Blu Ray Vs DVD

[wentwood]

Here's what I noticed -

I watched Doctor Who on a Blu Ray and yet will also see the same episode on DVD.

I had also watched part of a 00 movie on Blu Ray and will see the rest on a DVD.

Are Blu Ray seriously over hyped if there's no picture change between formats?

I have a 1080 TV so this had me curious.

 

[Princess Viola]

Do...do you think that something being able to be on both DVD and BD means that there's no difference in quality between the two formats?

DVDs are standard definition, they are 480p (or 576p if you're in PAL territory). You will not get anything on DVD at a higher resolution than that, the DVD-Video standard uses MPEG-2 compression for both audio and video and that tops out at a resolution of 720x480 for NTSC and 720x576 for PAL - that is the maximum resolution that a DVD can be.

Blu-ray, on the other hand, supports high definition video. A standard BD (so not an Ultra HD Blu-ray) supports a maximum resolution of 1080p, 1920x1080. That is a much higher maximum resolution than you'll get with a DVD.

Mind you, not everything on BD is in 1080p, the Blu-ray format supports resolutions all the way down to the 480p/576p resolution that DVD tops out at. So it is technically fully possible for you to buy a BD that only has standard definition video on it (usually done when something literally only exists in standard definition and they don't want to upscale it from standard definition to high definition). Even then, the usage of superior video codecs and the higher bitrate available with BD means that a standard definition Blu-ray will likely look better than the equivalent DVD (mind, this isn't a guarantee - there's nothing stopping some super cheap company from literally using the same MPEG-2 compressed video they used for a DVD release for an SD BD release and the quality of the upscaler in your own equipment plays a factor too, but there's nothing they can do about that part. It's not their fault if your BD player or HDTV makes standard definition content look like absolute ass when upscaled to 1080p, y'know?)

The point I'm making here is that there very much is a difference in picture quality between DVD and Blu-ray.

 

[wentwood]

Current Stream USA

Star Trek I - Star Trek X

HBO Max

 

[Caldwin]

Streaming is a different monster altogether. The quality you get depends on your signal strength and speed and tech and tech.

They often boast HD and 4K, but I'd be very shocked if that's what people actually get in any typical situation.

 

[The Predaking]

Bit rate is also important and that is something that gets neglected on streams. for example the picture can be 1920X1080, but contains errors due to the compression techniques that they use to get that over streaming. Meanwhile, the same movie being played through a Blu-ray player could look completely different. Also, the colors might look completely different depending on the format as well.


It Is all a real gamble though, honestly. Which master did they use for the transfer? Which transfer did they use? Was it just upscaled to HD? How many layers does the disk have? What kind of player are you using? What streaming device do you have? How good is your TV?


All that being said, unless you have an epic DVD player, Blu-rays of HD content will always look better than DVDs of that content. Also, UHD Blu-rays in 4K look epic.



While we are on the subject, Check out this video:

It shows the same movie from 2017 in VCD format versus UHD Blu-ray.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Blu Rays do look better...but only if you have the right setup. The right cables, a big enough TV, the right distance between yourself and the TV, good enough eyesight.

If you're just watching these movies on a monitor the size of a laptop or so, I think the difference MIGHT be noticeable if you compared them side by side...but it'd be negligible. It's only when you start to blow things up on a bigger sized TV that you start to notice the difference.

Personally, I'm perfectly fine with 480p/DVD quality definition, myself. Anything BELOW that is a little rough, though. 720p IS better, but anything above that is...barely noticeable to my eyes, but I have poor vision and only a medium-sized TV. I can see the movie fine, so meh? And some things actually look WORSE on Blu Ray, but that's really mostly down to badly done transfers of older stuff.

So, if you're saving money by getting the DVD version and it doesn't bother you, who am I to say you shouldn't do it? Blu Ray MIGHT be a little more future proof, though? Eventually, they might stop supporting DVDs, even if there's no real reason they should, if only for the money. But, even then, the industry REALLY wants 4K to be the new standard, even though...I feel like you need a HUGE TV to tell the difference between a Blu Ray and a 4K disc. There are people who really want that maximum theater-like experience at home...but, speaking personally, I don't really need it.

 

[Princess Viola]

Streaming is a different monster altogether. The quality you get depends on your signal strength and speed and tech and tech.

They often boast HD and 4K, but I'd be very shocked if that's what people actually get in any typical situation.

When you stream something in HD and 4K, you are getting the video in that resolution, but what really matters most in terms of quality is the bitrate.

I feel I've said this before, but the bitrate of pretty much all streaming services for 4K streams is lower than that of even a standard BD (I think Apple TV+ is the only exception here, but even then it depends on what you're watching and even the scene you're watching). Of course, there's practical reasons for this, namely bandwidth and the monetary costs involved.

So pretty much any 4K stream is going to objectively look worse compared to a 4K BD because of compression but you are genuinely getting the video in 4K resolution.

