What made you go High-def?

[Matt89]

I thought this would make for an interesting topic. For those of you who have made the transition over to blu-ray/HD-DVD (even though it's dead), what initially convinced you to make the transition to high definition? Or, was there a certain title that made you go high definition?

For me, honestly...The Searchers did it. The comparisons over at DVDbeaver.com between the standard def edition and the blu-ray of The Searchers convinced me how much better high definition looked. (And for a film from 1956? My God. I'd compare it to recent films on blu-ray it looks so good.) So, I guess for me it was a bunch of blu-ray reviews over at DVDbeaver, the review for The Searchers in particular.

I remember telling myself, "Yeah I'll only get a few movies on blu-ray." But, I find that now I'm getting almost EVERY new movie I buy on blu-ray. It just looks so much better, such a noticeable difference (about 98% of the time) over an upscaled 480p DVD. Some upscaled DVDs DO actually look fantastic, but it's a hit-or-miss most of the time.

~Matt

[Dave]

An HD-DVD addon drive at Best Buy for $50. I was hoping to get the free movies but Toshiba porked me on that, but I suspect as much going in.

I did have streaming HD available on my Xbox, too, so I had it even prior to HD-DVD.

I now have it on my satellite, too, though I don't have all the packages.

I love hi-def. But honestly, hi-def really shows its beauty for live broadcasts. I watched the Celtics win it all in high def and man was that a gorgeous picture. And now I'm a NESN HD addict, as this is the time of the year I start to watch the Sox play (when it actually matters if they are in first or not). Film can look great in HD but the live broadcasts are just beautiful, which is no doubt due to the lack of film. Newer movies, on the other hand, tend to look just as gorgeous.

[Reverenddave]

Last summer there was a sale on Toshiba HD-DVD Players for $199. At the time, most HD-DVD Players were around $300+ and Blu-Ray players were around $500+. Plus there were all those Buy 1 Get 1 Free movie sales, and the 5 Free HD-DVD mail-in offer. So I quickly jumped on the deal.

A few weeks later Amazon had a sale on PS3 for around $400 with 3 free Blu-Rays instantly and a 5 Free mail-in offer. There were tons of Buy 1 Get One Free sales. Plus, Ratchet & Clank was coming out in a month or two. So I went Blu-Ray.

But I think the biggest factor was the Format War software sales. All those cheap movies and mail-in offers. It just made sense at the time. And I've got a huge HD collection now.

Today, I'd probably be more reluctant to make the plunge. Most movies are too expensive, sales are usually lame, and I don't see any real indication that it'll change in the near future.

now see I find the live broadcasts to look very nice on HDTV but when it comes to blu-ray nothing can touch it IMO. I got the sweet 120hz thing going on with my XBR and that only enhances everything even more. I love it. As for what caused me to switch I guess it's just because me and my bride like to keep up with the technology and that was the next thing. the only reason I went blu-ray instead of HD-DVD was because we went to buy a console for my bride so she could play Dance Dance Revolution. When I went to the store I had all intensions of getting an xbox360 but when the guy said the playstation network was free and it played Blu-ray then I was sold. First Blu i watched was The Reaping, not a great movie but it looks fantastic. The old films are awesome. I bought The Omega Man and it looks like it was made around the same time as I Am Legend (with the exception of the clothing styles, cars etc.)

[SaviniFan]

I made the jump late last year when Walmart had a pre-black Friday sale on Toshiba HD-DVD players for $99. Once the format died I decided to buy a PS3 and haven't looked back. I don't buy a lot of blu-ray movies yet as the prices are still a bit steep, but boy they sure look purdy on my 1080p HDTV.

[Mutilated Prey]

Originally Posted by Reverenddave

A few weeks later Amazon had a sale on PS3 for around $400 with 3 free Blu-Rays instantly and a 5 Free mail-in offer.

Same here - I had my 50" plasma for just about a year, and decided it was time for me to upgrade to a PS3. I purposely skipped the PS2 because the PS3 talk started so soon after the PS2 was released. The Blu-Ray technology made it an easy sell for me. Sports (STILLERS!) is what I really like about HD overall though.

