My first Blu-Ray experience

[Tube60]

Hi all
In reference to my earlier Silly Blu-Ray question thread, I pulled the trigger on a Sony BDPS-550 player, instead of the Insignia unit I'd been looking at. Not a whole lot more dosh for the Sony, and it already has the 2.0 upgrade.
Video. For the last week I've been watching both BD discs and DVDs which the player upscales. First thing I've noticed is that Sony might've shot themselves in the foot, since the upscaled DVD image is nearly indistinguishable from BD discs. Noticeable difference, yes, but it's close, and that's been discussed a lot in the format wars. Why buy a $30 BD disc when a $10 DVD is nearly as good when upscaled? Personally, the difference with BD will keep me buying them, albeit at a much slower pace.
Audio. I've been running it long enough for it to have burned-in well. There's more depth and "blackness" behind the music, and the imaging is noticeably more pronounced than my Sony RCD W500-C player/recorder, although I feel the CD player to be somewhat more musical. No matter what, I'll be dedicating the older unit to recording full time, and use the BD player for music as well as movies. I can only surmise that the BD player has a whole lot more processing power behind it, even if only playing an audio CD, to explain the differences I noticed.
My TV is a 62" Mitsubishi 1080i DLP which I picked up from a friend in the service industry, who repaired the power supply and put decent capacitors on the boards. For parts, labor and a 90 day warranty, I've got $4k TV for beer money! It would've gone to the recycler otherwise. I've found the picture quality to be about halfway between a plasma and a good LCD. Color performance is very good; as good in that regard as my 1962 RCA CTC15! (actually the CTC15 smokes any other CRT I've ever watched)
My audio gear is my trusty McIntosh preamp, Citation II amp, and Sequels which most of you will be familiar with. When playing movies, it looks like I'll need to add a subwoofer. Otherwise I have no worries for SPLs with CDs or LPs!

 

[RichTeer]

Hi all
In reference to my earlier Silly Blu-Ray question thread, I pulled the trigger on a Sony BDPS-550 player, instead of the Insignia unit I'd been looking at. Not a whole lot more dosh for the Sony, and it already has the 2.0 upgrade.
Video. For the last week I've been watching both BD discs and DVDs which the player upscales. First thing I've noticed is that Sony might've shot themselves in the foot, since the upscaled DVD image is nearly indistinguishable from BD discs. Noticeable difference, yes, but it's close, and that's been discussed a lot in the format wars. Why buy a $30 BD disc when a $10 DVD is nearly as good when upscaled? Personally, the difference with BD will keep me buying them, albeit at a much slower pace.

There must be something seriously wrong with your setup if the difference between Blu-ray and upscaled DVD is relatively small! Are you using HDMI cables between your player & TV (or player, receiver & TV)? In my experience, even upscaled DVD looks fuzzy by comparison to Blu-ray.

 

[MiTT]

There must be something seriously wrong with your setup if the difference between Blu-ray and upscaled DVD is relatively small! Are you using HDMI cables between your player & TV (or player, receiver & TV)? In my experience, even upscaled DVD looks fuzzy by comparison to Blu-ray.

I'd agree. You can get full video resolution over component cables as well, but only via component or HDMI. Anything else will be lower resolution.

 

[User211]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B001ETXJ7C/ref=cm_cr_pr_link_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Of the 27 reviews here, you do find quite a few mentioning how good the upscaling is. Upscaling has never impressed me much, but maybe this player is quite a bit better than average at it...

Just an (unlikelyish) possibility?

My HD-DVD/Blu-Ray LG player blows upscaled DVDs away using Blu-Ray and an NVIDIA 8800GT->HDMI->46 inch X series Sony LCD.

 

[RUR]

....maybe this player is quite a bit better than average at it...

Just an (unlikelyish) possibility?

Highly unlikelyish. My player uses a Realta upscaler which is widely regarded as the very best and, as good as it is, it can't compare with a good Blu-ray transfer.

Tube60, how close are you sitting to your 62" display? You need to be sitting @ 8 feet or less to resolve an HD image. See here: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/assets/download/0602_tech_talk2_large.jpg

 

[Tube60]

Thanks guys for the replies!
To clarify things a bit, yes, I'm using an HDMI interlink direct to the TV. A 1962 era preamp won't have pass-through HDMI! I've tried component video interlinks as well, through which the Sony will play up to 1080i, and I noticed no discernable difference there overall. Viewing distance is currently 13', although I've watched both formats closer than that. Blu-Ray discs are noticeably better, but not hugely better. Either way the 550 does a fantastic job. I'm not sure what chip the 550 uses for upscaling. Maybe Sony is using some sort of proprietary method? As I wrote originally though, I've noticed enough of a difference with BD format for me to keep buying those discs, but the upscaling gives great value for the dollar!

 

[MickeyVee]

so the Mits is 1080i and probably wont do 24 fps. Would that account for the 'indistinguishable' difference?
My PS3 and Marantz both upscale DVD and it's nowhere close to Blu-Ray for me.
It all comes down to whatever works in your system.

 

[Feltran]

Part of it may have to do with the quality of the particular Blu-Ray(s) you viewed, but I'm sure you already know that a 1080i TV will never display Blu-Ray as well as a 1080p TV.

 

[Beakman]

What is the pixel count on the screen. That will be your max / best resolution no matter what signal goes into the set. For 1080i sets, your best bet may be to put all settings for cable, BL-dvd,tv, etc to 720p and forgo any signal processing the TV has to do for anything higher.

 

[coolcobramatt]

Part of it may have to do with the quality of the particular Blu-Ray(s) you viewed, but I'm sure you already know that a 1080i TV will never display Blu-Ray as well as a 1080p TV.

