DVD vs Blu-Ray picture quality
I never quite believed I’d see much of the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray on an 80cm (32 inch) TV. But with brand-name Blu-Ray players now below $100, and releases such as the complete set of Star Wars movies out on Blu-Ray, this past Christmas seemed like the right time to jump in and try it.
One of the presents I got was the Blu-Ray of Tron: Legacy, which also included the original Tron movie. Since I already had the DVD of the former, I’m able to compare the DVD against the Blu-Ray versions.
The scene from Flynn’s arcade had a lot more detail on the Blu-Ray, but you can’t really see it in a photo, so I won’t post it here. Jeremy and I looked carefully at this scene and were able to identify the names on some of the machines, for instance, which is impossible using the DVD.
More stark is the difference in this shot from the lightcycles scene, first on DVD:
(See it bigger)
…and on Blu-Ray:
(See it bigger)
There’s a lot more contrast in this scene on the Blu-Ray version. I think it’s not just a format question, it’s also that they’ve taken a lot more care in remastering the video. But the resolution being better also undoubtedly helps, and this is particularly noticeable (on the TV, perhaps not in the photos) with the grid lines.
Things to keep in mind:
- The DVD was from before the sequel movie was made, and it’s entirely possible that not a great deal of care was taken in the mastering. In comparison it appears they took a lot of care on the Blu-Ray version. It’s entirely possible that the current edition DVD is better.
- These comparisons were snapped off my TV with a camera, with the blinds drawn to reduce light. The snapshots were not taken under ideal conditions. (I don’t currently have any Blu-Ray drives in a computer, so I’m unable to grab a Blu-Ray image directly.) As noted above, it’s difficult to convey the difference seen on the TV in a photo.
- I’ve used the freeze frame, which may impact the picture.
There’s no denying the higher quality of Blu-Ray, even on an 80cm screen.
Question is, which movies or TV would I consider worthy of upgrade, and at what cost? I can’t see myself shelling how lots of money for discs of movies I already own. But for future purchases, I’d certainly lean towards the newer format if the price is not prohibitive.
(I did find The Life Of Brian on Blu-Ray, with lots of extras, for $8 yesterday at K-Mart.)
- MichaelDVD review of Tron DVD
- MichaelDVD review of Tron on Blu-Ray
- MichaelDVD review of Tron:Legacy on Blu-Ray
Tags: Blu-ray, DVDs, films, television
11 comments
My verdict on the Tintin movie
Look! It’s Tintin on a bus…
And here’s Tintin on a tram (and a tram in Tintin)…
So anyway, we went to the Tintin movie yesterday — in 2D, as 3D doesn’t work on me. I enjoyed it a lot. They did a good job of recreating the look of Herge, and there were plenty of references to keep Tintin nerds like me entertained.
The first half of the movie had a lot of bits of Tintin stories all mushed together, and it was a bit like watching a rock concert, recognising the start of a scene, but being keen to see how they used the material.
[Limited spoilers ahead]
Read more
Tags: Tintin
5 comments
Can you name the man on the couch?
…and if so, how many seconds did it take you?
Update 8pm: Yes, many guessed, some didn’t.
I came across it when I was at home on Monday. Unfortunately I didn’t stay tuned… apart from George Cole (better known as Arthur Daley), Sid James and Joan Sims, there was another familiar face somewhere in there, a one-time associate of the above gentleman.
- IMDB: Will Any Gentleman…? (1953)
Tags: films
16 comments
A few pics: Myer, trams, crocs and Star Wars
I don’t have a proper blog post for you, so here’s a few pictures from the last week or so.
If you were looking for Myer’s Lonsdale Street store, it’s gone — almost all of it except the facade.
(When I was a kid, we often went into the City on a Friday night, had dinner at the Coles cafeteria in Bourke Street, then made our way up through the back of Myer to level 6, where the toy department was, before heading to Lonsdale Street to catch the 602 bus home.)
Great to see Yarra Trams continuing its removal of mystery “phantom” route numbers. This “67a” (that’s “a” for altered) was diverted during the Queen’s visit.
Southland: Beware of crocs.
Darth Maul in a playful mood at EB Games, Southland.
