I have a Mitubishi 40" LCD with a DVD player that up converts to 1080p. I am wondering if it is worth the expense to get a Blue-ray player? From what I am reading the only advantage to Blue-ray is that it gives a sharper picture. I am finding the newer DVD's are very sharp with my DVD player and wondering if there would be any viewing difference with a Blue-ray? I realize the larger the screen size the more of a difference the sharpness would make, but with my 40" TV would I notice much of a difference?

Eventually I will get a Blue-ray player as the market is turning towards that format. However my DVD player is not that old so changing to Blue-ray at this time would only be if there are enough advantages.

I appreciate everyones recommendations.

Bob

You will see a difference in picture but IMHO its worth waiting until player prices come down a bit more.

Especially with the holiday season upcoming, you will see deals. I'm happy with my A2 upconverting DVDs, but there are others out there who will tell you the exact opposite.

Your satisfaction will depend on your expectations.

Do you just want a sharper picture, or a more accurate picture? Yes, part of being more accurate means sharper; on a good BD you can see more fine details, fewer compression artifacts, etc. However, more accurate can also mean more film grain is visible. It can mean that special effects that were passable on standard-def now look fake next to the real-world elements on-screen. If you're looking for a perfectly crisp picture with razor-sharp lines, no grain, and colors that explode off of the screen like a Best Buy display set on "dynamic," then you might be disappointed with a lot of Blu-rays, including ones that received very high ratings in reviews for the image quality.

Blu-ray has other benefits too, including more accurate colors (if done correctly) and better sound (if included, and if your set-up can handle the newer formats). Just as with DVDs, Blu-ray quality and features vary greatly.

My advice would be to try it out. Find a store that'll let you return the player if you aren't happy with it, or rent one for a day or two. Rent a DVD and Blu-ray of the same movie that most people agree has a good transfer. Look at the difference, and then decide if it's "worth the expense" to you ... we can't answer that part for you.

Have fun, and let us know how it goes.

What kind of audio setup do you have? If that is lacking, I would upgrade that first.

In A/B comparisons the HD version always looks much better on my 58" Panasonic. In fact I have some combo HD DVD's and you can switch and notice a distinct difference.

It is a pretty huge difference on most every title. The thing that stands out to me is the color. Colors are so alive in HD. You go back and watch the DVDs and you realize how muted everything is. You also get the extra detail and in most cases much improved sound.

If you really enjoy movies and don't mind spending a dime or two then go with Blu-Ray. Just be sure to research titles you're interested in for quality and best price before buying. Being a Blu-Ray consumer has actually saved me money in comparison to the old days where I would buy tons of SD dvds every month.

What this Blue-ray you speak of?

We'll simplify this.

Why do video games look better and better with each next generation of gaming consoles? Why did the SNES 16 bit look better than the 8bit Nintendo for example, better resolution.

Take a big rectangular canvas, and make a picture limiting yourself to 480 lines of different colored macaroni. Now, make the same picture as detailed as you can with 1080 lines. What's going to look better?

Picture and sound quality aside, look at the available titles in Blu-Ray and see if there are a decent amount of films that you love.

A format means nothing if the there aren't many/any titles you're interested in.

Personally, I'm still waiting on the sidelines as there are only less than 10 titles that I would love to own in the format.

It is hugely title-dependent.

Right now, there is a widely varying quality spread among the available Blu-ray titles on the market. Certain titles represent a dramatic, flawless upgrade to both picture and audio quality, while others may be categorized as no better than upscaled SD with lossy audio ported over.

Read the reviews here and on Hi-def Digest for certain titles you might like to have. You will see that not all Blu-rays are created equally.

My audio system would be my weak link for a true movie buff. Unfortunately I can't upgrade. My audio system is stereo, 100 watt Yamaha receiver with a 20+ year old Keff bookshelf speakers, and I could not justify the expense to go with a 5 or 7 channel with my wife, (let alone the neighbors.) Also I would have a problem adding the sub...

The other night I was home alone, and watching King Kong, (the new one), with the sound at an acceptable level for me, (or so I thought.) My neighbor came over to complain that I was playing it too loud. Keep in mind that I live in a single family house and there is about 25 feet between our houses.

It is going to depend on what titles you want. Look up reviews on DVDTalk and High Def Digest to get a better idea of what the quality is supposed to be like on the titles you are interested in.

Also, having a surround sound system that can handle the new audio formats is essential IMHO. Otherwise it is probably not worth the investment as much.

With a 58" screen I would expect you to see a difference, but I am wondering if I would see much of a difference on my smaller 40" screen.

When I got my first LCD, about a year ago, it was a 32". At that time the only 32" that had 1080p was the Sharp. I was strongly considering getting that TV for the 1080p, however the reviews that I had read at that time mentioned it was not worth the extra money since the screen was too small to see the difference. Today there are many 32" screens that hit 1080p, so maybe they would revise that statement.

When I got my 40" TV, Blue-ray players were starting at around $400.00, and 1080p up convert DVD plays were 20%-25% of that cost. Now that they are coming down I am starting to wonder how much of a difference I would see on my 40" TV and would the increased sharpness justify the expense to get it now, or wait for them to continue to come down and come out with new features and enhancements?

Do you mean upgrade your dvd collection? or switch from dvd to blue ray?

I have a samsung 46 LCD HDTV and the cartoons like cars, shrek, and many others look owesome. When it comes to movies they also look great but I do not recommend to upgrade your dvd collection to blue ray. I have a PS3 and it upconverts my dvd's to a great picture so I only must buy upcoming blue ray releases like iron man, kung fu panda and others. Since blue ray discs are expensive I try to buy very few releases.

Check out this thread at AVS:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316

If you are someone who likes to collect DVDs, be sure to consider that Blu-ray versions are still much more expensive than SD versions. If it wasn't for that, I'd buy a Blu-ray player today. Until that changes, I can't justify it.

I see a significant difference on my 40" Samsung LCD.

As do I with my 42".

Anything 32" and above should be noticeable.

The cartoons look great on my DVD player too, Cars, Shrek, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo. I would keep my existing DVD's and not replace them with Blue-ray. We tend to rent alot of movies, and our local Blockbuster has several hundred Blue-ray titles.

Thanks, this is the information I am looking for, that a Blue-ray disk will look signifigantly better then an DVD up converted to 1080p.

I think the difference is pretty major. You can't beat the quality.

I watched Back to the Future tonight and it was really a disappointment. It was so pale compared to the Other Boleyn Girl which I saw last night.

I am yet to see a classic film released on Blu-ray that isn't worth upgrading. If there is a release one believes fails the test please feel free to point it to me. From Bonnie and Clyde to Black Narcissus the discrepancy in quality between DVD and BD is staggering. With contemporary films that gap widens even more as the audio excellence high-definition allows is unmatchable on DVD, plain and simple.

Pro-B

Ooh Ooh...I can justify it for you!

I am not a crazy collector but for people who really collect and have over, say, 700 DVDs, that means you buy early and often. Blind buys, catalog titles, etc.

The longer you wait, the more SDDVDs you will end up buying. Then, when you finally go over to Blu, you will instantly fall in love and then be on a mission to convert everything to Blu.

The longer you wait, the more titles you have to replace.

Go Blu now and stop the madness.