beebs

The very existence of this thread does not bode well for mass adoption of Blu-ray.

It's higher res? Most people sit too far away to notice a difference, or don't care.
It sounds better? Most people do not have surround sound systems.
The colors are more vibrant and accurate? The last thing america is going to notice is a difference in color accuracy.

I enjoy HD, but I personally don't care if others do.

-beebs

JimRochester

There definately is a noticeable difference, however upconverted regular DVD's look pretty damn good. I prefer the HD and BD discs but don't have the money or inclination to start upgrading all my DVD's. I have over 2000 discs. Most get watched maybe once a year if that. I'm not going to dump a perfectly good 4 disc SE extended edition for chump change and then buy a BD for $30.00 so the 2 times over the next 3 years I watch the movie I can be extra impressed. If my first disc is crap and the price is right on the replacement, it's a no brainer. But I'd go broke trying to upgrade everything.

eXcentris

Pretty much the way I feel. Aside from some older non anamorphic discs and the ones with really crappy transfers, I don't see the point in upgrading. And I'll do the upgrading when prices go down. And I don't see myself buying many newer BD titles either. The only title I'm interested in right now is "No Country for Old Men".

BuckNaked2k

Add me to the list of those who appreciate some level of improvement over DVD, but not the sea-change, night-and-day type of improvement cited by some on here.

HD DVDs and Blu-rays are a nice treat once in a while, but I am almost equally impressed by upconverted DVDs played on my Reon-equipped XA2. For reference, I have a 46" 1080p display at a 13' viewing distance.

PerryD

Yeah, that's way too far away from a small screen like that. I'm around the same distance from a 119" screen.

Randy Miller III

Perhaps he's watching his neighbor's TV?

CloverClover

Using a lesser quality HDMI cable also makes a difference, I was using a stock HDMI cable and the blu-rays looked awful, grainy and pixellated, but I upgraded to a better HDMI and the HD shone through.

bunkaroo

Unless the HDMI cable was defective or too long, I don't see why this should make a difference. Bits are bits. It's all digital. I'm not sure if grain and pixelating are symptoms of dropped bits, but someone with more knowledge on this is sure to answer.

JayDerek

very, VERY untrue. A complete placebo effect.

covenant

smbs

GreenMonkey

Yup.

This argument is on thin ice with analog cables. With digital cables there's no chance. HDMI cables that are too long and not a high enough gauge can result in sparklies. Anything else is a defective cable which will likely just drop or pixellate the signal.

applesandrice

I think I can put this whole topic to bed. Just the other day I plugged my A1 into my 23" 1970's era console television (via RCA cables into my 15 year old VCR which feeds into the TV through a coax cable and then into an RF adapter), then I stood outside peering into the house through a dirty window with my glasses off and I'm here to tell you right now -- there was absolutely no difference between SD and HD!

eXcentris

You're not even close to the bedroom. Try a little less exaggeration and hyperbole.

beebs

You realize, of course, the vast majority of people have nothing close to this size screen. How many people are going to scoff at buying something like a 50"+ screen just to appreciate HD source material?

I see a major difference in some material on my 42" at 7-8' from the screen. But, other material might as well be upconverted DVDs. Some stuff is amazing on the screen, I think, and worth every penny.

-beebs

thomkai

I am in the boat with those that 'don't see much difference', but there are a variety of things, such as having a smallish 32' 720p set and sitting at what I know is too far away for it. The colors do look much better, but otherwise, I justify it knowing that when I someday get a home theater setup with a large projected image, it will look fantastic.

m0vi3fan

I have a 46" Samsung LCD 1080p 120hz. I used to have a 32" toshiba tube tv. Now it's in the basement. I sit about 10 feet away. I noticed a huge difference. So huge I asked myself why did I wait so long...