Home audio & video forum: DVD vs. HD-DVD

Go into a CC, they are the only ones I know who have some Blu-Rays running on their sets at times. I was floored by Spiderman 3 on a Samsung 52" in BR at 1080P. I have it on SD DVD for my 720P set with an upconverting Panasonic player, and this was no contest, almost 3D. And this is from someone who is not a big fan of Sony and their protection schemes. Just the scenes in the restaurant were amazing in clarity, not counting the CGI stuff.

You are right in that retailers are trying to push whatever they can get the biggest profit from. That's why a lot of the less expensive sets are not tweaked, and the high profit sets are on vivid, which catches the eye, but is not enjoyable to watch very long. Hd and Blu-Ray are practically identical, but you will see Blu-Ray pushed more because it costs more. They will not set up a standard DVD because if you are on the fence you may decide to wait and not spend any money while you are there.

There is a definitive answer, but the complex one is so much more fulfilling. HD Movies are a HUGE step forward from standard DVD movies in terms of clarity and resolution- But DVDs that are upconverted to HD, whether 720 or 1080 (we'll leave out the 'i' or 'p') CAN look ALMOST as good as its truly HD counterpart.

The problem lies in how the movies are upconverted. DVD player are extremely plentiful, but by no means a commodity. When you are dealing with DVD players, you truly get what you pay for. Video processors in the more-expensive DVD players can be far superior at upconverting DVDs than the least expensive versions.

The difference is more than tell-tale because it's the video processor that CREATES the new information to fill in the gaps from STRETCHING the video to fit the screen nicely.

So I guess it depends on how you see it.

Oh, and it shouldn't come as any surprise that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players have some of the best video processors (therefore upconvertors) available on the market at reasonable prices.

then that means that you should remain on the sidelines. I don't mean this as an insult by any means. If you have seen the BD/ HD-DVD movies at your local chain and or at someones house, and you still are wondering whether there is really a difference, then that means that their is no sense in you running out and spending the extra bucks. It's just that simple.

I could go into long explanations about how much better 1080p is vs 480p (which in the HD scheme of things today is a tiny step up form 480i) but there is no point. The easiest way to know if it is worth it for you to upgrade is if you saw and said "this is unbelievable, it is visibly better than what I have now, it have to get this". Obviously that did not happen with you so, you have already answered your own question. You could go out and buy one and get it home and say to yourself ok this is definitely better, but would that really be the case for you or are you just now convincing yourself that it is because you went out and forked over $400 for it?

I would think that most people would be able to see the difference immediately, but if you don't then that's ok. And although it may sound that way, I am really not being condescending. Some people see the rainbow effect, some don't. Some people are really sensitive to motion blur, some are not. It is what it is.

You, and all of the other posters, should also keep in mind that you are not really watching the DVD in 480p anyway. Yes you only have a progressive DVD player, and yes you may hit the info button on your TV and it says 480p, but you are not really watching the DVD in 480p even without an upscaling player. Why is that? Because your TV will always upscale or downscale a signal to match its native resolution. The DVD is being upscaled just as sure as if you had an upscaling DVD player. The advantage to having an upscaling player is if the player does it better than the TV. The quality of TV upscaling depends on your make and models video processing. In your case m1chael, maybe your TV is doing such a great job of upscaling your DVDs to 1080i or 1080p, that it is making it a little harder for you to be totally floored by BD or HD-DVD.

Even though an upscaled DVD is still not in a BD or HD-DVDs class, it is definitely in the same auditorium. That is me referring to what a sorry state our education system is in by the way.

Good luck

about you saying that you wanted to see a side by side comparison. I guess I mistakenly just focused on what I believed to be the major theme of your thread, which is whether to buy or not to buy.

The best thing for you to do, if you want a side by side, is if they have two TVs side by side, or at least really close, that are playing BDs or HD-DVDs is to bring a DVD with you and put it in one of them. Obviously the TVs not being the same will have an effect but this should give you a very good idea of the difference if any that you would perceive. BD and HD-DVD players are usually good upscalers of standard DVDs, so that will make it an even more fair comparison.

Usually the chains best TVs are hooked up to stand alone HD players, so the fact that they are not the same models will be minimized some.

I frequently bring my own discs with me when I look at sets. You can not properly evaluate a TV by watching the stores cable or satellite broadcast that is has been split more than one of Britney Spear's dresses.

Also, I didn't assume that you had seen a side by side. When I see another TV I can tell if it looks better or worse than mine without having it there side by side, just like I could see the difference between DVD and HD discs without having a side by side comparison.

I am not saying that you can or can't, or that you should be able to, or that I am somehow better than you because I can. I am just saying that while you may have been wrong about what assumption I made, you were right in assuming that I did assume something lol.

Not to worry, my vision is fine. From what I can SEE, I am not sure it's worth me forking over several hundred dollars at this point in time (not to mention $40 a dvd for Blue Ray) for a player that displays an image that may be a little crisper, little more detail, little more clarity, etc when standard movies look good on my current setup. That's not say when this war of money ends and one standard is alone on top of the hill (and prices come down drastically) that I will not give it a try. But for now, the jury is out, at least juror in this discussion.

Oh yeah, my eyes aren't the best in the world but somehow I was and still am able to tell a difference between standard def and high def as it pertains to tv content.

