# Which film to REALLY show off Blu-ray capability?



## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

I had my new all singing all dancing LCD and Blu-ray player delivered today so I thought I'd go out tomorrow and buy a couple of Blu-ray discs to really show what my money has bought.

Any suggestions? I hear '300' and 'Die Hard 4.0' are quite good on Blu-ray?


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

What HiFi have some favourites they use for their tests Kev - Blood Diamond and Training Day come to mind.

Did you go LCD rather than Plasma then ?


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

R6B TT said:


> What HiFi have some favourites they use for their tests Kev - Blood Diamond and Training Day come to mind.


Oh yeah I forgot about that(!), I'll dig out my old copies and see what they say. I might just stick with Casino Royale or L4yer Cake though if I can't find anything specific.



R6B TT said:


> Did you go LCD rather than Plasma then ?


Yep - in the end I decided I needed at least a 46", but to get a plasma with 24p I had to go WELL over budget by about 50%. I then started looking at the New 24p Sony Bravias that were released last month, went for a Demo and I was blown away at how good they eliminate Judder and cope with blacks. So I have bought a new 46" 24p Bravia, and it was delivered today along with a Blu-Ray player. Only had it a day, but so far so good!


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## kingcutter (Aug 1, 2003)

Both James Bond and MI2 are worth a look in bluray.


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## DXN (May 18, 2002)

finding nemo has a blue ray in it (I think its the teacher on the reef)


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Yep, Casino Royale was one of their favs too.

Why a 46 - you must have a huge lounge, as for a 42 they recommend sitting at least 3m away from the screen ?


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

R6B TT said:


> Why a 46 - you must have a huge lounge, as for a 42 they recommend sitting at least 3m away from the screen ?


What Hi-fi's suggestions of how far you should sit from a screen are widely criticised, and I agree with those criticisms. Televisions have moved on over the past few years, that the detail is so fine. We sit about 8-9ft away and it's perfect. We got a 42" as a test and it was just too small for us. Bear in mind my girlfriend comes from parents who have an HD projector in their smallish lounge, so she (and me to some extent) is used to that large cinema experience.


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## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

kmpowell said:


> R6B TT said:
> 
> 
> > Why a 46 - you must have a huge lounge, as for a 42 they recommend sitting at least 3m away from the screen ?
> ...


Dstances nowadays don't matter like they used to as screens have moved on in a big way.

Didn't you cocider the PZ70 50" the prices have come right down to the extent I bought one last week, just waiting for the guy to deliver it now.


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## ronin (Sep 6, 2003)

Layer cake is ok - wont make you go wow though the audio is good. Casino Royal is more of a showcase. Favourite is 300 - have now watched that 4 times  and still not bored of it.
Got Prison Break season 1 and terminator 2 but have not watched them. Most have been bought from playusa.com - any alternatives worth knowing ?


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

jonah said:


> Didn't you cocider the PZ70 50" the prices have come right down to the extent I bought one last week, just waiting for the guy to deliver it now.


Yep I did. I was originally buying a 42" PZ70, however if you want true 24fps it simply won't do it.  There have been some massive discussions on AV-forums about it, to the point where Panasonic refused to confirm or deny its capability. It took people to do independent tests of their own to find that it can't cope with it natively, it just judders like buggery - this is the main reason prices have fallen for this screen. For me 24fps was a must, especially with the Blu-ray.

As for the film, I think 300 is top of the list now as well as Casino Royale.


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

On the subject of distance from screen... I was reading an article on-line a few months back and it stated that HD TV's have reduced the "recommended minimum distance" by about 40%. The main reason for the previous recommendation was due to picture quality... i.e. the further you sit from a TV, the "better" the quality or more likely, the less you notice blurred edges, etc

I've gone for the Samsung PS50P96 50" and I'm only sitting 3m away.


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

kmpowell said:


> ....... It took people to do independent tests of their own to find that it can't cope with it natively, it just judders like buggery .............


I think that is a tad overstated. Whilst the Panny does convert the 1080p/24 signal for display there is no way it "judders like buggery". It seems that most people, including me, just cannot detect any judder, and only some 'professional installers' claim they can see it!!

Blu-ray playback on the TH-50PZ700 is sensational (yes I do have one), even the slow panning scenes and I cannot detect any judder on the rolling credits at the end of the films - one of the most stressing cases for it - so can only conclude the Panasonic signal processing is exceptional.

As for films I can confirm that both Die Hard 4 and Casino Royale are very good.

BTW the 1080 upscaling feature is quite astounding - normal DVDs seem vastly superior to when played on the old non HD system and even analogue terrestrial TV channels have superb quality on the Panny .......... something I wasn't quite expecting!! This all means you can sit as close as you like to the screen as the image quality, even for non HD playback, is so good.


