Yes, it is absolutely worth it for 720p HDTV owners to get bluray. I have a Panasonic TH-42px60u plasma. It's 1024x768. Bluray blows upscaled DVD out of the water on my set. Bluray's resolution is not the only improvement. The colors are much more vibrant and lifelike as well. Don't forget the major sound improvements. PCM and lossless surround tracks are a lot better than Dolby Digital 5.1.
As for whether there is a decent player to get: after this latest firmware update, the Panasonic DMP-BD30 seems like a pretty good player if you have a newer HDMI 1.3 recevier. If you have an older receiver, it might be worth it to wait for the Panasonic DMP-BD50, which will decode Dolby Tru-HD and DTS-HDMA internally; that is good for people with older receivers.
I have a TH-42PX60U as well and a recently purchased (late last year) RCA HD DVD player. It is definitely worth the upgrade. I'm holding out for a Blu-Ray player like the DMP-BD50 as I have a non-HDMI Yamaha receiver (RX-V2500).
I agree, resolution is only one aspect. While there is the ongoing debate about what resolution looks better at what TV sizes, Blu-ray also does have much better color quality, sound, special features like the upcoming BD Live (if you're into that) and more.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jadalias @ Feb 27th 2008 12:09PM
Yes, it is absolutely worth it for 720p HDTV owners to get bluray. I have a Panasonic TH-42px60u plasma. It's 1024x768. Bluray blows upscaled DVD out of the water on my set. Bluray's resolution is not the only improvement. The colors are much more vibrant and lifelike as well. Don't forget the major sound improvements. PCM and lossless surround tracks are a lot better than Dolby Digital 5.1.
As for whether there is a decent player to get: after this latest firmware update, the Panasonic DMP-BD30 seems like a pretty good player if you have a newer HDMI 1.3 recevier. If you have an older receiver, it might be worth it to wait for the Panasonic DMP-BD50, which will decode Dolby Tru-HD and DTS-HDMA internally; that is good for people with older receivers.
Leonardo DiCrapio @ Feb 27th 2008 12:37PM
I have a TH-42PX60U as well and a recently purchased (late last year) RCA HD DVD player. It is definitely worth the upgrade. I'm holding out for a Blu-Ray player like the DMP-BD50 as I have a non-HDMI Yamaha receiver (RX-V2500).
http://www.blu-ray.com/players/
Mike @ Feb 27th 2008 2:27PM
I agree, resolution is only one aspect. While there is the ongoing debate about what resolution looks better at what TV sizes, Blu-ray also does have much better color quality, sound, special features like the upcoming BD Live (if you're into that) and more.
dannyCage @ Feb 27th 2008 2:58PM
I Agree, Using 42" 720p PanaPlasma with PS3, with unbelievable sharp image quality.. Hard to watch DVD, and Downloads are not even considered anymore.
kastonie @ Feb 27th 2008 3:08PM
yea because the color of dvd is not lifelike, it looks like a cartoon....so fake