Can anyone actually tell the difference in quality between TV, DVD and Blu-Ray?

Question

Because I can't, and I have 20/20 vision.

Answer 1

It's actually a complex question.

As other have said, it depends what you watch on and from how far away.

First, Blu-ray and DVD differ by more than resolution. The colour space for the two disks are different ... with Blu-ray having a somewhat broader colour gamut (range). So, even if you watched both disks at 480 resolution (SDTV) you should see some difference in the colours.

Now, assuming you are watching on an SDTV, you won't (except possibly some colour difference noted above) see any difference in resolution/detail. But that would be because the extra detail possible from Blu-ray is not displayed on a low resolution display.

To get full benefit from Blu-ray you need a moderate sized 1080p HDTV connected via HDMI. On a 720p/1080i HDTV you should see a slightly softer image (assuming you watch from a suitable distance ... more on that later), but still more detailed than DVD.

But it isn't quite that simple. Assuming a 50" HDTV, you won't see any difference between DVD and Blu-ray if you watch from ~15' or greater. As you move closer the detail differences will become visible though.

You should see significant differences between TV and DVD on all but small screen SDTVs (even though the two have the same theoretical resolution (480 lines) the TV signal almost always has greater video artifacts which are quite visible on most reasonable sized screens.

Upconverting DVD players scale DVD images to pseudo-HD resolution (and can remove some artifacts). A good upconverting DVD player can give a picture from a well mastered DVD that is very close to Blu-ray quality, especially on a 720p HDTV viewed from slightly further than optimum HD viewing distance.

So ... as you can see, assuming you are watching SD TV, progressive DVD and Blu-ray on a 1080p HDTV you should see differences between all three. If HDTV, upconverted DVD and Blu-ray on a 720p HDTV watched from "traditional" viewing distances (10'-12') you may not see any difference.

Finally, some people, even with good eyesight, only see some differences after being "taught" to recognize them. So it is possible you don't perceive a difference.

I hope that helps.

Answer 2

Unless you have a high definition tv you wont see any difference while watching a blu-ray dvd.

We have a HDTV and a sony blu-ray dvd player.  There is a HUGE difference. Blu-ray produces crisp, beautiful, lifelike scenes.  its almost like looking out a window it looks so real.

If your watching regular tv broadcast in HD theres an obviously clearer, crisper picture too, again as long as you have an HDTV.

If youre not seeing the obvious difference then you either have a older non HDTV, or your eye dr lied to you.

Answer 3

Tv and HDTV are the two different sets. DVD and Bluray are the others,

The main difference is that if you have blueray on a regular TV set it will appear as the same as a regular DVD Player,

That is why when you do buy a Blueray Player you also need to Buy a HighDefinition TV. The Blueray quality is more vibrant, and the colours look a lot better. You can also acess extra features in the menu.

The other nice thing with BlueRay is that if you purchase a PS3 you can watch BlueRay movies and play games.

Answer 4

Well, unless you have a HDTV, it's going to be difficult to tell the difference.  A screen 40" or larger helps as well.  If you're trying to watch HD on a smaller screen - say 20" or smaller - you really aren't going to notice much of a difference at all.  The picture is just too small for you to really see the added detail that the higher resolutions in HD give you.

You also must have a HD source and be using the proper cabling.  Those standard yellow, red and white cables do NOT support HD.  Neither does a S-Video cable.  You must use either a component cable set or a HDMI cable.

For instance, plugging your DVD player into a HDTV - even using one of those newer upscaling models - is NOT true HD.

Most TV/cable stations are also not in HD either.

Blu-ray's native resolution is 1080p which IS HD - but again, you must be using a HDTV and cables that support HD otherwise it won't look any different than a plain old DVD.