3 ms·

Same with DVD vs Blu-Ray

by malvim 16y ago

tomjen3 16y ago
Can you actually see the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray? It may just be me, but it appears that they are not much sharper than the DVDs (unlike the DVD vs VHS change) and most of it is marketing.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- mehtastic 16y ago
  Planet Earth is the canonical example where the BD is instantly differentiable from the DVD.
- arethuza 16y ago
  I was a bit of a skeptic about HD - but I suspect it all comes down to the quality of the production. I was watching the BBC "Wonders of the Solar System" last night and it looked awesome in HD.
- ZeroGravitas 16y ago
  Much like this current debate, it depends. Hi-Def content has a higher resolution, but if you have average vision with an average size TV and you sit the average distance from the screen then you can't possibly see any difference. When you're in the TV shop where they've carefully arranged the TVs so you can't stand more than a few feet back then there will be obvious differences. Here's a nice graph to check whether you should be able to see a difference: http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html One interesting wrinkle is that if you're at the right distance for HD, then you're too close for any SD content you have and vice versa so unless you only watch one resolution then you either put up with the SD or the HD looking worse than it should.
- mirkules 16y ago
  To me, the refresh rate makes a much bigger difference than the resolution. Most people I know look at me like I'm crazy when I say "I don't really care for HD"
  - VMG 16y ago
    What kind of eyes or monitor do you have when you can't tell the difference between a normal Xvid and 720p x264?
    - mirkules 16y ago
      I didn't say I can't tell the difference. All I meant was at the end of the day, if I watch a soccer game (for example) in "standard" definition versus HD, I still watch the same game without any loss of useful information whatsoever. Why does HD make my life better?
- wwortiz 16y ago
  I can see a difference between bluray and dvd but to be honest upconverted dvds are of nice enough quality I can't justify buying hi def most of the time.
- jerf 16y ago
  Be sure to check this chart: http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/ http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-dist... and compare that to the viewing set up you had. It is very, very, very easy to put yourself in a situation where 1080 is useless. The cutoff for where your 1080 40" TV might as well be a 720 TV is 7 to 8 feet; further away than that and you can't tell the difference between 1080 and 720. At about 12 feet you've lost HD entirely. Many people have setups that fail these criteria. And this is a continuum, not a sharp cutoff, so if you're on the far side you may be able to tell a difference but not think it's worth it. Now, all that said, well-upsampled DVDs are much closer to BluRay than people selling BluRay would like to admit. It isn't the same, but I couldn't call it "night and day", certainly.
  - tpz 16y ago
    All true, but worth a brief addition: these viewing distance / screen size / resolution models all assume average adult vision, so if you are one of the folks both lucky and unlucky enough to have above-average vision (or below, for that matter) you should take that into account. As but one example, the parent's example transition at 7 to 8 feet would occur around 10 feet for me. Above-average vision is great on paper but translates into more expensive displays positioned farther away. :(
- tedunangst 16y ago
  http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html
agosnell 16y ago
Or 3d television on 2d television

Same with DVD vs Blu-Ray

by malvim 16y ago

Same with DVD vs Blu-Ray

Can you actually see the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray? It may just be me, but it appears that they are not much sharper than the DVDs (unlike the DVD vs VHS change) and most of it is marketing.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
mehtastic 16y ago
Planet Earth is the canonical example where the BD is instantly differentiable from the DVD.
arethuza 16y ago
I was a bit of a skeptic about HD - but I suspect it all comes down to the quality of the production. I was watching the BBC "Wonders of the Solar System" last night and it looked awesome in HD.
ZeroGravitas 16y ago
Much like this current debate, it depends. Hi-Def content has a higher resolution, but if you have average vision with an average size TV and you sit the average distance from the screen then you can't possibly see any difference. When you're in the TV shop where they've carefully arranged the TVs so you can't stand more than a few feet back then there will be obvious differences. Here's a nice graph to check whether you should be able to see a difference: http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html One interesting wrinkle is that if you're at the right distance for HD, then you're too close for any SD content you have and vice versa so unless you only watch one resolution then you either put up with the SD or the HD looking worse than it should.
mirkules 16y ago
To me, the refresh rate makes a much bigger difference than the resolution. Most people I know look at me like I'm crazy when I say "I don't really care for HD"
- VMG 16y ago
  What kind of eyes or monitor do you have when you can't tell the difference between a normal Xvid and 720p x264?
  - mirkules 16y ago
    I didn't say I can't tell the difference. All I meant was at the end of the day, if I watch a soccer game (for example) in "standard" definition versus HD, I still watch the same game without any loss of useful information whatsoever. Why does HD make my life better?
wwortiz 16y ago
I can see a difference between bluray and dvd but to be honest upconverted dvds are of nice enough quality I can't justify buying hi def most of the time.
jerf 16y ago
Be sure to check this chart: http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/ http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-dist... and compare that to the viewing set up you had. It is very, very, very easy to put yourself in a situation where 1080 is useless. The cutoff for where your 1080 40" TV might as well be a 720 TV is 7 to 8 feet; further away than that and you can't tell the difference between 1080 and 720. At about 12 feet you've lost HD entirely. Many people have setups that fail these criteria. And this is a continuum, not a sharp cutoff, so if you're on the far side you may be able to tell a difference but not think it's worth it. Now, all that said, well-upsampled DVDs are much closer to BluRay than people selling BluRay would like to admit. It isn't the same, but I couldn't call it "night and day", certainly.
- tpz 16y ago
  All true, but worth a brief addition: these viewing distance / screen size / resolution models all assume average adult vision, so if you are one of the folks both lucky and unlucky enough to have above-average vision (or below, for that matter) you should take that into account. As but one example, the parent's example transition at 7 to 8 feet would occur around 10 feet for me. Above-average vision is great on paper but translates into more expensive displays positioned farther away. :(
tedunangst 16y ago
http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html

agosnell 16y ago

Or 3d television on 2d television