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Blu Ray

RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
in Non Cigar Related
Just got our first Blu Ray player, along with Olympus Has Fallen. Sue me, I'm a Gerard Butler groupie. Anywho...I'm not very impressed. It does not look horrible, it just does not look amazing. There was another Blu Ray thread around here, and it basically said some movies look great, some not so much. I think that's true...unless all blu ray is not very "wow". I also own World War Z, maybe I'll try that. Or maybe I need something that is a visual ****, IE Star Trek.
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Comments

  • The_KidThe_Kid Posts: 7,869 ✭✭✭
    Could be the box your watchin it on??
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,917 ✭
    Get the first new Star Trek and turn out all the lights. Badass dude.
  • New_BootsNew_Boots Posts: 2,651 ✭✭
    Just to make sure here. You have a 1080P Tv? Running on HDMI? The TV is set to run at its peak? Blu Ray player is set to run full blast?
  • JSaintJSaint Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭
    Also if the cord is hdmi does it support 1080p? I switched from a cheap cord to some top of the line monster cables and dang did it make a difference. Using them on a 600hz refresh plasma and wow do my games look good as well as any movies I watch.
    "Beauty is in the eye when you hold her." -Ricky
  • MartelMartel Posts: 3,306 ✭✭✭✭
    JSaint:
    Also if the cord is hdmi does it support 1080p? I switched from a cheap cord to some top of the line monster cables and dang did it make a difference. Using them on a 600hz refresh plasma and wow do my games look good as well as any movies I watch.
    Just to be clear, there are great HDMI cables for much less than monster. But there are some really bad ones, too. Cords make a diff as do the other things mentioned. I don't have a blu ray yet, but we watch a lot of HD streams and such and there is a huge change on our TV if the stream downgrades to regular if the bandwidth gets used up. But not a huge change on everything.
    Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

    I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot.  I will smoke anything, though.
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    Ok, so I watched a whole move instead of just a few minutes.It never looked bad. But when it looked good, it was really a "wow" moment. Mostly outside scenes, they are really vivid.
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    Martel:
    JSaint:
    Also if the cord is hdmi does it support 1080p? I switched from a cheap cord to some top of the line monster cables and dang did it make a difference. Using them on a 600hz refresh plasma and wow do my games look good as well as any movies I watch.
    Just to be clear, there are great HDMI cables for much less than monster. But there are some really bad ones, too. Cords make a diff as do the other things mentioned. I don't have a blu ray yet, but we watch a lot of HD streams and such and there is a huge change on our TV if the stream downgrades to regular if the bandwidth gets used up. But not a huge change on everything.
    Just to be clear, there is NO DIFFERENCE between HDMI cables, or really any cabling you would use between your device and TV. (Unless you have ridiculously long cable runs, like 50 feet or more, then EMI shielding may come into play.) That $3 no name HDMI is just as good as $100 Monster HDMI is just as good as coat hangers. It is a digital signal, and either it gets there or it doesn't. Easy infographic here. A true AV geek could probably give you better info that the rough guesses I have (don't we have a couple here on the forum?). My guesses, if the blu ray doesn't impress from the DVD would fall under these reasons.

    1. Your TV isn't big enough or you sit a good distance away from it like a sane adult. No matter how nice your TV, your eyes have the final say in what level of detail they can pick out, so you have to be close enough to see ithave a TV big enough to show it.

    2. Your TV needs to be tuned. Modern TVs have approximately 1 bajillion settings. People make good money tuning these to the lighting and conditions unique to where you have yours. You can find guides online to do rough tuning yourself, or pay a pro to really improve your settings. I never have, but have seen the results of said professionals after a previous rough tuning, and it is noticeably better.

    3. Your audio system is the weak point. One of the big benefits blu ray gives is much higher quality audio... but once again, this is only as good as the speakers it comes out.
  • New_BootsNew_Boots Posts: 2,651 ✭✭
    jthanatos:
    Martel:
    JSaint:
    Also if the cord is hdmi does it support 1080p? I switched from a cheap cord to some top of the line monster cables and dang did it make a difference. Using them on a 600hz refresh plasma and wow do my games look good as well as any movies I watch.
    Just to be clear, there are great HDMI cables for much less than monster. But there are some really bad ones, too. Cords make a diff as do the other things mentioned. I don't have a blu ray yet, but we watch a lot of HD streams and such and there is a huge change on our TV if the stream downgrades to regular if the bandwidth gets used up. But not a huge change on everything.
    Just to be clear, there is NO DIFFERENCE between HDMI cables, or really any cabling you would use between your device and TV. (Unless you have ridiculously long cable runs, like 50 feet or more, then EMI shielding may come into play.) That $3 no name HDMI is just as good as $100 Monster HDMI is just as good as coat hangers. It is a digital signal, and either it gets there or it doesn't. Easy infographic here. A true AV geek could probably give you better info that the rough guesses I have (don't we have a couple here on the forum?). My guesses, if the blu ray doesn't impress from the DVD would fall under these reasons.

