Disappointed with Blu-Ray

[Geno]

I'd been sitting on the fence, waiting for the dust to settle on the BD vs HDDVD war. When it appeared that the tipping point had been reached, I found a Panny BD-10A at a killer price and went for it. I've watched about 8movies on it so far, and compared a few BDs with SD discs that I own. All I can say is I'm underwhelmed.
Since I've got a better-than-average SD DVD player (Denon 3910), I was pretty happy with the video and audio quality of standard DVD. I had hoped the Blu-Ray would be accompanied by quantum leaps in video quality and the new audio codecs would send me into paroxysms of bliss heretofore unimagined. Guess I'm just jaded in my old age, but the difference wasn't as dramatic as the hype led me to believe. Not that there's anything wrong with Blu-Ray, but I guess if you already have a pretty good SD DVD and display, you may not be bowled over with the improvement.
Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.

 

[Seth=L]

Maybe it's just the particular movies. Some movies don't look all that fantastic on Blu-ray.

 

[mike c]

or the more important question, how big is your screen and how close are you?

 

[Seth=L]

or the more important question, how big is your screen and how close are you?

We know he has a 50" screen. Distance....

 

[mike c]

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/tips/1137/maxing-out-resolution.html

 

[Thunder18]

I'd like to know what movies he's been watching on it? I know my BD-10A came with 5 movies including the first 2 Pirates of the Caribbean both of which looked great as did the 3rd POTC which I picked up shortly afterwards. Some of the earlier releases were somewhat sub-par to be sure, but any of the newer releases should be noticeably better. For example, I watched a few scenes from The Transporter back to back on Blu-Ray and SD-DVD upscaled through the BD-10A and there were some parts on the Blu-Ray that really were no better than the DVD. POTC was a whole different story though. Noticeably better than the SD-DVD release.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

He doesn't have a 1080p TV either.

 

[mfabien]

I'd been sitting on the fence, waiting for the dust to settle on the BD vs HDDVD war. When it appeared that the tipping point had been reached, I found a Panny BD-10A at a killer price and went for it. I've watched about 8movies on it so far, and compared a few BDs with SD discs that I own. All I can say is I'm underwhelmed.
Since I've got a better-than-average SD DVD player (Denon 3910), I was pretty happy with the video and audio quality of standard DVD. I had hoped the Blu-Ray would be accompanied by quantum leaps in video quality and the new audio codecs would send me into paroxysms of bliss heretofore unimagined. Guess I'm just jaded in my old age, but the difference wasn't as dramatic as the hype led me to believe. Not that there's anything wrong with Blu-Ray, but I guess if you already have a pretty good SD DVD and display, you may not be bowled over with the improvement.
Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.

I believe your TH-50PX6U has a native resolution of 1366 x 768. You should set your BD player to output 1080i and your display in 768p will be improved over 720p. When you select 720p output, the player downconverts to 540p then outputs 720p. You are missing a lot of pixels that way.

Once you see the PQ improvement, play a BD disc and, if you have the same movie or concert in SD DVD, play that AFTER in your Denon player and you will be convinced that there is a major difference.

As lossless audio, pay attention to dialogs in movies. To me it is as if the actors are in the same room with me. And noises on the side (door closing and the like) are very real.

 

[fmw]

Most likely it is his viewing distance. I have the same issue. I watch a 42" screen from 11 feet. BD is a little better than upscaled DVD but only slightly. I can see the difference plainly when I get closer to the TV set.

 

[mfabien]

If viewing distance is the problem, then he can use the following to determine where he should be sitting:

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

 

[aberkowitz]

I agree with previous posters- it all comes down to the discs. I would recommend watching at least several of my "BD must watch list" before dismissing it completely- The POTC trilogy, Casino Royale, Ratatouille, 3:10 to Yuma (just watched this weekend, AQ is ridiculously amazing), 2001 A Space Odyssey, Planet Earth, Live Free or Die Hard- I could list more but I would start with a couple of these and reevaluate.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I'd been sitting on the fence, waiting for the dust to settle on the BD vs HDDVD war. When it appeared that the tipping point had been reached, I found a Panny BD-10A at a killer price and went for it. I've watched about 8movies on it so far, and compared a few BDs with SD discs that I own. All I can say is I'm underwhelmed.
Since I've got a better-than-average SD DVD player (Denon 3910), I was pretty happy with the video and audio quality of standard DVD. I had hoped the Blu-Ray would be accompanied by quantum leaps in video quality and the new audio codecs would send me into paroxysms of bliss heretofore unimagined. Guess I'm just jaded in my old age, but the difference wasn't as dramatic as the hype led me to believe. Not that there's anything wrong with Blu-Ray, but I guess if you already have a pretty good SD DVD and display, you may not be bowled over with the improvement.
Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.

Based on your comments, I'm guessing you're like most people who sit a pretty good distance away from your screen relative to your screen size.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've watched about 8movies on it so far, and compared a few BDs with SD discs that I own. All I can say is I'm underwhelmed.

No, the problem is you only have a 50" TV. You need to get a 73" 1080p TV to really appreciate the difference in picture quality between SD DVD and Blu-ray.

But, you also have a good point about the excellent quality SD DVD, especially upscale to 1080p by a great DVD player.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

If viewing distance is the problem, then he can use the following to determine where he should be sitting:

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

Hmm. for my 34" TV, that calculator recommends from 3.8 ft (way too close IMO) to 12.8 ft (way too far.)

 

[dobyblue]

There are a few discs that disappoint, but for the most part SD DVD doesn't hold a candle to Blu-ray.

The upgrade in audio alone on titles with lossless audio (pretty much all Sony, Disney and Fox titles and the lion's share of Lions Gate Films; Warner too have been better since their first PCM release last February - The Departed) is worth the upgrade from SD DVD.

There is not one single SD DVD title whose audio track can be mentioned in the same breath as any of the three Pirates discs using 24-bit PCM.

As for video, it's in the eye of the beholder. I have never seen DVD present details like BLu-ray can, it's not even close...even with Reon upconversion. Pirates 1&2, Spider-man 1&2, Close Encounters, Blade Runner, The Shining, Troy, The Fifth Element, etc. - all discs I have on DVD that I've upgraded and the difference is very noticeable.

 

[j_garcia]

I agree completely with what others have said. There are some average discs, but the best ones I've seen absolutely blow SD DVD away. I have TWO good SD players (three if you count the A2) and I still wouldn't go back to buying SD.

Viewing distance is not the problem...I have a 34" set and I sit 8ft away and the difference is quite noticeable.

 

[jostenmeat]

For you videophiles:

The New PQ Tier thread for Blu-Ray
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316
consumer rated

Unofficial Blu-ray Audio and Video Specifications Thread
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=760714
check "Exact video bitrate" perhaps

Both are stickies at BD software forum, AVS.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Hmm. for my 34" TV, that calculator recommends from 3.8 ft (way too close IMO) to 12.8 ft (way too far.)

TRANSLATION: A 34" TV is waaay too small. To truly experience a real 'theater' effect, a little 34" isn't even close to getting the job done.

 

[gus6464]

Ratatouille!

 

[j_garcia]

TRANSLATION: A 34" TV is waaay too small. To truly experience a real 'theater' effect, a little 34" isn't even close to getting the job done.

That's funny, I don't have a problem with it...but then my system is about Audio not video