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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 25, 2009 11:20:36 GMT
I've just bought a Blu ray player - anyone else own one ?
Thought I'd future proof myself and get the films in the later part of the year (Watchmen, Wolverine, Star Trek) on Blu Ray rather than double dipping when I did eventually get an HD TV and Blu ray player.
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 25, 2009 12:45:40 GMT
No interest in it whatsoever.
-Ralph
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2009 16:25:42 GMT
I'm not interested in transferring to Blu Ray either. I've got stacks of normal DVD's that it would be too costly for me to just switch to another format. Besides, by the time people have amased such a collection of Blu Ray DVD's the chances are that another more newer format will come along and expect you to spend your hard earned cash on that. Technology moves so fast these days that its hard to keep track of it all.
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Post by Bogatan on Jul 25, 2009 18:47:41 GMT
Brothers got a PS3 and the pc has a HD drive. While I wasnt overly fussed about it I will admit that certain films I really enjoy in high definition. Transformers is one, everything by Pixar. Image quality aside I find the accessability of the extras during the film useful. Pixars extended commentary tracks are great in the extended version parts of other extras are cut to during the film. If someone referes to a piece of technology then you get a behind the scenes documentary clip covering it in detail. I think Ratatouie ends up running for about 4 hours.
I havent and won't made any effort to replace my DVD besides some Disney/Pixar and Serenity.
Andy
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2009 19:34:08 GMT
As far as I'm concerned advances in DVD technology are just things to make the people behind the scenes more money. If I can see a clear picture and can hear clear sound then I couldn't care less what format it was on.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 26, 2009 6:26:40 GMT
If I can see a clear picture and can hear clear sound then I couldn't care less what format it was on. This be wisdom. Martin |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 26, 2009 19:02:27 GMT
I just got a new computer with a blu-ray. Bought Dark Knight and it is awesome! I didn't think that film could get any better. Didn't you see it in the cinema, then?  Martin |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 26, 2009 20:39:16 GMT
The Ayres curse strikes again. The player I ordered for a (i thought) cheap 150 online is being sold over the counter for a ton in PC world & Currys
Weeps.
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Post by Bogatan on Jul 27, 2009 3:47:41 GMT
I just got a new computer with a blu-ray. Bought Dark Knight and it is awesome! I didn't think that film could get any better. Didn't you see it in the cinema, then? Martin I would say Transformers on HD DVD was better than any of my cinema experiences including Imax. Possibly the high quality of the image on a smaller screen makes the film more watchable. The sames true of the last few Pixars films too. Cinema might be bigger but its rare to see a film and not notice something some flicker on the screen due to a tiny bit of dust on the lens or scratch on the film. Andy |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 27, 2009 7:20:51 GMT
I can't comfortably sit in a cinema anymore ....
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Post by Dave on Jul 28, 2009 13:50:03 GMT
I've been nearly going HD for a while now, but haven't. I won't be replacing my DVD collection which is largely standard def TV programs, but there are a few favourite films I'd get Blu Ray's of.
What 's holding me back is cost because I'd need to get a new TV too and whilst my analogue 4:3 TV has seemed to be on its way out for the past few years it just wont die - even though a freeview box and a DVD player have died whilst connected. I just wont buy a new TV whilst the old one's still going, so thats a big reason I'm still with normal DVD.
However...
My laptop is getting a bit past it, having various problems and this morning the DVD drive wouldn't work. So perhaps I will have Blu Ray soon if its part of my next computer purchase.
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Post by grahamthomson on Jul 28, 2009 18:40:52 GMT
Blu Ray will probably be replaced in a few years' time anyway.
I use my PS3 as mine... as good as, if not better than a standalone BD player. Plus it's profile 1.1 and ready for BD-Live.
The Dark Knight is one of the best titles, especially with the IMAX scenes which fill the entire screen. I hope the same is done for Transformers Revenge of the Fallen.
I've only been buying newer films as anything older than, say, five years* seems a bit grainy. I wouldn't bother buying what I already have on DVD again, thought.
*Having said that 2001: A Space Odyssey is so phenomenally HD you can see the seams in the canvas backdrops they used in the first act.
The likes of Spider-Man are really shown up, the CGI in HD looks too fake.
