Sony Blue Ray or Sony DVD Up-converter?

Question

What's better for me I have the 70" Sony Briva with Yamha sundround sound & Kilpsch 7.1 Speakers should I get the Sony Blue Ray or Sony DVD Up-converter? I don't buy DVD's just rent & the converter also records on DVD.

LoveGun142000

Answer 1

Considering you have a 70" Bravia, it is clear you will notice a difference between upscaled DVDs and Blu-Ray.  That being said, it is hard to recommend one over the other without knowing more about your preferences and likes/dislikes.

For instance, do you have any interest in gaming?  If not, perhaps a standalone Blu-Ray player is a better option, but if you have any interest in gaming....even a small interest - then the best Blu-Ray player on the market is by and far the Sony PS3.  It is the only Blu-Ray player that is Profile 2.0 compliant and supports a vast array of audio codecs etc.

Also, independent tests have shown the PS3 to do a superb job of upscaling regular DVDs, so it is the best of both worlds.  If you have a service like Netflix or Blockbuster, you can rent Blu-Ray movies as well so you will get the most out of your experience.  A PS3 can be found for $399, or $299 if you have a Sony Card and purchase directly from SonyStyle.com (I'm sure the $100 off is a limited time offer however, so don't expect this pricing to remain long term).

On the other hand, if you are content with standard DVDs, then an upscaling player is probably all you need.  They can be found for well under $100 and will do a fairly good job of upconverting, however don't expect quite as clear of a picture as you would get from a Blu-Ray or upconversion from a Blu-Ray player because Blu-Ray players have much more sophisticated and complex graphics processors to handle the upconversion and thus will do a better job.

As to recording capability, if that is important to you then the only choice is the upconverting DVD player/recorder as there are no Blu-Ray recorders on the market as of now.

Either way you go you are surely to improve upon a standard DVD player, but with a 70" television I would strongly recommend Blu-Ray over an upconverter as there will be a significant difference in picture quality.

Answer 2

70"!!! Go for Blu-ray. At that size you will not only notice the difference between DVD (480p) & Blu-ray (1080p), you will even notice the difference between 720p & 1080p. If you just rent, then sign up for Netflix--they have Blu-ray as part of their plans for no extra price. Seriously dude if you invested a few thousand dollars in a 70" Bravia it would be a terrible waste not to get a Blu-ray player. Go for it.

P.S. Get the PS3. Its an excellent Blu-ray player and it costs less than many other players even though its also a really game system!

Hope I helped!

Answer 3

The Blu-Ray would be the better choice not only for a better picture on your very large screen but to take advantage of your 7.1 surround. Additional money is the only down side.