Okay, what is higher quality...Bluray or upconvert DVD?

[odd_function]

Okay, what is higher quality...Bluray or upconvert DVD?

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Okay, here is two screen shots of a scene of a movie "Cruel Intentions"
One is Upconvert DVD & the other is Blu-ray definition lets see if there is a difference.

Click on the image below:

 

[Webslinger]

The comparison you're posting is hardly valid considering the difference in file sizes.
Regardless, Blu-ray is always better.

http://forum.slysoft.com/showpost.php?p=125259&postcount=58

Which is the image from a Blu-ray and from a regular dvd upconverted by an Oppo DV-983H?

source:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/...oppo-dv-983h/video-measurements-viewing-tests

The top picture is from the Oppo DV-983H. Sure, the Blu-ray image looks better, but I'm not sure that it looks tons better.

 

[odd_function]

http://forum.slysoft.com/showpost.php?p=125259&postcount=58

I missed that post...
They look the same to me

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Webslinger's image comparison is closer in terms of quality and making it harder to tell the difference. For a person with a good eye the differences are obvious. It was definitely obvious to me.

For odd_function's image comparison the difference in terms of quality between the two are light years apart. There's no contest. This one is so obvious no one should be unable to tell the difference and if my judgement on which is which is incorrect then the BD release utterly sucks and the studio should be strung up for releasing such garbage.

IMHO, you also have to take into account when the BD was created, what was it encoded using, and did they spend any time remastering the original film. I mention this because movies like Top Gun didn't turn out that great as either HD-DVD or BD releases. They're still better than the original SD DVD release but they did not remaster the film. It has graininess and the quality suffers. There are other such movies.

An upconverting DVD player is cheaper although the best such players are Oppo and cost a pretty penny and can rival BD standalone players in terms of cost. A BD standalone player is not cheap at all even when you consider the bargain basement models.

For a person who has no interest in moving up to BD at this time an upconverting DVD player isn't a bad idea if it will actually make any difference used with their TV. If you have the money and inclination to move to HD-DVD/BD then there is simply no comparison and you need to also remember that the audio won't be upconverted for those SD DVDs. Audio on the HD-DVD/BD releases make watching a movie a new experience because it can be so much more immersive due to fuller and richer sound.

Anyway, just my two cents.

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

I missed that post...
They look the same to me

Colour richness, sharpness of edges, the shadow and lighting, etc. There's definitely a difference although I am impressed by the SD DVD screenshot.

 

[Webslinger]

An upconverting DVD player is cheaper although the best such players are Oppo and aren't very cheap.

Well Oppos aren't really the absolute best (especially the lower end ones), but I would say they are the best in their price range; Oppos offer amazing value. There are $1000+ dvd players out there, but you can get similar results with an Oppo dv-983H for $400 (or less). I own an Oppo dv-983h, and it's amazing. I also tested a Toshiba xd-e500 recently (it's only $120-$150) with the new xde feature, but I returned the unit due to ringing around edges (which may or may not be noticeable to users depending on the size of their screen and how educated they are to notice flaws). Actually, turning saturation up slightly on the Oppo dv-983h produced similar results to xde with the HDTVs I was testing on, and I also found, oddly enough, that enabling DNie on Samsung televisions wasn't too far removed from what XDE (I think XDE does increase sharpness slightly though, to my eye-but you get a nice ringing effect and what also appears to be edge enhancement) was producing image-wise. The deinterlacing quality on the XD-E500 is worse than on the Oppo dv-983H, the XD-E500 doesn't have aspect ratio control for non-anamorphic dvds, and the Toshiba also has inferior audio support (and output), but I'm also comparing a $150 player to a $400 player. The lack of auto resume after the Toshiba player shuts off was a tad annoying as well. If anyone cares, I only tested PQ with HDMI outputs.

Anyway, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are better than anything SD can produce, but I have a lot of SD material that just isn't available in HD (and I question if that situation will ever change).

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Well Oppos aren't really the absolute best (especially the lower end ones), but I would say they are the best in their price range; Oppos offer amazing value. There are $1000+ dvd players out there, but you can get similar results with an Oppo dv-983H for $400 (or less). I own an Oppo dv-983h, and it's amazing. I also tested a Toshiba xd-e500 recently (it's only $120-$150) with the new xde feature, but I returned the unit due to ringing around edges (which may or may not be noticeable to users depending on the size of their screen and how educated they are to notice flaws). Actually, turning saturation up slightly on the Oppo dv-983h produced similar results to xde with the HDTVs I was testing on, and I also found, oddly enough, that enabling DNie on Samsung televisions wasn't too far removed from what XDE (I think XDE does increase sharpness slightly though, to my eye-but you get a nice ringing effect and what also appears to be edge enhancement) was producing image-wise. The deinterlacing quality on the XD-E500 is worse than on the Oppo dv-983H, the XD-E500 doesn't have aspect ratio control for non-anamorphic dvds, and the Toshiba also has inferior audio support (and output), but I'm also comparing a $150 player to a $400 player. The lack of auto resume after the Toshiba player shuts off was a tad annoying as well. If anyone cares, I only tested PQ with HDMI outputs.