[dwatts]

Simple. If I'm spending money on movies, I want the biggest bang for my buck. It's all about value, and longevity. Why buy inferior quality?

[Horrorphilly]

Well Im not full HD yet but I do have a Sharp Arquos HDTV and I love it and I plan on buying a OPPO upscaling dvd player.My reason for upgrading was because my standard tv died and I wanted a 32in or bigger and widescreen.So HD was my only option.




Sean

[X-human]

I want to see my movies as close to a film like presentation as possible. For me movies aren't something to do while eating popcorn. So it's all about trying to capture the essence of what's on film as best I can. That's why I bought D-VHS even when I knew it was a flop.

I've been buying DVDs with Blu-ray in mind since about 2000 when it was originally making the press through George Lucas. So I never bought The Matrix on SD-DVD for example.

That's why it's distressing for me to see grain removal and DNR becoming so prevalent. For me, grain is exactly what I put my money down for. It's what I want to see. Frankly people like Dave are the problem.

Originally Posted by X-human

That's why it's distressing for me to see grain removal and DNR becoming so prevalent. For me, grain is exactly what I put my money down for. It's what I want to see. Frankly people like Dave are the problem.

then I'm part of the problem as well. get rid of all the grain i say. I was kinda put off when I was watching my brand new Transformers blu-ray and I got to the bedroom scene when the kid is looking for his backpack. when the parents come in the room there is a couple of shots of his mom that are very grainy and it pissed me off. oh well, can't have it all I guess, haha. I spent alot of money so i wouldn't have to look at that.

[dwatts]

Huh? Two much playing on games consoles, imo.

So suddenly, film isn't good enough?

[skinnypuppy]

I haven't upgraded to a Blu-ray player yet, but I think the new Texas Chainsaw bluray will sucker me into buying one. The screen shots from that look incredible!

I never bought the Dark Sky DVD version, so why not start there.

[Mutilated Prey]

Originally Posted by geeare

then I'm part of the problem as well. get rid of all the grain i say. I was kinda put off when I was watching my brand new Transformers blu-ray and I got to the bedroom scene when the kid is looking for his backpack. when the parents come in the room there is a couple of shots of his mom that are very grainy and it pissed me off. oh well, can't have it all I guess, haha. I spent alot of money so i wouldn't have to look at that.

I'm so conditioned by 70's and 80's vhs horror flicks that never made it to DVD that a little grain really doesn't bother me in the least.

[Grim]

Originally Posted by geeare

now see I find the live broadcasts to look very nice on HDTV but when it comes to blu-ray nothing can touch it IMO. I got the sweet 120hz thing going on with my XBR and that only enhances everything even more. I love it. As for what caused me to switch I guess it's just because me and my bride like to keep up with the technology and that was the next thing. the only reason I went blu-ray instead of HD-DVD was because we went to buy a console for my bride so she could play Dance Dance Revolution. When I went to the store I had all intensions of getting an xbox360 but when the guy said the playstation network was free and it played Blu-ray then I was sold. First Blu i watched was The Reaping, not a great movie but it looks fantastic. The old films are awesome. I bought The Omega Man and it looks like it was made around the same time as I Am Legend (with the exception of the clothing styles, cars etc.)

I hate the 120hz feature on HDTV's. I think it just makes films look odd, like they were shot on video or something. I always leave it off. I more or less turn off all those features on my set that "improve" the picture quality. Keep it natural if you ask me.

As for what sold me on HD, I originally bought the HD drive for the 360 because I absolutely wanted An American Werewolf in London, The Thing, and other horror titles in high definition. Then the first four Anchor Bay horror titles caused me to jump ship to blu-ray. A few months later HD-DVD died so now I'm blu exclusive and basically hold off on anything that's not released on blu-ray immediately. I'm also slowly but surely replacing each of my HD-DVD's, but at a snail's pace. I'm in no rush.

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by geeare

then I'm part of the problem as well. get rid of all the grain i say.

Well, grain is natural to film. It's not like grain is print damage. It's just there. DNR-ing movies makes them look funny. There's this weird softness it adds to a movie. I don't know how to explain it, but DNR just makes everything look weird. Too "digital", maybe.

~Matt