Video Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on February 02, 2009 at 17:35:57

In Reply to: RE: Which movies are better in Blu Ray than DVD? posted by joel_hifi on February 01, 2009 at 09:46:36

...almost all movies will look far better on BD than DVD, even on a smallish screen, say 40" and up. BD is simply a superior medium. Plus, the sound is always better, at least so far. The main issue for collectors is the roll-out - lots of classic and foreign films haven't yet made it BD. If you're not into block busters, the choice isn't as wide as for DVD, although it's getting better.

I've heard of a few poor transfers - The Fugutive and Lethal Weapon II come to mind as releases that have not found favor due to artifacts. The Truman SHow apparently has incorrect aspect ratio and has been "stretched". There is also some grousing about edge enhancement and removal of film grain on some few releases - e.g. Zulu, although I thought the latter looked very good on BD, much much better than the DVD. There are lots of review sites such as DVDBeaver.com and hometheaterforum.com where the various releases are discussed and rated for PQ and sound. There is a thread on HT Forum that lists poor transfers and Bds with errors or glitches. See link below.

Blu-Ray does wonders for - of all things - classic B&W movies, which look gorgeous on BD. The Searchers is also stunningly beautiful on BD. The Criterion colection is releasing on Bu now too, which makes me very happy.

So if you love a movie and want to see it in the best home format possible, buy it on Blu, if it's available (and not a known problem disc). Otherwise, you can always rent it on Blu first for a test run. OTOH, we know there will be some films that will not make it to BD any time soon, if ever. Such is life. So I'm sure I'll always have many DVDs in my collection.

• Blu-Ray Titles to Avoid   (Open in New Window)

Edits: 02/02/09