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I am wondering why I don't see any picture quality difference between blu-ray and my old upconverted DVDs. For DVD, I have a Denon using SDI to pass the video to my Lumagen scaler which upconverts it to 1080I and sends it via RGBHV to my 73 inch mitsu TV (1080I is max for my TV). Now I have the Sony S550 blu-ray player and since I don't have HDMI anywhere it is connected via component 1080I outputs to my Lumagen (which now does no conversion) and sends it via RGBHV to the TV. I A/B'ed the movie Blood Diamond back and forth and saw no difference at all! Audio was much superior but not the video. Is this because my Lumagen is doing such a great job at upconverting???
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I was wondering the same thing? I too purchased a blu ray player and I own an upconverted dvd player. I too notice very little picture difference, I notice the audio is a little better. I am using HDMI on both. Im wondering if its just bells and whistles with blu ray. If 1080 is the highest resolution it shouldn't make a difference if its an old dvd upconverted to 1080 or blu ray at 1080. 1080 is 1080 right. Anyone else notice a big difference worth the cost of a blu ray player and $30.00 - $40.00 blu ray movies?BOB -
Something sounds fishy.
"Upconverting" a DVD doesn't actually add any more detail to the image, it polishes up content by spacing out pixels and adding intermediate blends, tightens lines using anti-aliasing, and smoothes motion by adding blended frames. But the frames from the DVD are only 480p (in North America).
Blu-Ray Discs actually have more detail from the original film.
I notice a big difference between standard DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs.~NickComment
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Does it even output 1080p or 720p over component? From my understanding it was supposed to down res the video if it wasn't output over HDMI.Comment
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The Sony S550 only outputs 1080I over component video. 1080P is only via HDMI.Comment
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I agree with Nick M that something isn't quite right.
While the PQ will vary amongst each Blu-Ray disc, I've yet to watch any standard DVD that had the same overall quality as even the worst Blu-Ray disc. With Blu-Ray the sharpness, colour separation, and depth of picture is much, much better in my experience. I am watching them on my PS3 on a 1080P set, however, I wouldn't expect the 1080i factor to be that limiting. It certainly wasn't when I compared HD-DVD in 1080i vs regular DVD.
Have you tried hooking your Blu-Ray player directly to your TV, thus by-passing the scaler? I know it shouldn't make a difference but it would be interesting to see if you noticed anything different by doing so.Comment
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I'd suggest doing an A/B with a movie like Cars or Ratatouille. If you still see no difference, then one of two things is going on:
1. Something is not set up correctly (connections, menu settings, etc)
2. You just flat don't notice a difference, rejoice in that you'll save money not buying blu-rays
(though they are getting much cheaper, the $30-40 comment doesn't hold true anymore).
-ChuckComment
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Connect everything via HDMI.
If you still don't notice a difference, then your display is not up to par, or you need to see an optometrist ASAP.
BTW - Blood Diamond is far from reference quality. It's an average transfer.A camera, passport, good music, good food and good company is all I need.Comment
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Why don't you see a difference? Cause of your tv.
I have a 52" Sony Bravia LCD, and I've watched several movies with my friends, and so far, no one has said that there is only a little difference. Everyone always says how real it looks compared to DVD. On a 72" LCD or plasma, the difference should be much bigger than my tv. No offense, but maybe your tv isn't up to par. What's your tv model?
Try it out with an LCD or plasma that does 1080p and you will see a big difference.
But for me, the biggest difference with blu-ray is the audio.B&W 804S/Velodyne SPL-1000R/Anthem MRX720Comment
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Agreed, my 52" Bravia 1080P ANY dvd doesnt hold a candle to BR.B&W
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Maybe you're sitting to close? Or to far?Comment
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If his 73" Mitsu is the CRT version like mine, it's definitely up to par! The Kuro's are the first flat screens I have even considered if something ever happens.
Now their 73" DLP's....that's a different story.
