Will Blu-Ray Matter for Pioneer 720p Kuros?

[mleuba]

Hi All,

Pretty new to Home Theater. I bought the 50" Kuros plasma 720p. I spent 45 minutes studying the difference between 720 and 1080 Kuros with a Blu-Ray input and while I could barely tell the tiniest difference between the two when studying paused images. I couldn't justify paying $1500 more for the 1080p.

Of course now I'm thinking about wheter Blu-Ray makes sense for me, or should I buy a good DVD player? The Kuros says it supports 480, 720 and 1080. The dealer told me the audio channel for Blu-Ray is somewhat superior, and I assume that Blu-Ray will ultimately overtake "standard" DVD in availability, and prices will ultimately drop. But will I see (or hear) any difference between Blu-Ray and a good DVD player?

My receiver is Integra 7.8. Thanks for your opinions and advice!

Mark

[eugovector]

Between a Blu-ray, and a very good player like the $230 Oppo 981, you will likely see and hear a small difference, but at twice the price, and a 100th the selection of movie titles (you'll still end up watching A LOT of DVDs on that blu-ray player).

Of course, this all depends on your seating distance relative to your screen size. You have a 50". 720p TV. How far away from it are you sitting?

See the chart linked in this episode: http://realht.info/EpisodePages/EP014.html

or direct at the source: http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

But, even if theoretically you will be able to tell the difference, and you are fine with the limited titles, you should still wait. Unlike the HD-DVD spec which was complete from day 1, Blu-ray is still deciding which features are required and which are optional. If you buy a player today, it may not support the disc features of a year from now, or even play the movie without an overdue firmware update.

Couple that with the price of blu-ray players, relative to a great DVD player, and I'd wait until Christmas to jump in. Watch some good HD broadcast instead. I recommend House, Boston Legal, and Lost (purely for eye candy). If you do buy a blu-ray player tomorrow, get the PS3.

[tonyvdb]

The biggest advantage Blu has over SD DVD is the audio, but if you are not going through a good receiver and are just using the speakers on the display then this is a mute point as the built in speakers on displays simply can not handle the dynamics to make any difference. just get a good standard DVD player that upconverts well and forget it.
Newer titles on BluRay are getting better for video quality and are better than SD DVD but any of the older movies made back in the 70's - 90's dont look any better on Blu.

[Tristanc1]

Late last year I had a plasma, forget which model exacty but it was 42" and 720P, used it mainly for gaming and the occasional movie, and I too originally thought that there wasn't that big of a difference coming from dvd to blu-ray....Until I watched lost season 3....HOLY CRAP!!!! I honestly felt that I could reach out and grab what was on screen, the depth and realism of the image was incredible. I had seen it in HD on expressvu, but it didn't even come close to the blu-ray version. Since then there have been a few releases that have given me the same feeling, which I definitely do NOT get from dvd, regardless of the transfer. And after finally getting my HT kind of up and running I can agree with Tonyvdb above, the new lossless audio formats are something to behold if you're system is up to the task

*edit* I just re-read your post, and looked up that integra receiver, that's a nice piece of gear, I mean HDMI1.3 the whole nine. So if you've spent that kind of cash on both the display and the receiver why not do blu? You will hear a difference in the audio, the quality of the transfers are getting better and better...With the money invested, as well as the capabilities of the display, and the receiver I would grab a PS3, it's a software based player I believe which makes updates a heckuva lot easier, and it's kind of a flagship product for Sony so they keep it pretty up to date.

[lcaillo]

IME the answer is absolutely YES.