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I need an honest advice people...

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I need an honest advice people...

Old 08-26-08, 12:37 AM
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I need an honest advice people...

Ok, i know there are a lot of people around here that are pro Blu-Ray all the way and a lot of people who can't see what the big fuss is all about.
I need an advice from people who are kinda in the middle, those who are into Blu-Ray, but don't wish a terrible early death on DVD.

Here's my question:

By the end of this year i will complete my transition into Blu-Ray, i already purchased some titles that i know are are a real imporvment over the SD releases.
With my DVD collection being at around 1200 discs, i'm trying to figure out what to do with it, what to keep and what to sell.
Movies that i know i'll want to upgrade i'm selling.
Movies that i'm not sure will be out on Blu i'm keeping.
But what about the rest?
Like comedies, dramas, classics or smaller action flicks? are they really worth upgrading to blu?
Films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Goodfellas, Stranger Than Fiction, Arlington Road, Bad Santa, Pursuit Of Happyness, Talladega Night, Reign Over Me Casablanca etc, you get the point.
Will these types of movies see any real improvement in Blu? or is sticking to the SD releases is just fine?

I really can't seem to make up my mind on this issue and need your advice people.

Thanks in advance!
Old 08-26-08, 01:21 AM
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For the majority of titles, I am happy with a standard dvd of the movie in my collection. I am happy to rent the high definition copy at netflix. Why blow money on the same movie over and over when netflix covers my desire to see the movie in high def
I have been able to pick up HD DVD on the cheap and have replace those standard releases. I have mainly bought blu ray movies which are favorite films with stunning visuals or new releases or I don't own.
There are also the standard releases that still are valuable which I sell opportunistically.
Unless you have tons of cash to blow, be content with most of the standard releases.
Old 08-26-08, 01:52 AM
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Originally Posted by poisonrulz
I really can't seem to make up my mind on this issue and need your advice people.

Thanks in advance!
Unlike a lot of posters here I have not stopped buying DVDs and I don't believe there would be a time when I would feel entirely comfortable selling portions of my collection. I own a large library of foreign films and more or less some of them will likely not make it to BR. We witnessed a staggering restrictive transition when the studios phased VHS and mass-introduced DVD so I don't believe anything would prevent us from undergoing the same process again.

This being said I firmly believe that BR is here to stay. The studios have some very exciting HD projects in the making and I don't see how one could justify a passive mode when it comes to such films as How The West Was Won. Or, The Last Emperor. Or, Le mepris. I could only guess what your exposure to classic cinema in HD has been thus far but even the unrestored BR print of Black Narcissus dramatically overshadows any other presentation of the film I have seen. I also have in my hands a fully restored HD presentation of another classic film, courtesy of a European studio I am convinced will shock a lot of people, which I can't yet discuss in detail but suffice to say standard-def would never look this good. When it comes to music the gap between standard-def and HD gets even wider.

So, with this in mind, I am very much pro Blu-ray. I think that just as my generation embraced VHS and LD and later on began upgrading to DVD so will this generation (and next) rediscover and rebuy countless classics and beloved films the studios will be offering in the years to come. The we bought everything we needed notion introduced by some, even on this very forum, which is flagged to offer a stance, quite dismissive in my opinion, suggesting that saturation has been reached is quite frankly as narrow minded as believing that your generation is the only one that had any interest in cinema. With other words, my answer to you is, yes, there is a tremendous improvement in quality, especially when it comes to classic B/W films, and the bigger the market becomes the stronger the restoration projects would be. So, with the risk of upsetting a few on this forum, you should feel very comfortable replacing what you believe is a title of importance to you.



