No one looking at streaming/nas solutions then? I cant see much need for removable media soon. I'm wait till theres a decent version of Plex out for a jailbroken Apple TV 2 and then i'll be purchasing that for my film solution.
Go blu or stay with dvd??
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Just got 3D TV. feck me it's good. Fell asleep during the Liverpool game... Woke up and my trainers was gone!!!
What do you mean by now? I have one, it's several years old.
I can't keep pace with technology.
Mine 3D player came free as a bundle with the new TV.
Yeah but I bet you've not got an excellent surround system to go with it....
You're just a poor man from a poor family.
Mitsubishi WD-65837. The choices are limited with big screen TVs, although LED technology is opening it up a lot now.
Retail cost for the TV, Receiver, sub, and the other nine speakers was around $8,000. I paid nowhere near that.
That's a DLP no wonder you can't see much difference. And before you say it, no they're not really that good.
Pros and cons with all three main TV formats. The screendoor effect on my LCD annoys the crap out of me. The contrast and tones on a DLP are much better for movies, LCD does well for graphics and nature.
When I bought it DLP was still the prefered choice for most home theater review sites. LED technology is developing fast now, and LCD is a lot better than it was two years ago.
Plus when I bought it the only LCD over 65" was $8,000. When it is time for a change I will look at other options.
Plasma's still the best for movies. Basically if you want the best out of your BR player, a DLP or LCD isn't your best option. Weastey'll back me up in that gay way of his, no doubt.
Plasma nearly died in the US market, which is a few years ahead of the UK when it comes to HDTV. There still aren't too many options for larger TVs, although they are making a comeback.
Panasonic plasmas are as good as anything around, so basically the US market is a bit retarded. If you want quality BR picture quality by the best Pana plasma. That is all. Trust me, you'll see the difference.
Plasma always had a good picture quality but cost and durability concerns hit them hard. At one point Panasonic were the only manufacturer to sell them in the US, and they were giving them away. They are making a comeback now though, although a good quality unit over 65" is very pricey.
I have no problems when it comes to space or viewing angle so most of the advantages of Plasma over DLP are negated. DLP has always had good contrast and the most natural feel to it, especially watching movies. Plus I can throw a new bulb in every couple of years and bingo like new picture again.
BTW - what exactly do you think you are watching when you go to the cinema?
I have no problems when it comes to space or viewing angle so most of the advantages of Plasma over DLP are negated. DLP has always had good contrast and the most natural feel to it, especially watching movies. Plus I can throw a new bulb in every couple of years and bingo like new picture again.
BTW - what exactly do you think you are watching when you go to the cinema?
It's funny you say that, but I'm always complaining about the shit picture quality cinemas have to offer. I'll say it again, unless you've got a high end plasma you won't have fully enjoyed blu ray. So basically, you're not really watching blu ray.
Blue-ray is nothing mythical, its just a medium to deliver 1080p images, which lots of TVs can handle. I have no problems with the quality of my set-up when I see what is in the stores right now. Plasma and LED-LCD have improved over the last two years but not by leaps and bounds by any means.
On projection: I have a friend here that has a real theater room with a decent projector and good quality 110" screen. The quality on that thing is fecking amazing, although you have to sit in near darkness to fully appreciate it.
Most people probably spend less than 1% of their viewing time watching discs, and no TV broadcaster in the world that I know of have any plans to broadcast in 1080p.
No one said it was mythical...what an odd thing to say. And your mate's rear projection is still only a rear projection. I don't think you've sat in front of a top end Pana plasma to fully understand how much better they are at playing BRs than rear projection TVs. Trust me, sell yours and get something better. I have no idea why you skimped on a TV anyway.
It not a rear projector
Plasma might be better for Blue-ray but that is probably four hours a month of viewing time out of 160+ hours. That four hours is all movie viewing which is greatly enhanced by a good sound stage.
