best 720p projector for the money image
elle
I just bought a LCD 1080i. I"m debating on just buying upscaling or blu ray disc player. Can Blu ray play regular DVDs and play on 1080i format? Or should I just save money and by a upscaling player that plays regular DVDs. How is the output on the upscaling player?
Answer
Not an easy question to answer.
First, you will have to decide based on YOUR priorities ... but let me offer some things to consider.
- Blu-ray is, and will likely remain, a niche premium format for people who can benefit and are willing to pay the premium price (~$300+ for the player and $5-$20 more for disks of the same movie vs DVD).
- Opinion of Blu-ray can vary from "wow!" to "what's all the fuss about" ... depending on how it is being displayed.
- To FULLY benefit you need a 40" or larger 1080p HDTV, with a good surround sound system capable of handling the advanced audio formats.
- You will still get some benefit from Blu-ray with a 720p HDTV (what you have), but you don't mention screen size, where you intend to watch from and whether you have a good sound system ... all of which influence the benefit/cost equation.
- Many Blu-ray films are poorly mastered and don't look much better than DVD even under optimum conditions.
- An upconverting DVD player won't make a DVD look as good as a Blu-ray disk, but on a 720p HDTV under about 40" detail will look fairly close. But picture quality is subjective -- and dependent on more than just resolution -- so you really have to see it for yourself and decide if Blu-Ray is worthwhile. Why not view a DVD and a Blu-ray disk on a HDTV similar to yours and see for yourself?
Personally I can say that I have a 720p projector and a 110" screen, and I tried HD DVD disks (which give essentially identical picture and audio quality to Blu-ray) and found insignificant improvement over upscaled DVDs. Since then I have bought 2 HD DVD tiltes (Planet eart and Sunrise Earth) and over 50 DVDs. I use my HD DVD player as an upscaling DVD player ... and pay about $20 less for movies than if I bought Blu-ray. So I guess I'm biased ... but upconverted DVD look just fine with me.
I should caution that not everyone sees the same thing (which is why I recommended seeing for yourself).
If you do consider an upconverting players note they are only as good as the video processing chip they use ... so avoid the under $60 models. The best are Oppo's models but they are a bit pricy.
BTW, if you do decide an upconverting DVD player is enough the liquidation prices (~$75) in effect on the Toshiba HD-A3 or Venture HD-7000 (Wal-Mart's brand) HD DVD player make them a very attractive option (and as a bonus you can play any of the 400 HD DVD movies available (Noting there will be very few new ones after this month)). But you will have to move fairly fast .. a lot of people have realized the same thing and they are getting snapped up fast.
Finally, if you decide on Blu-ray, other than the PS3, you should wait until near the end of the year to get a Profile 2.0 (BD-Live!) player, and for prices to come down a bit.
Hope that helps.
Not an easy question to answer.
First, you will have to decide based on YOUR priorities ... but let me offer some things to consider.
- Blu-ray is, and will likely remain, a niche premium format for people who can benefit and are willing to pay the premium price (~$300+ for the player and $5-$20 more for disks of the same movie vs DVD).
- Opinion of Blu-ray can vary from "wow!" to "what's all the fuss about" ... depending on how it is being displayed.
- To FULLY benefit you need a 40" or larger 1080p HDTV, with a good surround sound system capable of handling the advanced audio formats.
- You will still get some benefit from Blu-ray with a 720p HDTV (what you have), but you don't mention screen size, where you intend to watch from and whether you have a good sound system ... all of which influence the benefit/cost equation.
- Many Blu-ray films are poorly mastered and don't look much better than DVD even under optimum conditions.
- An upconverting DVD player won't make a DVD look as good as a Blu-ray disk, but on a 720p HDTV under about 40" detail will look fairly close. But picture quality is subjective -- and dependent on more than just resolution -- so you really have to see it for yourself and decide if Blu-Ray is worthwhile. Why not view a DVD and a Blu-ray disk on a HDTV similar to yours and see for yourself?
Personally I can say that I have a 720p projector and a 110" screen, and I tried HD DVD disks (which give essentially identical picture and audio quality to Blu-ray) and found insignificant improvement over upscaled DVDs. Since then I have bought 2 HD DVD tiltes (Planet eart and Sunrise Earth) and over 50 DVDs. I use my HD DVD player as an upscaling DVD player ... and pay about $20 less for movies than if I bought Blu-ray. So I guess I'm biased ... but upconverted DVD look just fine with me.
