Favourite TV series

Fushigi

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Can the Blue-ray HDTV be played at lower quality on a normal TV, or is it impossible?
The HDTV includes an HD tuner and has inputs for more or less everything: HDMI, VGA, component, S-video, composite, coax/cable/antenna.

The BD player outputs HDMI, component, and composite. I can't remember if it does S-video. So the BD player can output to SD TVs. I haven't tried it, though.
 

Howell

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Oh, I meant David and family. I'm sure most others have plenty of HDTV, except maybe our practical Tony. I'm a bit slow on the newfangled technology. Can the Blue-ray HDTV be played at lower quality on a normal TV, or is it impossible?

I do not have a TV and have only one computer not counting the phone.
 

LunarMist

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The HDTV includes an HD tuner and has inputs for more or less everything: HDMI, VGA, component, S-video, composite, coax/cable/antenna.

The BD player outputs HDMI, component, and composite. I can't remember if it does S-video. So the BD player can output to SD TVs. I haven't tried it, though.

Hmmm. So would it be a good idea to start buying Blue-ray discs now instead of DVDs to avoid rebuying later on, or will the BD be replaced again in a few years?
 

Handruin

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I would say it depends on the price and the movie or TV series considered. If you can get them for close to the same price, then I'd go with the bluray. If it's something you know will be visually stunning, go bluray. If you don't really care either way, just get the DVD. Buying used is probably a good value also. I think BR will be around for some time. it's slowly picking up the pace as players become less expensive.
 

Fushigi

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I agree with Doug. We buy some things on BD and others on DVD. Depends on the title and price. As a rule, effects-heavy titles, action flicks, SF-type stuff will be BD while chick flicks and other character-driven shows will be DVD. TV shows we really like - Chuck, Burn Notice, etc. - we get on BD.

Sometimes, if I want it on BD I'll choose to simply wait in the hope that the price will eventually come down or I'll catch it on sale.

This is also somewhat tempered by us not having a BD player on the SD set, and the SD set is the one with surround sound. It's pretty mixed up at the moment. Once we rearrange the master bedroom I plan on getting a small HT system for it, but nothing elaborate.

What I find hard to stomach is when the BD version of a movie costs, say, $7+ more than the DVD. At that point it becomes a value judgment. I find it hard to believe that the mastering/production process is that much more expensive per disc, and even though Sony is the main company behind BD I can't see licensing fees being that much of the extra price. I think the movie industry is attempting to increase profit margins on BD titles.
 

Mercutio

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Generally speaking, if I'm motivated to buy a movie, I'd prefer to have the HD version. If I don't care enough to buy it on BD, I'm probably just going to get the disc from Netflix and if I think I might watch it again I'll just rip it.
 

LunarMist

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So where do you buy the Blue-ray discs?

I have three TV sets. Two are CRT TVs from 1996 and 1998, and one is a 20" LCD that is about three years old. The latter one is the most watched, though it has ED.
 

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I buy stuff from Amazon.
These days the only things I don't buy from Amazon are the things they sell at Newegg, and groceries.
 

Fushigi

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There seem to be a few spammy threads popping up about that other ED. What got me to comment was you said the set has ED, not is ED. ;-)
 

LunarMist

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What got me to comment was you said the set has ED, not is ED. ;-)

OK, we are so pedantic at SF. ;)

"Has" indicated a property of the object, so it's not really incorrect. The TV also has stereo speakers, but you might say it is a stereo TV.
 

LunarMist

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Fortunately the recent spate of spam is not too offensive, but what if it were something disgusting? :pale:
 

paugie

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hala, how long have you been glued to the TV?
in my case, I've been reading Tom Clancy novels on PC and converting them to txt so I can read them on my small player when I'm in transit or waiting in line someplace.
sometimes my head aches. then I have a reason to stop for a while.
 

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Is the visual quality noticeably better?

I need to sit down and do a side by side comparison between the HDDVDs and the BDs. I still see some bad compression artifacts but I'm not entirely sure at this point that those aren't there on purpose as part of the overall documentary-style cinematography they used.

Anyway, yes. There's a lot more detail visible overall in the high definition versions than in the .xvids I downloaded while the show was still airing.
 

Handruin

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I've watched everything up until the end of season 4.0. I'm waiting to get season 4.5 to watch the end. I watched it all on regular DVD. I was hoping it would be noticeably better on BD compared to regular DVD.
 

Handruin

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Looks like the price has already dropped on the BSG BR complete series from $245 down to $165 here.
 

Howell

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I watch half of one episode and found it to be slow moving. Is that an accurate representation compared to say B5?
 

Handruin

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That doesn't represent the entire series, no. It's mainly a drama show, but there are many fast-paced episodes. Overall I really enjoyed the series up until season 4.0.
 

Mercutio

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Got the blu-ray version of True Blood Season 1. Looks gorgeous.

Yup. Them're some high definition boobies alright.
Is there some other reason to watch True Blood?


Howell said:
I watch half of one episode and found it to be slow moving. Is that an accurate representation compared to say B5?

Babylon 5 tried too hard to be epic. In the end I'll say that it made it, but it was definitely forced. The subplots involving G'Kar and Molari are the only thing, in my mind, that keep B5 from being utterly forgettable.

Battlestar Galactica is something else entirely. The first thing you have to do is get rid of your notions of the show from the version that was produced in the late '70s: It's not about an aircraft carrier in outer space with disco aliens.

If anything, BSG is more of a tense submarine drama. It's about paranoia and ethical compromises in the name of greater good. There are space battles maybe a couple times per season, but that certainly isn't a major element of the show.

You need to see it from the beginning. The mini series is three hours long and sets up the whole desperate mess. The first episode, the one that follows the mini-series, is one of the strongest in the whole series, and everything grows organically from that. I could pick a couple of stand-alone episodes and suggest that they might give a feel for the show as a whole, but BSG isn't a show you can pick up in the middle anyway.
 

Howell

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I'm pretty sure I saw it on Hulu. I think it was very early season 1. Maybe the pilot. IIRC, an older female (Mary McDonnell) finds out she is now the president.
 
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LunarMist

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Got the blu-ray version of True Blood Season 1. Looks gorgeous.

I watched a few recent episodes this past week. That is some weird sh*t! Is it worth viewing from the beginning seasons? (And no, I'm not concerned about a bit of nudity here and there.)
 

LunarMist

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You mean maybe a plot, characters, or acting talent? Doesn't Merc have a seriously superfluous amount of adult content?
 

Mercutio

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Have YOU ever gotten tired of looking at tits?

Anyway, True Blood doesn't really have any of those other things. The books are awful, too. Or at least the couple of them that I read.
 

udaman

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Have YOU ever gotten tired of looking at tits?

You did not qualify that. Man tits (yeah, do a search, they seem to be growing more and more :p, and I'll bet those overweight fatty issues will result in more deaths for men from breast cancer), saggy/droopy, or best of the best?

Yes, you will get tired.

Say you've got a SO, she's walking around all day inside the residence, completely nekkid, sooner or later you'll become bored.

NSFW link, actually 'not safe for your appetite' "ewww!" link too :D

Breasts Not Bombs, Berkeley, July 23, 2005
 
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