No, they broadcast in 1080i, but as film is only 24fps, and video 25 or 30fps, then they basically are broadcasting in 1080p are they not? And no, I don't want to get into a discussion about interlacing and the legacy of it thank you very much. If you say for example that in PAL regions they are shoving out frames of 1920x540 odd lines and 1920x540 even lines 50 times per second, your 1080p TV will buffer both and then display them as a single 1920x1080 image 25 times per second.
No, you are not going to get 1920x1080 images 50fps, but video and film has never been shot at that frame rate in any case.
It not a rear projector
Plasma might be better for Blue-ray but that is probably four hours a month of viewing time out of 160+ hours. That four hours is all movie viewing which is greatly enhanced by a good sound stage.
Well, we're discussing BR. Plasmas are a great output for BR, especially Panasonic ones. You're the one who said 'I can barely notice the difference between my old DVDs and Blue-Ra'.. which is thanks to having a rear projection. As I said, sell your TV and get yourself a decent one if you want to see more than a slight difference in quality.
What's wrong with you Americans?!
They (Americans) actually had 1080i CRTs widely available that can't cope with a 720p input. Funny, but true.
Ah, he's using a DLP. Explains it!
It explains everything, Weaste-dawg. And I'm not even going to ask MJS what surround sound system he's got.
fps has nothing to do with resolution. 1080p has twice the pixels per frame, so the fps has zero impact on the resolution. You can watch a 1080i feed at 1000 fps and its still a 1080i picture.
For anyone interested in learning a little about resolution this is a good article.
1080p and HDTV Resolution Explained - eCoustics.com
What are you talking about? I told you that I didn't want to get into a discussion about interlacing.
It's all down to bandwidth. I can either A) sample 1920x1080 30 frames per second, and then broadcast the image odd lines, even lines 60fps. B), I can take 1920x540 60 frames per second and broadcast the images at 60fps.
You don't know what you are talking about.
When it comes to the technical aspects I bow to your knowledge Weaste but the realities of HDTV/BR and resolution are very different in the living room.
From the article below:
"Given that many people view their televisions from 8-10 feet away (if not even more), you would have to have a 65" or larger screen to really notice the difference between 720p and 1080p."
1080p and HDTV Resolution Explained - eCoustics.com
Interesting that people watching 32-40" (?) TVs are seeing amazing improvements between standard HD and Blue-ray? They must be practically sat on top of them.
BTW - I am about 13 feet away in my normal viewing position so a true 1080p picture like Blue-ray will not be significantly noticeable on any 65" TV in the world. Hey but if people want to believe and convince themselves they see a huge difference more power to them, the marketing is obviosuly working.
From the article below:
"Given that many people view their televisions from 8-10 feet away (if not even more), you would have to have a 65" or larger screen to really notice the difference between 720p and 1080p."
1080p and HDTV Resolution Explained - eCoustics.com
Interesting that people watching 32-40" (?) TVs are seeing amazing improvements between standard HD and Blue-ray? They must be practically sat on top of them.
BTW - I am about 13 feet away in my normal viewing position so a true 1080p picture like Blue-ray will not be significantly noticeable on any 65" TV in the world. Hey but if people want to believe and convince themselves they see a huge difference more power to them, the marketing is obviosuly working.
Exactly. It is so much better that I can't see where the debate is. Especially for 50 quid.
I know the technical specs but I have only a 720p HD 50 inch plasma and the difference between DVD (on either my great quality DVD player or my PS3) and BluRay is chalk and cheese. Even more obvious when watching a flim from about 8 feet away but still incredibly noticeable from much further away.
In the end it is about the user experience and BluRay is a far better quality all round.
I've just seen the words "rear projection".
Might as well go back to VCR.
Might as well go back to VCR.
Maybe your DVD player does a bad job of up scaling, or your TV doesn't handle the lower resolution very well. I have a 42" 1080p TV in the bedroom and it doesn't do a great job with the 1080i compared to the living room TV.
And no one said Blue-Ray isn't better but at normal viewing distances it will not be that noticeable unless you have serious compatibility issues with your old equipment.
