Blu VS DVD

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Oh it's not bad by any means. But it's one of those 'a definite upgrade from DVD' meaning it's okay, but not really good enough. Films shouldn't just be a minor upgrade to BD, they should be stunning upgrades that blow the DVD out of the ballpark.

agreed, I will cite midnight legacy's alien 2 as a prime example of blu-ray done right, a stunning transfer.

[Vampix]

I still maintain that casual movie buyers are just not that bothered about the differences between DVD and Blu-ray, particularly when it comes to films they have not seen or are not familiar with.I think DVD is sufficient for those.When it comes to much-loved classic films or films you really liked at the cinema and want to add to your collection, this is where Blu-ray comes in imo.This is certainly the way I feel about DVDs & BDs anyway.I actually think its a bit silly to have Blu-ray exclusive releases, it makes better business sense to me to release them as DVD/BD combo packs.As a lot of people still don't have the equipment to view BDs and others are not that bothered about the difference between the two formats.

[keirarts]

I work in retail and you'd be surprised how many people fork out for new equipment simply because its the 'latest thing' ps3's have helped as well.


BD manufacturers may want to think long and hard about those constant firmware updates, sure it may let them nose around and make sure noones being naughty and importing discs but we get loads of complaints over 'faulty discs' when 9/10 times its because the customer has never updated their firmware profile, and out of those customers theres more than a few at our shop who switched back to dvd rather than be bothered updating. This more than anything is hampering sales.

All i'd say to the manufacturers is 'get over it' some people are just going to import their discs one way or another, enough with the constant updates!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by keirarts

I work in retail and you'd be surprised how many people fork out for new equipment simply because its the 'latest thing' ps3's have helped as well.


BD manufacturers may want to think long and hard about those constant firmware updates, sure it may let them nose around and make sure noones being naughty and importing discs but we get loads of complaints over 'faulty discs' when 9/10 times its because the customer has never updated their firmware profile, and out of those customers theres more than a few at our shop who switched back to dvd rather than be bothered updating. This more than anything is hampering sales.

All i'd say to the manufacturers is 'get over it' some people are just going to import their discs one way or another, enough with the constant updates!

Sorry for sounding dim, but i don't have Blu-ray as yet, what is Firmware?

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Demdike

Sorry for sounding dim, but i don't have Blu-ray as yet, what is Firmware?

It's similar to optical computer drives or mainboards - you have to upgrade your device to make sure that it recognises the newest blank discs or random access memory modules.

From time to time, you have to download new operating software (i.e. firmware) for your Blu-ray player so that you can play all the newest discs - which are manufactured to standards that are subject to changes.

You can do this via USB stick, LAN, or the world wide web - it depends on your player's connectivity.

And, yes - it can be quite a pain in the bum.

Greetings!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Thanks for the info Prince.

Sounds another reason to wait if you ask me.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Demdike

Thanks for the info Prince.

Sounds another reason to wait if you ask me.

You're welcome, pal.

My first Blu-ray was Crank 2 - High Voltage. I put it in the Blu-ray player, and nothing happened - except for my player trying to read the bloody disc for a quarter of an hour. It took quite some time and a huge amount of malediction till I found out that it was the player's outdated firmware and not a faulty disc.

Greetings!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Are multi region players the same?

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by Vampix

I still maintain that casual movie buyers are just not that bothered about the differences between DVD and Blu-ray, particularly when it comes to films they have not seen or are not familiar with.I think DVD is sufficient for those.When it comes to much-loved classic films or films you really liked at the cinema and want to add to your collection, this is where Blu-ray comes in imo.This is certainly the way I feel about DVDs & BDs anyway.I actually think its a bit silly to have Blu-ray exclusive releases, it makes better business sense to me to release them as DVD/BD combo packs.As a lot of people still don't have the equipment to view BDs and others are not that bothered about the difference between the two formats.

I would also argue that many early-adopters tend to be hardcore movie buffs or genre fans. It was the flocking of ganre fans to DVD that caused it such widespread success initially. Just look at the dozens of genre titles that ABUS released region free in the early days that allowed themselves to be built into the national-company it is today. Genre films made them.

As such, it's unsurprising that genre flms from niche labels (like Arrow and BU) are almost certainly the best they can be on BD. In fact, as far as BD transfers go, and I've bought many, many titles on BD, very little surpasses the excellence of either New York Ripper or Living Dead at the manchester Morgue from BU.

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Demdike

Are multi region players the same?

In very many cases, the Blu-ray player only becomes multi-region due to you flashing him with a specific firmware first.

Originally Posted by Daemonia

As such, it's unsurprising that genre flms from niche labels (like Arrow and BU) are almost certainly the best they can be on BD. In fact, as far as BD transfers go, and I've bought many, many titles on BD, very little surpasses the excellence of either New York Ripper or Living Dead at the manchester Morgue from BU.

That's certainly one of the best Blu-ray transfers I've ever seen!

Greetings!