DoctorWhosScarf

Blu-Rays look and sound great on the Blu-Ray player I got last month. I heard people say that after watching Blu-Rays and then going back and watching a DVD that it was hard to do so because of the picture quality difference. I am pretty sure that I notice a picture quality difference, with Blu-Ray looking better as it should. But the DVDs don't look as horrible as I was led to believe.

I would understand why things would be this way if I just used RCA cables to hook up my Blu-Ray player to the TV, but I'm using an HDMI cable. I am also aware that Blu-Ray players can upconvert DVDs. The first DVD I played in my Blu-Ray player supposedly had a nice new film transfer, so I would think that the better the transfer the better the upconversion, which would have explained this. But then I tried another DVD. An Echo Bridge DVD. And Echo Bridge DVD with four movies on one side. I noticed the picture quality wasn't as good as the Blu-Ray, and I don't think it was as good as the other DVD. I was able to see artifacts/noise when I stood right in front of the screen, but overall it didn't look horrible.

The only other thing I can think of is when I look at TVs at the store or in a sales ad I notice it will say if it's either 720p or 1080i. I'm not too sure if my TV is 720p or 1080i because I got it a few years ago and don't remember which one it is. It might be 720p because it is only 19 or 20 inches. If it is 720p, would that be why the DVD quality isn't horrible?

mythmaker18

I think the size of your screen is a major factor in not seeing much difference in quality. It's just like the days of VHS: picture looked fine on smaller screens, but the bigger your TV, the more you saw flaws in the picture.

Viewing distance (how far you are from the screen) matters, too. I sit about 10 feet away from my 51" set, and DVDs look absolutely fine. It also helps if the Blu-Ray player has a better-than-average upscaling chip (which my Oppo does).

Sdallnct

Its the screen size.
Its also that DVD's are pretty good.
Its also likely that your sitting 7-8 feet from that small set.
Its a number of factors.

Obi-Wanma

Yeah, it's the screen size. On a screen that small, it almost isn't even worth having HD (almost).

Even if you had 1080p on it, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

DoctorWhosScarf

Thank you all for your replies. That does make sense. I do remember going into a store that had a 90 inch TV and the picture quality of whatever was on didn't look too good. That sure was one cool TV though.

I am a bit curious about 720p vs 1080i. In the future I do want to get another TV (probably not 90 inches but something bigger than 19 or 20!), but I don't fully understand the difference between a 720p TV and one that is 1080i. This is probably a stupid question question, but as you can see I'm not all that familiar with this stuff: is there a picture quality difference between 720p and 1080i? Could someone give a simple explanation of the difference and which one to get when the time comes to get a new TV?

Sdallnct

Most modern TV's will be 1080p

There are great deals on 720p.

Which to get? Number of factors, but I'm a big believer in a quality set is more important than resolution. If you get a small set say 50" or less and are sitting 8 feet or more away, your just not going to see a difference. But even if you could, resolution is only about the 4th most important factor in over all pic quality. So....don't get a crappy TV just to get 1080p.

Alan Smithee

My screen is 55" 1080p- at first regular DVDs looked OK, but as I watched more Blu-Rays and HD-DVDs, regular DVD looked awful in comparison. It really depends on the DVD- some look like ass, and some look not-too-bad. The claim of players converting regular DVDs to "near-HD quality" is misleading though. (My receiver also upconverts all my old analog formats to 1080p- while they certainly don't look HD-quality, comparing VHS with and without the upconversion does show a difference.)

Heat

My TV's a 46" 1080p Sony, I'm using an upconverting Sony DVD player / HDMI cable.

Sure, the Blu Rays are very nice but DVDs look fine too. I've gotten to the point where I don't buy or rent Blu Rays anymore, I just get DVDs.

Sdallnct

I mainly go with BLU, but ONLY if the price is right.

I have a 94" screen in my theater room. My projector is 720p. I can see a difference.

I also have a 46" Samsung 1080p (several years old). I can see a difference.

But lets be clear, it is mainly marketing that it is "night and day difference" between the to. It is subtle and depends on the disc.

In my theater room I have a bluray player and a HD DVD player. So I can switch between Blu and DVD. The main differences I see are not in resolution, but in color saturation and depth.

So I stick to Blu if the price is right. If there is a movie I really want now but can't get a deal on Blu, than yea, I'll buy the DVD. Or wait till I find a deal on the Blu. But you can get a lot of good Blu-ray movies in the $10 range.

orangerunner

I have a Sony Wega 36" CRT hooked up with component cables and I can tell the difference between equivilant examples of Blu-ray and DVD.

For instance I have the 25th Anniversary edition of Risky Business on both Blu and DVD and the Blu is noticably richer and sharper looking.

But even this is subjective. I have been to a friends house and noticed a movie playing on their TV and assummed it was Blu-ray but it turned out to be DVD.

It can be hard to judge the quality when you don't have a frame of reference to compare it to. Most DVDs look great and it's only when you compare them to the Blu that they no longer seem as sharp or clear as you thought.

Hey, sometimes ignorance can be bliss - that way you don't have to re-buy all of your DVD titles in Blu!