WALL-E is amazing on Blu Ray. Iron Man is pretty good, too.
Ironically, most of my favourite films have little to nil "special effects" so I am quite content to keep them on DVD. It's only the shiny, smashy, kaplowy stuff that's suited for Blu Ray.
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Post by legios on Jul 28, 2009 19:54:29 GMT
The likes of Spider-Man are really shown up, the CGI in HD looks too fake. It didn't look that great when I saw Spiderman on SD at the weekend..... But anyway - I'm not currently contemplating upgrading to a Blu-ray player. I don't have an HD television, so I wouldn't actually see any benefit from the upgrade, and as the television isn't broken there isn't any prospect of it being replaced in the near future. (Around here we only tend to get upgraded technology when it replaces something that is unsalvageable). I'm not enamoured of repurchasing stuff I already own either, so I wouldn't be looking to replace anything I already have on DVD ( a lot of what I own probably wouldn't benefit from the replacement anyway). Besides, Blu-ray releases seem rather expensive to me at the moment so that is another reason mitigating against me feeling any rush to upgrade. Karl |
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 28, 2009 20:07:21 GMT
Most of the things I watch are vintage shows so won't look any better than on Blu-ray and wouldn't hold up to higher resolution anyway as a viewing experience (old shows not being designed to stand up seeing every nut and bolt in sets due to the resolution of tv sets of the time: some of them are already too 'high-def' on DVD as it is, etc). Blu-ray discs are more expensive and I would not be able to watch them on computer equipment, so I'd have to buy a TV in addition to a player. Nah. No interest.
Movies I rarely bought in the past on VHS or even now on DVD. I still prefer to watch them at the cinema (more immersive environment), and they have less re-watch value. Only absolute favourite movies get a purchase in any format.
High def is already available on-line anyway. The only upgrade I want is in a few years time when cloud/bubble memory is more viable and I can have a virtual media library. Easier to manage, no storage issues, with the odd physical purchase of really favourite shows.
-Ralph
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Post by jameso on Jul 30, 2009 9:13:04 GMT
I suppose if Blu Ray ever gets to the point DVD did where it completely took over from video than we'll not have much of a choice. I bet there was lots of threads on the internet in 1997 saying I have no interest in DVD I'm sticking with videos. The main difference I think might be we've all spent so much on DVD as we felt safe that that was the way to go and there's so much more retro and tv stuff on DVD that there ever was on video that DVD will hold out a lot longer than video did when faced with a challenge.
I wonder though at what point the next Transformers, Iron Man, Batman or so on film won't be on DVD and then who knows what would happen.
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Post by Cullen on Jul 30, 2009 11:41:12 GMT
DVD will be around for as long as there is a market for it, which will be for sometime given the take up rate of Bluray. I think if you asked someone if they would like a better picture and sound from the films they buy they'd say yes absolutely, but if you ask them if they are willing to upgrade their TVs, buy a whole new player and pay 50-100% more than a DVD the answer will most likely be no.
I think by the time the price has dropped and more people have HD tellies, physical disc media will be dying off anyway. I have a HD telly (Full HD too - don't get me started on ridiculous fact there are two HD resolutions) and don't have a bluray player for that reason and because of the cost of the discs themselves.
I think I read of a study that showed a large proportion of people had HD tellies and HD set-top boxes (like Bluray, games consoles etc) but connected them up using composite cables, completely negating any HD benefits. Doesn't surprise me when the PS3 is bundled with a composite cable combined with the ludrious prices of HDMI cables in stores (once saw a premium cable for £99.99 - and no it didn't come with a free blow job like you might expect for that price).
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Post by Bogatan on Jul 30, 2009 12:03:14 GMT
We got lucky with having a couple of TV die last year which was geat timing in that the price on HD tvs had just dropped into affordable. And as with VHS to DVD its amazing how little room is taken up by HD TV's. We replaced like for like a 32 in for 32 in (or was it 36?) and it took up a fraction of the space. The death of HDDVD also helped my brother accumulate a larger collection of HD films at cheaper than DVD prices for his Xbox360 (and our PC's combined HDDVD/Bluray drive which can be easily plugged into the TV). Then he decided to buy a PS3 using a load of Tesco vouchers he recieved for choosing there car insurance.
