Is HD Audio worth extra £££££

[Chisy1]

Finally there is a blu-ray player with multichannel analogue outputs that is close to the very top of my price range £200 ...the panasonic DMP BDT500. I have an aged AV receiver and my old sony blu-ray player BDPs550 is refusing to play yet more and more of my BDs. [I have tried various options to fix it and nothing seems to work. I refuse to risk £55 for Sony to look at it and tell me it'll cost £XX more to fix it. Anyway I digress]

So, in forum members view is it worth me paying close to £260 (cheapest I've found online so far) to get HD audio or should I just pay £150 for a good Bluray player but I'd be limited to old fashioned DD or DTS. Decisions Decisions.

I only have the Jamo style package speakers A102HCS5 but I've convinced myself that I can hear the difference when playing a BD disc (when I can get one to work).

I know most responses are likely to be only you can decide, but what would you do??? Do I scrimp and save and wait another couple of months to get a new player or buy one asap and even splash out on a few new BDs - been waiting for LOTR extended edition to drop in price but no sign of that happening

I have an old-ish Panny 37PX80 (720p) so not sure I'll notice any improvement in picture quality over the sony - or am I mistaken?

Thanks for all IMHOs given

 

[Big Chris]

Short answer?.... Yes.

 

[michael hoy]

Absolutely no doubt yes.

 

[f1only]

Short answer?.... Yes.

Pretty much the same as the long answer then .. Yes

 

[Big Chris]

Oh yeah..... Regarding your TV 'only' being 720p, so is mine, and Blu-Ray looks better than DVD.

 

[GSB]

yep.....

 

[Big Chris]

Short answer?.... Yes.

Pretty much the same as the long answer then .. Yes

The long answer would have been..... Indubitably.

 

[VoodooDoctor]

Yes, well worth it.

 

[Chisy1]

Oh yeah..... Regarding your TV 'only' being 720p, so is mine, and Blu-Ray looks better than DVD.

Thanks for all the replies...if I make sandwiches for lunch rather than buy them, i'll get to own it alot sooner then!!!

I absolutely agree that bluray looks better than DVD...just wondering whether I'll see a better picture between the current (occasionally functioning) sony BD player and the Panny given the tv screen isnt 1080p and not that big. I suppose it won't be any worse

 

[f1only]

Short answer?.... Yes.

Pretty much the same as the long answer then .. Yes

The long answer would have been..... Indubitably.

:cheers:

 

[bigboss]

On a 37-inch 720p TV, I'll be very surprised if you see any difference in blu ray picture quality between the Sony & the Panasonic. I can't see any on my 50-inch Kuro.

 

[psurquhart]

Oh yeah..... Regarding your TV 'only' being 720p, so is mine, and Blu-Ray looks better than DVD.

Thanks for all the replies...if I make sandwiches for lunch rather than buy them, i'll get to own it alot sooner then!!!

I absolutely agree that bluray looks better than DVD...just wondering whether I'll see a better picture between the current (occasionally functioning) sony BD player and the Panny given the tv screen isnt 1080p and not that big. I suppose it won't be any worse

If it helps - I had a Sony 370 (not as good as yours which also started to play up) and now have the Panny 500 - its a massive leap forward from my Sony (which was good until the Gremlins started) - Im loving it - picture quality is brilliant, motion handling is nigh on perfect and it just sounds beefier.

I very much doubt you will regret it, even at 720p but dont let that put you off, Im convinced you will see an improvement and I really dont think that theirs that much difference in 720p /1080p.

The only ***** in its armour is the awful swipe remote (but you dont need to use it, apps available or even your old remote might work with it) - I just cant get my head around it even when I tried. I use my Panasonic Gt30 tv remote.

It really is a great machine.

 

[Chisy1]

Oh yeah..... Regarding your TV 'only' being 720p, so is mine, and Blu-Ray looks better than DVD.

Thanks for all the replies...if I make sandwiches for lunch rather than buy them, i'll get to own it alot sooner then!!!

I absolutely agree that bluray looks better than DVD...just wondering whether I'll see a better picture between the current (occasionally functioning) sony BD player and the Panny given the tv screen isnt 1080p and not that big. I suppose it won't be any worse

If it helps - I had a Sony 370 (not as good as yours which also started to play up) and now have the Panny 500 - its a massive leap forward from my Sony (which was good until the Gremlins started) - Im loving it - picture quality is brilliant, motion handling is nigh on perfect and it just sounds beefier.

I very much doubt you will regret it, even at 720p but dont let that put you off, Im convinced you will see an improvement and I really dont think that theirs that much difference in 720p /1080p.

The only ***** in its armour is the awful swipe remote (but you dont need to use it, apps available or even your old remote might work with it) - I just cant get my head around it even when I tried. I use my Panasonic Gt30 tv remote.

It really is a great machine.

Thanks, i still own lots of DVDs so presumably I will see a much more stark improvement when I play those back? Decision made for sure...now where's my credit card

 

[BenLaw]

On a 37-inch 720p TV, I'll be very surprised if you see any difference in blu ray picture quality between the Sony & the Panasonic. I can't see any on my 50-inch Kuro.