    1. Your TV isn't big enough or you sit a good distance away from it like a sane adult. No matter how nice your TV, your eyes have the final say in what level of detail they can pick out, so you have to be close enough to see ithave a TV big enough to show it.

    2. Your TV needs to be tuned. Modern TVs have approximately 1 bajillion settings. People make good money tuning these to the lighting and conditions unique to where you have yours. You can find guides online to do rough tuning yourself, or pay a pro to really improve your settings. I never have, but have seen the results of said professionals after a previous rough tuning, and it is noticeably better.

    3. Your audio system is the weak point. One of the big benefits blu ray gives is much higher quality audio... but once again, this is only as good as the speakers it comes out.
    ^This exactly! In fact I was just reading an article on it the other day. I fell into the "top end cables" trap once before...I had purchased a new DVD player, not Blu Ray, just DVD....Somehow I went home with some fancy, gold tipped cables.

    End of the day, the "good" cables are psychosomatic and use brilliant marketing to get what they want.
  • raisindotraisindot Posts: 1,294 ✭✭✭
    jthanatos:
    Just to be clear, there is NO DIFFERENCE between HDMI cables, or really any cabling you would use between your device and TV. (Unless you have ridiculously long cable runs, like 50 feet or more, then EMI shielding may come into play.) That $3 no name HDMI is just as good as $100 Monster HDMI is just as good as coat hangers. It is a digital signal, and either it gets there or it doesn't. Easy infographic here. A true AV geek could probably give you better info that the rough guesses I have (don't we have a couple here on the forum?). My guesses, if the blu ray doesn't impress from the DVD would fall under these reasons.

    1. Your TV isn't big enough or you sit a good distance away from it like a sane adult. No matter how nice your TV, your eyes have the final say in what level of detail they can pick out, so you have to be close enough to see ithave a TV big enough to show it.

    2. Your TV needs to be tuned. Modern TVs have approximately 1 bajillion settings. People make good money tuning these to the lighting and conditions unique to where you have yours. You can find guides online to do rough tuning yourself, or pay a pro to really improve your settings. I never have, but have seen the results of said professionals after a previous rough tuning, and it is noticeably better.

    3. Your audio system is the weak point. One of the big benefits blu ray gives is much higher quality audio... but once again, this is only as good as the speakers it comes out.


    Agree with you totally on this one. I have $25 higher-end HDMI cables and $5 HDMI cables, and there's no difference at all in picture quality between them. The cheaper ones may break easier (I've had one break already), but for the most part, signal is signal.

    And, even with my terrible eyesight, I do see the difference between DVD and BluRay. For me, I noticed the biggest difference when watching Seasons 1-5 of Breaking Bad on DVD and Season 6 on BluRay. The BluRay pictures were definitely clearer, more detailed, and the colors more vivid, and the sound was noticeable better (I run everything through a $60 Vizio sound card, which is a great bargain for a nice sounding non--5.1 system).

    Given how cheap BluRay machines are these days (bottom ones start around $50 on sale), it's almost a non-brainer. Whether you buy DVD or BluRay version of movies or shows is a matter of choice and economics. Personally, I don't think it's worth paying 15% more to watch most TV shows on BluRay, but for movies where cinemgatography is one of the key attractions BluRay disks can be a worthier investments--probably that the original master the BluRay was made from is in good condition.
  • MartelMartel Posts: 3,306 ✭✭✭✭
    raisindot:
    jthanatos:
    Just to be clear, there is NO DIFFERENCE between HDMI cables, or really any cabling you would use between your device and TV. (Unless you have ridiculously long cable runs, like 50 feet or more, then EMI shielding may come into play.) That $3 no name HDMI is just as good as $100 Monster HDMI is just as good as coat hangers. It is a digital signal, and either it gets there or it doesn't. Easy infographic here. A true AV geek could probably give you better info that the rough guesses I have (don't we have a couple here on the forum?). My guesses, if the blu ray doesn't impress from the DVD would fall under these reasons.

    1. Your TV isn't big enough or you sit a good distance away from it like a sane adult. No matter how nice your TV, your eyes have the final say in what level of detail they can pick out, so you have to be close enough to see ithave a TV big enough to show it.

