Blu-Ray -- is it worth it?

[qtlaw]

I bought a Toshiba HD-DVD for $79 earlier this year and its fantastic (with my 40" Sony HDTV). It upconverts standard to near HD, pretty close to HD programming. Now I'm not a huge video guy so I do not have a problem watching upconverted DVDs for a few years until there's a competitor for Blu-Ray or prices go down. Do not think its worth it to pay $300+ for blu-ray.

You do realize that HD-DVD was the competitor for Blu-Ray, and you were able to buy a player for $70 because Toshiba has abandoned the format?

Yes. I guess I was not clear, its beautiful to play the HD-DVDs that are available and it is an upconverter too which is just as good for us as Blu-Ray going forward.

 

[Tommy_Dreamer]

I've got a PS3 and I don't have any problems with the discs loading. I think it does matter how old your tv is and how many HDMI ports your tv has. If it has an upgraded HDMI (newer) port the wires you can get are more capable of handling the information running back and forth. However, if you don't have 1080p quality on your tv blu-ray is worth the wait until you can upgrade your tv. It matters.

Now, a lot of people will say blu-ray isn't worth it. I bought my PS3 because of the blu-ray features. I have two movies on blu-ray (Spider-Man 3 and No Country for Old Men). I was blown away at the crisp quality of both of them and am amazed everytime I go into work and see Pirates of the Caribbean or Transformers or Die Hard With a Vengeance playing on the tvs in the store I drool a little bit. It's truly incredible, the detail you can pick up that is.

In the long run it's worth the money, but you can still hold out for a while. Getting a DVD player that upconverts your older movies to a higher quality will suit you just fine for now.l

 

[jimnorden]

blu-ray is great. one of the best purchases i've made in a while. makes even normal dvds look amazing.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Uhh...no. cause once I buy Blu-Ray, what's next?

Upgrading from VHS to DVD made a lot of sense. I don't see any appreciable upgrade in this, except for the jerkfaces who make money off me buying my sixth version of "Heathers."

And yet, you've purchased the previous five versions -- including the rarely found laserdisc...

Damn I wish I had that. You got one you want to sell?

There's some LDs down in the basement. None of them are "Heathers," though. Sorry.

My guess is BluRay will be similar to Beta and LaserDisc. Worth it if you're willing to pay more for the format, but at the cost of scarcity and I just dunno if it will become widespread enough to bring the price down.

To boot, an HDTV of at least 1080p is needed to see the difference. But at that point, the difference is noticeable.

 

[MacDaddy]

blu-ray is great. one of the best purchases i've made in a while. makes even normal dvds look amazing.

Just like an upconverting DVD player (or receiver) does.

I think Sam's take is right on.

 

[markvid]

Have a Blu-Ray and watched Shrek the 3rd the other night on our plasma.
Made some elements look like not animated, but real.

 

[Tommy_Dreamer]

Have a Blu-Ray and watched Shrek the 3rd the other night on our plasma.
Made some elements look like not animated, but real.

Which is why I think Blu-Ray is so worth every penny. It's such an enhancement over anything I've seen.