Thanks for the lively discussion....

Rollbar-

My display is 2 yrs old and not capable of 1080p just 1080i and 768p/720p. So for right now might not be much of an advantage to upgrade at least until I can get my hands on a 1080p capable display. That is where a lot of this discussion kind of stems from...whether or not would be big difference especially in my case with not having a fully supported display so the best I would get from the Blue Ray or HD-DVD would be either 720p or 1080i.

But definitely something to consider in the future....

Thanks,
Michael

I certainly didn't intend to sound cutting. The difference was so dramatic on my system that I couldn't understand why you didn't see it too. I did miss the point that you don't currently have a 1080p set.

As for price Stuntman... Yup... I look for sales, (BB recently had a buy 3 get 2 free deal; pulled the trigger twice on that deal) and have also bought from Amazon who had the best prices at the time, (and a large collection to pick from). Still I've replaced or added to the collection with a mix of HD and Blu-Ray numbering a little over 30; the cost of which is starting to settle in. Im paying about $20 each and occasionally more. I did get some free disks in both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray a few of which I would not have purchased.

I buy used when I can find what I want, (std DVDs) so at some point I may be able to find used Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs as well. If HD goes down, that may create opportunities to buy at a value as well. If hi def has changed my buying habits its probably because now I only buy hi def DVDs.

Regarding the scope of available hi def DVDs I am surprised at the titles now out in hi def. There are a ton of titles already in hi def, (combining both formats) but there are also some high selling movies that are not out yet. Finally, I see titles that make me wonder why? Flicks that didnt do well (as I recall) yet are already out in hi def. Some type of marketing scheme I suppose.

Gary

I had the same thought when they reported my order shipped but would not arrive for 14 days. In reality, it was delivered within just a couple of days. Don't dispair.

Gary

Even with your older set you will see a difference between a ED-DVD (regular DVDs are ED 480p) and a HD-DVD/B-Ray.
One thing that was not talked about in any of the postings is bandwidth!!
The max bandwidth for ED DVDs is about 11Mbits/sec, HD-DVD/B-Ray have a bandwidth of of 35~40Mbits/sec. Also HD-DVD/B-Ray use less compression and most are MPG4. The picture is just better!!!!
After I got my HD-DVD player I recorded a movie in HD on my Dish DVR and rented the same title from from Netflix on a HD-DVD. I did a comparison, the HD-DVD was better, this would also apply to B-Ray DVDs. John

many combos are out there. You need to match them or you won't get any difference.

1)1080 or greater HDTV,1080 Hi-Def source,VGA or HDMI HD cable
2)720 HDTV, HD source, Component cable.
3) 480 tv, 480 source, any cable.

Component cable will not always give you 1080, but all HD sources will output 720 through the component source. I recommend using HDMI or VGA when possible, that also gives you the benefit of opening up a component space.

But as far as stores go... Usually the salesman doesn't have one, and since they don't hook it up at the store, they don't know the real difference. If you go to a smaller specialty TV store, they are more likely to show you the difference, but BB will never do this. \

On top of that, here's how that transaction will go.
You are spotted looking at the TVs. The salesman comes over and greets you. They will ask if they can help. If you mention any numbers, they'll read you the sign that has those numbers on them. If you're lucky, that person will know what they mean. If you mention money, or answer when they ask your price range, they'll point you in that direction. But they just want to sell you the bigger price so they get that commision.

You are partly correct about the second assumption too. The stores don't feel the need to show you because HD is absolutely better. They don't have to spend a lot of money to have a HD source. They already have cable in most of the stores and can split the output to all the TVs they want.

The problem is that even now, most people don't have the money or don't really believe that the difference is enough to upgrade their tv for $2k. To be honest, unless you are getting a screen larger than 40", it's not worth it. I bought a 720p 32" and I'm more than pleased. but if I bought a 50", the extra few hundred for 1080i/p would be worth it. If somebody can afford a tv that large, the extra money's probably not an issue anyway.

I do have a 1080P and am also amazed by the quality of HD-DVD. However, I remember getting caught in the VHS vs Beta war. I bet on Sony and Beta, and we all know how that turned out!! I don't want a machine that is going to be obsolete this time next year. I just saw an ad in a magazine that LG have come out with a machine that will play both Bluray and HD DVD!! I imagine the price would scare the daylights out of you, though. Maybe other manufacturers will follow suit, and we won't have a problem. I know that in my area, HD DVD is used far more than Bluray. I suspect a money grab if everyone has to re-buy their DVD's in the Bluray format, just like happened with Beta!!

I agree regarding LOTR and King Kong, but that is Jackson. Mere mortals do not make movies like that. That still leaves my question open. I have a Sony 40"1080p, and just bought a Toshiba HD player. Should I get rid of the Toshiba and buy a Bluray, in hopes others will follow the lead of LG and build a player that will play both Bluray and HD. BTW, the LG is $799.00 at BestBuy.com.Are here enough studios left still making HD DVDs to matter???

You certainly have a point. I have 4 or 5 DVD players laying around, but only use two now: the HD DVD and the (ahem) DIVx player. So they could play most of the DVD's I have now, but it still feels like I will have to start all over again with Bluray (and they aren't that available where I live!!). We are being screwed by the manufacturers and studios once again, and they don't give a rats ass about us!!!!!!!!!!!!