Pro-B

Last edited by pro-bassoonist; 08-26-08 at 02:02 AM.
Old 08-26-08, 02:24 AM
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The perfect solution for those like you with very large standard DVD collections might be the just-released Toshiba XDE "Super Upconverting" DVD player. Read the reviews on Amazon that basically agree this blows all other upscalers (including even the best HD DVD & Blu-ray upscalers) out of the water. It might make you not feel so much like you need to upgrade most of those SD DVDs. Seems well worth the $149. Just my personal opinion as someone who owns about 3900 SD DVDs myself. Don't have the XDE yet but I plan on getting one even though I have both HD DVD and BD machines capable of upscaling. This thing just sounds like it does such an incredibly better job at making SD DVDs look like true HD images. Here's the link to the item on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-XD-E50...9735091&sr=1-1
Old 08-26-08, 02:42 AM
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Originally Posted by raytrade
The perfect solution for those like you with very large standard DVD collections might be the just-released Toshiba XDE "Super Upconverting" DVD player. Read the reviews on Amazon that basically agree this blows all other upscalers (including even the best HD DVD & Blu-ray upscalers) out of the water.
With all due respect I would not read Amazon to get an accurate picture of how good this player is. In fact, I am yet to read a professional review clarifying that the XDE outdoes the region-free Oppo 983.

Pro-B
Old 08-26-08, 03:52 AM
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Appreciate the response so far,Thanks.
I guess i'll sharpen my question.
I'm aware of upconverting machines (Don't own one at the moment) and while i guess some of them do quite an impressive job, they can't possibly match some of the finer Blu releases.
So what i'd like to know is do you believe, those who have both a blu player and an upconverting player that all movies of all generes and styles benefit greatly from a blu upgrade? or an upcoverted SD release is just fine for dramas,comedies etc?

Thanks!
Old 08-26-08, 04:01 AM
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All movies of all genres and style will benefit from being in HD. It's all what the studios put into the release. We have piss-poor transfers on Blu Ray just like DVD or LD before it.
Old 08-26-08, 04:16 AM
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Originally Posted by poisonrulz
So what i'd like to know is do you believe, those who have both a blu player and an upconverting player that all movies of all generes and styles benefit greatly from a blu upgrade? or an upcoverted SD release is just fine for dramas,comedies etc?
Honestly, I don't even know how to make sense of your question.

Of course not ALL movies will benefit from Blu-ray. It depends on how the movie was shot, the condition of the available film elements, etc. "28 Days Later," for example, was shot on standard-definition video, then the image was purposely downgraded further. You can buy it on Blu-ray, but it pretty much looks exactly like the DVD.

That said, the style and the genre of the film don't enter into the equation.
Why should it be OK for a comedy or drama to look subpar, but what, only mindless big-budget action moves should be in high-def? Some of the best looking and most enjoyable high-def discs I own (I have both HD DVD and Blu-ray) are comedies or dramas. "The Shining," "Casablanca," "Sean of the Dead," "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Zodiac" come to mind.

In addition to the HD DVD and Blu-ray players, I have a very good Oppo upconverting DVD player. I'll never give up my Oppo, because I still own about 300 DVDs and I know I won't be replacing all of them with Blu-ray Discs. But upconverted DVDs can't hold a candle to a good Blu-ray or HD DVD, so when the choice is available I buy the high-def version. With online retailers like Amazon and others, the price difference is so minimal in most cases that I can't justify spending money on an inferior format.

Last edited by Mr. Salty; 08-26-08 at 03:24 PM. Reason: Corrected "28 Days Later," with thanks to Drexl!
Old 08-26-08, 04:20 AM
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Originally Posted by raytrade
The perfect solution for those like you with very large standard DVD collections might be the just-released Toshiba XDE "Super Upconverting" DVD player. Read the reviews on Amazon that basically agree this blows all other upscalers (including even the best HD DVD & Blu-ray upscalers) out of the water. It might make you not feel so much like you need to upgrade most of those SD DVDs. Seems well worth the $149. Just my personal opinion as someone who owns about 3900 SD DVDs myself. Don't have the XDE yet but I plan on getting one even though I have both HD DVD and BD machines capable of upscaling. This thing just sounds like it does such an incredibly better job at making SD DVDs look like true HD images. Here's the link to the item on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-XD-E50...9735091&sr=1-1

