# blu-ray - brilliant!



## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

Just got a PS3 and a complementary copy of 'Casino Royale' on blu-ray.

All I can say is -Wow. had heard all the hype but really the difference between dvd and blu-ray is amazing.

Trouble is now I'm disatisfied with DVD picture quality and I've got hundreds of 'em 

Anybody else suitably impressed - or at the risk of staring a format 'war' anyone playing HD discs?


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

I've been quite keen to get a PS3 but keep expecting them to come down in price. Did you get a good deal?

Also, the blu-ray discs aren't cheap are they? Can you rent them?


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## jbell (May 15, 2006)

raven said:


> I've been quite keen to get a PS3 but keep expecting them to come down in price. Did you get a good deal?
> 
> Also, the blu-ray discs aren't cheap are they? Can you rent them?


Amazon rent them for varying amounts depending on how many you have per month. I have 3 DVDs for Â£5.99 a month delivered to my door and the price includes return postage.


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

Anyone know if there is much of a visible difference between the 720p HD and 1080p Blu-ray HD


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

Paid top price for PS3 - no chance of discount I'm afraid. But if you look at the price of dedicated blu-ray players then they are actually keenly priced. I'm sure they will be cheaper soon - it's inevitable.

You can rent discs from some outlets - main problem though is that there aren't many titles out yet. And, some studio's are not releasing on blu-ray ata all - it's like VHS and Betamax all over again :?

I got a couple of games witht he PS3 (resistance and call of duty 3) and am impressed with them - they have converted me from PC games.


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## tommyt (Nov 14, 2003)

Although sales of PS3 have been well below expectations, prices are not expected to fall until after Christmas.


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## ronin (Sep 6, 2003)

I bought on from play as a bundle when launched. The bundle was Â£525, it is now Â£475. if the console prices are not falling, the bundle prices are - Â£475 for unit,3 games, blu-ray movie and HDMI cable is not bad.

As for DVD's not looking great, v1.80 of the ps3 os allows you to upscale native DVD to a falsified 1080i.


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

I dont think the quality is that much better than a std 1080 DVD image.


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## WAZ-TT (Sep 20, 2004)

If anyone is interested I have a jap model brand new for sale @310 pounds...


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

tommyt said:


> Although sales of PS3 have been well below expectations, prices are not expected to fall until after Christmas.


Could be imminent:

Report: PS3 $499 on July 12

Although Sony has yet to confirm a price drop officially, GameDaily BIZ has received confirmation from the retail sector that the PS3 will be dropped to $499 next week. Sony itself recently talked about "refining" the PS3 price. Now it appears to be happening.

A PS3 price cut rumor spread like wildfire across the Internet this afternoon when several sites spotted a new advertisement from Circuit City. The ad as seen on Kotaku lists the PS3 console at $499.99, $100 less than its current price.

It wasn't clear at first if this ad was a special deal specific to the electronics retailer or if it's indeed a retail-wide price cut instituted by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). As it turns out, a merchandising manager (who wished to remain anonymous) at one of the world's biggest retailers has confirmed to GameDaily BIZ that the price drop is indeed retail-wide and it's scheduled to take place on July 12, although the first wave of ads to promote the PS3's new price won't kick in until Sunday, July 15.

Many analysts have speculated that Sony would drop the price on the expensive console this year, and some even predicted that it could happen this summer. It's starting to look like they were right. We're sure to find out much more next week when Sony holds its press conference at E3.

SCEA when contacted for confirmation declined to comment.


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

Sounds promising - maybe for once my patience will be rewarded!

Must say though I generally prefer PC games, largely because I prefer using a mouse and keys to the controller. For example, I played a game called Black on the PS2 and trying to accurately shoot someone using my thumb on the joystick was a nightmare - anyone else find this? :?


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

Raven. I know where you are coming from.

I was a dedicated PC gamer - particularly on shooters - the switch to consoles was a bit tricky at first - aiming and such.