Tags: Myer, Southland, Star Wars, Yarra Trams
6 comments
Grainy vs smooth
From the popup text of the comic reproduced below:
We’re also stuck with blurry, juddery, slow-panning 24fps movies forever because (thanks to 60fps home video) people associate high framerates with camcorders and cheap sitcoms, and thus think good framerates look ‘fake’.
The first DVD I played on my old Loewe TV when I got it (in June 2002, though staggeringly I appear not to have blogged about it) was scene two of O Brother, Where Art Thou — where our three heroes try and jump aboard a freight train.
I dug it out to try the DVD player with the new TV, the other day.
With the ol’ Pioneer DV-344 and component cables (actually just repurposed RCA cables), the picture is amazingly clear, and the film incredibly smooth. So much so that, as per the comment above, it does look like it was shot on cheap video — in fact it reminds me a little of old programmes from the 60s shot on video.
I assume that a combination of the component cables, plus the TV refreshing at 100 Hz is doing it.
I’m far more used to material being shot on film looking a teensy bit grainy, but I suspect I’ll get used to it.
PS. Even the TV reception looks better than it did in the shop. Not sure what the deal is there… though in real life we view the screen from further away than it is in the shop.
Tags:
5 comments
Tron (and why home theatre is so popular)
I don’t see a lot of movies in the cinema, so call me slow if you like, but I think I’ve worked out why big TVs and DVDs and Bluray are getting so popular.
Freaking $18.50 for an adult, $13.50 for kids? (And this is at 10am on a weekday — I don’t know if their pricing varies at peak times.) Plus $4 each for Choc Tops, and $3.90 for a bottle of water. $61.40 for a movie with a snack? Gordon Bennett.
The silver-lining is there was only one other person in the theatre, sitting right up the back, so we got pick of the seats.
And the movie itself? Spectacular, but not deep. Enjoyable but not utterly brilliant. A little like the original, in fact.
Tags: cinemas, films, Tron
21 comments
The toy of the movie of the game
Spotted in K-Mart: Lego Prince of Persia.
So let me get this straight… this is the toy of the movie of the video game.
I wonder if there’ll be (as there was with Star Wars and others) a Lego video game of it. That would be the game of the toy of the movie of the game.
(I remember playing the original Prince of Persia game in my uni days. Despite being a fan of the platform genre, I don’t think I’ve played any of the sequels. The Wikipedia article notes the author got the distinctive animation done by video-taping his younger brother, and links to one of the original videos. Very cool.)
Mr Nice Guy
Years ago I got Mr Nice Guy on DVD. It’s the Jackie Chan movie that has a lot of scenes filmed around central Melbourne.
Given that apart from Jackie himself, I only recognised one actor (Barry Otto), that most of the acting is pretty bad, and the movie is basically all fight scenes, my conclusion was that they hired mostly stuntmen for all the characters. Why would you bother getting real actors?
The plot is wafer-thin, seemingly designed primarily to link together the fight scenes. As a reviewer on IMDB said “‘Mr Nice Guy’ might be a contender for the thinnest plot in the universe prize”.
In this first clip you’ll see Jackie (in this movie playing a chef, also called Jackie, who meets a journalist who has a tape incriminating a gang of suited drug pushers) running around Melbourne Central shopping centre. It was filmed in 1995 (there’s a clue in the second clip), and you get to see him slide down what was the main escalator entrance to the station from Swanston Street until it was removed in 2004.
In this scene straight afterwards, our hero, having just left Melbourne Central, somehow finds himself on Swanston Street near Collins Street, and hijacks a horse and carriage. A few familiar sights are in there, including Melbourne Sports Depot (now EB Games), the Town Hall, the Manchester Unity Building, quite a few trams in the Met colours and the old Batman Records, Off Ya Tree, and Academic & General bookshop. The geography goes screwy again, with a turn into Lonsdale Street becoming Little Bourke Street near Hardware Lane, and then becoming Flinders Lane at the back of St Paul’s and next to the City Square.
Quite entertaining, though mostly for the familiar sights.
Note: In both cases you can improve the picture quality by choosing 480p when playing. Also check out an earlier scene filmed at the Showgrounds.
Tags: Jackie Chan
3 comments
