Can I watch Blu-Ray discs on a Standard Def TV?

Question

I do not have HDTV, I have standard def. Can I hook a Blu-Ray player up to it and watch Blu-Ray discs in standard def??

You see, I'm not really in a position to afford an HDTV, but I intend to buy one someday. In the meantime, I buy a lot of movies. A LOT. I'd rather buy them on Blu-Ray as an investment for the future so that when I do someday have an HDTV I won't have to "re-buy" all the same movies. There's a lot of good movies this year (Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, Iron man, etc). I'd rather buy them once then buy them twice!!

So that's my question -- can a standard def TV play blu-ray (even though they would only appear to be in standard def) ???

Answer 1

Yes, you absolutely can.  The key is all in the player.  You just won't be able to use the HDMI cable and will probably have to use RCA cables to connect the player to the TV.  Other than that, until you get the HD TV, they will appear pretty much the same as any other DVD.

Best of luck.

Answer 2

Yes you sure can. I will however say that with just a little more money (the avg. Blu-ray Player is $450) you can afford to buy an HDTV. Also prices on Blu-Ray Players are expected to drop a good amount this holiday season, so you could get your HDTV and hold off for the blu-ray player until December..just an observation though. Anyway, they will play just fine. However you need to make sure that your standard definition at LEAST has Component inputs (red, green, blue for video, white and red for audio) as MOST Blu-ray players won't have anything other than HDMI and Component outputs. Of course, your blu-ray movies at that point will be downscaled to the highest resolution of your tv; either 480i or 480p. So at that point, they're looking pretty much identical to DVD resolution. If you're ok with then and want to invest for the future, then go for it  :)