Too bad you have to purchase the results of the survey to see any of the details, such as Survey Methodology, etc.

My problem with this blue ray switch is that how am I going to play these movies in my van and other DVD players in the house. Do I have to buy each movie in two different formats? I rather buy an Oppo (DV-983) that does nice job at upconverting. I know I can  buy a PS3 for the same price but I can't utilize the 7.1 surround from it, you need a receiver with hdmi 1.3. I have an older receiver (Denon 3801) and PS3 gives you 5.1 surround on optical (or co-axial) out. Oppo has a decoder built in with 7.1 discrete output which I can connect to my Denon.

Also, my tv (Panny 50DL54) is 720p, I won't notice any improvement with blue ray. This is true for lot of consumers whom are early adaptors of new technologies. Most of them bought their tvs and receivers without the latest connections and they don't want or have the money to upgrade again so that they can adopt blue ray.

So, I would buy a upconverting player (hoping that Oppo will lower the price a little) for now and may be blue ray will fade by then and I will go to the next new standard.  

@SliderIQ - I know what you mean about the HDTV.  I bought mine in December 2004, and it is LCD Projection with only 768P native resolution.  I have an HTPC with a Blu-Ray ROM, and I can't see any difference between Cable HD and Blu-ray.

Finally the truth... Blu-Ray depends more on the PS3 crowd than on it's own... Halleluia... This i can actually believe :-)

Cable HD and Blu-ray are both HD. Compare SD content against HD and you see a huge difference although I agree that upscaling players vs Blu-Ray makes the gap in quality smaller....

@SliderIQ- I have a minivan with a dvd player and I have a nice collection on dvd's for roadtrips.  The HD-DVD dual format combo discs were a great transition product, I have about 40 of these that play the dvd side in my van.  In my opinion, high def video is useless on a small van-sized lcd screen anyway--blu-ray will (may) be forced into future vehicles if, and that's a big if, it catches on long enough to become mainstream.

Yes it is unfortunate that you need to upgrade all your components to be able to see the real hidef quality, both video and audio. I have no doubt that blu-ray will be only for a small percentage of people only, for enthusiast or bragging rights, for many years to come.

The problem with these surveys are we can't see the demographic of respondends and methodology of the research. Are those 1,000 respondends ever see real blu-ray demo with a good HDTV set and 7.1 audio? Also do they own a HDTV? If yes, how big? You know that you get insignificant benefit if your tv is small, ie less than 42", which I believe is the majority of people out there.

I had a friend visited me a while back. He owns a big rear projection TV, I think 52" or bigger with a small 5.1 speakers. He have a 1000 square feet theater room with 100" projection screen and 5.1 (small) speakers with expensive leather theather seats. But he doesn't have blu-ray. He plays HD Cable on his living room and DVD on the theather.

When I demoed him a blu-ray movie on my 42" Plasma and 7.1 hidef sound, he WOWed. I would thought that he knows blu-ray and it's video and audio quality but he didn't, and he is not an average person!

Regarding Cable HD vs DVD vs Blu-ray. Well you know that Cable HD is extremely compress and the resulting video quality (ie bit rates) is sacrificed. If you read the forum thread by platinumsword, the cable providers are delivering only around 12-15 mbps, which is what average DVD is doing. Blu-ray and HD DVD normaly output 30-50 mbps. So actually there is many misleading info to the average joe, when they see their Cable HD and upcoverted DVD player is "good enough" on their hdtv set, they thougth that is Hidef. Well, that's only half Hidef (probably 1/4 without the hidef sound) and your not maximing your HDTV with HD cable and DVD.

@blue

Well said. 

Cable, ATSC or Sat HD is no where close to Blu-Ray HD.  They only way one can realize this is if one experiences this with the right equipment.  The following is required:

1.  The right HD media, such as a movie that was truly recorded/created for high def viewing, not digitially transferred older movies.

2.  A true blu-ray player.  I say this because I have a PS3 (I also had a Sony standalone but appreciated the PS3 quality and speed better) and HTPC with a blu-ray drive going to TV's HDMI .  There's huge difference in quality between the HTPC and PS3, PS3 is much superior.

