Blu-ray - is it worth it?

Question

My DVD player has gone pop and i need to get a replacement. I can get a Sony Blu-ray player for under £250, but am not sure if it is worth it ; or do i just go for a decent DVD player at, say, £80?

My TV is a standard 32" job, stereo amplifier has outputs for 7.1 but only inputs for 5.1 (? never got that one lol) hooked up to some Bowers & Wilkins speakers.

Will there be any noticable difference on this kit (not planning to upgrade for a couple of years) and are the extra extras on a Blu-ray DVD worth it (i am a sucker for extras lol)?

Answer 1

Your TV is a standard definition set, so while you'll notice things like less noise in shadows and a sharper picture, you're nowhere near the potential benefits of 1080p unless you have an HDTV and sit at the correct viewing distance.

For example, on a 40" TV at 15ft away you're not going to notice much of a difference between DVD and Blu-ray, but if you're sitting 5-6ft away you'll notice a tremendous difference providing the disc is one of many that was authored and mastered properly.

I would either get the Blu-ray player or go with a BUDGET DVD player for less than 30 pounds until you're ready to get an HDTV.

Blu-ray is definitely worth it though, when you match your HDTV screen size and resolution to your viewing distance. The audio upgrade is huge as well and no doubt your B&W's would allow you to experience that. Most Blu-ray Disc's audio compared to DVD is like going from a low resolution .mp3 to a Super Audio CD.

Answer 2

Not yet. They really haven't finished the spec, so there will be a lot of incompatible changes coming up as they implement new features and finish new version.

Plus, the machines are horribly, horribly slow to do anything, even as simple as opening the tray. Menus take forever to come up. Discs forever to load. Even pausing and restarting can take a while. You'll be very annoyed coming from DVD.

Other than the better picture and potentially better sound, the other features Blu-ray provides over standard DVD are not that impressive and are not well used in BR-DVD titles yet.

And finally, the machines are still expensive relative to their value, especially with the limited software available.

You can get an excellent upconverting DVD player for about half the price, which behaves much more quickly in normal actions and has a picture which rivals, though falls somewhat short of what you will find on the best BR-DVD. Look for a machine which uses DCDi, which contains technology from Farjouda, which has been the best source for upconverting forever. A good option being the Oppo (http://www.oppodigital.com/), though there are other brands that use it (as well as some AV receivers).

Answer 3

blu-ray is totally worth it IF...you have a home theater.  Blu-ray + HD projector = utter awesomness!!   But if you are just using a smallish tv, i would not bother for a while, as you said :-)

Answer 4

I personally haven't found BluRay (or HD DVD) to be worth it yet.  I do have a 40" LCD TV and regular DVDs look fine to me (maybe the upscaling is working on the TV, but the picture is good).

If you really want a BluRay player, consider getting a PS3.  If you are going to spend the money, you may as well get a game system with it too.  From what I read on some forums, the PS3s sell better as a video player than they do as a game player.

Answer 5

only if your the ps3 as a bluray player

Answer 6

don't get a DVD player because its lost to blue-ray. if you are getting a blue-ray player get the ps3 because its a gaming system and its cheaper than most blue-ray players on the market. before you do get a blue-ray player make sure your tv is 1080p HD ready if its not i wouldn't buy blue-ray because its not worth it if you cant enjoy it to the fullest. and it is worth it because in time it will start replacing DVD but if your willing to wait for a price drop buy a cheap DVD player.

Answer 7

Short answer:  I don't think Blu-ray is worth the premium prices currently charged.  This may change ... but not yet.

Bit of a dillema.  I wouldn't normally recommend buying a DVD player if you are replacing one, BUT Blu-ray prices are still too high so I personally wouldn't buy one now (I watch up-converted DVDs on my HD projector and 110" screen and find then just fine).

With your TV and mid level audio system (no support for TrueHD or DTS master sound) I don't think you will get any significant benefit from Blu-ray.  Sure it might be a bit better picture, but probably not worth the much higher cost of Blu-ray disks and, while a BD player will play and upconvert DVds, it's an expensive way to do it.

Upconverting DVD player is probably the best for you (unless you value the extras on some Blu-ray disks (many are the same as DVD) highly enough to pay the extra). BUT, note that inexpensive /low end upconverting players are not worthwhile. The best is an Oppo ... if you could find a used Oppo 971 it would be a great choice, or a used HD-A2 or A3 HD DVD player (which is also a very good DVD upconverter), at a reasonable price.  One review site I saw recommended Phillips for an under $100 (75 UK Pound) up-converter.

If you do decide to go Blu-ray the PS3 is the best bet right now. It's firmware updateable to Profile 2.0 and a fine BD player.  Most of the stand alone playersd are either a bit cheaper but less capable or almost as good but much more expensive.

Hope that helps.