Episode 5 - HDMI Switch Roundup, Vizio VBR100 Blu-ray Player, Older Movies: Worth Buying On Blu-ray? [Discussion]

[evogage]

HDMI Switch Roundup, Vizio VBR100 Blu-ray Player, Older Movies: Worth Buying On Blu-ray?

Watch or download here (http://revision3.com/hdnation/vizioplayer)

[cyborger]

Pretty good episode. Not the best IMO. From the sound of it the Vizio blu-ray player is just a step above the Magnovox one but that's just about it. I was hoping that Vizio would display some of that bang-for-your-buck greatness that they're known for.

[xfuuey]

great episode. this one seemed longer than the other 4, no? (not that i'm complainin')

[baddox]

I enjoyed the flow of this episode, it was quite dense with material. I think it's obvious you guys are listening to suggestions on the forums. I liked the quick run-through of the blu-ray releases with the nice "coverflow" graphic. Also, I liked the 3 links to the blu-ray review sites highdefdiscnews.com, thedigitalbits.com, and highdefdigest.com. I'm definitely checking those out.

[az0madman]

When I watched Baraka from Netflix, I immediately purchased it via Amazon. Looked so good that it was hard not to.

As for HD sites, I'm also a fan of blu-ray.com.

[cyborger]

great episode. this one seemed longer than the other 4, no? (not that i'm complainin')

This was the longest episode so far. It's the first one to reach and go beyond the 30 minute mark.

[davmoo]

Another great episode. I'll have to check out Baraka. To be honest, and give everyone a cheap laugh, when I first heard the title I figured it was something to do with the President :o

I was disappointed to hear that Last Star Fighter doesn't really gain anything from Blu-Ray. This is one of my favorite movies, but I don't see a need to "upgrade" if its not going to do anything other than smooth out film grain.

I also don't see a lot of reason to update my collection of movies that really do qualify as "old" (I got a chuckle out of the letter writer considering Hellboy as an older movie). For instance, I think Casablanca is the greatest movie of all time. But, and especially since the collection extras are all available elsewhere, I don't see an advantage to buying a Blu-Ray set that uses source material from the 40's when I already have it on DVD and it upscales fine.

Was it my imagination, or my equipment, or was the audio ever so slightly out of sync with the video on the HD (30fps) version of this episode?

[baddox]

Another great episode. I'll have to check out Baraka
Was it my imagination, or my equipment, or was the audio ever so slightly out of sync with the video on the HD (30fps) version of this episode?

I caught a slight sync problem on the 720p30 vid, using newest version of VLC with Vista. What I notice more, however, is the shoddy compression on this show, as well as all the HD Revision3 shows. I know, bandwidth is expensive, but I think for this show especially there should be a release with, say, twice the bitrate of the current HD that they release. Unless it's just cost prohibitive, it is ironic to have very noticeable compression artifacts on a show called HD Nation! I would gladly download a file twice as large to have it look twice as good!

[eugovector]

My apologies, I posted too soon...moments later in another segment, you did revisit the topic and mention the effect that seating distance will have on the ability to perceive detail.

Thanks for keeping in mind resolution x screen size x seating distance.


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From your segment on whether it makes sense to buy titles in Blu-ray...

Robert: "Now the first thing you want to think about is the size of your HDTV. Now if you don't have a 1080p screen, say, 42" or bigger, you're going to be wasting your time going with Blu-ray."

Patrick: "...that can actually really pop in Blu-ray, again, if you've got a big enough screen running 1080p."

By that logic, everyone who purchases a 24" 1080p monitor for their computer is wasting money, and we should all be furious that Blu-ray drives are being sold to unwitting purchasers of laptops.

Screen size tells you nothing without taking into account viewing distance and resolution as well. You've tackled this question may times on DLTV, and always quote screensize irrespective of viewing distance (usually with resolution implied at 1080p).

Please read this: http://carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

...and educate your viewers to consider not only screen size, but also seating distance when considering the tangible benefits of 1080p source material.

[baddox]

I think they're assuming in both statements that the TV is being used as a TV, not a monitor, so viewing distances would be what would be expected for a TV room. This logical doesn't invalidate 24" monitors, because, like you imply, you sit very close to a monitor, not to mention the resolution is useful for displaying the operating system, not just video. If you had a 24" monitor being used solely as a TV and were sitting from a normal TV viewing distance, then their statements hold true and the detail wouldn't be noticeable on the blu-ray titles they were discussing.

[eugovector]

So what is "normal TV distance"? 3', 6', 10', 15'?

I've used all four (dorm room, current living room, previous living room, open kitchen/dining room) which would correspond to a TV size range of 24"-120" assuming that a seating distance of approximately 1.5x the screen diagonal (for a 1.78 screen) will max out the detail your eye can resolve in a 1080P screen.

[shike]

I also think it's worth mentioning that some people get extremely uncomfortable when it comes to viewing screens closely. For 1080P to benefit on a 50" screen the max distance you can be away is 6.5' compared to 15' for 720P. I'd of course suggest around 10' or so for 50" 720P, but you get the drift.

It depends if you're the type that wants the screen to span out into peripheral vision or if you want a more comfy viewing experience.

Personally, I dislike the tone that 1080P is herald as the only reason for Blu-Ray. 720P is still sufficient for many people, and I think anyone would agree to keep a nice 720P Pioneer Kuro rather than toss it out for almost any 1080P LCD, save maybe some of the LED blacklit ones which cost an insane amount.

[tokenuser]

There are all sort of metrics available for determining optimal screen distance based on screen size.

I like this calculator:
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

It give this THX recommendations as well as movie theatre style calculations.

Personally, I have a 60" Hitachi Ultravision and sit approximately 17' away.