Its not going to get rid of all the DVD compression artifacts and even if they use a technology that is closer to the Realta than the Reon they used in the top end HD DVD player its still just upscaled DVD and not HD. In fact Id bet its just all market huff for a Reon equipped SD player (which isn't anything better than many players already on the market)

Toshiba get royalties for every DVD sold, but not for anything on Blu-ray....
Old 08-26-08, 06:51 AM
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I need an advice from people who are kinda in the middle, those who are into Blu-Ray, but don't wish a terrible early death on DVD.
Why do you believe standard definition dvd will die?

Do you throw away hard back books when the paperback come along?

I really do not understand your post.

Last edited by Brian Shannon; 08-26-08 at 07:45 AM.
Old 08-26-08, 07:34 AM
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Here's an idea: Watch the DVD (or laserdisc, or VHS, or Beta, or CED, or whatever you have) of the movie you're thinking of buying on Blu-Ray, on your current equipment. Does it look good? If so you might not need the Blu-Ray. Does it show room for improvement? Maybe you do need the Blu-Ray. Is it a great movie? You might want to get it in every format it comes out in anyways. Is it a crappy movie? You might not want to ever see it again.
Old 08-26-08, 08:05 AM
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I just take things on a case by case basis. I look at how much I like the movie, how good the Blu-Ray is/how much of an improvement it offers, and the general cost. I then decide whether to upgrade. At first, I only bought new titles and select older titles that I thought would particularly benefit (i.e. action movies). But with various sales, I've upgraded a decent selection of my DVDs. People have bemoaned the lack of sales of late, but with the holidays coming up, I'm sure we'll see a few sales. So their will be opportunities to upgrade. I'd hold off on many catalog titles and wait until a good sale hits.
Old 08-26-08, 08:36 AM
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Of course most films will benefit from a newly restored transfer onto 1080p, but one huge factor not yet mentioned here is the size & resolution of your display, and its distance from your viewing area. This cannot be overstated!

Seek out the chart which shows the recommended display sizes for realizing the various resolutions at fixed viewing distances. This is invaluable and will surprise you to no end.
Old 08-26-08, 08:56 AM
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I think one thing a lot of people forget when talking about going from DVD to BD is the audio. Sure you need a new receiver that can either accept pcm and/or has the new high defs codecs, but the sound (to me at least) is light years beyond what DVD has to offer. Once you start listening to lossless audio there really is no going back. Obviously not all BDs are going to have great audio tracks but most all of my favorites which I've upgraded do.

That new Toshiba player might upconvert really well but it's not going to make the sound any better.
Old 08-26-08, 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Salty
"28 Days," for example, was shot on standard-definition video, then the image was purposely downgraded further. You can buy it on Blu-ray, but it pretty much looks exactly like the DVD.
Just to clarify here, Mr. Salty is referring to 28 Days Later, not the Sandra Bullock rehab movie.

I don't know how to answer the question about whether certain movies "benefit" from HD or not. Of course anything shot on film (or HD video) will benefit to some degree. I couldn't make a blanket statement that a kind of movie will benefit more than others. I mean, a modern comedy is usually going to look much better than an 80s action movie. You have to take it on a case by case basis, because there are great and shoddy transfers in all types of films.

The other side of that is whether you want certain genres in HD. That's totally up to you. Personally, I want all movies in HD and don't have a double standard when it comes to choosing titles. I realize that some people think only certain genres like action, sci-fi, horror, or "highly visual" movies belong in HD, and that's certainly their right to only buy those movies if they want. To each his own.