Anyway, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are better than anything SD can produce, but I have a lot of SD material that just isn't available in HD (and I question if that situation will ever change).

All valid points.

As for the lack of availability for some movies on HD/BD it's sad. I see a lot of movies released that I have zero interest in that are extremely old and yet a newer movie isn't.

Bullitt starring Steve McQueen is an awesome movie but released on BD? Is it necessary? Not really. Now turn around and look at movies by M. Night Shyamalan which are all newer releases. I believe all of them have been released on HD/BD except The Village. Why not? That movie would be astounding on HD/BD when you take into account the cinematography and sound work [including music]. Now, I'm not going to debate how good or bad the story was but from the standpoint of quality I want to see that as an HD/BD release and it isn't.

The studios need to release both new and old movies on BD. I understand them doing it for both but, yes, I see many movies that most definitely deserve a BD release being bypassed and then seeing some ancient movie released that really accomplishes nothing as a BD release other than the studio suckering someone into paying more money for a movie the consumer already owned on DVD.

 

[Webslinger]

As for the lack of availability for some movies on HD/BD it's sad.

I really, really, really want Empire of the Sun in HD. And I also wish that a lot of Studio Ghibili's films were in HD as well.

I was happy to see Firefly announced on Blu-ray, so I'll be buying the complete series set when it's released. But that's a Fox release, so who know what excess garbage will be on it. It kind of kills me inside to be buying Blu-rays, but if I want HD I don't have much choice.

 

[odd_function]

Anyway, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are better than anything SD can produce, but I have a lot of SD material that just isn't available in HD (and I question if that situation will ever change).

It would be nice if Adult BDs was available but, Sony does not aproove of such content. :bang:

Your best bet, is to see showgirls on BD :agree:

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

I really, really, really want Empire of the Sun in HD. And I also wish that a lot of Studio Ghibili's films were in HD as well.

I can't believe it but I still haven't seen that movie. I have to write that down to remind me. I also can't believe that I didn't know Christian Bale was in it but then again I had no idea who the guy was in 1987.

I was happy to see Firefly announced on Blu-ray, so I'll be buying the complete series set when it's released. But that's a Fox release, so who know what excess garbage will be on it. It kind of kills me inside to be buying Blu-rays, but if I want HD I don't have much choice.

I tried but I just couldn't get into that series. I have a brother who couldn't get enough of it and still goes into a tirade when it gets brought up. Obviously he disagreed with it being canceled.

Anyway, I don't wish to hijack odd_function's thread. The points I previously raised will make a difference between HD/BD content and SD DVDs that are upconverted. Then you need to take into account the quality of the standalone player, the studio's job at creating a good or bad release, the quality & size of the TV, etc. Many factors need to be taken into account.

I'll note one example of an enormous difference between an SD DVD and HD/BD release. It was AVP: Requiem. The movie was horrendous and the SD DVD release was so dark that I literally couldn't see much of anything throughout the movie. As if I wasn't annoyed enough that the story sucked I also found myself literally feeling like I was blind and I was in a pitch dark room so I should have not had trouble seeing the movie. Apparently, I've heard the HD/BD release isn't as dark. What moron was in charge of the release of the SD DVD version? You can upconvert that movie all you want but garbage still looks like garbage when upconverted.

In short, some SD DVDs will probably look very nice upconverted while others will not.

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

It would be nice if Adult BDs was available but, Sony does not aproove of such content. :bang:

Your best bet, is to see showgirls on BD :agree:

Um... what? Adult movies have been available on BD for awhile now since Sony and others switched their stance. They needed all the help they could get to beat HD-DVD. I believe Sony and its partners made this decision back in January 2007 when the Adult Industry had embraced HD-DVD since the BD people didn't want them. HD-DVD was the cheaper format, anyway. Digital Playground is one of numerous studios with BD offerings although I don't know how widespread it is nor how many titles have been released. The point is it does exist on BD.

