kvrdave

Figure this is as good a place to put this as any. I understand that this is somewhat subjective, but am wondering what the PQ rating of SD disc would rank on an HD review. Naturally, those are all over the place as well. But let's take a top notch 5 star SD PQ review. How does that stack up on an HD review? 3 stars? 2 stars?

Basically, if I see an HD review with 3 stars, should I just get the SD version because they are comparable?

fryinpan1

Generally, I have found most 3/5 star HD reviews are average for HD, but still a noticeable upgrade from the DVD.

I think DVDfile.com reviews use a chart with some comparison.

darkside

From my experience a 3 star HD disc is still much better than a SD disc. It is only on the ones lower than that where you start to get in the realm of looking like an upconverted SD disc. To be honest though even some of the really bad transfers look better than the SD disc if you really get close to the screen and scrutinize.

For me whether the upgrade is worth it goes on a case by case basis. I usually rent the disc through netflix and decide. For instance many of the 70s and early 80s Universal discs like Smokey and the Bandit are clearly better than the SD versions, but the visual upgrade was not worth it to me to buy the movie again. I wasn't gaining enough in the experience to warrant the cost.

So far 3 1/2 stars has been my guideline. Only discs rated that high or higher have been worth upgrading.