Blu-Ray Demo impressions
A few weeks ago I had a chance to check out a demo of the HD-DVD player at Sound
Advice and tonight I had a chance to see a Blu-Ray player in action. Warren called me last week to ask me if I was going
to go to the demo and I didn't even know about it because I threw away the invitation with the rest of the junk mail.
Warren was sick and he didn't make it, so you are stuck with only my impressions.The demo was a part of a larger event which consisted of multiple demos and food. There was even some swag, which I accepted; it was a DVD and a CD, and neither was from Sony. They had a JDM Blu-Ray player on display, not a US model, at first I was surprised to see the coax and 1394 inputs, I doubt they will be on the US version. The biggest disappointed was the same as HD-DVD, which was the inability to demo the interactive layer. That is where the disappointment stopped. They had a demo of Lawrence of Arabia and half the screen was DVD and the other half was HD. It was obviously a better picture quality and it was a more accurate demo than the HD-DVD demo which looked more like SD analog cable vs HD. The only other clip was the "Spider Man 2" preview. The clarity was awesome and I sat through the demo about 10 times and still wished I could take it home.
The most impressive thing about the demo was its presentation. The small boutique shop "Audio Visions South" had a dedicated home theater room setup for the demo. There was a sales person there as well as a Sony representative to answer any questions. The player was connected to a Sony SXRD front projector (WPL-VW100) via DVI and playing at 1080i, I could go on and on on how great the picture and sound were. I liked this demo because it showed how good it could look. I just had to keep in mind the fact that I won't be buying a 10k projector anytime soon and that 110" picture dwarfed my 55" at home. This in contrast to the HD-DVD demo which was in the back of a store on a much less expensive TV in less than ideal lighting conditions. There is no doubt that Sony knows how to put on a demo. The demo was more like being at a show and less like going to Best Buy.
The sales sales rep did say the player was due in August, not July, and that the local store was taking pre-orders with a $500 deposit. Although I was tempted, I didn't order one -- mostly because I would rather have a Samsung in May than a Sony in August
This is really starting to get interesting and I can't wait to watch it all come together.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin @ Mar 29th 2006 9:21AM
I'm sorry Ben, I don't mean to be rude, but you have to start proof reading your posts! Some of your entries are just unbearable to read. I realize that grammar is not everyone's strength, but at least give it a try!
I want to keep reading this blog because of the great information you bring, but your run on sentences make it hard to read.
I am not trying to be a jerk, I am only trying to help!
henning @ Mar 29th 2006 9:26AM
You get all the fun! I can't wait to see a demo of either one of the new formats.
paul @ Mar 29th 2006 10:49AM
#1, "proof-reading" should have been hyphenated in your first sentence.
Warren @ Mar 29th 2006 10:50AM
Ben, I'm glad you finally got around to posting your blog on your up close and personal experience with the Sony player, but I was hoping for more of a side by side comparison to the HD-DVD demo you attended earlier. How about the macro-blocking effects with blacks and reds? How about color saturation between the two? I know that Sony sent you a Japanese model (that should tell you something about their capability to make their release date), but what was different, if anything between the two players. And lastly, it really is disappointing that at this late date, neither could demonstrate the interactive layer. Very lame in my opinion.
Ben Drawbaugh @ Mar 29th 2006 11:09AM
Honestly I don't think it would be fair to compare the PQ considering how different both demos were. I don't think PQ will be a big reason for choosing one format over the other. Both looked great in regards to PQ.
I also wish they had a US model. I know that the Pioneer Blu-Ray player is closer to release, but I don't see sony using a Pioneer Blu-Ray player in their demo since the AV shop doesn't even carry Pioneer.
Fastman @ Mar 29th 2006 11:21AM
It is a 1080p player, but was hooked up via 1080i?! What a waste....
Ben Drawbaugh @ Mar 29th 2006 11:26AM
Fastman,
Actualy it is a JDM model so it is only 1080i, when the production US modles comes out they will support 1080p output.
Fastman @ Mar 29th 2006 12:18PM
Ahhh...Ok. That makes more sense. Thanks Ben!
Jeff @ Apr 3rd 2006 12:31PM
I posted this on a local ChicagoAVforum.com web site.
I'll start off by saying that this has nothing to do with ABT, but with the Sony reps.
I went to the demo today and was not at all impressed. I'm sure it wasn't the Blu-Ray that didn't impress me but the whole demo the reps put on. They started 20 minutes late because of technical issues.
They had it on a 60" SXRD that was in the corner ofthe Sony room with bright lights and everyone was about 15' away from the screen during the demo.
He showed a Superbit DVD of Spiderman 2 and then a clip from the Blu-Ray machine (which was the Blu-Ray machine that is 3 years old and from Japan). the funniest part was when after he showed the clips, he asked everyone which one they liked better. 75% of the people said "The First One" which was the DVD laugh.gif
He then backtracked and said that maybe because of the small screen and distance away from the screen that was the reason. I didn't see a difference either though. But again, I think it was because of how far away we were.
They only had about 5 trailers to show, one was an on screen comparison of DVD and BR side by side. It was of Lawrence of Arabia. I could not see a difference. In order to see, you must have had to be 1' from the screen?? Plus that's an old not so great transfer to begin with.
They also had a player on the Qualia projector, but it wasn't that great looking either.
Overall if I was a dumb consumer and watched both HD-DVD and BR demos, I would be buying HD-DVD (ignoring the content available). The King Kong trailer blew away any of the BR trailers they showed.
Well, that was my 2 cents. Anyone else go see it??