Blu ray??? advice

[christoph404]

I have a Sony Blu Ray player connected to a 1080p Panasonic Plasma operating at 100hz. The image is superb and just to add another dimension to the hilarious discussion on mathematics, after initially being certain that I needed to buy an LCD screen, after 2 hours in John Lewis on Oxford Street testing just about every screen they had on offer by viewing snippets of my own blu ray copy of "Zulu", I came to realize that even though plasma is considered "old technology", in terms of cinematic quality it easily outshines LCD, but most of all where plasma wins hands down is in its refresh time, you will not really eliminate the "motion shudder/stutter" on an LCD, even one at 100hz as the operating systems are totally different and the refresh times of a plasma are much quicker than LCD.

[paul clifton]

im edging toward the Sony S550 now as a pose to the S360.. Wish id never decided on getting one now lol, nightmare

[Automotivehistorian]

Excuse ignorance but is a plasma TV acceptable for general watching, i.e. non-sports, compared to a LCD?

[Wolfgang]

Plasma is good for anything, and preferable to LCD for films and sports. LCD are cheaper and use less energy.

[narabdela]

name='Wolfgang']Plasma is good for anything, and preferable to LCD for films and sports. LCD are cheaper and use less energy.

In a nutshell!



There's no way I'd swop my Panasonic Plasma for an LCD.

[hhhhancock]

How do Plasma/LCD TV''s compare to the new OLED technology? Any advice would be gratefully received as I am considering upgrading from an LCD.

[christoph404]

name='hhhhancock']How do Plasma/LCD TV''s compare to the new OLED technology? Any advice would be gratefully received as I am considering upgrading from an LCD.

I had a look at one of those as well when I was researching buying a new TV screen, I couldn't really see any difference in image quality between an LED and an LCD, and I tested them both in store with my own blu ray disc, but an LED TV as an object looks very attractive and the whole unit is very thin and light. If your main concern is image quality for watching movies from DVD or blu ray, then I reckon a 1080p Plasma is still the way to go although most sales folk will push the new technology even though its not really as good, thats only my opinion mind, but as I said earlier, before I bought my TV from Selfridges I tested all the screens in John Lewis with my own disc.

[crunchie]

I've just bought myself a Sony S360 Blu-Ray player for my ageing Panasonic 42PX60 plasma (720p/1080i). The Blu-Ray picture is excellent - the player automatically set its output to 1080i and everything else to "Auto" which I presume is correct. Interestingly, I have both an SD and a Blu-Ray DVD of the film "Across The Universe" and the song performances on the Blu-Ray disc play at a lower pitch than the SD DVD - is this correct?

(I don't think my 2006 TV supports 24fps).



I'm thinking of buying a 46" or 50" 1080p plasma - any recommendations please? I'm considering Panny's V10, G10/15, a Samsung, or - gotta love LG's universal tint control because I do like to tweak - an LG 50PS8000.



Another question I have is will I notice any improvement on Sky-HD or will my new 1080p TV continue to display this as 1080i as it does now on the 1080i TV?



Many thanks, friends :)

[vanmunchen]

name='crunchie']

Another question I have is will I notice any improvement on Sky-HD or will my new 1080p TV continue to display this as 1080i as it does now on the 1080i TV?



Many thanks, friends :)

Sky's HD broadcasts are 1080i but from all I've read there is negligible difference in picture quality between 1080i and 1080p.

[eric7885]

Blue ray advice. Before you purchase a blue ray player,determine what your high definition telly is capable of. Beside the high definition picture,your sound system,and other aspects of the capability of your high definition telly. In this way,you can purchase the best blue ray player that will give you the best enjoyment that your telly can provide. Their are several brands of blue ray players availble in the shops,but not all players are equal.

[Steve Crook]

Blue ray advice. Before you purchase a blue ray player, make sure that it's not another 5 minute wonder which will be quickly surpassed by the next, much higher standard



Steve

[wayshway]

name='paul clifton']I must admit when I went from my 720 Sony tv to my 1080, I noticed a big improvement

Me too. Especially after I got my Blu Ray player. I've been quite happy with my Vizio flat screen. The colors are just so vivid.

[asiamiles]

name='Automotivehistorian']Excuse ignorance but is a plasma TV acceptable for general watching, i.e. non-sports, compared to a LCD?

Yes, though be aware that Plasma's are glass-fronted so they cast reflections and thus are best viewed in a dark room. If you like watching TV in a brightly-lit room then LCD would be your best bet. Also, though I doubt it will effect many on here, laserdiscs look much better on an LCD than on a plasma. So basically, I think everyone needs to take their own needs and situation into account before choosing which one is better for them. If you have a dedicated viewing room then probably a projector is best of all for watching films.

[Cheeky Bob]

name='Steve Crook']Blue ray advice. Before you purchase a blue ray player, make sure that it's not another 5 minute wonder which will be quickly surpassed by the next, much higher standard

Yes, that's why I waited until the Blu-ray/HD-DVD format wars had been comprehensively won before taking the plunge.



I'd be very very surprised if we saw anything superior to Blu-ray any time soon. Major format shifts only occur every decade or so, and the higher one goes in terms of resolution, the greater the headache at the production end. You could get away with anything on VHS, but DVD started exposing the flaws in substandard materials, which are impossible to ignore with Blu-ray. One of the best things about Blu-ray for me is the way that it reproduces the original grain structure to create a wonderful filmlike 'feel' (this is especially true of 16mm-sourced Blu-rays, where the transfer really is capable of resolving pretty much everything), but by the same token it also means that print damage becomes that much more obvious.



Also, while the format looks truly gobsmacking with screens above 40", any less than that and you'll be hard pushed to justify the extra cost. I also don't think there's any point buying into the format if you haven't got a proper 1080p screen to play it on - it's the equivalent of playing a VHS deck through the aerial socket instead of plugging in directly to the video circuitry via a SCART lead.

[hhhhancock]

name='Cheeky Bob']

Also, while the format looks truly gobsmacking with screens above 40", any less than that and you'll be hard pushed to justify the extra cost. I also don't think there's any point buying into the format if you haven't got a proper 1080p screen to play it on - it's the equivalent of playing a VHS deck through the aerial socket instead of plugging in directly to the video circuitry via a SCART lead.

Who would have thought that 3 inches would make that much difference!

[Cheeky Bob]

name='hhhhancock']Who would have thought that 3 inches would make that much difference!

Well, it's not a hard and fast rule, but it's certainly true that the smaller the screen, the harder it's going to be to discern the difference - or at least to justify the extra cost. And the biggest problem with getting into Blu-ray is that it's much more expensive than the equivalent leap from VHS to DVD, as you may well need a new telly - and a good one, if you're wanting to resolve all the detail present on the discs.

[GoggleboxUK]

The other advantage of Blu=Ray is the audio. If you have a decent home cinema setup then you'll noticed the difference immediately on sics that have used the technology.

[hhhhancock]

name='Cheeky Bob']Well, it's not a hard and fast rule, but it's certainly true that the smaller the screen, the harder it's going to be to discern the difference - or at least to justify the extra cost. And the biggest problem with getting into Blu-ray is that it's much more expensive than the equivalent leap from VHS to DVD, as you may well need a new telly - and a good one, if you're wanting to resolve all the detail present on the discs.

Thanks Cheeky but I was, well, being a bit cheeky with my mention of 3". Size obviously does make a difference!