But after a few weeks it becomes second nature.

Also - in my opinion - blu-ray picture miles better than any DVD - just look at amount of data blu-ray discs can hold.


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## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

> Also - in my opinion - blu-ray picture miles better than any DVD - just look at amount of data blu-ray discs can hold


Very true - but on a good DVD player the picture can be very good. Its suprising what you can do with the 'limited' capacity of a DVD.

I think i'll be waiting a few years for one format to establish itself 

James


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

See your point about waiting - be interesting to see where the format goes. I have to say I wouldn't have bought a stand-alone blu-ray player yet - I would have waited.

But - the pressure from the kids for a PS3 was too great to resist....oh alright then ... I wanted one too :roll:


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## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

> But - the pressure from the kids for a PS3 was too great to resist....oh alright then ... I wanted one too


 :lol:


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## jbell (May 15, 2006)

coupe-sport said:


> > Also - in my opinion - blu-ray picture miles better than any DVD - just look at amount of data blu-ray discs can hold
> 
> 
> Very true - but on a good DVD player the picture can be very good. Its suprising what you can do with the 'limited' capacity of a DVD.
> ...


This is my thinking, LG do a player that supports all 3 formats though


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes - the LG player is supposed to be good. I think any future players will have to be multi-format.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Big difference. I even see a marked difference between HD DVD & Blu-Ray on the same HDTV (different players of course as my Blu-Ray is PS3).

Can understand why the market appears to be swaying towards Blu-Ray & away from HD DVD.


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

The only advantage BR has over HDDVD is the capacity. Two of the BR consortium (LG and Samsung) have already broken ranks and gone combo. Another one - HP has jumped ship all together and is now on the HDDVD side.

HDDVD has an advantage that you dont have a region code on the disc's where as BR has 3 regions codes (why regions codes are needed is beyond me) but.....

Frankly there is no reason for two formats but Sony being Sony they are insisting on coding it their way (BR)

PCs will be a very big market for the drive and as BR doesn't support iHD (xml based) its not going to gain popular acceptance from a certain OS maker who has a large portion of the market lets say. O and his latest OS has iHD built in. Do you think he had a bit of insider knowledge from some one?

Production costs are higher for BR, HDDVD can be manufactured on existing DVD lines in the same manor as DVDs. If it cost more to make - we will have to pay more.

BR has a better bit rate than HDDVD (30Mb/s vs 54Mb/s, but this would mean you'd struggle to get a film on a disk. The real answer is the picture is no better on one over the other, in-fact they BOTH use the same broadcom chipset. They are the same, 1080p - end ov. BRs problem (or sonys in particular) is it seems to use MPEG2 as it codex which is rather poor compared to the other options. I think Panasonic are playing with MPEG4 and H.264. HDDVD is using VC1 which means it does need the capacity that BR needs.

PS3 hasn't really made a big splash but MS have dropped the ball too because if they are serious about DVDHD they should have slapped a player in the xbox360. It would appear to me they are just sitting back and letting everyone else fight it out.

All IMO, I'm not going for either, they are both still too young and the formats are moving. In real terms you dont need the 50GB BR offers, I'm sure 100GB will appear later (4 layers) but its the same for HDDVD - capacity growth is not a problem.

I'd also say the market, at least in the US is heading more to HDDVD than BR. but it depends on what u read. :wink:


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6283170.stm


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/06/one_terabyte_on_a_rugular_dvd

I've read that dual blu-ray / HD-DVD DVD manufacturer is also being considered - sticking them back-to-back.


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## ElegantSpoon.Co.Uk (Feb 4, 2007)

Blockbuster rent Blu ray and HD DVD in there stores 

Saw them in there on the weekend!


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## ColwynC (Sep 8, 2003)

Outstanding picture. Watched it on my normal CRT TV first but then bought 1080i LCD and the difference is absoloutely incredible.

The reason I bought the PS3 is it does games and BRD..