If you're just watching these movies on a monitor the size of a laptop or so, I think the difference MIGHT be noticeable if you compared them side by side...but it'd be negligible. It's only when you start to blow things up on a bigger sized TV that you start to notice the difference.

Eh, I watch nearly all my BDs and DVDs on my laptop (Hell I watch all my BDs on my laptop since I only have an external BD drive) and I very much can tell the difference in quality between them, especially when comparing some of the releases I have on both formats.

Like I can tell the difference between my Kiki's Delivery Service DVD and my Kiki's Delivery Service BD pretty clearly without needing to compare them side by side.

 

[Ultra Magnus13]

If the original quality is decent, it's pretty easy to quickly eyeball the difference between DVD, BD and 4k.

 

[wentwood]

Well I watched part of a 00 movie on Blu Ray and here's one other factor to consider -

When the movie was done.

So regardless of the tech the picture quality depends on the print.

Watching Die Another Day there's no difference.

I'm running a 1080 TV.

If I upscale my DVD player to 1080 it wouldn't be that much different from a Blu Ray player.

My DVD player can run at 1080 I.

Given that even if I save money the quality would be close to a Blu Ray.

 

[The Predaking]

Well I watched part of a 00 movie on Blu Ray and here's one other factor to consider -

When the movie was done.

So regardless of the tech the picture quality depends on the print.

Watching Die Another Day there's no difference.

I'm running a 1080 TV.

If I upscale my DVD player to 1080 it wouldn't be that much different from a Blu Ray player.

My DVD player can run at 1080 I.

Given that even if I save money the quality would be close to a Blu Ray.

Blu-ray News and Reviews | High Def Digest

Whether you love or hate the film itself, there’s no denying MGM’s excellent 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer trounces its DVD counterpart and offers a much improved presentation of ‘Die Another Day.’ Colors are vibrant, primaries are bold, skintones are spot on, and contrast is wonderful. Black levels are nice and deep, whites aren’t overblown, and delineation is natural but revealing. Detail is also exceptional. Aside from a few blurry backgrounds and softer-than-usual foregrounds, fine textures pop, objects are well-defined, and minor elements like stubble, falling snow, and splintering wood look great. To top it all off, the picture doesn’t suffer from any substantial source noise, banding, or any pesky DNR.

I did catch minor bursts of artifacting and some lingering edge enhancement (both of which affected the SD DVD to a far greater degree) that’s sure to briefly distract more discerning viewers. Even so, ‘Die Another Day’s lush palette and sharp detailing should easily please fans while leaving little doubt that MGM has the ability to right its high-def course and deliver exciting and reliable video transfers.

That movie came out in 2002 and its one of the earlier Blu-rays in 2008, but it was made to be reference quality. If I remember correctly, it came in a very expensive boxset at the time and was highly anticipated. At the time I was just getting over HD DVD dying. Just thinking about all of that makes me feel old....

 

[wentwood]

My library is 100 % DVD.

So I'm looking to try to get mainly new chapters for the sets I filled in for the main lines. A lot of them
had finished up. Mostly stuff from the 80s and 90s.

Star Trek is done as far as I know.

 

[The Predaking]

As long as you are happy with it, by all means. I just have been hooked on higher res since I saw in the store in 2008.

 

[wentwood]

Not so much that but the thing is I want to complete the set on DVD.

So hopefully any new and possible last chapters will fill in the movie lines
that I have.

I was able to finish Star Wars Episode IX on DVD.

trying to fill in what I can on DVD as eventually it will be exclusively Blu Ray.

I want to see the final movies if this is the case on DVD.

I won't upgrade a line to Blu Ray if that set is filled in.

Blu Ray would be fore new lines that have started up.

 

[The Predaking]

I am surprised as to how you have gone the last 15 years without buying a blu-ray.

 

[Caldwin]

I'm surprised there haven't been any movies that have been on bluray but not DVD.

 

[wentwood]

In a lot of cases the movie will release in both formats and in the odd case they do Blu Ray / DVD combos.

 

[Ungnome]

It took 9 years for DVD to kill VHS and the quality difference between those two were bigger in many ways than the quality difference between DVD and Blu-ray. Blu-ray also hit the market around the same time video streaming became viable. Generally when facing a choice between convenience and quality, convenience wins. Given those factors, I'm not surprised most movies are still released on DVD

 

[Caldwin]

It took 9 years for DVD to kill VHS and the quality difference between those two were bigger in many ways than the quality difference between DVD and Blu-ray. Blu-ray also hit the market around the same time video streaming became viable. Generally when facing a choice between convenience and quality, convenience wins. Given those factors, I'm not surprised most movies are still released on DVD

Fair.

 

[Princess Viola]

One exception to that rule is anime. Anime DVD sales (at least in the US) have pretty much completely cratered and that's why, for example, Discotek doesn't release DVDs anymore.

 

[Tm_Silverclaw]

One exception to that rule is anime. Anime DVD sales (at least in the US) have pretty much completely cratered and that's why, for example, Discotek doesn't release DVDs anymore.

At least they do Blu-rays. Just a shame they are so expensive.