Should I get a blu-ray player for my 50in Samsung HLR5067WX?

Question

So I wanna know if it's worth getting a blu-ray player, I currently am using a standard dvd player for my 50in Samsung HLR5067WX and I want to know if I will get better picture and sound quality. And should I get a blu-ray player or a PS3. Are there any disadvantages with have thing the PS3 since other blu-rays are so expensive?

Here's full information on my TV:- http://www.epinions.com/Samsung_HLR5067W_Rear_Projection_Television/display_~full_specs

-thanks for your response I really appreciate it

Answer 1

getting a ps3 would be a better deal then getting just a straight blu ray

Answer 2

How important is good quality to you?  Like another poster said, only you can decide.  I can tell you, I  bought one about 6 months ago and it's one of the best purchases I've made.  I love watching movies now!  If you have a receiver that can output the HD audio codecs (Dolby True-HD, DTS-HD, PCM) you will be AMAZED by how much sound you're missing out on from standard DVDs.  And yes, a PS3 is a great blu-ray player, plays blu-rays with the same quality as standalone players and is capable of much more, not just games either.  The one complaint was that it couldn't decode DTS-HD audio, but a firmware update earlier this month has fixed that.  And yes, BD's are more expensive, but you can find deals on them.  I rarely pay full price for a blu-ray disc.  Best Buy and Target have been putting some of them on sale for $20 lately, and online sites like amazon usually have pretty good deals.

Answer 3

Only you can decide.

The PQ and AQ on Blu-ray disks varies. But on a 1080p HDTV a Blu-ray of a movie will, at worst look slightly better than the same movie on DVD. At best it will look appreciably better.  See the link for an example of how much improvement can be expected under good conditions (slide the white bar left to right to see DVD vs HD quality). Audio, on a good surround sound system, will be superior from Blu-ray vs DVD.

But you have a 720p RP HDTV, so you won't get quite as good an image as Blu-ray is able to produce. Furthermore, if you sit more than about 10 ft from the screen you will not see some of the detail that is displayed since you eyes will be too far away to fully resolve detail.

On the other hand a DVD on an upconverted DVD player won't look as good as Blu-ray, but will look a bit better than on  a normal DVD player.

So, with your equipment you will probably see some improvement, but not optimum. Whether the video (or audio) improvement is worth the price you have to decide.

Expect to pay ~$400 for a reasonable Blu-ray player (which is also a good upconverting DVD player ... but a stand alone DVD only upconverter can be purchased for about $100 (not very good ones cost even less))  and $5 to $20 more for a Blu-ray version of a movie vs the same movie on DVD.

Personally, I've tried HD and don't find sufficient benefit to justify the high price and lack of convenience (slow load times, inability to back up disks, can't play on existing DVD players (car, cottage, friends, etc)). I find DVDs on an upconverting player on my 110" screen look fine. I may buy Blu-ray if prices drop to close to DVD level, but not now.

If you do decide to buy, the PS3 is the best Blu-ray player ... and to me that says a lot when a game machine is the best hardware for a movie playback device!

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

I was in Best Buy today and saw a DVD and a Blu ray playing the same movie in near sync side by side. Yeah, there is definitely a difference. I subscribe to Home Theater magazine and the most recent issue said that HD DVD is loosing out. I'd say that investing in Blu ray is a good idea. There is yet another disc format coming that has a terabyte on one side, however, if we continue to wait for something better, we'd wait our whole lives and never enjoy anything. I think BD's, as Blu ray discs are called, will develop into a standard just like the CD has.

Answer 5

I THOUGHT ABOUT GOING BLU RAY BUT WHEN I PRICED THE MOVIES, THEY ARE WAY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE REGULAR ONES.  I JUST DECIDED TO STICK WITH WHAT I HAVE BEACAUSE THE MOVIES PLAY AND LOOK GREAT ALREADY.  IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING GETTING A PLAYSTATION 3 OR IF YOU HAVE A PS3 THEN NO NEED TO BUY A BLU RAY DVD BUT I AM NOT SAYING GET A PS3 FOR THE USE OF THE BLU RAY.  

GOOGLUCK