In the end we (or he really) has spent not excessively to make the upgrade. I certainly don't think we would have gone about paying full price for the set up but are happy now we have it.
I do think Bluray will fade away before HD is common enough to replace DVD so the next big change will be downloads and Sky+/Tivo style things.
Someone said something about being happy as long as they have a picture they can see and audio they can hear which I agree with, but watching anything on VHS now it shocks me just how bad the image and sound really is even on relatively new tape, especially on a big HD screen. Blurays big problem is that getting the best results that show up the difference between dvd and HD is just to damn hard. Most people cant see a big enough differnce to make it seem worth while, but the difference is there.
Andy
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Post by grahamthomson on Jul 30, 2009 12:46:14 GMT
Doesn't surprise me when the PS3 is bundled with a composite cable combined with the ludrious prices of HDMI cables in stores (once saw a premium cable for £99.99 - and no it didn't come with a free blow job like you might expect for that price). I usually get my cables from Maplins, but I think I need to jot down where you get yours. |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 30, 2009 17:47:02 GMT
The big difference between Blu-ray replacing DVD and DVD replacing VHS is that you can't play video cassettes in a DVD player, but I assume we will always be able to play our old CDs and DVDs so long as they make machines that fit things of that shape into them. I think by the time the price has dropped and more people have HD tellies, physical disc media will be dying off anyway. To be replaced by what? (I speak as someone who doesn't trust the permanence of data stored on rewritable media such as a hard drive, and likes to own something that has a feeling of permanence.) Martin |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2009 22:43:30 GMT
The problem these days is that technology is moving too fast. When I was a kid I remember videos being the greatest thing ever created. People were talking about the rivalry between VHS and Betamax but they were still videos. These days we have DVD's, blu-ray, downloads and also the failed HD-DVD.
I remember a time about eight or nine years ago when I walked into my local HMV store and the place was packed full of video tapes. The next time I went in they were selling just a smattering of DVD's and before long DVD's were the only thing they sold in the video section save for a few video tapes. For the past few years I have walked into the same store and it is wall to wall DVD's with a few section dedicated to blu-ray. It's amazing how things change so quickly within a decade these days.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 31, 2009 6:04:12 GMT
Books have always come in all shapes and sizes and never suffered any hardware compatibility problems. Martin |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 31, 2009 7:07:21 GMT
Wait till your eyesight starts to go.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2009 17:36:22 GMT
Books have always come in all shapes and sizes and never suffered any hardware compatibility problems. Martin Thats one reason why books have lasted as long as they have. They have been going for many centuries and are still popular today. Videotapes however lasted about twenty years before DVD's superseded them. |
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Post by grahamthomson on Aug 2, 2009 20:21:43 GMT
Lovefilm.com sent me the Matrix trilogy on Blu Ray over the weekend.
Oh dear. The first one still looks as slick as it ever did, but the effects on 2 and 3 have aged terribly. HD has not been kind on these.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 2, 2009 20:42:48 GMT
2 and 3 were $#!+3 to start with.
worsrt
sequels
ever
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2009 20:21:21 GMT
I can't stand any of the Matrix films.
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Post by Dave on Aug 4, 2009 10:52:38 GMT
There's even some dodgy effects in the first one. It did something noticeably new and impressive looking, but it should never have got the best fx oscar.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 4, 2009 11:35:24 GMT
'Bullet time' was not a new effect. It had been done previously in the 'Lost in Space' film and some commercials. What was new was how extensively it was used. Not a fan of The Matrix but I can see how the FX won awards.
-Ralph
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Aug 4, 2009 11:53:17 GMT
'Bullet time' was not a new effect. It had been done previously in the 'Lost in Space'... Gah I'd forgotten about that. Even more unjustified then. |
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Post by legios on Aug 4, 2009 11:55:34 GMT
On other fronts I don't find The Matrix all it is cracked up to be. Leaving aside the "Bullet Time" effect a lot of the rest of its visual schtick is pretty much borrowed stuff. It is pretty much a matter of dropping things from Hong Kong cinema into Hollywood clothes and serving them up as if they were new.
(Not really my cup of tea as you can probably guess)
Karl
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