HD/Blueray players

[ki||fr0g]

So now that I finally have a PC that can play HD content and an LCD to see it on, I'm thinking of getting an HD or Blueray or combo player.. HD-DVDs cost around Lm 10 from play which isn't that bad. Downloading HD-DVD movies is a bit of a hassle since they're huge (from 12 up to 25Gb) and you can't burn them anywhere.

I was wondering whether anyone has an HD DVD/Blueray/Combo player or what would you suggest. I've seen HD-DVD players for around £68 from overclockers (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-000-TS&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=314) and the combo with Blueray burning for around £180 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-065-LG&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=314). Quite expensive but I think the picture quality is worth it, especially for certain movies.

The advantage of a combo HD-DVD reader and Bluray writer is that you can download HD-DVD and burn them on Bluray disks, if you're going to play them on the PC. Although considering that Bluray media costs around £10 each disk might as well buy the original movie! It's great for burning loads of games together though.

Any advice much appreciated :)

[johnmaclane]

donno what to tell you dude, im downloading 720p content and burning them on dual layer dvds because i dont want to end up buying a player of either format and end up throwing it away because the specs havent settled or it loses the format war.

Not only that but if your planning on watching it on a tv make sure its got HDMI of the right spec with respect to the player.

[Kamadake]

I'd go with johnmaclane's suggestion but if you really want to buy a drive. Go for blu-ray. Apparently at the CES2008, blu-ray was a massive hit compared to HD-DVD so i have a feeling bluray is winning the format war.

But also, i'd suggest the combo drive. Two is better than one they say, but i don't know how efficient that drive is so, research must be done

[Baegun]

x264 HD movies are only average of about 6gigs. And they are pretty good quality ;).

[ki||fr0g]

x264 HD movies are only average of about 6gigs. And they are pretty good quality ;).

6 gigs? Would that be 1080p though? Because the ones I found were 12Gb or 25Gb.. Transformers was one

[Baegun]

1080p are 8gigs. it's a lossy format though.
it's like:
DVD --> xvid or divx
HD DVD or bluray --> x264

[Brooklyn]

True untouched HD media is far above that - 40-50 gigs.

[billy]

Anything below the proper 30/50gb is compressed, meaning that you are bound to have a lower piv & audio quality.

Audio is the one that's compressed the most in HD rips since they practically turn it into a simple DD track (376kbit or 640kbit) instead of the proper DD+ (1.5mbit) or PCM/Tru HD (6.4mbit).

With regards to pic quality, x264 is an HD codec which was designed for downloadable HD movies which can be rented from let's say TIVO or xbox live (and ps network soon). This cannot be compared to proper AVC1 codecs. What you are getting in rips is 720 res instead of the proper 1080. Not to mention that some movies such as POTC have a constant bitrate of 36.4mbit for video. Imagine the download size of that for 2 hours!

-----

With regards to your question Killfrog....a combo drive might be the best option, although you will have to check some forums with regards to HDCP connectivity issues. I am not sure if powerdvd or windvd allows playability of HD movies on anything but a HDCP (be it DVi or HDMI) capable screen.

I always post the following pics to compare 720 & 1080p:


http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4859/3c0c57ad5d5f66ba873e525dg8.th.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3c0c57ad5d5f66ba873e525dg8.jpg)
720 RIP

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3325/d7c5d08c6f39b499c0871d4ea4.th.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=d7c5d08c6f39b499c0871d4ea4.jpg)
1080p blu-ray

[Kamadake]

Woah...the quality on the 1080p is superb! And you have a Sony Bravia T_T

let me guess...playing dvds with a ps3? :P

[Baegun]

of course as the pictures show there's a loss in quality. then again i'd rather have an HD rip, than a normal DVD. Especially cause i have no way to view/rent HD-DVDs.

[billy]

bravia, bleh :p

Pioneer plasmas are on the otherhand the best screens u can get, EVER

[ki||fr0g]

Yes my monitor is HDCP capable.. I guess the cheapest solution both in terms of money and speed is to get a regular HD-DVD reader for now and buy movies from Play.. I don't see combo drives or Bluray writers getting cheaper anytime soon.

Today I watched a good quality Xvid rip on my 24" lcd and it looked pretty good from a distance so perhaps I'll stick to that for now until the combo writers become cheaper.

Related question.. how would I connect an XBOX360 or PS3 to the monitor which has a single DVI and a single VGA input, and what res would that give me? The monitor can do 1920x1200 max.

[V0rteX]

as regards to the xbox, you would need to buy an additional VGA cable (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360vgahdcable/default.htm) in order to be able to connect the xbox through VGA output. it supports up to a full 1080p res. as far as the PS3 goes, i have no idea.