Kevin D.Comment
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Im pretty sure you are not seeing a difference because you are using component connections and not the HDMI. If there was HDMI connections, it should make the difference. Correct me if I am wrong anyone??Comment
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Not much difference between component and HDMI. In some cases, component may even be the better option.Originally posted by subynube
I second the option of removing the scaler and see if Blu-ray improves. On a 73" display the difference should be very noticeable. I only have a 50" 720p plasma, and I can easily tell between Blu-ray or HD-DVD and the REON-scaled DVD from my XA2. There are some bad HD transfers out there, and a good scaler will still look fantastic, but the difference is still apparent when A/B comparing.Santino
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.Comment
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There is definitely a difference between DVD and Blu-ray on either 720p or 1080p, as I have both 720 and a 1080p projectors. And as Littlesaint said, there is little difference between HDMI and Component. The real difference between SDVD and Blu-ray is in the detail, especially noticable in scenery showing trees or flowers, etc. In closeups of actors you can sometimes see more than they want you to see of their facial imperfections. There is definitely something suspect in the setup and I too would suggest removing the scaler to see if things improve.Comment
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Originally posted by tallcool1I have a much more basic question regarding the above two observations. Are you comparing the Blu-ray disc of a movie with the standard definition DVD of the same movie? I asked because I wonder why one would buy/rent both the blu-ray version and the SD version of Blood Diamond. From tallcool1's and crytklmass' quotes it is not clear to me if the comparisons are between the playback of the same SD DVD on two different players or if it is between the playback of a blu-ray disc and the playback of an SD DVD after upconversion.Originally posted by crytklmass
There should be a big difference in video quality that are immediately noticeable. Blu-ray should look far superior than an upconverted SD DVD.Comment
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I thought about asking that as well, but thought it too obvious. After reading the posts again, I can see that you're right. It's not really clear that a Blu-ray version of Blood Diamond was used for comparison.Santino
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.Comment
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Yes I compared a blu-ray version of Blood Diamond against an upconverted standard DVD version. My TV has been professionally calibrated so that is not the problem. I will try to take the Lumagen out of the loop and see what happens.Comment
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In that case I think at least one of the components in your signal path must be down-converting the video signal. If the blu-ray disc looks the same as the up-converted DVD, then you are losing the details in the blu-ray. Very loosely speaking, you are losing 1080 - 480 = 600 lines of information with up-conversion vs. blu-ray.Originally posted by tallcool1
I would do what others have suggested: try to connect the blu-ray player directly to the TV/display and start from there.Comment
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Keep in mind he is using a 1080i TV to compare the 1080p signal of blu-ray.
A 1080p TV would show a far greater comparison of Blu-ray over the up-converted DVD in 1080i.Comment
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I see a clear difference ... 1080p is a lot more detailed and 1080i broadcasting is so much better than the image that existed before. Despite having said this, the image of an uppscaled DVD is acceptable when watching them on a smaller screen equal or less than 50 inch. Also, BD films are not worth its price unless they come with TrueHD, PCM and/or DTS Masters.Miyuki
:brunette:Comment
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The fact that it's "only" 1080i shouldn't matter. Even a smaller 720p display should show a noticeable difference in detail when A/B comparing.
I think with a good scaler, DVD looks fantastic on any screen. I think a lot of people who frown on upscaling haven't seen it done with good hardware. That said, once you see a Blu-ray or HD-DVD version, the upscaled DVD becomes less fantastic especially if you do an A/B comparison. Still good enough though that I'm not running out and replacing all of my DVDs with HD material.Santino
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.Comment
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Yes upscaled DVD is nice but still no where near Blu Ray for video and definitly audio especially on a 128" screenOriginally posted by littlesaint
Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousand miles from the corn field."Dwight D. EisenhowerComment
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It's my understanding that BluRay is 1080p. My TV doesn't do 720p or 1080p , but does 1080i. So , would a BluRay player benefit me at all? ESPN at 1080i far exceeds any other broadcast I have access to , but I know it's "only" 720p. Regardless of the detail offered by the player , my display only goes so far. With a 48" screen and a 1080i display , why would I spend the money for a BluRay player?Lee
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Hey Alaric,
Yeah you would (make that should) still notice a big improvement from DVD. While Blu-Ray does indeed support 1080P, it would also output at 1080i if that is all your TV can handle. I suspect most players would do 1080i over HDMI or component. If you ever upgraded your set, then you would have to use HDMI to get the 1080P.
On a 48 inch screen you are less likely to notice the difference between 1080i and 1080P anyway, unless you sit really close. The general "consensus" that I've read is that 50 inch and larger screens is where you really start to realize the benefits of 1080P over 1080i. Obviously there is some overlap here and it's bound to rely allot on personal preference, the material being viewed, etc. Bottom-line though is that Blu-Ray on 1080i would still be a dramatic improvement over regular DVD material, at least in my opinion.
As an aside, it's my experience that most material on Blu-Ray would be at least as good and possibly better than your average HD cable or satellite feed (720P or 1080i), likely due to the compression utilized for the TV material and the other variables that can come into play when receiving those signals. As great as a good HD feed on cable or satellite can look, there are some Blu-Ray discs that blow them away, even if the resolution is technically the same. The audio on Blu-Ray is also a significant step up from DVD.Comment
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I'm currently using a cheapo Sony upconverting DVD player , with HDMI carrying the video directly to the TV (Mits WS48515) and digital coax handling audio to my Onkyo receiver. My HTIB doesn't process or pass through HDMI , hence the direct route to the display. Besides , less stuff to crap up the signal.
I appreciate the input , as I didn't think BluRay would really help a 1080i display. Now I have to spend more money , damnit!
Lee
Marantz PM7200-RIP
Marantz PM-KI Pearl
Schiit Modi 3
Marantz CD5005
Paradigm Studio 60 v.3Comment
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I rent my movies through netflix so I can order the same movie twice, a blu ray version and a standard dvd. I did notice on matrix #3 the coloring on the blu ray was not stable it changed colors from the greenish color to gray. anyone else notice. kept bouncing back an forth. maybe I should turn off one of my t.v. options. samsung 67"BOBComment
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