3. Gaming system is just an added bonus.

polksda

dane_peterson wrote:

Well, my PS3 displays SD-DVDs in better quality than my Onkyo HDMI upconverting player. So yes, go with a PS3. Gaming system is just an added bonus.

Then the Onkyo must be a POS, because the PS3 *DOES NOT* upconvert standard DVDs.

Maurice

Ditto dane. I'm getting a PS3 and I dont even play games. I want one for the BR player and the fact that it can browse the web. Also, even without the new audio format processing, the BR discs have better audio than standard. My son hooked his PS3 up to my system and we a/b'd MI3 against my 999, and the sound was at least 30% better. On another note, Ron P, HD-DVD & BluRay, your my new hero.

szhleppy

Frank Z wrote:

I paid less than $1K, the player does up-convert, and the Audio is wonderful.

Which BR player do you have Frank, and are you satisfied with the up-convert?

Frank Z

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Blu_ray/Blu_rayDiscPlayer/BD_P1000XAA.asp

Up-Convertion is only available if there is an HDMI cable connected. I don't have an HDMI cable yet so I can't comment on the Up-Vert quality yet.

Ron-P

I'll let you guys know how the Sammy upconverts, at least compared to the A1. I'm hoping to hit BB on Tuesday morning and pick it up.

On another note, Ron P, HD-DVD & BluRay, your my new hero.

LOL

cheddar

Maurice wrote:

Ditto dane. I'm getting a PS3 and I dont even play games. I want one for the BR player and the fact that it can browse the web. Also, even without the new audio format processing, the BR discs have better audio than standard. My son hooked his PS3 up to my system and we a/b'd MI3 against my 999, and the sound was at least 30% better. On another note, Ron P, HD-DVD & BluRay, your my new hero.

I've heard that about the sound being better without the processing. Seems like it might be possible to get superior sound out of the ps3 even without the lossless formats.

As for the audio, like the HD DVD add-on, the PS3's setup can be a bit complicated. The unit's default setting is LPCM (Linear PCM), meaning that it will convert any digital audio signal to uncompressed PCM audio for playback via your receiver/outboard rig. Which is all well and good if you have a higher-end (and right now, pricey) setup that can accept multi-channel 24bit 192khz PCM via HDMI. Otherwise, you have to "pass through" the original soundtrack untouched via either HDMI or optical (aka Sony's "MultiOut"). In this case, you need to go into the PS3's setup menu and select "Bitstream" instead of Linear PCM. This will pass through the original soundtrack format untouched -- be it Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital-Plus and Dolby TrueHD, SACD, or DTS and DTS-HD. From there, it is up to your receiver to decode the audio and reproduce it through your speakers.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/feature_ps3vsxbox360addon.html

I must say, I'm getting rather excited to go looking for a ps3 at retail without all the Christmas frenzy. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

scottvamp

cheddar wrote:

I've heard that about the sound being better without the processing. Seems like it might be possible to get superior sound out of the ps3 even without the lossless formats.
I must say, I'm getting rather excited to go looking for a ps3 at retail without all the Christmas frenzy. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Me too, also thinking of getting a 42" lcd/plasma to go along with it for the spare bedroom.

szhleppy

Ron-P wrote:

I'll let you guys know how the Sammy upconverts, at least compared to the A1. I'm hoping to hit BB on Tuesday morning and pick it up.


LOL

Great attitude towards the format war Ron! I'd probably do the same if I had room in my entertainment center, but it's pretty much maxed out as it is.

I'll be looking forward to your review on the BR player, particularly the comparison of upconverting with the A1. You'll help me decide which way to go so I can finally dump the Oppo.

Ron-P

The Sammy is on the way. I ordered it from Amazon, total price to my doorstep, $569.99, $130 less then what I was going to have BB match with my Target ad. Not a bad deal, now I just have to wait for 3-5 days to get it. Time to go get a few more Blu-ray movies.

millerman 3732

Ron, would you happen to know if the Samsung can play DTS-MA straight out of the box, does it need to be upgraded after you get it, or is it even capable of playing it or any of the other new formats? After the whole BTB issue with the 1.4 or 2.0 upgrade which ever it was on the Toshiba I'm kinda leary of updating any player in the future.

millerman 3732

I was about to order a Samsung from Amazon, until I found this link over at AVS

http://www.secondact.biz/product/BDP1000RB?campaign=gglcpm&gclid=CP2Cr6bc14kCFShCYwodQQEe9w

Any one have any experiance with refurbs, or would it be better to go ahead and spend the extra $120 bucks and get it new from Amazon?

ND13

I'd go with the refurb. It should be fully updated and any kinks worked out.

Ron-P

Not sure about DTS-MA, I think the firmware update fixed that and can do it over HDMI or the Analog connection.

As for the Sammy itself, pretty rock'n machine. The image on most of my BD disks are not quite as sharp as HD-DVDs but a few look just about as good. I heard the Sammy is a bit on the soft side so I'll chalk that up to the player. Menu access is fairly quick and load times are about half that of my A1. I have yet to wire it up for the uncompressed PCM tracks but that is coming. Color saturation, black levels, overall PQ is just as good as HD-DVDs.

All-n-all, I am very happy with it and it's soooooo nice having both formats. The blu-ray release list over the next several months is HUGE.

millerman 3732

Alright just placed an order for the refurb, comes with a 90 warrenty on parts and labor which is the same as I got on my A1 new. And like ND13 said it sould have all the bugs worked out and have the latest firmware.

scottvamp

Ron-P wrote:

The blu-ray release list over the next several months is HUGE.

Just got my PS3 today and should be able to run over component with the projector. Recently got a awesome Monster Cable component PS2/3 on Ebay - blowing them out.
I think my first purchase will be Underworld 2 - how is it Ron?
And congrats Millerman.

millerman 3732

And congrats Millerman

Thanks, headed over to netflix to load up my queue with blu-ray tittles, I've been wanting to see the Da Vinci code in hi-def ever since it came out on blu-ray, can't wait.

goingganzo

all i have to say is get a ps3 and even if the br dies you still have a awsome gameing system to boot

RuSsMaN

You mean 'when' it dies?

SACD and DVD-A had a little war, and the winner was iPod. I'll give it a while and see what/who is left standing before I rush out to bag me some Blu-ray.

Cheers,
Russ

Ferres

The Adult industry is going with HD DVD since Sony locked them out of Blue Ray.

I don't know how significant this will be in these times of HT but the outcome of the old VHS and Betamax war was determined by support from that industry.

To be honest, I still don't see a need for adult video to move into high def. We'll just wind up seeing more 'veins'.

Ron-P

I think my first purchase will be Underworld 2 - how is it Ron?

It's impressive. The blacks are rock solid with great detail. The overall PQ is fantastic, colors as you know arn't really there due to how the movie was shot. It's also got an uncompressed 5.1 PM track but I have yet to rewire my rig for it. Something I'll do over the next couple of days. All-n-all it pretty much kills the SD-DVD.

goingganzo

i just watched superman returns and i realised my display needs to be calabrated for the ps3 usaly the bars n the to and bottom are black but my pj is running a little on the brigt side

mutelight

There are great titles exclusive to each format which is the reason I went for the cheapest options in the HD media realm. Plus I am a total gaming dork so not much is lost. I really couldn't be happier. The early BD titles were alright looking but HD-DVD was superior however I purchased Silent Hill and Crank and my jaw hit the floor. Crank absolutely wipes the floor with any other Blu-ray or HD-DVD I have seen thus far. The video averages around 18-20Mbps while peaking around 30 and is incredibly clear.