[billy]

the xbox can run 1920 x 1080 under vga mode...but it's not 1080p. PS3 wise i don't know if it words with a dvi-i (with hdcp)

[PostmortemMT]

the xbox can run 1920 x 1080 under vga mode...but it's not 1080p. PS3 wise i don't know if it words with a dvi-i (with hdcp)

I'm pretty danm sure you can connect a PS3 through a composite-s cable onto a video adapter but you won't be able to get any HD resolutions as far as I know.

Killfrog it would have been wiser if you would have purchased a sligthly larger tv which in that case would have enough outputs to plug in anything..be it HDMI, Composite-S, Component, Scart etc.

[ki||fr0g]

Killfrog it would have been wiser if you would have purchased a sligthly larger tv which in that case would have enough outputs to plug in anything..be it HDMI, Composite-S, Component, Scart etc.

Not really since it's mostly for PC gaming and watching movies, plus the resolution on "cheap" LCD TVs is mediocre for use as on a PC (1366 x 768). If console gaming was my priority then I'd agree

[PostmortemMT]

bravia, bleh :p

Bassu!!! lol. Jien kuntent hafna b'32" Bravia KDL 32-S2000. But I admit it is almost 2 years old now and on a technical level is somewhat aged. Considering it has an 1700:1 Contrast to Ratio whilst newer LCDs have 8000:1. Well beggars can't be choosers =)

I'm curious to see the new Panasonic and LG THX visual plasmas.. Those should be something..Maybe I get bored with my Bravia and get a 40 incher Panasonic or LG hahaj! :p

[PostmortemMT]

Not really since it's mostly for PC gaming and watching movies, plus the resolution on "cheap" LCD TVs is mediocre for use as on a PC (1366 x 768). If console gaming was my priority then I'd agree


You have a good point but my philosophy when usually purchasing things is...Ok im gonna buy an LCD...for pc purposes..but if..if sometime in the future I get a console..wouldn't be wiser to spend slightly more and be prepared for it aswell?

But obviously not everybody is the same. Gluck mate anyhow!

[dwardu]

i pity those guys who have an hd-dvd player =/

[G-lock]

..Maybe I get bored with my Bravia and get a 40 incher Panasonic or LG hahaj! :p

xhin tixba minnu kellimni dude .

[billy]

i pity those guys who have an hd-dvd player =/


why so? They cost lm20-30 nowadays (xbox 360 player & pc player) and Lm30-50 (standalone) and there are about 450 movis around, including many forthcoming releases from Europe which will be bluray exclusives in America

[Sp|DEy^]

Anything below the proper 30/50gb is compressed, meaning that you are bound to have a lower piv & audio quality.

Audio is the one that's compressed the most in HD rips since they practically turn it into a simple DD track (376kbit or 640kbit) instead of the proper DD+ (1.5mbit) or PCM/Tru HD (6.4mbit).

With regards to pic quality, x264 is an HD codec which was designed for downloadable HD movies which can be rented from let's say TIVO or xbox live (and ps network soon). This cannot be compared to proper AVC1 codecs. What you are getting in rips is 720 res instead of the proper 1080. Not to mention that some movies such as POTC have a constant bitrate of 36.4mbit for video. Imagine the download size of that for 2 hours!

-----

With regards to your question Killfrog....a combo drive might be the best option, although you will have to check some forums with regards to HDCP connectivity issues. I am not sure if powerdvd or windvd allows playability of HD movies on anything but a HDCP (be it DVi or HDMI) capable screen.

I always post the following pics to compare 720 & 1080p:


http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4859/3c0c57ad5d5f66ba873e525dg8.th.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3c0c57ad5d5f66ba873e525dg8.jpg)
720 RIP

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3325/d7c5d08c6f39b499c0871d4ea4.th.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=d7c5d08c6f39b499c0871d4ea4.jpg)
1080p blu-ray


i know its a late quote but why is the 720 so much better looking than 1080? and sharper also

[DfraGG3r]

The second pic (1080p) looks way crisper, and the colours look more vivid. At least I'm seeing it that way

[Kamadake]

i know its a late quote but why is the 720 so much better looking than 1080? and sharper also

uwejja come on. the 1080p version has a significant difference! It's crisp and as dfragger said, the colors are more vivid. It's brilliant ^_^

[Sp|DEy^]

oh shitz haha my bad ye i guess i clicked on the pics inversely woops hehe ye 1080p is sharper and better hehe

[billy]

oh shitz haha my bad ye i guess i clicked on the pics inversely woops hehe ye 1080p is sharper and better hehe

You nearly gave me a heart attack with all my lecturing on 1080p24 lately :p

[Sp|DEy^]

haha sorry billy i wont make such a critical mistake again :D