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[POLL] Do you own a Blu-Ray player?

Do you own a Blu-Ray player?

  • Yes

    Votes: 86 54.4%

  • No

    Votes: 72 45.6%
  • Total voters
    158
I have a Blu Ray player as well. I bought it for the greater definition and it is quite noticeable. Some transfers of older movies have been lackluster such as "Total Recall" others have been great like "The Graduate" and "The Wizard of OZ". Nearly all new movies I buy now are on Blu Ray except for $5 DVD specials at Walmart.

Now the difference was not as noticeable on my old 32" 720P TV. However, it is quite noticeable on my new 55" 1080P.

I can't stand streaming video as it seems like the servers at Fancast are always overloaded for Showtime and HBO. Same with direct sites like ABC, NBC, CBS &c. The video quality also fluctuates between HD and extremely blocky video when they do work.
 
Brought my self a Blu-Ray player a while back. I was planning on holding out, but Amazon had a lightning deal on complete collection BSG (including The Plan) on Blu-Ray for $150.:cool: I couldn't resist.
 
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mrsir2009 said:
One feature I really miss from good old VHS tapes was the ability to tape anything off regular TV onto a blank tape using your standard VHS cassete player.
Click to expand...

I think Panasonic has an HD tuner/Blu-ray recorder combo box that essentially does the same thing. I can record using EyeTV though :)

Mousse said:
Brought my self a Blu-Ray player a while back. I was planning on holding out, but Amazon had a lightning deal on complete collection BSG (including The Plan) on Blu-Ray for $150.:cool: I couldn't resist.
Click to expand...

Nice. I have the old HD DVD release of the miniseries and first year, and just bought the newer Blu-rays to complete my set :)
 
An interesting poll--and the results seem pretty split. Might be a good representation of the general public--but probably more likely still a bit higher use among Mac users. Now on my other favorite forum--AVS--the question would be more of how many blu ray players you own not if you own one--and for the record I only have one--but there it is all about the best in audio and visual experience--and certainly more of a niche.
 
bobr1952 said:
An interesting poll--and the results seem pretty split. Might be a good representation of the general public--but probably more likely still a bit higher use among Mac users. Now on my other favorite forum--AVS--the question would be more of how many blu ray players you own not if you own one--and for the record I only have one--but there it is all about the best in audio and visual experience--and certainly more of a niche.
Click to expand...

Yeah, most people that own Macs would own high end stuff like Blu-Ray players. And tons of people here follow the latest trends very quick ;)
 
AdrianK said:
Just to add some figures:

NTSC DVD has ~2.9x the definition of NTSC VHS
BD has 6x the definition of NTSC DVD

It's all subjective, depending on the TV you're using, how far away you are etc. However, saying there's no difference between DVD and BD is just beyond ignorant.

Please show me somewhere where 1080p movies at 20mbit+ bitrates with lossless sound can be obtained (legally), then I will agree with you that bluray is redundant. Until then, 720p w /AC3 is not a substitute, there will always be a market for BD.
Click to expand...

I think what was meant was that depending on the source - DVD and BR may look the same...

I remember when DVD's first came out - some of them just used old sources and didn't look much different from Tape or LaserDisc... ;)

Most on this board, like Steve Jobs, support downloads over BR anyways... (LOL - did I just say that?).

Hey - all in fun - whatever works for ya!

;)
 
Watching Tron Legacy and Toy Story 3 on Blu-Ray with a high def TV is seriously amazing.
My Sony BR (stand-alone player) plays DVDs very nicely too.
There's a HUGE difference watching a DVD played on my Blu Ray player and on my DVD player. The video connection is probably the biggest reason for that. My old Sony DVD player from 1997 only has S-Video and composite (RCA) video connections and they are a JOKE compared to the Blu-Ray's HDMI.
 
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I don't have one, but I'm not opposed to buying a player if I see one for less than $40.

With streaming Netflix and iTunes downloads in HD and my continuing process to transfer my DVD collection into iTunes, I have no burning desire to start buying physical discs again in another format. Heck, I cannot recall the last time I bought a DVD honestly. ALL of my recent movie purchases have been through iTunes. I LOVE not having a disc to store on a shelf somewhere. It's so liberating to be able to put my 300 or so DVDs in the attic and get them out of the way. (I'm trying to eliminate clutter in my life!)

I have a 42" TV and even my DVD encodes through AppleTV look better than when played through my current DVD player (probably the difference between componant and HDMI).

