Is there a significant difference between Blu Ray and DVD?

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MatthewJowett

New member
Well, I have Red Cliff, on Blu Ray. The Picture quality and sound was mind blowing. I think epic military scenes belong on Blu Ray. So being very impressed with John Woo's Red Cliff, I decide to purchase 2 more Blu Ray films. I brought 300, and Taking Of Pelham 123 (Tony Scott). I was extremely disappointed and feel that I have wasted £25. I thought the difference was minimal between the DVD and Blu Ray. Maybe the Red Cliff film was just too good, and the other films could not lift a candle to the masterpiece. What are your thoughts? I think the Blu Ray films are very inconsistent in quality. Maybe I should stick to the cheaper DVDs.
 
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bbt91945

Member
Keep in mind that the resolution of the dvd are only in 480P and the blu ray is at 1080P. If you have a small screen then you would not notice the difference. You need a 1080P tv with a size of 46" or larger, beside that blu ray is the only source for 7.1 Dolby Digital True HD and the DTS Master audio. I have stopped purchasing dvd for over 2 years now, and it is on a 116" screen. The picture quality are more vivid than the dvd and sound is a great improvement from the dvd. Hope this will help you out.
 
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blackknightpictures

New member
More of the significant difference will be the higher resolution, 1080p. You'll see the a big difference with the picture quality, but now with the 1080p upscaling that almost every bluray player does with DVDs, you get almost the same picture. The little difference you get with the blurays is the sharper background images that's probably why you don't see such a big difference.

On the other hand, the sound is what the Blu Ray discs offer that no DVD offers. Most of the Blu Ray discs offer 7.1 losses sound. Most people only have a 5.1 setup, but you still get better True Sound especially if you have a receiver that can decode 7.1 TrueHD of Master HD.

It really depends on your setup with the sound and your receiver. It also depends on the movie too. Watching the Notebook on Bluray is a total waste, try watching Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, Independence Day, Iron Man, Transformers, that's where you get the best sound.

I'm surprised at your disappointment with 300, but check out another movie with 7.1 TrueHD and try it out to see if you get the same experience you did with Red Cliff.
 
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MACD1

New member
Depends on the source material...you can't do any better than the original quality of the source. Not all source materials are of the same quality. Some film stocks were better than others and some movie prints were cared for while others were not.

Blue Ray is CAPABLE of far better resolution than DVD....however the source material must be pristine or re-mastered.

The first generation Blue Rays are not going to be as good as latter generation editions...same was true with DVD(s) in the early days. Most early DVD(s) were not that great in quality....they improved quite a bit as the format became more refined.

My advice is to rent the Blue Ray movie you are planing on buying first....if it's a leap above the DVD...then buy it.
 
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