Is blue-ray just a media storage format? I was wondering are old movies that had been re-released on Blue-Ray DVD any good? I always thought to have True Blue Ray Technology, the Movie would have to be filmed with special cameras that use the Blue-Ray Technology.

I really prefer blue ray and I would like to expand my movie collection with some classics. I just don't want to waste my time if Older movies that are re-released in Blue Ray format aren't worth the money.

I know that Blue Ray DVD players are supposed to enhance all DVD's. I just don't want to re-buy all my classics in Blue Ray, if it doesn't make a difference in quality.

Help! Somebody school me.

It is definitely helpful to read reviews of the discs. Alot of the "classics" are crappy transfers and don't look much better than a standard DVD because that is the source they used instead of remastering the film.

Case in point, "Full Metal Jacket" on Blu-Ray looks like complete crap where "Blade Runner" will knock your socks off.

I tend to trust the reviews on Amazon if they are well written.

And no there is no "Blu-Ray Film" any film shot digitally or on 35mm stock is HD natively. It is all in how they get it to the disc and the disc format that matters.

why even buy/replace them with bluray when likely you will be able to download payperview/on demand everything from the web/dtv/cable in the next couple years in hd or whatever the best quality that is available.

Plus they are so expensive at the moment, and the better the movie which most classics are, the more expensive they seem to be.
The crap movies could be in hd blueray but are much cheaper in comparison.

IMO
I wouldnt be in a rush to replace all my dvds with bluray
just use the upconvert dvd player

horatio said:

I like having a movie library. I still don't download albums so I doubt I'll do the same for movies.

sextonseven said:

oh,


go to the flea market and you can buy a truck load of vhs and dvds for 50 bucks then

How is Purple Rain on Blue Ray? Anything special about it? I seen it the other day and thought about buying it.

jaimestarr79 said:

I dunno , Ive been trying to find it. I used to see it all the time before I had a bluray.
All I know is it has extra music videos and stuff like that.

Any Blue-Ray DVD experts on the Org?

Not an expert (haven't authored my own blu-rays yet), but I do own a top of the line blu-ray player and a 1080p tv. I rent my blu-ray movies from Netflix. I do produce work in HD formats, and have authored HD content, just not stored on Blu-ray yet.

Is blue-ray just a media storage format?
Yes! It's a 50 gig storage disc.

I was wondering are old movies that had been re-released on Blue-Ray DVD any good?
Yes, most of them are wonderful, people are raving over older movies like Casablanca or even newer ones like The Shining. I have Halloween on Blue-Ray and it looks amazing. The Kubrick films like "Full Metal Jacket" all got recent new HD transfer and are reported to look amazing. I also own Blade Runner. Superman the movie is great but the film itself uses diffusion to look soft and nostaligic. Even a crappy tranfer offers you a significant step up in picture detail. You are jumping from a DVD with 720x480 to a HD with 1920x1080.


I always thought to have True Blue Ray Technology, the Movie would have to be filmed with special cameras that use the Blue-Ray Technology.

Movies are all about resolution. Blu-ray is simply a storage medium for an HD picture and high quality soundtrack. You can watch/sample this kind of material without a blu-ray simply by downloading movie trailers in full 1080p HD to see just what kind of detail is now at your fingertips.

I really prefer blue ray and I would like to expand my movie collection with some classics. I just don't want to waste my time if Older movies that are re-released in Blue Ray format aren't worth the money.

they certainly are worth it unless they were shot in an NTSC format or 16mm (The Prince live purple rain video is ntsc, and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was shot on 16mm, so these two cannot really benefit from HD resolution.) But SOTT the 35mm movie has recently been given a great HD transfer that was shown on cable tv (and downconverted to the newest Canadian DVD release in NTSC)

I know that Blue Ray DVD players are supposed to enhance all DVD's. I just don't want to re-buy all my classics in Blue Ray, if it doesn't make a difference in quality.

The upscaling of DVD's look good! It's not quite as sharp, but it looks good.

Secondary question: Can I access the Tivo content as files using a usb cable to my tivo box? Can I save those files and use them some how?

jaimestarr79 said:

Looks great, sounds great, but the same content as the 20th anniversary edition.

horatio said:

I want a quality library, not a crappy one.

sextonseven said:

its likely where your 'quality library' will end up in 5 years.

horatio said:

Why do you say that? I already said I won't download movies. And downloads are the next step, right?

sextonseven said:

its just payper view, you rent the movie from your cable/internet service.

horatio said:

I do that now rarely. I prefer to rent DVDs because PPV quality at this point isn't as good. Occasionally a movie will come along that I can watch repeatedly and those I prefer to own on disc as opposed to saving onto a DVR or hard drive.

some people are going to snatchup cheap HD DVD players and cheap HD disc movies if they start getting really cheap... like VHS's