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ghporter · Jul 21, 2009, 06:27 PM

I was looking at flat panel TVs this afternoon, and watched yet again the "BluRay vs. conventional DVD" demo. And again I was struck that BluRay images are always shown with too much contrast-they look like live (overly lit) video rather than film, no matter what the movie is.

Is this something that can be adjusted with a setting in the player? Is this effect something that shows up in every BluRay movie? Is it as annoying as it seems to be?

Chongo · Jul 21, 2009, 10:02 PM

Was it at a "Big Box"? The sets in those stores are on "torch mode" to overcome the ambient light. Try a store with a viewing room. Fry's has their larger sets in viewing rooms.

ort888 · Jul 21, 2009, 10:07 PM

Almost all of the TVs in stores are set to ridiculous settings which make everything look bad. Don't sweat it Blu-rays look great...

And those side by aide comparisons are always jacked up as well. DVDs don't even look that bad. They exagerate the difference. The truth is that the upgrade is way more subtle than a lot of people want to admit. There is a difference, but it's not a night and day difference.

ghporter · Jul 22, 2009, 08:36 AM

Yes, it was a big box-a BestBuy in fact. It seemed that ambient light was pretty subtle, but that may have nothing to do with how the demo screen was configured. And alas (or perhaps "fortunately"), the nearest Fry's is at the other end of Austin from me, so I don't visit very often.

It's nice to hear that "Ironman" won't really look like a soap opera, and that "2001" will still be vibrant and deep without looking like a segment from "Good Morning America." Thanks guys!

Railroader · Jul 22, 2009, 10:56 AM

Blu-ray looks pretty good. Those comparison videos are pure junk though. The picture will look nothing like that on a set that isn't even adjusted very well. It will look much nicer.

Whenever I am forced into BestBuy by a friend who wants to go and look around I head right to the TV section and start adjusting the cheaper sets. It only takes a couple quick adjustments to make them look better than sets that cost twice the price which are set on "store" mode. I almost got kicked out of one store for doing it.

CRASH HARDDRIVE · Jul 22, 2009, 05:59 PM

I've found that I can't stand the look of Blu-Ray on a 120hz HDTV. To my eye, it looks exactly like you describe- too hyper-real, and cheap, like video. I find that some people don't notice or care about the effect, while others- myself for certain- can't tolerate it and feel it ruins the film look of movies.

I'd venture a guess you were looking at a 120hz HDTV- chances are if you saw the same movie at 60hz, you'd find it looks great.

Railroader · Jul 22, 2009, 06:10 PM

Have you tried turning down the sharpness?

One thing that amazed me when I used DVD essentials was the recommendation to turn down the sharpness. The picture improved dramatically.

Buckaroo · Jul 22, 2009, 11:07 PM

Has anyone found a Blu Ray player that is only approx. 7 inches wide? Everything I've found is like 16 inches wide. I need it for my RV.

CRASH HARDDRIVE · Jul 22, 2009, 11:45 PM

The problem I've noticed is definitely related more to the perceptual motion quality of the image, not just the visual image quality. (Although, I'm sure adjusting the visuals properly would make a huge difference too.) I've only witnessed it on store displays and other people's HDTV's, so I wasn't able to fiddle with the picture myself.

People seem to be discussing the same thing here.

It may be effects like "MotionFlow" or whatever they're labeled by other makers. Whatever it is, I'd turn it off before truly judging Blu-Ray image quality. Blu-Ray on my own HDTVs (at 60hz and properly calibrated) looks incredible.

residentEvil · Jul 23, 2009, 07:03 AM

all the newer sets with 120 and 240hz settings have the option of turning it off or a combination of settings that "lessen" the effect it gives to the source material.

when on, the picture looks like video...like your standard ABC/NBC/CBS soap operas or your home made movies. when off, it is the more normal looking film you are use to. my top of the line sony has 3 settings. i leave it off for movies/tv watching and turn it to the middle setting for live sports. baseball/football look fantastic that way!

ghporter · Jul 23, 2009, 08:12 AM

I always thought that the double/quadruple refresh rate settings were specifically for action programs anyway. Movies are made taking motion into account and if they're processed properly you won't have the kinds of interpolation issues that 120/240hz refresh rates were intended to address in LIVE video.