I should caution that not everyone sees the same thing (which is why I recommended seeing for yourself).
If you do consider an upconverting players note they are only as good as the video processing chip they use ... so avoid the under $60 models. The best are Oppo's models but they are a bit pricy.
BTW, if you do decide an upconverting DVD player is enough the liquidation prices (~$75) in effect on the Toshiba HD-A3 or Venture HD-7000 (Wal-Mart's brand) HD DVD player make them a very attractive option (and as a bonus you can play any of the 400 HD DVD movies available (Noting there will be very few new ones after this month)). But you will have to move fairly fast .. a lot of people have realized the same thing and they are getting snapped up fast.
Finally, if you decide on Blu-ray, other than the PS3, you should wait until near the end of the year to get a Profile 2.0 (BD-Live!) player, and for prices to come down a bit.
Hope that helps.
Is it worth spending the money to buy a blu-ray disc player, or is there really not much difference?
lahlahdips
For those who have them, let me know if it's been worth the investment or if I'd be better off waiting another year or two for the prices to drop.
Answer
I don't have a Blu-ray player but do have an HD DVD player ... which -- according to most experts -- gives virtually identical video and audio performance to Blu-ray.
I use a 720p HD projector, a 110" screen and a good 7.2 audio system for movies and HDTV. I tried HD movies and did careful comparisons and found very little difference between HD DVD and upconverted DVDs and, even before HD DVD died I decided not to buy HD DVD disks since DVDs were plenty good enough and far cheaper.
I might see more difference if I had a 1080p projector .... and someday may upgrade ... but with my current setup I'm in no hurry to buy into Blu-ray because the price premium on disks (~$10 vs the same movie on DVD) just isn't worth it.
Everything I read says Blu-ray CAN be great, but often is only a little better than DVD. Furthermore all too many movies are either not available on Blu-ray or don't really justify HD treatment (who needs an HD version of "Jackass" or "Van Wilder", or even "home movie" films like "Cloverfield" or "28 Days"?).
My conclusion is that Blu-ray is in trouble. It's evolutionary, not revolutionary. It isn't going away ... but isn't a sure thing to replace DVD as the mainstream format. Rather, it will continue to coexist with DVD as a premium priced HD alternative.
While prices will come down in the next year or so, Blu-ray will always be more expensive than DVD (more difficult and expensive to master, higher production costs, higher licensing fees).
The judgement as to how much extra it is worth to get Blu-ray quality is a personal one, but at the moment I would recommend anyone other than an "early adopter" (those who must have new technology no matter what the cost) with a 40"+ screen 1080p display and a GOOD audio system stay with DVD until prices come down significantly. The benefits of Blu-ray just are not that compelling for most consumers ... and certainly not at current prices.
I don't have a Blu-ray player but do have an HD DVD player ... which -- according to most experts -- gives virtually identical video and audio performance to Blu-ray.
I use a 720p HD projector, a 110" screen and a good 7.2 audio system for movies and HDTV. I tried HD movies and did careful comparisons and found very little difference between HD DVD and upconverted DVDs and, even before HD DVD died I decided not to buy HD DVD disks since DVDs were plenty good enough and far cheaper.
I might see more difference if I had a 1080p projector .... and someday may upgrade ... but with my current setup I'm in no hurry to buy into Blu-ray because the price premium on disks (~$10 vs the same movie on DVD) just isn't worth it.
Everything I read says Blu-ray CAN be great, but often is only a little better than DVD. Furthermore all too many movies are either not available on Blu-ray or don't really justify HD treatment (who needs an HD version of "Jackass" or "Van Wilder", or even "home movie" films like "Cloverfield" or "28 Days"?).
My conclusion is that Blu-ray is in trouble. It's evolutionary, not revolutionary. It isn't going away ... but isn't a sure thing to replace DVD as the mainstream format. Rather, it will continue to coexist with DVD as a premium priced HD alternative.
While prices will come down in the next year or so, Blu-ray will always be more expensive than DVD (more difficult and expensive to master, higher production costs, higher licensing fees).
The judgement as to how much extra it is worth to get Blu-ray quality is a personal one, but at the moment I would recommend anyone other than an "early adopter" (those who must have new technology no matter what the cost) with a 40"+ screen 1080p display and a GOOD audio system stay with DVD until prices come down significantly. The benefits of Blu-ray just are not that compelling for most consumers ... and certainly not at current prices.
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Title Post: Blu ray or a upscaling player? Is blu ray disc player worth it to buy?
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thank FOr Coming TO My Blog
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