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Should you make the switch to Blu-ray?

Blu-ray player

When my sisters and I were little, my mother bought us movies on VHS. Then as I grew up, we switched to DVDs. Now my mother is faced with the same question that I'm sure many of you might be asking: should I make the switch to Blu-ray? My mother has heard that the quality is superb, and she doesn't want to keep collecting DVDs for her grandchildren if they're going to go the way of VHS. But when she called me a couple of weeks ago, she wasn't sure about what she needed — would her current disc player and TV suffice?

So during my last visit to see her, I took a quick look at her system to see if she was ready for Blu-ray. Turns out, my mother uses the built-in disc player on her original Bose® 3.2.1® home entertainment system (latest model pictured below), which unfortunately can only play back DVDs.

I explained to her that DVD players can't read all of the information packed onto Blu-ray discs, so she would need to buy a Blu-ray player. But luckily, a Blu-ray player will also still be able to play her DVDs. So when she does decide to make the switch she won’t have to get rid of her current DVD collection, and can simply start buying any new movies on Blu-ray. A Blu-ray player will even be able to make her DVDs look a little better on her TV thanks to the player’s built-in upconversion.

Bose 3.2.1

But what about her TV? My parents own an old rear-projection TV, and a peek behind the entertainment center told me that it didn’t have any HDMI inputs. This is a big problem, since Blu-ray functions best when the player is connected to the TV via a single HDMI cable. It’s really the only way to take advantage of the high-def 1080p picture and high-resolution sound coded on the discs.

She could use the component video connection on her TV and possibly get resolutions up to 1080i, but she doesn’t have a suitable audio connection. Also, most Blu-ray players have to down-rez a high-def signal when it’s sent to a TV via component video, so in some cases, her Blu-ray discs wouldn't look any better than her DVDs.

At the very least my mother would need a new HDTV with HDMI and a Blu-ray player to take advantage of the higher image quality that Blu-ray has to offer. It looks like DVD will be around for a little while longer though, so there’s currently no rush for her to completely upgrade her home theater system. But with prices on both HDTVs and Blu-ray players lower now than they've been, it still might be a good time to make the switch.

For more information, check out some of our articles and videos on Blu-ray players.

Posted Fri, Dec 12 2008 2:04 PM by Kristen S
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Comments

Eric wrote re: Should you make the switch to Blu-ray?
on Fri, Dec 12 2008 6:33 PM

Hmm, I don't know, having seen Blue-Ray in action frankly, I'm not impressed at all in my opinion. I'll explain: I've tired Blue-Ray in the stores on various size TVs from 37 inch to 56 inch, all LCD. What bothered me about Blue-Ray is that it makes everything look like animation. There's nothing wrong with animation if that's what one feels like watching at the time, but it ruins certain movies that were not meant to be animated. Example I put in the movie "Fifth Element" on Blue-ray and it was horrid. It was like watching a cartoon! There's nothing wrong with cartoons unless your trying to watch a movie that is not a cartoon. (I can't imagine a Bond movie in animation)!

Secondly, Blue-Ray is still way over-priced in my opinion and actually has not really taken the market by storm. What also bothers me is that there seems to be a monopoly on Blue-Ray players. It appears that only manufacture makes them. There's something wrong with that in my eyes. Lastly, Blue-Ray discs are expensive anyway plus they have not made a Blue-Ray recorder..... yet. I bet they never will.

So I will stick with the tried and true DVD. Are DVDs going the way of the VHS? I don't think so, they are far too popular still even for a lot of Blue-Ray owners.

Will I ever go to Blue-Ray? Unless they improve the technology and offer more choice in players, make recorders and drop to something fair and within everyone's reach then I say "Never".

Kristen S wrote re: Should you make the switch to Blu-ray?
on Mon, Dec 15 2008 11:12 AM

Eric-

I’m sorry you feel that way about Blu-ray.  Have you seen any other Blu-ray movies?  I have in fact seen one of the new James Bond movies (Casino Royale) on Blu-ray, and didn’t find it to be cartoonish at all, although this is a very subjective area.

I think it’s important to point out that TVs tend to be set at their highest settings in stores, so the colors are always super-saturated to begin with.  I can see how Fifth Element might look cartoonish with the bold colors appearing even more vivid than they naturally are.  Do you have a friend or family member who has a Blu-ray player and TV that you can review some discs on without the showroom settings?

And yes, you’re right that Blu-ray is still somewhat expensive.  But the price has come down a few hundred dollars in the past year, and there’s promise that it will come down even further as the technology becomes more mainstream.  And keep in mind that Blu-ray players can play DVDs as well as Blu-ray discs, so the choice is really whether you want to have access to both formats or just the one.

Sony developed Blu-ray technology, so naturally all of the players were initially Sony. Over time, they’ve licensed the technology to other manufacturers.  Crutchfield sells about seven different brands of players, and I counted about 35+ on Blu-ray.com.  And there are actually several different brands of Blu-ray recorders on the market in Japan; although they haven’t made it to the states yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see them very soon.  

I hope this answers some of your concerns.  And I hope that your answer isn’t “never” – give Blu-ray another chance in a year or so if price is your main concern.

Kristen

junior77 wrote re: Should you make the switch to Blu-ray?
on Wed, Dec 17 2008 8:30 AM

"I've tired Blue-Ray in the stores on various size TVs from 37 inch to 56 inch, all LCD. What bothered me about Blue-Ray is that it makes everything look like animation."

I think that could be a problem with LCD TV's, i.e., response time, not necessarily an issue with Blue Ray.

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