When all the demos of how 120/240 works feature soccer balls and their courses, that sort of tells me that's what it's for.

tooki · Jul 26, 2009, 09:51 AM

So here's another "silly" question: are there region-free Blu-Ray players? As someone with one foot on either side of the Atlantic, I've hesitated on buying a Blu-Ray player (despite recently buying a marvelous plasma TV), just because I don't want to spend a fortune on discs and then not be able to play them if I move. For DVDs, it's easy -- mostly I rip them on my Mac and then sync to an Apple TV, and otherwise I have a region-free DVD player. But Blu-Ray?

Any ideas?

residentEvil · 10:10 AM

as far as i know, the PS3 is region free? maybe not the current 120gb model; but i'm almost certain my 40gb model is. i had some other region normal DVDs that played on it. (i'm in region 1; dvd is region 3 i believe).

edit: but for blu-ray media, i only have region a discs (or more importantly, bought in the USA); so i can't confirm it myself. however, from what i have seen/read, a lot of blu-ray movies, themselves, are region free. so something i did buy l, like Fifth Element, will play on any blu-ray player from another country.

edit 2: wiki says almost 70% of all blu-ray content is region free:

Blu-ray Discs may be encoded with a region code (intended to restrict the area of the world in which they can be played), similar in principle to the DVD region codes, although the geographical regions used differ. Blu-ray Disc players sold in a certain region may only play discs encoded for that region. This is primarily used for market segmentation or price discrimination, but it also allows motion picture studios to control the various aspects of a release (including content and release date) according to the region. Discs may also be produced without region coding; these can be played on all devices. The countries of the major Blu-ray manufacturers (Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, etc.) are in the same region as the Americas. As of late 2008, almost 70% of all released discs were region-free.

edit 3: looks like all sony blu-ray players are multi regin; they play A and B for blu-ray and 1 and 2 for dvd. so, my dvd that played, must be region 2 not 3. region A and B for blu-ray then will cover everything BUT region C, which is pretty much all of asia. so the multi region sony's will play everything from north america, europe and japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Region_Code

i would say you are good to go tooki!

The Godfather · Jul 26, 2009, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Yes, it was a big box-a BestBuy in fact. It seemed that ambient light was pretty subtle, but that may have nothing to do with how the demo screen was configured. And alas (or perhaps "fortunately"), the nearest Fry's is at the other end of Austin from me, so I don't visit very often.

It's nice to hear that "Ironman" won't really look like a soap opera, and that "2001" will still be vibrant and deep without looking like a segment from "Good Morning America." Thanks guys!

Watching old movies converted to Bluray format? First make sure that your DVD upconverter will or won't give you the same results from a SD DVD.

ghporter · Jul 26, 2009, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by The Godfather

Watching old movies converted to Bluray format? First make sure that your DVD upconverter will or won't give you the same results from a SD DVD.

2001 is one of a handful of older movies I'd think could benefit from a full-on fresh transfer to a high-def format. It was produced on 70mm negative and thus has a lot more potential detail than might have gotten into a DVD transfer. I have two other versions of 2001 on disc-a standard DVD and an HD-DVD. I still don't have a high-def monitor to see how well the HD-DVD version picks up the details, but I do expect to buy the BR version anyway.

I have a list of other films I plan to buy on BR even though I already have them on conventional DVD-Jackson's King Kong (and probably the whole LOTR set too), Serenity, a few others, just because of the scope of the pictures.

ort888 · Jul 26, 2009, 01:00 PM

2001 is considered to be one of the most stunning transfers of an old movie. I have not seen it (on Blu), but I hear it's amazing.

ghporter · Jul 26, 2009, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

2001 is considered to be one of the most stunning transfers of an old movie. I have not seen it (on Blu), but I hear it's amazing.

I certainly won't be buying another copy of "Casablanca" on BluRay-My DVD version is beautifully crystal clear, with all the depth and richness a good black and white movie can have. But a "spectacular" movie, especially one that was released in Cinerama, that deserves at least a chance to see whether what was filmed can actually get to my screen. It's nice to hear that people really like the BluRay version of 2001. Makes me look forward to getting the whole setup even more.

The Godfather · Jul 26, 2009, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

I certainly won't be buying another copy of "Casablanca" on BluRay-My DVD version is beautifully crystal clear, with all the depth and richness a good black and white movie can have. But a "spectacular" movie, especially one that was released in Cinerama, that deserves at least a chance to see whether what was filmed can actually get to my screen. It's nice to hear that people really like the BluRay version of 2001. Makes me look forward to getting the whole setup even more.

Try getting this for your Bootcamp-capable Mac.
http://wholesale.techawave.com/index...0b6c4a0e6e3c5a
http://www.thebrightstone.com/tbs/in...product_id=874