I've just seen the words "rear projection".
Might as well go back to VCR.
Its not an old fashioned rear projection TV, I have a 50" one of those in the games room.
The irony of that post is we were using DVRs and watching HDTV when the rest of the world were still using VHS. When it comes to large TVs, and lets not forget in was the growth of that sector in the US that spurned the HD revolution, there wasn't much choice at 65" plus until very recently.
Mine is actually in a built in flush and the first thing most people do when the TV is on is go and check the depth of it. Most ignorant people are convinced its a LCD or Plasma.
Obviously the very latest TVs on sale now are better but the overwhelming majority of BR users aren't buying a brand new state of the art TV are they.
We know all about that, a graph has been posted many many times, and it's to do with the human eye's ability to see pixels. It has nothing to do with the conversation however.
Here's your graph.
I've been checking online about 1080P TVs and seeing a lot about calibration after the TV has been bought. what's your take on this? does it need to be done and if so can you do it yourself?
and if it needs to be done why can't the feckin manufacturers do it before they sell the TV?
and if it needs to be done why can't the feckin manufacturers do it before they sell the TV?
So with a 32" TV you need to be less than four feet away for FULL 1080p (i.e. BR) to be noticeable, and its 6 feet with a 42". Its only 8 feet with a 65" TV, which kind of proves my point that you would really notice a hell of a lot of difference going from upscaled DVD to BR at normal viewing distances on any 65" TV.
Thanks for the graph Weaste, kind of proves my original point.
Of course I already knew that because HDTV is ten years old over here and I did all that research years ago. When I buy a TV or Hi-Fi I always get it from somewhere with a viewing/listening room and do lots of testing first.I might drop into Bestbuy and get them to do a few side by sides for me to see how the technology has changed in the last year. I know when I bought the TV it compared very favorably with what was on offer. Actually price dictated because there was no 65" Plasma and the only 65" LCD was $7,000 and I prefer the picture on the DLP anyway.
When the latest 65" LCD and Plasmas start dropping down below $2k I might throw the DLP in the games room and get a new one. Might be able to sell the plan to the wife on the ground of moving and decorating the family room to accommodate a flat panel.
It can depend on the input source to be honest. Some players have calibration software in them, with others you can use a disc.
been hearing about how great the TVs look after calibration, especially a professional service.
my bro-in-law bought an LG LCD LED TV recently and calibrated it himself using data he found online. the picture on that TV is stunning.
I can't find good data on my particular TV. I did find a tip to use the THX optimizer found on a Star Wars or Pixar DVD which will get you close, supposedly.
my bro-in-law bought an LG LCD LED TV recently and calibrated it himself using data he found online. the picture on that TV is stunning.
I can't find good data on my particular TV. I did find a tip to use the THX optimizer found on a Star Wars or Pixar DVD which will get you close, supposedly.
No it did a good job but the PS3 does an even better job but Blu-Ray is stunning even though my 50 inch plasma is only 720. I watch it at a distance where the full effect of 720 is seen and even a little closer so a 1080 would do an even better job.
I had no compatibility issues and the difference is very noticeable indeed.
The image is still rubbish in comparison.
Why is that ironic and how does it effect the quality of Blu-Ray images? On a large plasma you can get noticeably better picture quality by going Bluray.
I've (only?) got a 32" LCD in my room, the difference in quality's just so obvious I'm shocked there's a debate in here. Even comparing a DVD (upscaled) to a 4 GB 1080p MKV...the difference is huge. It's only a year old so that might explain part of it but there's a 40" plasma in the living room that's 5 years old now and the difference is still immediately noticeable.
I've a flatmate who loves her crappy pirate copies, so obviously isn't arsed about picture quality, but even she can appreciate the difference between a normal DVD and 1080p. Fair enough if someone isn't that bothered about the quality but to say the difference isn't that noticeable...strange.
And I've not even got the sound system to go with it yet!