Exactly right...the 1080p makes BD look 3D (hey that rhymed)...my tv is a 1080i and it doesn't do justice to the blu-ray, BUT there is still a HUGE difference to me in the picture quality. You may need to try a different DVD to see the best improvement. Try "Meet the Robinsons" it will blow you away. I have the 350 model right below yours, and I love it. Pirates of the Caribbean (the last one) to me is one of the best non-animated movied for showing off BD. But when it's on a 1080p TV...Davey Jone's tentacles actually take that 3D appearance and seem to come alive.

Darn it now you have me wishing for a 1080p tv again :music:

One thing I forgot as my 350 wasn't impressive out of the box. Apparently they don't automatically set themselves to the corresponding TV's resolution or may be factory set low. After I checked the menu, mine was set to 720p...I was puzzled as the picture wasn't even as good as a regular DVD. Surprise surprise changing the resolution to 1080i fixed it! BD picture was breathtaking!

 

[Tube60]

My S550's default setting out of the box is 480p! One has to go into the setup menu and manually set the resolution one wants. Of course, I set it to 1080i. The TV passively recognises whatever resolution is being thrown at it; it does not upscale on it's own. I played with the settings, and the TV showed whatever the player was outputting. Last night I watched Master and Commander on BD, and oh my! I think the video processors needed some burn-in time too! Big change over the first time I watched it one week ago. Colors and details have really come alive. I'll agree that the 1080p sets have a better, more 3d image, but I'm very, very happy now with what I have. I am unsure as to the pixel count or how many fps it runs at. Being a DLP they're a bit different from LCD or plasma sets.
I'm going to order an owner's manual for it, to see if there are any tweaks or further improvements I can make. The only quibble I really have about the set is that there is only one HDMI input; the rest are component, but those are up to the TV's max resolution.

 

[coolcobramatt]

My S550's default setting out of the box is 480p! One has to go into the setup menu and manually set the resolution one wants. Of course, I set it to 1080i.

I had a feeling this might be the case.

 

[Tube60]

I had a feeling this might be the case.

I did catch the manual setting of the default the first day. The player goes directly to the setup menu when first turned on, and there's a prompt to select the user default. It's been running 1080i the whole time. I was really surprised that the factory default was 480!
I have Master and Commander on both BD and DVD. Tonight after work I'm going to do some direct A/B comparisons for grins and giggles.
However like I posted before, I think burn-in time was needed; BD videos are noticeably better after a week.

 

[gordonmenninger]

I have actually been meaning to post a similar thread to the op... I have the Sony bdp 500 (one of the earlier "more expensive $800 units) and I am feeding the HDMI signal straight into my Sony Bravia VPL-VW60 projector which is 1080p and it is firing onto my Stewart 120" screen. The normal "upconverted to 1080P" image is sooo good on this pj, that there really is not that much of a difference to me as well! Obviously on the total close ups you can see the difference more, but even non-blockbuster dvd's upconverted look very good on this player! I do have a critical eye, but maybe the dvd's processors are just that damn good? Ayway, I am very happy with the picture with anything I throw at it...
Even hd concert recordings on HDNET and PALLADIUM look very well on this projector! I have recorded Meat Loaf and Morrissey (which is fantastic by the way visually and sound wise) and they look awesome...

So in the end I am not sure if I should be a bit disappointed by the Blu Ray quality or just elated that the upconversion looks this damn good for regular dvd's! In the end I think we are just getting a bit spoiled and have to remember the staticy picture we all came from! I give the Sony Blu ray players 2 enthusiastically thumbs up for sure!:rocker:

 

[Tube60]

Thanks all for the enthusiastic responses and advice!
I think that with the burn-in of the player and tweaking the color & balance settings on the TV it's working as it should. Overall I'm really pleased with the overall performance of both the BDP and the TV. Eventually as my life becomes more settled I'll get a 1080p set. I demo'd a 65" DLP a few days ago and I was really impressed with it. I actually like the picture quality of the newer LED driven DLPs over their LCD & plasma counterparts.

 

[Tube60]

Here's a shot of the installation, all of it on the stand I made:

 

[Tube60]

I've got some organizing to do, and a shelf to add so I can include my turntable and CD recorder. I've added undershelf battery-powered lights as well. It's not the most ideal setup, but given the space restrictions I have, it works pretty well. Imaging hasn't really been affected by it, and with all the mass in that part of the room, bass is cleaner and less boomy. I do have some panel vibration issues with the TV which won't be hard to resolve.

 

[timm]

i have this player as well -- I have a 1080p set upstairs and a 1080i down - there is not much diff on the 1080i set - but on the 1080p set there is a diff. it is the tv...but, really i don't think my eyes are 1080p..... congrats on the great setup...and yes the 550 does a great job upscaling regular dvds....

 

[Tube60]

..... congrats on the great setup...and yes the 550 does a great job upscaling regular dvds....

Thanks. Now that the player has burned-in nicely, I'm having a wonderful time with it. One thing that's taking a huge amount of adjustment is the audio performance of the 550. It's way, way more transparent than my 'W500C CDP/R, though less musical as I've mentioned before. I find myself turning the volume up, not fully realizing just how loud it's getting! The extra transparency I guess is tricking my brain into assuming the volume is lower than it really is. I've compared both players directly, at the same volume setting of course, and there's a whole lot less "shimmer" going on with the 550. Very interesting, and I'd love to demo a high-end CDP to further compare.
And I'd like a sub for watching movies with at least. Not in the budget though..... property tax time coming up!