Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD: It's all subjective
by Ed Stasick 
{ Dec 31st 2006 at 12:00PM }
In the great Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD wars, the victor will sometimes come down to individual preference. Do you prefer a brighter image? Do you prefer richer colors? Do you want to see more detail? Do you want to see blacker blacks? No single component can be all things to all people, and not every home theater set-up is created equal.
That said, this exhaustive comparison of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray images comes down to what floats your boat. Let's forget issues about calibration or the ability of a photo of a projected image to convey reality. Looking at the images, I don't know if I completely agree with the conclusions of this article. I prefer Blu-Ray in most cases. But, everyone is entitled to their opinion. What's yours?
[Via Gamescentral]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dybot @ Dec 31st 2006 5:29PM
Technically there should be no difference whatsoever as they both use the SAME codecs, it's somewhat up to the quality of the individual hardware decoders. Most Blu-Ray movies did use ancient codec that's why they used to be inferiour to HD-DVD but now there is virtually no difference at all.
poseidon @ Dec 31st 2006 12:34PM
Not true dybot. The majority of Blu-Ray titles are still using MPEG-2.
If you visit the site this article refers too...you will find the very same conclusion that many on AVS Forum have come to.
1) HD-DVD titles to this point have looked better visually. Maybe only noticeable by videophiles but better none the less.
2) HDMI is not necessarry to get excellent HD visuals on most TV sets.
3) HD-DVD has a much better implementation of special features. Blu-Rays implementation pretty much sucks and is just flat out absent on many movies.
I am a little upset that the guy didn't properly callibrate his TV set using a Calibration DVD. He tested everything using TV sets default standards. I just don't think it's very fair to judge any format while being displayed on a TV set that is not properly calibrated.
ozymandias @ Dec 31st 2006 12:38PM
I cant tell the difference in most shots. the only shots that i can see the difference in were from the last samuri, in which the colors in the HD DVD version looked more natural.
Broo @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:26AM
The formats are the generally same but the confusion generated by the two has tainted the market- my biggest gripe is that BestBuy has Terminator 1&2 only on BluRay and Terminator 3 only on HD-DVD...
allmodcons @ Dec 31st 2006 1:01PM
The monitor should have been calibrated individually for each input using reference discs. Failing to do this adds to many variable to the equation and makes the comparison meaningless. Personally I have both the 360 HDDVD drive and a PS3 and while I have yet to compare the same source material side by side I tend to prefer HD DVD simply because of the IR control that I have over it as opposed to the BT remote of the 3. Having a complex HT system I don't appreciate Sony's decision to forgo the IR port and to be honest I tend to go for HDDVD's over their BRD counterparts for this reason since I find that both formats look great.
abrokenhart @ Dec 31st 2006 1:24PM
He's not using a 1080p capable television for the blu-ray.
abrokenhart @ Dec 31st 2006 1:36PM
But, I guess that doesn't really matter...
Labman11 @ Dec 31st 2006 1:55PM
I have both the Ps3 and the 360 with the HD DVD addon,the movies that i have played on both system look identical,but i prefere the Blu ray player because it plays my older dvd collection easily and with less hiccups,some of my DVDs cant even play on the addon,but everything plays well on my Ps3. (scratched DVDs by the way)
Scott Krueger @ Dec 31st 2006 2:30PM
MPeg2.. Mpeg4... Who Cares.
The BluRay Movies I have Played on my PS3 look Awesome.
Quote Whatever BS Technical Specs you Want. The Movies Look better than my HD Cable Box. They Look better than anything I have seen.
The Image is Perfect. So how can HD-DVD be better???
It is not. These dudes are just afraid their Format will lose the Format War so they will try all day on forum after forum to discredit anything that is not a 360 or HD-DVD.
me @ Dec 31st 2006 2:31PM
I don't understand how you can make a proper comparison when you're taking PHOTOS of the television with a camera. The only proper way to 'compare' is to take a screen capture and save the image in a lossless format.
Besides, there's not too much difference between the two really, half the time the shots were nearly the same but he gave it to HDDVD anyway.
Sponge @ Dec 31st 2006 11:49PM
I wasn't sure before but I am now thinking about HD DVD after hearing about the IME.
Jared @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:46PM
I'm on the HD-DVD bandwagon for the following reasons. Joe Sixpack just got an HDtv. He wants to watch movies that he has now on DVD in Hi-def. What's the logical conclusion? Blu-something, or HD-DVD? Easy.
Most of the movies in both BD and HD have looked better on HD.
HD-DVD players are in almost every instance at LEAST half the price of BD.
And lastly, the cost of a manufacturing plant to move from producing DVD-9's is much cheaper with HD compared to BD.
