Blu-Ray or DVD

[admin_exported]

I have been reading a lot of info on the forum over the last few weeks and glad I did, just bought a Panasonic TH-37PX80B and I was going to buy a LZD85, so, I'm glad the forum is here.

I'm now ready to buy the next part of new kit and cant decide on a Panasonic BD-30 Blu-ray player or would I be better off buying a decent upscaling DVD player with HDD like the DMR-EX78 (i'm suggesting Panasonic products because of the Viera link but it';s not essential).

My main source atm for a set top box is Virgin, not HD as I plan to go for Freesat.

I will also sson be upgrading my AV Amp but will wait untill next month's issue to see how the others compare to the Onkyo 606 before I make my mind up.

Any help will be grately appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

Blu Ray no question. There is no comparison between upscaled DVDs and Blu Ray. HD audio is also superior. Whats the point in having a HDTV and not watching HiDef movies. The BD30 is an awesome piece of kit and is Profile 1.1. If you want to wait for the Profile 2.0 Panny then the BD50 is the answer although I cannot see BD Live being a major draw for movie lovers.

 

[fr0g]

Can I add, I am a PS3 owner, and its picture is superb, and Blu Ray makes DVD look like VHS... however, I still buy DVDs.
Why? because I can pick them up for under a tenner, and sometimes less, the quality is very good, and they play in both the rooms I have a TV.

Blu Ray media is far too pricey if you ask me, (right now), and the hardware is still in its earlyish days.
I would be tempted to pick up a good budget upscaler (maybe Cambridge DVD89 £80 at Richer sounds), and wait a little longer. This time next year the market will be full of bargain priced Blu ray players... and hopefully the disks will have come down in price too.

(Just my opinion, and it depends how loaded you are )

 

[professorhat]

True, but prices are coming down (slowly!). If you're savvy and don't have to have a film as soon as it comes out, you can pick up quite a few titles online for the £10-£15 range now (especially if you make use of the numerous 3 for 2 offers going on and also buying region free discs from places like MovieTyme). I don't buy DVDs any more cos I know at some point in the future I'll wish I'd bought the Blu-Ray and will end up forking out for it again. However, I do make liberal use of Lovefilm to rent Blu-Rays as I can't afford to buy as many new ones as I'd like.

 

[nads]

It depends, to me, on what you want from the experience. But from what you are suggesting i would get a BR player unless you really want/need a HDD recorder.

 

[El Hefe]

Go for Blu Ray. Most of the players now will also upscale the DVDs u play anyway.

Is your Pana TV a Full HD? If yes, you will be mesmerised by the Blu Ray picture. When I got my Sony player, I was still using a HD Ready TV. Once I have upgraded to a Full HD TV, the picture of Blu Ray is really vibrant and life like.

As for the HDD, I myself is using Philips DVD and HDD recorder with 250 GB of space. Works well for recording satellite programmes.

 

[Frank Harvey]

fr0g has said something I'm thinking increasingly the more I watch BluRay......"Blu Ray makes DVD look like VHS..."

I'm not against DVD in any way as i own a few thousand myself, but when I go back and watch films I've seen before, films which i previously knew to have excellent picture quality, now remind me of VHS.

BluRay really is the way forward for anyone with a suitable screen. Below 32" I wouldn't worry about too much, but 32" and upwards there will be a clear benefit, even if only using 720p. The choice will be down to the individual - I suspect many will continue with DVD purely based on price, but eventually when prices come down enough (and they're already coming down), BD's popularity will start to snowball.