Very happy, just have to buyt more movies now! And/or get Sky HD


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

No price cut for Euro PS3 console

Sony is not cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 in Europe, but will offer free games and accessories instead. 
There is also no word of plans for an 80GB version of the console in Europe.

Last week Sony said it would drop the US price of the 60GB PS3 by $100 (Â£50), and introduced a new 80GB version at the original price of $599 (Â£300).

In Europe gamers will get a "starter pack" at an unchanged price of Â£425 for the 60GB machine, with two games and two controllers included.

The new pack was announced at the E3 games conference in Santa Monica, in California. Sony says it is offering gamers Â£115 worth of added games and controller, for no extra charge.

But the firm could face criticism from gamers for deciding not to reduce the price of the 60GB PS3 and not announcing the 80GB machine.

Earlier this week, Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said he thought the US price cut would at least "double" the sales of PS3 in the country.

In the UK, the PlayStation 3 remains Â£125 more expensive than the equivalent Xbox 360 bundle of console and games and Â£225 more expensive than the Nintendo Wii with two games.


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

Don't you just hate it when you buy something in the first 'wave' and then later on it drops in price - or for Europe - gets more free extras. Or is that inevitable given marketing techniques etc now :?

Oh well...I 'm sure that won't happen to me again.....hang on a minute...I've got a MK2 on order  :wink:


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## Lisa. (May 7, 2002)

What's with it with boys and their toys?
It's just a film.It's just a telly. It's just a stereo.

Fools.


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

oooooh they look good - when are they on sale then 

Just realised - Sony: Betamax - Sony: Blu-Ray...Doh!!!


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## Lisa. (May 7, 2002)

marko said:


> oooooh they look good - when are they on sale then
> 
> Just realised - Sony: Betamax - Sony: Blu-Ray...Doh!!!


The modern man's Betamax.

God knows how we've managed watching films up till now without Blu-ray, God! even the name is wank.

Sorry but I'm not impressed by big tellys and video players. 
Just wanted to balance the thread. You boys need a room of your own ( on the forum, I mean)


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## marko (Feb 27, 2006)

Hi Lisa

Have you got a DVD player? :roll:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Lisa. said:


> marko said:
> 
> 
> > oooooh they look good - when are they on sale then
> ...


That's Tim fcuked then with his big telly, games consoles & variety of gadgets :lol:

Where to you stand on big fancy la-de-da cars?? :wink:


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## Lisa. (May 7, 2002)

W7 PMC said:


> Lisa. said:
> 
> 
> > marko said:
> ...


He has his own money, I don't stop him spending it on whatever he wants.
He just knows I can't feign interest in tellys.
I have two teenage boys that think just like him, so he'll be ok, don't worry about Tim  
It's going be like living in "Tomorrow's World".

Why isn't that on anymore?


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Lisa. said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > Lisa. said:
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....I think that Raymond Baxter went and died; that that dreary Judith woman left to grow herbs in the Cotswolds; and the rest just got thoroughly bored wth it all.


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## Lisa. (May 7, 2002)

garyc said:


> Lisa. said:
> 
> 
> > W7 PMC said:
> ...


I read recently that Selina Scott knits socks for a living these days too.


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## Lisa. (May 7, 2002)

Quick google search and it's true!

http://www.selinascott.com/index.php?page=mohair-socks


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Lisa. said:


> garyc said:
> 
> 
> > Lisa. said:
> ...


Knitting? Hmmmm. well she used to be MILF factor 10 for my adolescent fantasies. I wonder if she has gone all knit one, pearl one in the looks dep't?


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## Lisa. (May 7, 2002)

No, she looks as good as ever! You must have missed the link.


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Lisa. said:


> No, she looks as good as ever! You must have missed the link.


I did miss it

Don't know if she is a mummy, but she is deffo still yummy. 

Anyone tried the socks?

ps Blu Ray is boring. :wink:


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