It was wise of the BD partners to accept the Adult Industry during the Format Wars even if it was purely to use it as leverage against HD-DVD but I don't think if they had waited that they could still deny the industry access to BD releases once BD won the war. They'd be harming themselves in making such a stupid decision. It could impact BD adoption, they'd be losing licensing fees by not allowing it, and they have no business deciding what can and can not be released on the format for private viewing in private setting. They control the technology but they should not invade peoples' lives by being the Moral Police. We have enough restrictions in our lives as it is. People should be able to make decisions for themselves without being treated like children.

 

[Webslinger]

I can't believe it but I still haven't seen that movie. I have to write that down to remind me. I also can't believe that I didn't know Christian Bale was in it but then again I had no idea who the guy was in 1987.

In my opinion, his best performance was in Empire of the Sun. And his acting since then made me question whether he could ever be that good again, actually (not that he's been horrible in anything--just that he was absolutely incredible in Empire of the Sun). John Malkovich also did a great job. Actually, everyone did a very good job.

I tried but I just couldn't get into that series. I have a brother who couldn't get enough of it and still goes into a tirade when it gets brought up. Obviously he disagreed with it being canceled.

I started watching the series only after it was cancelled. Some episodes really made me laugh out loud (which is pretty rare, for me), so I bought the complete dvd series and watched it. Then I bought Serenity in HD-DVD (and in SD). I loved the series. And I do agree with your brother that it's unfortunate that the series was cancelled (but that's sort of my fault for not discovering the series until after it was cancelled anyway).

AVP: Requiem . . . The movie was horrendous and the SD DVD release was so dark that I literally couldn't see much of anything throughout the movie.

That dvd release made me question hours of calibration I had done between my Oppo and my HDTV. I started watching that movie in SD, and I thought, "WTH??? My brightness setting is way too low. How can that be?" So I started messing around and found out that someone needs to be fired--and it ain't me. Oh, and the movie sucked.

Anyway, anyone want to watch Lord of the Rings: Return of the King on my Oppo DV-983H with me?

Oppo DV-983H movie images were sourced from http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/...oppo-dv-983h/video-measurements-viewing-tests

 

[odd_function]

Digital Playground is one of numerous studios with BD offerings although I don't know how widespread it is nor how many titles have been released. The point is it does exist on BD.
.

Thanks drink, I was unaware cause, I've been everywhere and, never seen BD-pr0n available anywhere but, I'll look into that...thanks

 

[odd_function]

webbie, the 2nd one scared me


hehehe...oliceman:

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Thanks drink, I was unaware cause, I've been everywhere and, never seen BD-pr0n available anywhere but, I'll look into that...thanks

I won't post a link to their website because this is an "all ages" forum but it's easy to figure out. Go to the Digital Playground website and check out the store section. You'll see a Blu-Ray section. The Adult portion of DVD Empire also has a BD section which should cover more studios. Again, I won't post a link. You should be able to figure it out.

Remember that it's likely that only the larger studios will have gone BD due to licensing fees. Smaller studios simply may not be able to afford it. Historically most Adult content had little more than CSS, region coding, and/or RCE protection. A lot actually had no protection at all. Now to market a BD release they are forced to pay that licensing fee for AACS which isn't exactly cheap.

 

[jvc]

This is like asking, "What is better quality, CD or MP3?"

 

[Clams]

Of course BD is "better quality". But in my opinion the SMALL difference between BD and upconverted DVD is not worth the shame of crawling up Sony's sphincter.

I tend to put my money where my morals are - and I wont deal with Sony - Ever.

-W

 

[Webslinger]

I tend to put my money where my morals are - and I wont deal with Sony - Ever.

http://forum.slysoft.com/showpost.php?p=119051&postcount=6

I've personally had great luck with Sony DVD-R's

http://forum.slysoft.com/showpost.php?p=14965&postcount=29

Which is why I only use Sony drives. They prolly test thier wierd stuff for playback on thier own drives. And I love that fact that I'm using thier own products against them.

 

[DigiMagic]

Of course BD is "better quality". But in my opinion the SMALL difference between BD and upconverted DVD is not worth the shame of crawling up Sony's sphincter.

The difference depends also on the size of the display. I was totally happy watching DVDs on 22". On > 100", all DVDs are blurry, with letterboxed ones (using just a part of available resolution) being almost unusable.

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

The difference depends also on the size of the display. I was totally happy watching DVDs on 22". On > 100", all DVDs are blurry, with letterboxed ones (using just a part of available resolution) being almost unusable.

Exactly!

On paper BD/HD-DVD wins hands down but in the real world we need to take into account the hardware used including, as you mentioned, the screen size. An upconverted DVD may appear great on a smaller screen and really not seem much different than a BD release in terms of video but make the screen larger and, obviously, it will begin to lose ground to BD/HD-DVD which has a starting native resolution that is greater and a higher bitrate for all the extra video data.