I have to agree somewhat with Pro-B on the collection thing. Even putting upgrades aside, I didn't have every title I ever wanted on DVD. I've bought some titles on BD I had never seen, or just hadn't gotten around to buying, or had passed on due to lousy DVD editions. I even bought a couple of catalog titles that were never released at all until now.

Another factor is that there may be people who are 17, 18, 19 (whatever age you think is appropriate) that are getting into buying movies for the first time, and they may want to pass on the DVD in favor of the BD. It's not as if everyone who is buying BDs is a DVD veteran.
Old 08-26-08, 08:59 AM
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Netflix.
Old 08-26-08, 09:24 AM
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Count me as another one of those people who will say that any film can benefit from an HD transfer, regardless of genre. But like others have already said, there are bad BD transfers just like there were bad DVD transfers. But because prices are still a bit higher and I do have a decent sized SD DVD collection, I tend to wait for sales unless it is something I see as a must-have. But because of that, I have purchased a lot of films I wouldn't have expected to.
Old 08-26-08, 09:40 AM
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I think almost all movies, regardless of genre, have the potential to look better on blu-ray (it's up to the studio handling the transfer) I started upgrading most stuff that came out, but it was getting pretty pricey (and with close to 1400 SD discs, not possible to keep that up) so now I'm only upgrading the stuff that I LOVE. Movies I will watch more than once. So some of your examples like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Goodfellas, Casablanca - they are immediate upgrades for me because I watch them often. Something like The 6th Day which I own on SD and watch rarely (if ever), I skip on Blu-ray.
Old 08-26-08, 10:35 AM
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Some of the above posters aren't exactly "in the middle" about Blu-ray, poisonrulz.
Old 08-26-08, 10:54 AM
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All I can offer is my personal experience. Whether it was Blu-Ray or HD DVD, I liked having the best possible presentation on disc even if it was just a marginal difference.

I typically sell off my DVD version after I buy the high-def version. Most movies I buy in high-def I want in my collection no matter what, so I would never do a mass sell off of my DVD's in anticipation of them coming out on Blu-Ray, because who knows if they ever will.
Old 08-26-08, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by BuckNaked2k
Of course most films will benefit from a newly restored transfer onto 1080p, but one huge factor not yet mentioned here is the size & resolution of your display, and its distance from your viewing area. This cannot be overstated!

Seek out the chart which shows the recommended display sizes for realizing the various resolutions at fixed viewing distances. This is invaluable and will surprise you to no end.
i was going to post something similar about the answer depending on your set up (both audio and display).

i will say though that you shouldn't put too much stock in the aforementioned chart. it refers strictly to the human eye's ability to resolve differences in resolution, but resolution is just one of many differences between Blu-ray and DVD. other differences that the chart does not account for are richness of color, lack of compression artifacts, lossless audio, etc.
Old 08-26-08, 11:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. Salty
Of course not ALL movies will benefit from Blu-ray. It depends on how the movie was shot, the condition of the available film elements, etc. "28 Days," for example, was shot on standard-definition video, then the image was purposely downgraded further. You can buy it on Blu-ray, but it pretty much looks exactly like the DVD.
While I agree with pretty much everything else you state I would like to clarify that the HD experience isn't limited to better picture. HD sound is an integral part of the upgrading process as well.

Pro-B
Old 08-26-08, 12:01 PM
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Here is my guideline

- every new release I buy now will be in br
- tv series I will still buy in sd unless br available
- every older release that i never bought in sd that I wanted, I will buy in br
- will only replace current sd library with used (or cheap) br replacements mostly found on here and other trading sites.
Old 08-26-08, 12:04 PM
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I only purchase movies I don't already own or if they're a substantial upgrade (or say, a Director's Cut) and it's a movie I absolutely love.

I took it as a chance to re-organize and purge parts of my DVD collection.
Old 08-26-08, 12:19 PM
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The answer to this question is simple. Rent the high def Casablanca. Do a direct comparison with your SD version.

You'll then very quickly start upgrading nearly everything. Case closed.

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