    2. Your TV needs to be tuned. Modern TVs have approximately 1 bajillion settings. People make good money tuning these to the lighting and conditions unique to where you have yours. You can find guides online to do rough tuning yourself, or pay a pro to really improve your settings. I never have, but have seen the results of said professionals after a previous rough tuning, and it is noticeably better.

    3. Your audio system is the weak point. One of the big benefits blu ray gives is much higher quality audio... but once again, this is only as good as the speakers it comes out.


    Agree with you totally on this one. I have $25 higher-end HDMI cables and $5 HDMI cables, and there's no difference at all in picture quality between them. The cheaper ones may break easier (I've had one break already), but for the most part, signal is signal.

    And, even with my terrible eyesight, I do see the difference between DVD and BluRay. For me, I noticed the biggest difference when watching Seasons 1-5 of Breaking Bad on DVD and Season 6 on BluRay. The BluRay pictures were definitely clearer, more detailed, and the colors more vivid, and the sound was noticeable better (I run everything through a $60 Vizio sound card, which is a great bargain for a nice sounding non--5.1 system).

    Given how cheap BluRay machines are these days (bottom ones start around $50 on sale), it's almost a non-brainer. Whether you buy DVD or BluRay version of movies or shows is a matter of choice and economics. Personally, I don't think it's worth paying 15% more to watch most TV shows on BluRay, but for movies where cinemgatography is one of the key attractions BluRay disks can be a worthier investments--probably that the original master the BluRay was made from is in good condition.

    The only disagreement I have is the quality of the cable/connection. Some cheap cables break easily, either over the run or at the connector, or the connector itself is shoddy. Especially if you'll be plugging/unplugging the cable a lot for some reason. That's why I said what I said.

    I'm a sound junky with no surround sound...because I won't settle for the mid-range systems. Too spoiled by years of watching films in theaters all by myself for work where I could have the audio set the way it should be instead of the way the crowd wants it.

    And I don't think older movies are worth it in BluRay, either. Some disagree with me, but an upscaled DVD of Home Alone is not going to be much different from a BluRay. TV depends on the show and how it was shot, but most aren't worth it, I'd agree.
    Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

    I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot.  I will smoke anything, though.
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    Martel:
    The only disagreement I have is the quality of the cable/connection. Some cheap cables break easily, either over the run or at the connector, or the connector itself is shoddy. Especially if you'll be plugging/unplugging the cable a lot for some reason. That's why I said what I said.
    This is very true. The life expectancy uggedness of cheaper cables is somewhat suspect. I just was trying to clarify a misconception encouraged by Monster brand and their ilk that short run cables have any impact on the quality of the digital signal.
  • MartelMartel Posts: 3,306 ✭✭✭✭
    jthanatos:
    Martel:
    The only disagreement I have is the quality of the cable/connection. Some cheap cables break easily, either over the run or at the connector, or the connector itself is shoddy. Especially if you'll be plugging/unplugging the cable a lot for some reason. That's why I said what I said.
    This is very true. The life expectancy uggedness of cheaper cables is somewhat suspect. I just was trying to clarify a misconception encouraged by Monster brand and their ilk that short run cables have any impact on the quality of the digital signal.
    Yeah, I hear you. There absolutely are quality inexpensive cables out there. Digital signal is digital signal, but it has to get from out to in!
    Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

    I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot.  I will smoke anything, though.
  • jgibvjgibv Posts: 9,244 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Rain:
    Just got our first Blu Ray player, along with Olympus Has Fallen. Sue me, I'm a Gerard Butler groupie. Anywho...I'm not very impressed. It does not look horrible, it just does not look amazing. There was another Blu Ray thread around here, and it basically said some movies look great, some not so much. I think that's true...unless all blu ray is not very "wow". I also own World War Z, maybe I'll try that. Or maybe I need something that is a visual ****, IE Star Trek.
    hmm.....
    maybe you need a new(er), bigger TV?
    ;-)

    I bet this one would give you a real nice picture:
    http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-E701i-A3-70-inch-1080p-120Hz/dp/B009SJNTIY/ref=sr_1_1?s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1388682399&sr=1-1


    And yeah, cables are cables are cables. http://lifehacker.com/5506219/why-you-should-never-pay-more-than-10-for-hdmi-cables
    Never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable .... www.monoprice.com


    Sounds like you got it figured out though ....
    Maybe go into the TV's menu and mess around with the display settings to get it exactly how you want. Did that on the TV in the basement, on the "default setting" everything looked kind of "meh" but I did custom settings for games/movies/sports and now they each look fantastic. And it's a fairly inexpensive POS tv too.

