Blu-ray DVD Picture Quality

[admin_exported]

Having recently upgraded my system from HD-ready TV (37") and DVD player (no AVR) to a 46" full-HD TV + BDP + AVR - see equipment list on my signature below - I am sometimes disappointed by the Blu-ray DVD picture quality. Take last night when my wife and I were watching a recently acquired Blu-ray copy of the Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes movie, which we had seen previously on DVD on the old system. Fifteen minutes into the film she suddenly says ‘is this a Blu-ray DVD?’. I say yes, but we agreed that it often wasn’t as clear and crisp as we would have expected.

Well, going from a 37” HD-ready/DVD system to a 46” Full-HD/BDP system, I was expecting a ‘night and day’ experience in terms of DVD/Blu-ray PQ. Or are my expectations too high?

This was also the case with the Spider Man movies, and while the Blu-ray copies were very good, when I did a quick comparison with the DVDs they were surprisingly good PQ also. However, the comparison with the Avatar DVD/Blu-ray was an easier comparison with the Blu-ray copy noticeably better and more detailed.

Now, does this mean that it is all dependent on source quality – i.e. an excellent DVD transfer versus an average/poor Blu-ray transfer? That might be the case, but I would have thought that Sherlock Holmes being a recent movie (rather than a re-mastered 10 / 20-year old one) would have been top-notch in Blu-ray?

I would say though that HD sound is noticeably better than standard 5.1 DD.

My BDP is set at 1080p / 24p output, and audio set to bitstream. TV is fully 1080p / 24p compatible.

So now I am thinking that it may be my AVR. I have the HDMI Out (to the TV) set to ‘Auto’. I assume that this should be okay, as I am also assuming that if it receives a 1080p input that there is no reason to perform any more processing where PQ is concerned (so effectively ‘passing it through’). This brings me the Onkyo ‘HDMI Through’ (HDMI Pass Through) setting and if that should be set for viewing from the BDP? I guess I need to play with it a bit and experiment, but I would be interested to hear your opinions or experiences.

Incidentally, I always see a distinct difference when viewing SD / HD channels from my Sky+HD box (set to 1080i, as the AVR upscaling doesn’t appear to improve the SD from Sky), where the Onkyo is taking the 1080i input and outputting 1080p. So, if I always see a difference between Sky SD/HD, why not the same with DVD / Blu-ray?

I suppose another answer is that my BDP is an excellent up-scaler, but not something I would expect from an entry-level BDP.

Paul.

 

[hammill]

Upscaled DVDs can look very good. I find the improvement in sound is often greater than the improvement in picture. If you are suspicious of the amp, you could try directly linking the Blu-ray player to the TV to see if the picture is different.

 

[Paul.]

Just curiously, what is your viewing distance to the TV? If you half it is the difference more noticeable?

 

[roger06]

The perception that BD is 'night and day' compared to DVD was started by the marketeers. The picture quality is only marginally better than DVD in my opinion. Until a recent mains upgrade I could tell the sound difference between the two, but rarely the picture.

However, I've recently upgraded my mains (I'll post full details shortly) and finally, after three years the picture quality of BD does exceed that of DVD...

 

[Frank Harvey]

You're right - entry level bluray players are only average at upscaling DVD. I have a Panny BD60, and have owned a Sony 350 before, and I was never happy with the upscaling. I now have a Sony 5000 (and have seen a Pioneer 91) and the upscaling is excellent, if a tad soft.

I can understand people struggling to see the difference on smaller TV screens - the bigger the screen, the bigger the difference - but I can tell if I'm watching SD or HD on my 19" flatscreen. The difference between SD and HD is huge, but it does come down to mastering. Yes, a well mastered DVD can look pretty close to a badly mastered BD, but there's still tell-tale signs. When comparing, most people tend to look at what's in the foreground. The closer something is to you on the screen, the harder it is to tell the difference, but the further away it is, the easier it is to tell. Watch any movie with a cityscape, landscape, or forest in the background, and then compare - night and day.

The high compression of DVD's usually means that things further away from the screen have very little definition, even if they're in focus. Forests in HD look stunning, and you can see so much detail that you can almost see every single leaf, not just individual trees. The film Rogue shows plenty of landscape and forest, all in pin sharp HD, although I haven't seen the DVD.

With Blurays, it's a two way thing. Movies that are pin sharp really show what the format is capable of, but there are those films that have been shot in a specific way, like a grainy film, where the grain shows up even more because of Bluray's capabilities. Some films have been purposely shot in a soft focus - these won't look too different on Bluray, but it should still be possible to see differences in colours and black level, as well as less grain, compression, and edge enhancement.

Oh, and catching one of the Friends episodes in HD recently was an eye opener - the DVD's look awful!!

 

[bigboss]

Oh, and catching one of the Friends episodes in HD recently was an eye opener - the DVD's look awful!!

Completely agree with you. Comedy Central HD somehow has managed to show Friends in stunning HD that even E4 HD couldn't achieve. I shouldn't have bought the DVD boxset. It's awful.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers david, good info and perspective.

In answer to a previous query, I sit at 3m and moving say a metre closer doesn't make that much difference.

I do need to do a bit more comparison, especially with those long shots and landscapes. I'm guessing LoTR Extended Edition in Blu-Ray (hopefully a Christmas present!) will show this? Also, I think my TV is calibatred pretty well.

David, do you have an opinion on HDMI pass through for my Onkyo for the BDP and if that is to be recommended, or doesn't it really matter?

On the question of upgrading to a more expensive BDP, I understand that upscaling will certainly be improved but for pure Blu-ray DVDs will I see any real difference in picture quality and why and to what extent?

Paul.

 

[bigboss]

On the question of upgrading to a more expensive BDP, I understand that upscaling will certainly be improved but for pure Blu-ray DVDs will I see any real difference in picture quality and why and to what extent?

For a blu ray 1080p/24 pictures, you'll struggle to notice a difference between players in different price range. I couldn't notice any difference on my 50-inch Kuro between a PS3, Pana BD60 & Denon 2500BT. Don't take my word for it. Check it yourself & see what you think.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Do you have all of the auto stuff turned off on the TV? Much of the digital filters and stuff are supposed to be there to improve things, but most 'features' usually have some sort of detrimental effect.

 

[Anonymous]

David,

I have most stuff turned off. Main settings are brightness, contrast, colour, sharpness & colour balance. I have Side Panel set to 'high' as it is recommended to prevent screen burn.

Just received the Blu-ray of 2012 and the PQ is excellent. I think maybe I was just my dissapointed with the Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray.

I also tried changing the AVR HDMI Out from 'Auto' to 'Through' and I saw no difference so put it back to 'Auto'.

Paul.