3.  The right TV.  I've had many HDTVs with different sizes.  I actually started with Toshiba CRT HDTV.  Later I had the following LCD TVs: a Sceptre 37" (Costco), Sharp Aquos 32" (currently at the office), Proton 32" (Sears), Vizio 32" (costco) and 40-something", 3 year old Sharp Aquos 45" (this one has a separate external box that everything gets plugged into - AVC) (ebay), 23" Samung (Costco) (currently in gym room), 37" Samsung (currently in bedroom), last year's Sharp Aquos 52" (Costco) and now finally the Sony Bravia KDL52WL135 (Sam's Club) (Currently in Living Room) which has advanced HDMI v1.3 features such as Motionflow 120Hz, enabling smoother motion when viewing movies or fast-action sports, and x.v.Color which greatly broadens the color space input capabilities to include 1.8 times as many natural colors as existing HDTV signals. In addition, the 10-bit processor and panel to deliver 64 times the level of color expression versus my previous 8-bit TVs. (Yes I copy/paste a bit)  Unless otherwise stated, I have sold and or traded up my TVs and currently have 4.  And just like women, the more you date the more wiser or experienced you become (don't be a hater).  It's the same with TVs.  It has given me a full education on the matter.  I'm able to actually say that I have clearer picture (pun intended) on the matter.  Let me tell you, as every newer generation of TVs are built it definitely surpasses the previous visual experience.  Which is why I keep upgrading.  Obviously this doesn't work with the Woman analogy any longer as I'v been married 11 years.

Bottom Line:  Quality components = Quality Experience

Well I for one can't wait to get a good BR player and a kick ass 1080P 120HZ HDMI 1.3 capable plasma. I'm just waiting for prices to fall a bit and 2.0 profile players. For now its my 360's HD DVD player and my excellent 768p Marantz plasma, but no 1080P and no 120HZ for the ultra fluid motion.

Watch a well-encoded-from-HD-source 1080P BR on a 120HZ display. Nothing compares. For now

@Scifer

Should of bought a Pioneer Plasma and been done with it.

The biggest difference between DVD and Bluray is that DVD worked on your existing equipment period. That is the main reason why it took the market by storm and why Bluray will not share the same fate. I am sure it will eventually have a good sized market share; but the main reason that will hold me back and I am sure it is on the mind of alot of people too, is that I have a extensive library on DVD and I don't really want to have to keep investing alot of money "upgrading" to the "newer" technological format that comes around every 5-7 years. I think I will invest in a very good upscalling player instead and watch my "current" DVD library in a higher definition when I finally decide to buy a HD TV set.

VHS vs DVD:

1. DVD offered a better picture

2. DVD quality didn't degrade everytime you played the disc unlike VHS tapes which do over time.

3. DVD players are more durable. I have had several VHS players stop working.

4. DVD offered better sound than VHS

5. DVD discs are smaller and more compact than VHS.

6. DVD offered extra's

7. DVD worked on existing TVs and Receivers

DVD vs Bluray:

1. Bluray has a better picture

2. Bluray requires special equipment while DVD doesn't. It can cost significantly more than what is required for DVD.

3. DVD discs are cheaper to buy than Bluray and DVDs can be rented for as little as $1, ie Redbox.

4. Bluray can offer better sound(requires special equipment supporting that type of stream)

5. They are both compact

6. They both offer extra's

Sorry, but I just don't see a quantum leap in difference between the two like VHS. DVD was far more superior in many ways to VHS.

@ivid wrote: "Well I for one can't wait to get a good BR player and a kick ass 1080P 120HZ HDMI 1.3 capable plasma."

There is no 120Hz plasma. The 120Hz is just for LCD. But some people said that watching movies with 120Hz enabled looks like a fake CGI or 3D. Not natural.

Plasma doesn't need the 120Hz gimmick because it handles motion blur very well already.

@shaolin007. The VSH vs DVD and DVD vs Bluray comparisons are actually quite accurate.

But give it time, until there is more blu-ray movie out (currently 600 titles), and the technology getting cheaper, people will join. At its 3rd year of Blu-ray, we read the same whnning about DVD in 2002. High price of movies, media and player. I still remember I bought my non-upcoverter (480p) Pioneer DVD player for almost $300 in 2000-ish.

And again, people who is waiting should be educated about Hidef purchase. First thing to consider is buying a good HDTV. Don't expect miracle from Sylvianna HDTV. Get a good brand from Pioneer, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. And more important, get 42" or larger. You are spending $1000 or more on HDTV and it's a long term investment so don't get cheap. When you get a good HDTV, be that LCD or Plasma (plasma is better ) you will get a significantly better viewing experience, even from HD cable or DVD.