    * I have a new address as of 3/24/18 *

  • New_BootsNew_Boots Posts: 2,651 ✭✭
    OR! Just go get one of the new 4K TV's!
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    New Boots:
    OR! Just go get one of the new 4K TV's!
    This one seems reasonable.
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    "The TV is one of those new 4K (also known as Ultra HD) sets that has a super-sharp resolution. Most HD TVs today show about 1,000 pixels across the screen. Ultra HD TVs have about 4,000 pixels. It may sound like a gimmick, but if you see one of these things in real life, you'll get it. It's like looking through a window."
  • jgibvjgibv Posts: 9,244 ✭✭✭✭✭
    jthanatos:
    New Boots:
    OR! Just go get one of the new 4K TV's!
    This one seems reasonable.
    .....150k for a tv?????

    Damn.

    * I have a new address as of 3/24/18 *

  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    jgibv:
    jthanatos:
    New Boots:
    OR! Just go get one of the new 4K TV's!
    This one seems reasonable.
    .....150k for a tv?????

    Damn.
    When I heard about it on the news the other day, all I could think was: If I was able to afford 150k for a TV... I would have so many other things to enjoy instead of watching it.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Olympus wasn't the best bluray but it looked good. It had a lot of black crush and the cgi was crap. I'm running a 65 inch panasonic plasma and it's been professionally tuned. So trust me when I say there are better blurays. Any of the Pixar are amazing, also check out transformers 3. You can go to bluray.com and check out reviews from there, that's where I go before deciding to get a bluray. They are pretty good at picture and audio reviews.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    jthanatos:
    jgibv:
    jthanatos:
    New Boots:
    OR! Just go get one of the new 4K TV's!
    This one seems reasonable.
    .....150k for a tv?????

    Damn.
    When I heard about it on the news the other day, all I could think was: If I was able to afford 150k for a TV... I would have so many other things to enjoy instead of watching it.
    Yeah they are $$$$. Really there is no reason to get one any time soon. The is barely any true content for them and only people who have money to burn buy them. Which imo given how technology works, 1st gen usually blows.
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    phobicsquirrel:
    Olympus wasn't the best bluray but it looked good. It had a lot of black crush and the cgi was crap. I'm running a 65 inch panasonic plasma and it's been professionally tuned. So trust me when I say there are better blurays. Any of the Pixar are amazing, also check out transformers 3. You can go to bluray.com and check out reviews from there, that's where I go before deciding to get a bluray. They are pretty good at picture and audio reviews.
    Yeah, anytime they showed outside shots I could really tell it was bluray, plus the snow was crazy cool looking.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Yup. Other than the pic issues the audio was amazing and I liked the movie, it was fun. Looking forward to the 2nd.
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    They're making another one?! Sorry, I love Gerard Butler.
  • New_BootsNew_Boots Posts: 2,651 ✭✭
    Rain:
    They're making another one?! Sorry, I love Gerard Butler.
    That's a nice closet you have there Rain
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Rain:
    They're making another one?! Sorry, I love Gerard Butler.
    Yup. I too enjoy his action flicks.
  • jthanatosjthanatos Posts: 1,571 ✭✭✭
    phobicsquirrel:
    Rain:
    They're making another one?! Sorry, I love Gerard Butler.
    Yup. I too enjoy his action flicks.
    Somebody needs to get Olympus LifeAlert.

    image
  • jgibvjgibv Posts: 9,244 ✭✭✭✭✭
    phobicsquirrel:
    jthanatos:
    jgibv:
    jthanatos:
    New Boots:
    OR! Just go get one of the new 4K TV's!
    This one seems reasonable.
    .....150k for a tv?????

    Damn.
    When I heard about it on the news the other day, all I could think was: If I was able to afford 150k for a TV... I would have so many other things to enjoy instead of watching it.
    Yeah they are $$$$. Really there is no reason to get one any time soon. The is barely any true content for them and only people who have money to burn buy them. Which imo given how technology works, 1st gen usually blows.
    Idk that 150k tv would be nice to watch on my private jumbo jet 747 while I fly to my private island in the Caribbean ...... Rriiiiiiggggghhhtttttt

    * I have a new address as of 3/24/18 *

  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    Just got Star Trek Into Darkness. Pumped to lower the lights, get some candles going and.....oh, dear. Anywho, I think it should look great.
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    So, Star Trek looked great.Does that surprise anyone? ;)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,917 ✭
    I used to live on this site when LCD's first came out. Huge resource for optimizing your specific T.V. and blu-ray. I hope this helps

    http://www.avsforum.com/f/
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