Blu-Ray or DVD?

[BuckeyeGuy28]

I know it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the posts, but what the heck...

We've always been on top of the coolest gadgets and have about a million great DVDs at home. To be on top of the technology, I've got a GREAT
DVD projector that shows DVDs and only DVDs in crystal clear picture with great sound. It came with a very big screen and the picture is huge if you put the projector in the right spot. But now this Blu-Ray comes out...

I thought it would be a short-lived fad and go out of style soon (think HD DVD) but it's not, it's becoming more popular, just like DVDs did and made VHS tapes obsolete. I want to know what's so great about Blu-Ray

Should I get a Blu-Ray player and switch? I'd hate to give up my projector, and since they don't make Blu-Ray projectors, I'd have to hook up the regular Blu-Ray player to my TV which is nothing compared to my big screen (I'm spoiled with that darn projector). What should I do? What's the fuss with this Blu-Ray business?

 

[Scurvy]

Blu-Ray is great. We have a 720p/1080i tv and can definitely tell the difference between Blu-Ray and regular DVDs. It's similar to the difference between video tapes and DVDs - the Blu-Ray picture is sharper and clearer. If you have an HDTV with the HD signal you can see the difference between the HD channels and regular ones. Blu-Ray disks look more like the HD channels. Also, Blu-Ray disks can hold more data than regular DVDs so the disks tend to have more features. We have a few disks and really like them. (If you don't have an HDTV then there's no point in getting a Blu-Ray player anyway.)

However, there are drawbacks. Regular DVD players won't play Blu-Ray disks so you can only watch those on the TV where you have a Blu-Ray player. Blu-Ray disks cost more than regular DVDs. For us, the difference in picture quality isn't big enough to warrant replacing our DVDs with Blu-Ray disks, and we usually just buy regualr DVDs. I imagine the difference would be more pronounced if our TV was 1080p, though.

If you are pleased with your current set up then I wouldn't switch if I were you, though when/if you are ready to replace the DVD projector I would recommend Blu-Ray at that time. Another option if you are into video games would be to get a PS3 sometime to hook to your TV- they are also Blu-Ray (and DVD) players. You could use it for Blu-Ray disks and games and keep using your projector for the DVDs. There are several people on the community board who know more about this than I do - you may want to post your question over there to get more technical answers.

 

[seashoreCM]

You don't need a "blu-ray" projector or TV to use a Blu-Ray player.

Exact features on the players vary but some Blu-Ray players will work with any TV that a regular DVD player works with. (A small number of TV's require that a box called an RF converter go between the player and the TV.)

Using composite video (yellow), S-video, and HDMI connections, all the player and TV need to do is have matching jacks. Component video (cluster of red, green, and blue jacks) is a little tricky, you also have to set the "speed" or resolution (480i, 720p, etc.) on the player to match what the TV accepts. Composite and S-video always deliver the picture as non-hi-def, aka SDTV.

 

[BuckeyeGuy28]

O.K. here's my dilemma, though...

My projector is very nice...DLP (Digital Light Projection) certified, like the kinds in the nice AMC Theatres, has an HD lamp, and has really good sound, but it only projects well on the huge white 'paper' screen I have. I don't know if I should give that up for Blu-Ray player or keep buying DVDs and watching them on my AWESOME projector.

 

[all4fun]

If you're happy with what you have then why change it?

I don't know much about the projecters - is the DVD player integrated or do you hook your own dvd player up to the projector?

I found this article that you may find helpful: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071204033417AASxuBR
eta: this is the part I thought was most interesting:

When you consider that there are 1% as many HD disks in both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats combined (800) as there are DVDs (80,000), and that the two HD formats are incompatible and most of the movies available in one format are not available in the other, there is little incentive to buy an expensive Blu-ray player (min $400). We will all be watching DVDs for a long time to come.

If you don't have a good upscaling DVD player (e.g. Oppo 981, $229), I'd suggest considering one. You might also consider the Venture HD DVD player available from Walmart (USA only) for $197 (It's a rebranded Toshiba HD-A3) ... it's a pretty good upscaling DVD player that also plays HD DVDs (which give identical audio and video quality to Blu-ray).

Hope this helps.

take into account this was written 11mos ago, before Blu-ray format was the known "winner" over HD format. (similar to when VHS won out over Beta as the most popular vcr format.)

also, to add to what has been said already:
A blu ray player will play your old dvd's and "upconvert" them to a better quality, but you cannot play blu ray disks on a regular dvd player.

 

[BuckeyeGuy28]

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I didn't know you could hook the stuff up. And that link came from heaven. Thanks, all4fun

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Blu-ray is GREAT. We just bought a Blu-Ray player last weekend and I love it, got a great deal on it, too.

Suzanne

 

[all4fun]

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I didn't know you could hook the stuff up. And that link came from heaven. Thanks, all4fun

Wow, thanks for the acknowledgement. It wasn't hard to find. Glad I could help!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Does anyone know if a blu-ray player will play regular dvd's? or are there dual players avaliable like they had with dvd/vhs? TIA

 

[Yen Sid]

Does anyone know if a blu-ray player will play regular dvd's? or are there dual players avaliable like they had with dvd/vhs? TIA

Yes they do, they even have them now with a built in 'upconverter' so your regular DVD's play at or near HD quality.

 

[raven69david]

Blu-Ray players are coming down in price right now. We have purchased 2 PS3's for the use of the blu-ray player which is the only blu-ray player which can accept an upgrade via the internet; we don't really use it for gaming although I have purchased a few games that are stunning. The other stand-alone players can't be upgraded so if new technology is released on the blu-ray (BR) discs, then your BR player won't be able to take advantage of it. The PS3 was the cheapest BR player 2 years ago, but now is in the middle of the pack and losing ground price-wise. It's still the best player out there that can be updated though the internet.

We've got 2 Sony XBR-4's connected to the PS3's and the BR movies are out of this world; the picture looks as if you're looking at the actual filiming of the movie. It's as if you're there. This is due to the 120hz refresh rate of the motion enhancer, but without the data contained in the BR movie most of this would not be possible due to the storage capacity of the disc. This format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc; DVD has a capacity of 5GB.

If you do go BR now would be a great time with black friday coming up. There are several players now under $200.00 with a PS3 at $399.00 this weekend with a $100.00 gift card from Wal Mart.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Thank you so much for this info. Our DVD player died, so we have the one out of my in-laws motorhome. I was thinking of getting one for DH for christmas. It's sounding more like a good idea esp. since it will play dvds.

 

[Phalene]

Blu-Ray players are coming down in price right now. We have purchased 2 PS3's for the use of the blu-ray player which is the only blu-ray player which can accept an upgrade via the internet; we don't really use it for gaming although I have purchased a few games that are stunning. The other stand-alone players can't be upgraded so if new technology is released on the blu-ray (BR) discs, then your BR player won't be able to take advantage of it. The PS3 was the cheapest BR player 2 years ago, but now is in the middle of the pack and losing ground price-wise. It's still the best player out there that can be updated though the internet.

That may have been true at one time, but no longer. I just bought an LG Blu-Ray player that not only has an Ethernet port for upgrades, but also has the capability to stream Netflix movies directly over the internet if you have a Netflix account.