I've a flatmate who loves her crappy pirate copies, so obviously isn't arsed about picture quality, but even she can appreciate the difference between a normal DVD and 1080p. Fair enough if someone isn't that bothered about the quality but to say the difference isn't that noticeable...strange.
And I've not even got the sound system to go with it yet!
Seems to me you are probably haven't got a decent feed into your house. It makes absolutely no sense that a BR would be much better on a 720p TV unless you have standard def feeds or very poor setup. If you have HD (720p or 1080i) it already max's out your TV resolution.
I have fiber to the house, full 1080i 5.1 surround on over 100 channels. At 13 feet viewing distance on any 65" TV (plasma/LCD/DLP) the human eye will not see any significant difference between a good 1080i or BR picture.....and I am sure Weaste will back em up on that.
A couple of points there. Plasma, especially older sets, do lose quality overtime so a five year old unit would be noticeably lower quality.
I think this goes back to the feeds and HD experiences some people have. HD is a decade old over here how, and the feeds in this area are very good. My next door neighbor uses a cable company that transmit at 720p and quite honestly they are shit but probably on par or better than Sky/BBC etc. I am sure if he watches a BR on his 1080p it will be very noticeably better.
I on the other hand have fiber to the house, which is 1080i. I watch the same channels as him in HD but my picture is much better. My old DVD was very good at up scaling as well. So I am not seeing a massive improvement because the quality of my TV feed and old DVD was top notch anyway.
See why fiber-optic TV is better
Simply put, the FiOS network is built for HD TV—so picture quality is sharper, uncompressed, and more reliable in bad weather. It's higher quality TV, brought to you by the nation's largest 100% fiber-optic network.
Verizon | HDTV | Digital Televison | High Definition DVR | FiOS TV
FiOS passes all HD as it is received, 100% bit-for-bit identical to the original OTA feed. There is no cleaner signal available anywhere.
BTW - How was everyone connecting their old DVD players to the TVs? I bet you all used to use coaxial , S-video or Scart to connect your old DVD player, which can only carry 480i. So if that was the case of course you will see a big difference with BR using HDMI.
So I take my original statement back: yes you will see a noticeable difference with BR if you don't have the highest quality TV feed over the air or a good DVD player hooked up with HDMI or component video.
I'm comparing DVD and Blueray. Not digital TV with HD digital TV. There is quite a bit of HD tv here but I don't watch TV because it has ads. Sport excepted where they have fecked up my cable connection and I am still waiting for the HD box.
Watch the same film on DVD and Blueray and there is a noticeable difference which would no doubt be even greater with an even better 1080 plasma. I've tried it on friends 1080 large plasmas and there is just as obvious a difference. I want a 60/65 inch plasma but haven't been able to get it past the procurement committee.
How is the DVD player hooked up?
I know my TV senses the resolution when you change channel and it briefly appears on the screen. My old DVD (two years old) was sending a 1080p single to the TV, so the quality was decent. Certainly good enough to hardly be noticeable when compared to real 1080p at 13 feet.
My TV provider does VOD and you can get HD (1080i) or SD (480i). You can definitely see the difference between those two at 13 feet. 480i would be the same as a DVD hooked up with coaxial/Scart/S-Video.
I am guessing others are seeing a significant improvement because there alternate feeds are inferior of they are sat quite close o the screen.
BTW - There is a Panasonic 65" Plasma in the Pinkfriday sale tomorrow. I may bid on it of the price is right.
I was using expensive component cables. I have got rid of it now anyway because the PS3 upscales really well via HDMI and in any case I rarely watch DVDs anymore. I tend to watch downloaded films (all legally of course) and then buy the few I like on BluRay. With TV I usually prefer the annoyance of watching poorer quality downloaded shows to the better quality ad filled stuff the TV stations provide in HD. If the PS3 had the codecs for .mkv files I'd download a great deal more HD/BluRay ripped stuff.
And DVD and Blueray from the same machine (PS3 - which upscales DVD very nicely) look significantly different.