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Went to Video Only in Portland Oregon to look over the big screen plasmas over the Labor Day weekend sales event and came out with a lot less money in my pocket.
Scored a deal on a 58" Panasonic V10 1080P plasma (TC P58V10) for $1800 cash. Trouble is they were sold out and I'll have to wait a week for pickup. Also had a Panasonic BD 60K Blu-Ray added for $100.
I know, I know .... its no Kuro, but it has a very very impressive picture none the less.
Currently I have a 3+ year old 42" Panasonic 720P plasma that is hooked up to a Mac Mini as DVD source. It is far from SOTA.
So, when I do finally receive the HDTV and get it set up with the Blu-Ray player via HDMI, what disc would you recommend to really knock my socks off with this, my virgin experience with video High Def?
Follow Ups:
I haven't seen Discovery Channel's version of Planet Earth, so I can't comment there, but the BBC's is wonderful! You will see exactly why you spent the big bucks!
Baraka was originally shot on film, but painstakingly transferred to hi-def video. TrueHD soundtrack really thunders too.
Classics like Casablanca or The Last Waltz can also be a real treat, not because they are hyper-detailed, but because they look like they were made yesterday.
Pixar Blu-Rays are top-notch, but if I were going to demo an animated feature, Kung Fu Panda from Dreamworks would be at or near the top of the list.
net flix is haveing trouble with cracked discs.the 007 did not play it needed an upgrade disc installed on my older player it works now.but have not played much of the 007 disc.the upgrade disc was installed today.
dvd audio & multichannel sacds rule
It seemed to have the greatest dynamic range that I've heard if your system can handle it. I watched w/ a temporary set up and fried my speakers (volume was low enough that I could not hear the talking well, but the explosions fried my speakers when I was running them full range before I had my sub connected).
Wow - what amp and what speakers. I've watched it a couple of times on the main system but have not tried the basement or bedroom systems. Yes it was loud. I do run all the speakers full range. The mains Thiel 3.7s which are relatively efficient and powered by a Bryston 14BSST which probably can output 1000W into 4 ohms and I have 2 Rel subs crossed over at 22 HZ. I have a Rel sub on the center and one for the rears and the center and rears are powered by a Bryston 6BSST which probably can put out over 500W into 4 ohms for each of the 3 channels.
Magnepan 3.3s w/ Channel Islands D-200s which generally is enough for music full range, but not movies.
For the most impressive PQ I'd go to one of the more recent comic/superhero flicks. Ones I think look excellent are Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Hellboy (I and II), Dark Knight. But: these are really best appreciated with a good surround sound setup. King Kong has an almost 3D-like PQ, very nice and eerily pretty. I just watched the Incredible Hulk again yesterday, and though it has some really nice and interesting scenery (and IMO a very smooth sound mix, not common for action flicks), Iron Man is still my tops for PQ impressiveness (lots of techy detail to be seen, which I like). Transformers has lots of that too, and does look "good" in its way, but not one scene with "natural" color, and the story and editing is mind-numbing. For animated, Wall-E looks excellent, but again the story is too childish even for me (generally I like Pixar stuff, a safe bet for great PQ). A different type of animated that looks very good is Coraline, better story-wise for adults.
Pirates of the Caribbean (2 and 3, I don't have 1 in BD) are excellent too; actually Disney has a great BD record overall for PQ, as does Sony.
If you like mostly "real people" stuff, Kill Bill 1 and 2 are very well done. Apocalypto looks great too.
Many of the BDs I think are "best" overall are because of their sound mix, along with great PQ of course. I can't really include them because I'm presuming you don't have a surround setup since you didn't mention it...
I have not yet seen a catalog (i.e. old) title that blows me away. Many look truly excellent, but hard to compete at the top PQ level with stuff made recently. Even if they're much better films, that's not what we're talking about... How the West Was Won is a very fine example of a "classic" film done extremely well on BD, quite cheap too. The Searchers as well, a much better movie, but HTWWW is more impressive PQ-wise to me.
Story counts if you're buying, since presumably you will watch the movie eventually and not just "look" at it, so for the first impressive experience (that's worth watching again) I'd have to say Iron Man.
Its back to future with one of my childhood favorites.
I found a Blu-Ray box set of the 1st season Star Trek (original series) at a local rental shop.
Originally the show was shot in 35mm film in the mid-1960's. I've been really impressed with the 480i/dvd remastered versions locally broadcast over 720p on KPDX channel 49.
Over at Amazon, the reviews are pretty uniform that these Blu-Ray remasters from the film originals are even mo' betta yet.
Thanks again. This going to be fun!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1168342You can probably find something that you won't mind owning.
BTW, most people think House of Flying Daggers is a sub-par Blu-Ray.
John K.
Edits: 09/09/09
I'd get "How the West was Won", a Cinerama picture from the early 1960s that has been very nicely restored. You can even watch it in a "bowtie" form that gives the effect of the huge curved Cinerama screen.
Also "The Searchers" which was shot in VistaVision, one of the best looking formats Hollywood ever used. Amazing looking with great outdoor work in Monument Valley. Directed by Ford and photographed by Winton Hoch, a fella who'd worked at Technicolor and really understood how to shoot it.
Should go well on my new big screen flanked with my Altec Model 19s to bring back that real Cinema experience!;-)
Edits: 09/09/09
Use Netflix and rent instead of buying. You can try a bunch and not be stuck with discs you don't want.
-Wendell
Just changed our netflix this week. Two BR $17.00 a month.
nt
Get Hell Boy 2 a must. Great picture, sound, and also great story. I can name more, but you said your first one.
I've been noticing the occasional $10 Blu-Ray movie over at Amazon.com. Usually, these are older movies that have been remastered to Blu-Ray. I'm collecting a few based on price and my primitive/crude taste in movies. High budget sci-fi with plenty of FX/cgi tends to work for me.
So far, Starship Troopers (~$14.95) had some scenes that appeared visually stunning on the Blu-Ray format. Mainly the CGI outer-space shots caught my notice and seemed noticeably better than the same shots seen on HD TV. Other shots within the movie seemed comparable to hdtv.
-Steve
What kind of movies do you like? There's no sense in buying something you don't like just for the high def if there's a good choice of movies that you will like.
David Aiken
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