Actually the issues with blu ray to an 'HD ready' screen are different from those with a full HD screen like yours, as the image needs to be downscaled. I imagine the OP is using his tv to do this (I do) in which case there will probably be no difference. However, if the BDP was used to do this, the superior player may well give an improvement.

 

[bigboss]

On a 37-inch 720p TV, I'll be very surprised if you see any difference in blu ray picture quality between the Sony & the Panasonic. I can't see any on my 50-inch Kuro.

Actually the issues with blu ray to an 'HD ready' screen are different from those with a full HD screen like yours, as the image needs to be downscaled. I imagine the OP is using his tv to do this (I do) in which case there will probably be no difference. However, if the BDP was used to do this, the superior player may well give an improvement.

True, but I still think it'll be quite difficult to appreciate the difference on a 37-inch screen. Not to forget that manufacturers are unlikely to concentrate on downscaling abilities in modern players as there are hardly any 720p TVs around. The Sony S550 was released at a time when there were many 720p TVs in the market.

 

[BenLaw]

On a 37-inch 720p TV, I'll be very surprised if you see any difference in blu ray picture quality between the Sony & the Panasonic. I can't see any on my 50-inch Kuro.

Actually the issues with blu ray to an 'HD ready' screen are different from those with a full HD screen like yours, as the image needs to be downscaled. I imagine the OP is using his tv to do this (I do) in which case there will probably be no difference. However, if the BDP was used to do this, the superior player may well give an improvement.

True, but I still think it'll be quite difficult to appreciate the difference on a 37-inch screen. Not to forget that manufacturers are unlikely to concentrate on downscaling abilities in modern players as there are hardly any 720p TVs around. The Sony S550 was released at a time when there were many 720p TVs in the market.

Interesting question whether the designers have to give any particular thought to downscaling, rather than it simply being a case of a quality processor / software being good at 'scaling', of whatever type.

But yes, I agree, on a 37" screen of some age there's unlikely to be a big / noticeable difference.

 

[Chisy1]

So likely not to be any noticeable picture improvements but in order to keep HD audio it seems to be the only option for me at the moment given my budget.

Thanks for all the comments once again.

 

[bigboss]

So likely not to be any noticeable picture improvements but in order to keep HD audio it seems to be the only option for me at the moment given my budget.

Exactly.

 

[sta99y]

i used for a year now a CA650bd and an logs out to a non hdmi amp, a very good amp mind,

HD sound was more detailed, sounded a litther "thinner" but i think thats because the DD or DTS when amp decoded has a lot of background noise, Its hard to explain but the HD audio was more clinical.

I have now got a very good HD audio amp and tbh it sounds as good as the last amp although ive not give it some serious stick yet.

Dont forget classified sections of other forums and the Dock of the bay for bargain HD amps and BD players

Darrell

 

[manicm]

On a 37-inch 720p TV, I'll be very surprised if you see any difference in blu ray picture quality between the Sony & the Panasonic. I can't see any on my 50-inch Kuro.

Actually the issues with blu ray to an 'HD ready' screen are different from those with a full HD screen like yours, as the image needs to be downscaled. I imagine the OP is using his tv to do this (I do) in which case there will probably be no difference. However, if the BDP was used to do this, the superior player may well give an improvement.

True, but I still think it'll be quite difficult to appreciate the difference on a 37-inch screen. Not to forget that manufacturers are unlikely to concentrate on downscaling abilities in modern players as there are hardly any 720p TVs around. The Sony S550 was released at a time when there were many 720p TVs in the market.

Interesting question whether the designers have to give any particular thought to downscaling, rather than it simply being a case of a quality processor / software being good at 'scaling', of whatever type.

But yes, I agree, on a 37" screen of some age there's unlikely to be a big / noticeable difference.

Have to disagree, I have a 2.5 yr old Samsung 37" full HD LCD, and the difference between DVD and Blu-ray is night and day. And I'm on my 3rd player, currently the CA 751BD.

 

[bigboss]

Have to disagree, I have a 2.5 yr old Samsung 37" full HD LCD, and the difference between DVD and Blu-ray is night and day. And I'm on my 3rd player, currently the CA 751BD.

We're talking about the difference in blu ray picture quality between 2 players here, not between DVD & blu ray, & that too on a 37-inch 720p screen, not full HD.

 

[pete321]

I don't find the difference between uncompressed DTS-MA and the compressed DTS 1536kbps core to be that noticeable, and likewise Dolby True-HD and the 640kbps core. On the other hand the difference between DVD standard audio, i.e. 448kbps Dolby or 768kbps DTS is very noticeable when compared to uncompressed audio formats. I don't think it's my system, I find when listening to music, the difference between, say a flac track compared to a high quality 320kbps mp3 very much improved in favour of the uncompressed flac. Obviously my opinion, but I don't think I'd worry too much about not having the full uncompressed audio from blu-ray as long as I could get the blu-ray standard core audio which exceeds DVD sound.