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

garvin said:


> Blu-ray playback on the TH-50PZ700 is sensational (yes I do have one)


The 700 is a different machine to the one Jonah and I are discussing (the 70). The 70 is a cut down 700 e.g. only 2 HDMI ports. The debate on the AV forums is whether Panasonic have cut down the 24fps capability as well. I had a demo on a full 24p setting Samsung machine via the P70B and I could see judder - and I'm by no stretch of anybody's imagination an 'expert'.



garvin said:


> BTW the 1080 upscaling feature is quite astounding - normal DVDs seem vastly superior to when played on the old non HD system and even analogue terrestrial TV channels have superb quality on the Panny .......... something I wasn't quite expecting!! This all means you can sit as close as you like to the screen as the image quality, even for non HD playback, is so good.


Got to agree 101% with you there - I am blown away at how good the Blu-ray player upscales normal DVDs. We watched Bourne Identity yesterday afternoon and it was like watching a whole new version, it was that good. The best bit for me though is the fast moving scenes - the blur is eradicated completely, making the car chase scenes perfect.


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Did you go for the W or X Kev ?


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

Transformers is out tomorrow - should be good 

however i don't have HD at the minute


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

R6B TT said:


> Did you go for the W or X Kev ?


Neither Rob. My budget would no way stretch to the X, so I went looking at the W instead. I spent hours reading the AV-Forum and also tried a few Indy shops but they all said that I should consider the V instead of the W and save myself Â£350. I wasn't convinced, but I took their advice and went off to find somewhere that I could compare the sets side by side. I ended up in my local John Lewis where they have a habit of setting up the latest Sony's to a dedicate source. Now, the differences from the W over the V are EX Engine, Pro Sound and 10bit - I was therefore expecting massive differences, but I was to be proved wrong and to my untrained eye I couldn't tell any difference. I spent nearly 2 hours (to the dismay of my Girlfriend!) tweaking the settings and trying different sources (freeview and Blu-ray), but the differences were so slight that I couldn't see them. I therefore took the advice of the AV forum and Sevenoaks, saving myself Â£350 and bought the V over the W.





digimeisTTer said:


> Transformers is out tomorrow - should be good


Not on Blu-ray it isn't, only HD-DVD.


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Thanks Kev - I had pretty my convinced myself for the Panny but I'll take a look at the Sony too

This one ?

http://www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct. ... +BRAVIA+TV


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

R6B TT said:


> Thanks Kev - I had pretty my convinced myself for the Panny but I'll take a look at the Sony too
> 
> This one ?
> 
> http://www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct. ... +BRAVIA+TV


Yep that's the one Rob. Do go and test lots of panels though and settle on your own personal opinion - 'cos even though I couldn't see much difference in the V and W my girlfriends dad said he could. He said the blacks were deeper on the W from his eyes, I'm not sure they are though because the dynamic contrast is the same on the V as the W. I was at the top end of my budget, so if money wasn't an object I would have gone for the W just for the reassurance. The only difference between the W and the X as far as people can tell is styling. One things for sure though the panel is only as good as the source signal plugged into it. I watched Bad Boys II on channel 5 last night and I flicked between Freeview and my Virgin box for a comparison - the virgin box was awful (I'm now having Virgin HD installed next week for the HDMI 1080i SD upscaling ability of the box), and the freeview picture was staggeringly good!


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

BTW, I had a tip off this morning that Asda was a cheap place to buy Blu-ray discs. So as I have got the day off I popped into my local store this morning and sure enough they had a massive rack full of all the latest Blu-ray titles at only Â£20 each.

So if you are thinking of buying some it might be worth you nipping to your local Asda if you want to save a few quid.


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## Hilly10 (Feb 4, 2004)

Garvin I have not seen the new TH50PZ700 yet is is as good as they say it is. I am looking to buy the 58" in that model when I can find one. I have allways been pleased with my Panny 42" but want some think a bit bigger. The critics sat this new one is the Dogs Dangglers and will not be surpassed for a couple of years.


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Kev,
I had a look at playusa.com yesterday, they had a good range at around Â£16 - Â£17 delivered.

Are Blu-Ray discs regionalised, like DVDs ?


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## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

Hilly10 said:


> Garvin I have not seen the new TH50PZ700 yet is is as good as they say it is. I am looking to buy the 58" in that model when I can find one. I have allways been pleased with my Panny 42" but want some think a bit bigger. The critics sat this new one is the Dogs Dangglers and will not be surpassed for a couple of years.


I viewed the 700 against the 70, the 70 does have a better contrast ration compared to the 700, however the 700 has more HDMI and built in surround sound, and a few other things but the screens are identical except for the contracst ration.
The 700 is a great screen and as Garvin said previously the PQ is amazing as is the 70 even viewing Blueray and HD, Sky HD is beyound my expectations as is playing my Xbox 360.
I believe the 750 is due for release very soon hence why the PZ's have dropped in price.


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

R6B TT said:


> Are Blu-Ray discs regionalised, like DVDs ?