Sincere7745 @ Dec 31st 2006 5:03PM
@ 9
You can say the same thing about anyone that is supporting Blu-Ray. The format is what Sony is bringing to the front and what it mainly was trying to sell the PS3 by. So if anything, Blu-Ray should be afraid if the format falls through. The 360 could possibly care less, cause if Blu-Ray wins then they can add it as an add-on. But if Blu-Ray loses then PS3 owners are stuck wit a useless Blu-Ray movie player and back to what it's mainly there to do. Play games.
allmodcons @ Dec 31st 2006 3:46PM
I think we should all remember that CD was supposed to be "perfect sound forever" when it came out and as any audiophile worth their salt will tell you that was far from the case. Both new formats look great, and will look better than broadcast or cable HD because of the higher bit rates they use. But neither format is "perfect." Remember that there is an HD resolution of 1440P that is part of the HD standard for future use and lets not forget that the Dolby HD and DTS HD audio formats are still waiting for some hardware releases that support it. So there is still room for improvement. And compression algorithms do make a difference, MPEG 4 is better than MPEG 2 for a variety of reasons.
Duh stupid @ Dec 31st 2006 9:19PM
Whether you are an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray zealot - the only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that given this person's default TV settings, he prefers the colors produced by the HD-DVD player more when taken with his digital camera.
I mean come on, if he calibrated his TV using the Blu-Ray as a base then guess what, he would probably be complaining about how oversaturated the HD-DVD shots would look.
Most pointless comparison EVAR!
ha @ Dec 31st 2006 9:21PM
"I prefer Blu-Ray in most cases" Ha nothing more then justification to ease themselves for being a dipshit and purchasing a ps3!
Naaiif @ Jan 1st 2007 12:08AM
TBH although im a big ps3 fan and i hope blu-ray wins the war for the sake of Sony not going down the sh!tter, but the HD-DVD shots just look better, regardless of his tv or not.
The real winner though: DVD.
There is hardly a difference between the enxt gen formats and DVD, they're only slightly clearer. Considering you'll need a HDTV and one of those players which will cost a bomb it's ust not worth it...
Blu-ray maybe good for the ps3 and games, but i don't see the point for movies, they all look similar and there's such a price difference.
jogtech @ Jan 1st 2007 1:50AM
Lol, that is the weakest comparisson of any video equipment I have ever read. What a pathetic display of partisan punditry.
Talk about amateur... jeez. What is the point?
Ben @ Jan 1st 2007 12:28PM
allmodcons above has it right on.
I have a TV similar to his (Sharp Aquos LCD). The factory default settings for HDMI inputs look a lot worse than the factory default settings for component. The blacks are a washed out grey and this contributes to a lack of richness in the colors. After some simple adjustments, HDMI and component look about the same.
Michael @ Jan 1st 2007 1:14PM
I just have to chime in here ... since it's an LCD and the highest resolution supported is 1080i, that means it's downscaling everything to 720p. The author must think it's better to push a 1080i signal to it than a 720p signal and in my opinion, has lost all credibility. I mean come on, if he's not even testing at native 1080p, you won't see nearly all the detail you should. Granted, not many people have 1080p sets, but let me tell you, when properly calibrated, my PS3 blu-ray disks (thanks netflix) look amazing on my Sony Bravia 46" XBR3 @ 1080p.
Check out http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/ for reviews on individual movie releases. They also identify that HD-DVD is brighter, but in most recent cases, the video (despite different codecs in some cases) are identical. We're dealing with digital data here ... one format won't look different if the data is compressed with the same characteristics (bit-rates, etc.).
GL @ Jan 1st 2007 11:41PM
Do this. Go to Best Buy and watch a blu-ray movei on a 1080p Bravia XRB2 hooked up via HDMI.
I mean, sure. 1080i looks great. But 1080p is better. And for the love of god. Please don't compare a compoent (1080i) to HDMI (1080i) when it's clear that 1080p over HDMI would have looked better.
That's like saying a Corvette is better than a Formula 1 car after having them race on the city roads (traffic, stop lights and all).
Deth @ Jan 2nd 2007 2:11AM
I think his relative comparisons are acceptable. The average consumer is not going to calibrate his tv. They will not understand or care why one looks better than the other. They will simply flock to the device that the newspaper/magazine/tv show says is the hot item.
Cheers!
tom @ Jan 3rd 2007 4:20AM
Its not just HD DVD that has picture in picture "the descent" which hit Blu-ray on December 26, boasts extensive extras authored in the BD-Java environment, including the Blu-ray format's first picture-in-picture video commentary feature, as well as extensive featurettes presented in full 1080p HD video
Allen Klosowski @ Jan 5th 2007 12:14PM
Is it me or did the Blu-Ray disc and DVD have the same color saturation and the HD-DVD look a little on the blue side? Of course who knows how well this guy can work a camera. The camera adjusts for exposure and color - and unless he's using a Canon 5D with a manual exposure (so each picture is equivalent), a neutral lens and a "natural" color setting with a RAW format - this test is bunk.