For people who owns HDTV and been watching and listening from its built in speakers, it's time to think about upgrading to 5.1 or better yet 7.1 speakers together with HDMI capable AV Receiver. Again don't be cheap. The important part of speakers are Center channel and subwoofer, then Front left and right. Center channel is where you hear the dialog. The other speakers: 2x fronts, 2x sides and 2x rears are for enhancing the surround sound. It's important but not as important as the Center and subwoofer.

With good HDTV and 5.1/7.1 speakers you will get better experience even with DVD and HD cables. Most HD cables delivers 5.1 surround channel already.

Now after a few months or years of good experience with HDTV and surround sound, then try Blu-ray. If you like it, keep it.

And again and again, average joe who own just a HDTV set, especially less than 42" and without good 5.1/7.1 speakers, if they buy blu-ray player I'm pretty sure they won't say WOW. They will mostly say, blah it doesn't look any different to their upscaling DVD.

You're all missing the point. Consumers don't NEED high definition optical media. They are perfectly content with DVD and quite frankly, can't afford wasting money on a such a small improvement in picture quality (yes, small). Those who have bought HDTVs are perfectly happy with their upscaling DVD players and see no economical sense in splashing out on Blu-ray. 

> They are perfectly content with DVD and quite frankly, can't afford wasting money on a such a small improvement in picture quality (yes, small).

On the right equipment, the PQ difference is monumental.  Even upscaling DVD players have nothing on Bluray.

Hi-Def is, without doubt, better quality than DVD - and why wouldn't it be ? I have to say that ONLY a 1080p image would class as being better, as 720p is nice, but nothing special. However, the real issue here is convincing people that the quality is 'better' - as most people are more than happy with DVD or upscaled DVD. Does hi-def actually enhance your 'movie experience' that much ? I'm afraid not, and this is why the transgression to hi-def TV will be a very long and slow path.

I think the point has been missed sorely. I still have widescreen CRT. The reason I still have CRT is I have several videos/movies from the old ERA not available in DVD at all(I tried getting them). I watch these from time to time. I have watched these on LCD's which are 720p and they look crap. I dont even wanna try these on a 1080p TV. The point is the more pixels you add the worse these will look. Now my options are spend a lot of money and throw my collection out completly which is not going to happen. I live with DVD player/ mediacentre PC and CRT for this reason. I do understand I will eventaully have to move on when manufacturers completely stop making CRT but until then I cant be bothered. My 2 cents

shaolin007, you are forgetting about 480P and component video signals.

Yes absolutely DVD required new equipment to take advantage of the better picture (progressive scan 480P and component signals). Blu-ray does work on existing equipment just like DVD worked with s-video etc.. on existing equipment back then, and in both cases the result is not the same as when using newer equipment that takes full advantage of the newer technology.

And DVD did require one to buy a very expensive Dolby Digital / DTS capable receiver/system if you wanted to take advantage of the digital audio.

Bitrate, we didn't need DVD 10 years ago either, but many wanted it.

blue, thanks, I meant 72 HZ on plasma for 3:3:3 pull down. Same effect: very fluid motion instead of the "flicker" caused by 24 fps.

@ivid

Yes you are right in that DVD has those but DVD didn't put restrictions on those outputs like Bluray did with its outputs. It was another area that DVD was superior to VHS. Also, DVD vs VHS is vastly different from DVD vs Bluray. In DVD vs VHS, DVD was a vast improvement in several categories over VHS: picture, sound, size, durability, options, weight, compactness, quality, no degradation of picture , no rewinding of tape, scene selection, ect.. In DVD vs Bluray, the differences are not a quantum leap as they were with the previous. DVD was needed back then. I don't know about you but I got tired of having to rewind my tape to the begining or forwarding to a specific part, my player failing, video degrading everytime you play the tape, and having bulky media taking up alot of space not including the players being bulky themselves.

I agree with "neo1918" I Have PS3 with 2.30 firmware. I have this LG 60" 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV* (60PG60) and it look great with dts hd master audio. Though I do agree it is heavy investment. Therefore it may not be for average joe. However picture quality is beyond expectation. Simply put it another way up scaling simply doesn’t come close