So I've got this nice Blu-ray player...

And it's just sitting there waiting to play something.

Those of you who have a PS3/Blu-ray player, where do you go to get your movies? They're about twenty five bucks a pop at Wal-Mart. Our Blockbuster/Movie Gallery has a horrible selection. Do you guys use Netflix or something along those lines. I'm up for any options.
_________________

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject:

You can always rent them I think from your local blockbuster. Copy if you like. The horrible selection is because not many come out on blu-ray. Or they do at a much later date.

Otherwise you can find some nice 20gb downloads around Laughing

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject:

I use Netflix to rent all the ones that will likely be one time watchers and then usually buy all the action type movies that I will likely watch over and over again.

Just so there's no confusion:

1. Copying them isn't as easy as you might think. To RIP them on your PC you will need a BD-ROM Drive and the space can be anywhere from 15 to 21GB or so per movie!

2. Horrible selection from Blockbuster is because.... It's Blockbuster. They suck.

3. Blu-Ray Movie releases are now day and date of the DVD release for the most part. Blu-Ray is just currently in catchup mode releasing all of the older movies on Blu-Ray as well. Lots of REALLY COOL stuff coming out in September!!!!
_________________

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:14 am Post subject:

Yeah, our Blockbuster has something like fifteen movies or so, and they are always gone. It's pathetic.

I may look into getting a Netflix account soon then. It sounds like they may be my best bet.
_________________

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:20 am Post subject:

I haven't made the jump to BD, I'm still using my Toshiba HD player, and it's great! I know there aren't anymore HDs left but the player does such a great job upconverting I'm probably not going to buy the BD just yet. I hear there are still problems with it. Rolling Eyes

_________________

+SC+

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:48 am Post subject:

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:29 am Post subject:

Which brand do U have Deth? Panny, Samsung, Sony???
_________________

+SC+

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:43 am Post subject:

I know this is a mute point but...

Our preliminary average results graph is above. It gives a slight edge to HD DVD in video and all extra disc content. But we ran these results by a statistics-savvy friend who further analyzed the data in terms of actual statistical significance (through one-way ANOVA, stats geeks). She deemed the video results to be too close to call, but simultaneously deemed the other averages as noteworthy.

Significant review averages tell us that Blu-ray titles were slightly, but definitely superior in audio playback. HD DVD titles had far superior standard def features and moderately superior hi def features.

Why Blu-ray audio is winning:

This is primarily due to stronger support for high-resolution audio formats on the majority of Blu-ray releases, primarily DTS-HD and uncompressed PCM. HD DVD, by contrast, has seen far less significant support — few, if any, titles have been released on the format in either DTS-HD and PCM, with only a handful even sporting Dolby TrueHD.

That situation doesn't appear to be changing, at least at the moment. The sole exclusive supporter of HD DVD, Universal, has yet to release a single title with Dolby TrueHD, let alone DTS-HD and/or PCM tracks. Paramount the same. And Warner titles with Dolby TrueHD are rather meager. Only the smaller upstart the Weinstein Co. has really pushed Dolby TrueHD on their most recent ...At the moment, it seems Blu-ray enjoys the edge in widespread studio support for high-resolution audio.

Translation: the studios are using crappier audio compression on HD DVD.

Why HD DVD bonus features are winning:

The confusion is vexing with interactive features...the HD DVD group [made] support of the HDi authoring environment mandatory as part of their spec. That means that all HD DVD players bearing the logo must fully support the feature, which is why early HD DVD titles were so flush with cutting-edge features. Right now, HD DVD is leading in this regard...

Blu-ray is still rushing to catch up with its rival BD-Java tools. Though support will eventually come,
and BD-J should deliver the same level of interactivity as HDi. But...until Blu-ray reaches parity, it will lag behind HD DVD, if only in regards to full-on, cutting-edge interactivity

Translation: Sony didn't offer developers enough software support for their programming.

WINNER: Are you an audiophile or an extrasphile?

And of course, the two issues could be feeding off one another while playing to each format's strengths. Blu-ray may easily accommodate uncompressed audio with its larger disc capacity, compensating for its lack of special features. Meanwhile, HD DVD may exploit special features at the expense of audio (where most people won't even notice).

Ok so I tried to dazzel U with bullshit! Very Happy

I do have friends who have the 1st gen BD players and have had trouble from day one. I hear the 3rd gen are ok through. Very Happy

_________________

+SC+

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject:

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:50 pm Post subject:

They aren't all that hard to copy really... just takes about 2 programs and some good HD space if you aren't going to copy disc to disc. Most HD's are at least 320GB for a dirt cheap one anymore. Most are buying Terabyte drives now. Those are even cheap.

In all seriousness though... is even Blu-ray really going to catch on? I highly doubt it. To most people, the expense, and quality difference really wont get buyers to take it on. I personally am happy with a standard DVD5 movie. I watched Felon last night which was an avi I converted into a DVD5 and was quite pleased with the quality. This is on a 42" JVC Enhaced Def. TV as well.

The only reason I like Blu-ray is because the discs hold so much more data. But is there a lifeline on those discs? How long will they hold data without losing their integrity?

x264 conversions are more popular for the downloader, and you still get a better picture than a standard DVD5. The size of the file tells all. An 8GB DVD9 movie still wont look as good as an 8GB x264 BR. Most older movies like Robocop and Die Hard etc aren't worth getting in BR anyway because they just wont reach that quality... so an 8GB x264 conversion is just fine for those.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:12 pm Post subject:

I'm a lazy ass and refuse to look up official numbers but the jist is this:

Blu-Ray numbers are SKYROCKETING. We're talking like a 150% increase in sales EACH MONTH. Blu-Ray is definately here to stay.

When people tell me they can't tell the difference between HD and Upconverted DVD..... Well..... I don't want to sound demeaning here but..... huh? It's so unbeliebably night and day that I just don't understand. The colors are so much more vibrant, everything just appears so much more realistic. I just don't get it.

And TrueHD Audio? Hello? Go get a nice sound system and tell me you can't tell the difference there.

As for longevity. If you've done any research on Blu-Ray at all, you know that it has a proprietary coating that sits on top of the disc that protects it. They estimate about 4 - 5 times the longevity of DVDs at least.

I know I sound like a fanboy here, but many of you will likely remember that I actually came from the HD-DVD camp and had an XBox360 with the HD-DVD addon and about a dozen movies before I made the switch.
_________________

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject:

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:57 pm Post subject:

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:53 am Post subject:

Deth ur so right... DVD vs Upconverted DVD is no contest! U can't even compare the DVD to BD or HD! I'll make the switch soon to BD, I just don't want to part with the money!!! Shocked

_________________

+SC+

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:46 am Post subject:

Thus the only downfall. Expense. But it's getting better every day.

I'm sure many of the other old timers on here remember when DVD and DVD Players were first released. Talk about expensive!
_________________