Topic: Well well.. Look who just went Blu

[RossRoy]

My PC DVD Player just went belly up, I've been watching on my Xbox since, but I'm getting tired of it. I like being able to easily make the video window a bit smaller and browse the web when the movie is not as engaging as it should.

So what did I replace it with?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136183

Guess I now have to buy a blu ray movie to test it out then

So, people, what should I get as my first Blu? (Preferably something I already own on DVD - so I can compare)

Debate!  

[Najemikon]

 

I think the best looking modern movie on Blu-Ray is Iron Man, or another Downey-Junior, Sherlock Holmes. Public Enemies feels like it will burn your screen too.

Older movies, I'd recommend Zulu or The Searchers, Casablanca, etc.

But as I recommend to everyone, Google any potential purchases and an idea of how well received the Blu transfer was. That way you avoid the cheap DVD ports and the real quality ones are obvious. Also, don't necessarily think CGI heavy movies are the right choice; Blu brings good photography to life and makes it pop, but can also flatten effects that were cheaper than you think...

[Jimmy]

Since this format is reserved mostly for the recent Hollywood film or very mainstream older film I always don't see the need to upgrade for me. I even plan to get another DVD reader in december to go with my large new TV screen...

But my first BR is pre-order for december and it's because it's a DVD/BR combo of an Hammer movie. Certainly not because I plan to make the switch at all, sure BR is better (not always) but 99.9% of what I like is release on dvd and I'm perfectly happy with that. Anyway, nothing sell on BR unless it's an Hollywood film (wich was confirm to me by many dvd label owners).

[RossRoy]

Since this format is reserved mostly for the recent Hollywood film or very mainstream older film I always don't see the need to upgrade for me. I even plan to get another DVD reader in december to go with my large new TV screen...

Actually, I got the Blu ray because with the coupon I had for Newegg, the BD came to about 15$ more than the DVD I was looking at. So I thought why not?

[Touti]

So, people, what should I get as my first Blu? (Preferably something I already own on DVD - so I can compare)

Without hesitation..............Master and Commander: The far side of the world.

But if you go with something else stay away from Twisters.

[Jimmy]

I thought why not?

Sebastien I forgot if you buy a lot of region 2 dvd, but with a BR player you won't be able to watch them (unless you got an easy to unlock dvd reader also).

[RossRoy]

I thought why not?

Sebastien I forgot if you buy a lot of region 2 dvd, but with a BR player you won't be able to watch them (unless you got an easy to unlock dvd reader also).

I have a few R2 DVD but not too many. And those that are R2, will be easy enough to circumvent with one of the other PC in the house

[Najemikon]

I thought why not?

Sebastien I forgot if you buy a lot of region 2 dvd, but with a BR player you won't be able to watch them (unless you got an easy to unlock dvd reader also).

You mean because of multi-region? I haven't checked Sebastein's but it's common to have a blu-ray reader locked to one region, but multi-region for DVDs in the same drive.

Even if not, AnyDVD software or similar will easily unlock it...

[hal9g]

You might try the new Star Trek movie or Dark Knight.  I enjoyed both of those on Blu ray.

[Achim]

Congratulations, I am sure you won't regret it.


Another good movie for comparison is Blade Runner's Final Cut. It'll show the power of Blu-Ray so well, because the DVD transfer was terrific to begin with.

[kahless]

I would recommend "Up" Great movie and great quality in picture and sound!

[RossRoy]

And there it is! Installed and ready to go! If only I had a BD movie to test with..

[Jimmy]

Why you didn't think of renting one? At least you would be able to test your reader tonight...

[RossRoy]

Why you didn't think of renting one? At least you would be able to test your reader tonight...

I did think of renting one, but it's been so long since I've last rented something and I didn't feel like going through the hassle of registering to rent a single movie. I'll just go browse the BD section tomorrow at Futureshop or something and get one.

I just saw BSG Complete Series as Blu....

[RossRoy]

Well, I did get a few movies (2) on Blu ray. I got Iron Man and Iron Man 2.  A few comments?

First, the postive stuff:

• I'm really surprised about that, but my current sound system handles Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD without a hitch. Unless some shenanigans are taking place behind the scene with PowerDVD set to passthrough SPDIF, then both audio stream were passed on and decoded without problems by my sound system. 
• Also, either these discs don't use it, or again some shenanigans are taking place behind the scenes, but I poped the Blu in and it played. No errors no nothing. So either my monitor is HDCP compliant but doesn't mention it in its specs. Or the discs don't use HDCP protection. Either way, I got the full resolution digital stream into my monitor. 
• The picture and sound quality are both great. Every little drop of water on the car down to the wave effect of heat to skin defects were all clearly visible. 

Now the bad ..

• Ok, this one should probably be aimed at PowerDVD more than the Blu ray format itself but - I can only control from a virtual remote within PowerDVD? Really? No keyboard shortcuts at all work (N for next chapter, P for previous, PGDW and PGUP for quick advance/rewind, etc.) None work. I have to use the mouse, to click a button that pops up a virtual remote. 
• It just takes so long! Put the disc in. Then you have to wait for it "load the blu ray" whatever that means.. Then it ask to download something to activate BD-Live content.. then it goes through forced company logos and legal threats.. I just want to watch a movie damn it! Yeah sure, some of those complaints apply to DVD too, but still. 

Now that I've seen it first hand on many occasions and on many different screens and configurations and I can honestly say that I don't find Blu all that impressive. I'm sure some movies benefit from it more than others, but Blu quality vs DVD quality doesn't affect my enjoyment of the movie at all. I just don't care/mind much about the increase in picture quality. If it's there, cool, if it's not, big deal. I'm really not going to be seeking out Blu over DVD (with some exceptions), especially as long as Blu will be more expensive than DVD. Just take Iron Man. The Blu was still at 34$ for the Ultimate Edition. The DVD? It was down to 15$ for the same Ultimate Edition. Is Blu really worth twice the price? Not to me it isn't! Especially with the hassles that come with Blu, since most people around me still haven't gone Blu. Just for the usability factor, DVD still gives me the best value. You do get a very decent quality image, especially with upscaling players, often still for less money, and almost everybody has a DVD player. Blu still being a rather niche market, makes it hard for me to justify the expense.

All that being said, Blu ray is impressive. The picture and sound quality really are great.

Question: Is there any tool / resource / anything that could confirm whether a disc needs HDCP or not? Because both movie played at full resolution on my digital (DVI) signal, and technically, my monitor spec don't mention anything about being HDCP compliant (and I've had it for a bit long for it to be compliant) - so I'm just wondering if I'm lucky and both films don't require HDCP - or if it's something else entirely.