BluRay had the unfortunate luck to be released just as internet delivery of movies was coming of age. That is the main reason why it's not as successful as rapidly as with DVD.

And I also agree wholeheartedly that the difference between DVD and BR is not as large as between VHS and DVD in many respects (DVD vs. VHS=digital vs. analog, better image quality, 'no' degradation over time, random access, special features, multiple audio including commentary...etc)...that is the main reason why I haven't upgraded. There has been nothing that has cried out to me "You NEED BluRay!!!". The higher-res of the video and improved sound is SO not enough to force me to upgrade.
 
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mrsir2009 said:
One feature I really miss from good old VHS tapes was the ability to tape anything off regular TV onto a blank tape using your standard VHS cassete player. And you can tape over things as many times as you like :) Man, I miss tapes. Here in NZ we were using them standard up until a few years ago. I remember when the local Video Ezy were selling all their old VHS tapes for next to nothing when they were replacing them with DVDs. I brought a ton ;)
Click to expand...

FWIW: I used my Panasonic DVD recorder from 2004-2008 or so the same way I would use a VCR. I used DVD-RWs and would record shows I wanted to watch later and then re-record...OR if it was a show I knew that I wanted to keep, I recording it on a DVD-R.

I'm sure BR devices will be able to do that soon...or you can always just get a DVR (I'm presently using one from DirecTV).
 
RawBert said:
Watching Tron Legacy and Toy Story 3 on Blu-Ray with a high def TV is seriously amazing.
My Sony BR (stand-alone player) plays DVDs very nicely too.
There's a HUGE difference watching a DVD played on my Blu Ray player and on my DVD player. The video connection is probably the biggest reason for that. My old Sony DVD player from 1997 only has S-Video and composite (RCA) video connections and they are a JOKE compared to the Blu-Ray's HDMI.
Click to expand...

^this.

and one reason why a lot of people have not upgraded to BR is because, as much as there is a difference in quality, the 'experience' is pretty much the same, the disk is just bigger.
the change from vhs to dvd was on the other hand was revolutionary, because not only the switch in quality was from poor to good (which IMO is more significant than from good to great, even if not in numbers), but the experience was completely different, as it went from tape to disc and from rewinding and ffing to instant access to anywhere on the disc and tons of extra content.
 
Don't panic said:
^this.

and one reason why a lot of people have not upgraded to BR is because, as much as there is a difference in quality, the 'experience' is pretty much the same, the disk is just bigger.
the change from vhs to dvd was on the other hand was revolutionary, because not only the switch in quality was from poor to good (which IMO is more significant than from good to great, even if not in numbers), but the experience was completely different, as it went from tape to disc and from rewinding and ffing to instant access to anywhere on the disc and tons of extra content.
Click to expand...

Exactly!
 
I got one initially as it came with my PS3. However, when we updated our home theatre system a few months ago we did go with a Blu-Ray system. The cost was not that much more than sticking with DVD and it's backwards compatible with DVD, so why not. However, I must admit that I've had the PS3 for years and only own one Blu-Ray disc. Most of our media consumption is done through streaming or downloading online so we just don't have the need to purchase physical media.
 
i dont understand people's need to have physical movies/music anymore

but then again, i also just torrent all my stuff so.....
 
I own one but rarely use it to play blu-ray discs. Since mine is connected to the internet it's used mainly for streaming media.
 
RawBert said:
Watching Tron Legacy and Toy Story 3 on Blu-Ray with a high def TV is seriously amazing.
My Sony BR (stand-alone player) plays DVDs very nicely too.
There's a HUGE difference watching a DVD played on my Blu Ray player and on my DVD player. The video connection is probably the biggest reason for that. My old Sony DVD player from 1997 only has S-Video and composite (RCA) video connections and they are a JOKE compared to the Blu-Ray's HDMI.
Click to expand...

Yeah--Tron Legacy is a great test of blu ray--this is considered a reference disc for audio/video performance. I just put a home theater together and there is no way you can approach the sound and video quality of Tron Legacy on Blu Ray with any other media--if you have a HDTV, and a good receiver, speakers and subwoofer--the experience is awesome :D.
 
No need for a blu-ray for me. That is until I saw the Star Wars box set released on blu-ray. That got me wondering. But in all likelihood, I'll probably never get one since I don't feel like rebuying all my DVD's again in blu-ray format. If I get a PS3? That's another issue.
 
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