It's a oit of an odd one - I've been looking for a few weeks and it would appear that some are and some aren't. It's pot luck from what I can tell but there is lots of info HERE if you can stay awake through the technical dross! 



jonah said:


> I viewed the 700 against the 70, the 70 does have a better contrast ration compared to the 700, however the 700 has more HDMI and built in surround sound, and a few other things but the screens are identical except for the contracst ration.


700s were released a while ago, Panasonic realised there was a gap in the market for cheaper plasmas so they released the 70s which are cut down 700s with slightly better dynamic contrast ratios. The 700s (apart from the 65") are due to be replaced by the 750s and 700Bs in the new year.

Hilly, they still don't do 24fps though so tread carefully and get a demo before committing, especially as you are buying such a large screen size.


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

Hilly10 said:


> Garvin I have not seen the new TH50PZ700 yet is is as good as they say it is. I am looking to buy the 58" in that model when I can find one. I have allways been pleased with my Panny 42" but want some think a bit bigger. The critics sat this new one is the Dogs Dangglers and will not be surpassed for a couple of years.


Yes, it is as good as they say it is. I have an old PW5 42" screen that produces a very good picture from analogue terrestrial TV and took a lot of setting up to get 'just so' (it's now been relegated ......... or is that promoted .......... to the bedroom complete with the old home cinema system). The new Panny just needed to be swtiched on and the auto set up left to its own devices and within minutes it was producing pictures from just the analogue TV inputs that blow the old 42" screen into the weeds. I did make just a few minor adjustments to get the picture 'warmth' to match my tastes but that was all.

The only thing I'm not over the moon about is the shiny black finish (but, then again, they're all like that nowadays) - the unit has quite a wide surround to house the speakers etc and is ...... how can I put this ......... huge even for a 50" screen (heaven knows what a 58" will look like). As my youngest son remarked when he first clapped eyes on it ......... "it's a bit ........ intimidating, isn't it". Wall mounting requires a very substantial frame as it is very heavy - I have it mounted on a cantilevered articulated arm as the screen needs to be set an an angle some way from the wall (damn chimney breast) - it looks like the forth road bridge when you look behind the screen ................. and most people do as they are very intrigued how this huge thing seems to hover in mid air of its own volition. Both analogue and digital TV pictures are better than anything else I have seen including demos in AV shops - mind you the aerial and cabling are all top notch stuff as is the dish and cabling for the SkyHD system.


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## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

> 700s were released a while ago, Panasonic realised there was a gap in the market for cheaper plasmas so they released the 70s which are cut down 700s with slightly better dynamic contrast ratios. The 700s


Kev
Panasonic have been doing this for ages, just look back through their ranges and you will see 500/50 600/60 and now 700/70, yes it is a cut down version, but don't take anything away from these screens, they do what they say on the tin at a good price.

Garvin 
I'd love to see what bolts you've used to mount the counterlever for the screen, when I first installed mine I though what have i done, as you say it's huge and i still have my PW6 mounted behind the PZ which is dwarfed by it.
Have you tried sending an HD signal to the PW5 i was to my PW6 and it was a brilliant picture via component.


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

kmpowell said:


> Hilly, they still don't do 24fps though so tread carefully and get a demo before committing, especially as you are buying such a large screen size.


But also note that plasmas are still much 'quicker' than LCDs so don't suffer so much inherent 'blurring' on very fast motion ........... you pays ya money and ya takes yer choice. So, as stated, before committing go check out the screens that interest you before buying.


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

jonah said:


> Garvin
> I'd love to see what bolts you've used to mount the counterlever for the screen, when I first installed mine I though what have i done, as you say it's huge and i still have my PW6 mounted behind the PZ which is dwarfed by it.
> Have you tried sending an HD signal to the PW5 i was to my PW6 and it was a brilliant picture via component.


This is the frame mounted to the wall - there are three heavy duty M12 x ~80mm bolts across the top and three across the bottom and that wall is plastered concrete block. It is mounted to the side wall because the wall directly behind is chock full of cabling and dry lined so best avoided for both reasons.










No, I have not tried sending an HD signal to the PW5 but, in theory, it should display it quite comfortably.


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## slg (May 6, 2005)

Kev

What blu-ray dvd player did you go for?


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

slg said:


> Kev
> 
> What blu-ray dvd player did you go for?


CLICKSY


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## jdn (Aug 26, 2002)

DXN said:


> finding nemo has a blue ray in it (I think its the teacher on the reef)


 :lol:

I thought it was funny.


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## jam (May 8, 2002)

kmpowell said:


> I had my new all singing all dancing LCD and Blu-ray player delivered today so I thought I'd go out tomorrow and buy a couple of Blu-ray discs to really show what my money has bought.
> 
> Any suggestions? I hear '300' and 'Die Hard 4.0' are quite good on Blu-ray?


Watched Die Hard 4.0 on Bluray on my 50" Samsung plasma last night - absolutely awesome. Can recommend Casion Royale too. Just need some kick ass surround sound setup now and my living room is complete!!


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