I have a hunch that Blue ray will never be a popular format because normal DVDs look so brilliant with a decent player.
What might tip the balance is if broadcast HD is loads better than upscaled DVDs.
So is there anyone out there who would like to compare BBC HD with Blue Ray and normal DVD on a decent player?
Alan

Even if someone had the same content on all three formats then their opinion would still be based on they type and quality of their display and how they set it up

At the end of the day it's always going to be upto the individual if HD is better than upscaled SD especially with the price premium but bottom line if you buy a HD telly then it's not performing to it's best without a genuine HD source.

Indeed, DVD looks pretty good on my TV, however to me there is a noticeable difference between DVD and HD-DVD/Blu-ray.

There also appears to be a sudden appetite for Blu-ray in the US going by the sales figures on the t'internet.

There have been 9 million BD movie sales, 3 million of those since the New Year. So 30% of ALL Blu-ray sales have been in the first three months of this year.

In the first five days of release, 9.8% of No Country For Old Men's total sales were BD. Hitman generate 12.6%. Michael Clayton generated 5.5%. 30 Days Of Night generated 8.9%. Of course it is only the first few days, so the percentages will change, DVD will sell more and lower the percentage.

Fox estimate $1 billion in sales for 2008 and Adams Media Research estimate 2.9 million dedicated players, plus 8.4 million PS3s by the end of 2008.

Looks like the US is the place to be for HD.

I don't think it will be too long before there are no "high end DVD players" (please don't ask for a timescale) there will be just BluRay players that will also play DVD.

Then soon after that there will be sub £30 BluRay players and plain DVD players will die a death. DVDs (disks) will be with us much longer though.

While I agree that Bluray is likely to remain a niche market for quite some time - there's no comparison between upscaled dvd and the genuine HD on offer from BD,HDDVD and Sky HD.

Its an old cliche but if you cant see the difference ( and Sky Premier isnt helping) you really do need glasses.

SD material suffers on LCD and plasma sets when compared with a GOOD crt - but upscaling devices will restore the quality to a level you were used to.

But switch from Hustle on upscaled dvd to Hustle on BBC HD and you will see the improvement instantly - and I've only got a 32" screen

I think the studios will have to stop producing DVDs to make people change. Think of all the punters who are happy to watch a dodgy pirate copy and throw it away - the quality doesn't seem to bother them, all they want is to have seen the movie in one way or another.
Alan

Well I have Blu ray & HD DVD & have sold my Denon 1930 upscaling DVD player, unfortunately I have become an HD snob; I simply can't view SD now either TV or DVD as I find myself just looking at the actifacts etc.! The bulk of my viewing is via SKY HD & the remainder BD & HD DVD, if the transfere to disc is good then the quality is superb, occasionaly others look like well upscaled DVD if the transfere is poor. I have around 50 movies in HD & I would say around 10 are a less than perfect transfere with movies like Transformers, Casino Royale, Blood Diamond & Spider Man3 being superb.

You are missing out on so much, many programmes and films can never be HD. I feel you are making a mistake by watching the picture rather than the programme.

Many of us want the best picture we can get but that doesn't mean we won't watch anything that doesn't have perfect picture quality. Presumably you will never see old classic films or TV programmes again but will put up with something not very good because the picture quality is great?

Your possibly right in a way BUT to be honest I don't like old TV programs & most "Classic" movies anyway so it's not a problem! & of course I HAVE to watch the soaps which mainly have a poor picture (other than the Aussie ones). I just simply don't enjoy viewing a less than perfect picture now, I guess it's just what you get used to.

Well thats 50+ years of British tv you wont ever be watching again.

I have more than 30 BD and a few HD DVD aswell as Sky HD ,but if I restricted myself to only watching HD I'd be watching only a couple of hours a week.

It doesnt matter whether movies are "classics " are not.

Virtually all movies are made on 35mm film which can give images that exceed current HD standards.

Thats why you can get Forbidden Planet (1956),Spartacus (1960) and Casablanca (1942) on HD DVD all with genuine HD quality - and there's lots more on Bluray too

And dont forget Star Trek TOS (1966) also on HD DVD.

I wonder how many punters there are out there who assume because something is a few years old (never mind decades) that it cant be viewed in HD.

In fact Sky HD showed The Fly (1958) just last week

Well how about King Kong and Metropolis? What about the TV programmes that only exist on video? (Yes I know lots exist on film).

There's a lot out there that can never be a great HD picture but that doesn't mean they aren't worth watching.

Having said that it's obviously true that if they can be made into good HD then great, do you know how good the PQ is on Forbidden Planet as that sounds like something that would really benefit from HD?

I'm looking out for Lawrence of Arabia on Blu-ray. The cinematography of this film is just fantastic. In high def dvd those desert shots are going to be awesome.

The movie had a full restoration with the new HD master being used for HD DVD and DVD, you won't be disappointed whatever version you get and I am sure it'll turn up on Blu-ray sooner or later.

Sure but thats what I'm saying! if it's in HD quality I will view it, if in SD then I will try & avoid it! so if an olod movie etc. I fancy is shown on Sky HD I might view it, on SD movie channels I would not bother.

King Kong and Metropolis come from the 20's and 30's and film stock was different then.

The King Kong R1 dvd looks good but it wont ever reach HD standards.

Very few UK tv shows exist on 35mm film- bar the obvious 60's and 70's ITC shows and a couple more.

I never said anything wasnt worth watching - in fact I said the opposite it was the other poster who was ignoring non HD stuff.

The Forbidden Planet HD DVD is very good

So you are quite happy to ignore 50 years of British tv then?

In a word YES! & why not? chances are I have already seen it in SD quality anyway over the past 50 years!

In real terms very little of current BBC and ITV/C4 home made tv is made in HD either so by not watching SD you are narrowing yourself to a very small choice

It would perhaps be a sensible option in 3 or 4 years but its as silly this early into HD as it would have been to ignore B&W material in 1969 or 4:3 material in 1998

The problem is not what to watch it's having enough time to watch it, I have numerous BD & HD DVD Movies lined up & unopened, combine this with Sky HD & I'm fine for some time yet.

Even though I have a few dozen BD and a handful of HD DVD I still spend most time watching sd and dvd.

Although Spidey 2.1 on BD was great today.

Just wondering if its worth upgrading the amp for the uncompressed PCM and the lossless DTS that arrives on the PS3 this week

It's something I had thought of doing but have decided not to bother at this time; I currently have a Samsung BD P1400& let the player decode then listen to True HD via Analogue 5.1connections to my Denon AVR 3805 & the sound is great. I guess lossless DTS is going to be good but I don't want to sacrifice the sound quality of the Denon so would have to spend circa £1000 to come close. The Sammy can stream DTS MA but to my mind it's just not worth it at the moment.

Nor me.

I only got my Denon 3 years ago and there's nothing wrong with it so it all seems a bit extravagant to get another one especially as I'm 6.1 at the moment with no room for the 7.1 setup- but HDMI switching is also of interest as I've used a combo lead for the HD DVD player and PS3 but its not ideal