Why does the general public deny that Blu-ray is a substantial jump in quality over DVD?

Question

I collect Blu-rays and, upon wondering about the longevity of the product, was doing some research on-line about what people think. I'm surprised that over 70% of the comments I see say that Blu-ray is not that significant of a jump in quality.

Some of the things I've read are "Blu-ray is only a minimal jump in quality and not worth paying extra for" and "I noticed no difference from an upconverted DVD compared to a Blu-ray" and "you can hardly even tell unless it's a new movie."

What are these people on? The difference on the right setup is quite significant. It makes me wonder if people are buying Blu-ray players and hooking them up to their old analog TVs via the red/white/yellow cables and not the HDMI port. That or they have really bad eyesight. What gives? Is the general public able to work iPhones and computers but they don't know how to hook a Blu-ray player up?

Answer 1

Short answer: most have never seen Blu-ray properly set up and had a chance to compare, and many who have don't think the higher cost is worth the price.



That said, a high proportion of people just don't see much benefit to Blu-ray even on HDMI connected 1080p HDTVs. Toshiba did a study several years back showing people two identical and properly adjusted 40" 1080p HDTVs ... one fed with a Blu-ray and the second a (upscaled) DVD version of the same move. As I recall about 25% of people so NO difference, and of the ~75% who saw a better image from the Blu-ray almost half didn't think the difference was significant enough to make the higher cost of Blu-ray attractive. Now, price differential has decreased somewhat, but the bottom line is unlikely to have changed that much.



Blu-ray is better than DVD -- on a big enough, properly adjusted HDTV watched from close enough -- but consider:

- HDTV ownership is still less than complete (only 57% in the US in December 2010) ... in other words only about half of consumers have the capacity to even see a benefit from Blu-ray

- Most HDTV owners still don't have HD programming so don't really understand what HD can look like

- Most consumers don't have the equipment to benefit from HD Blu-ray audio (in fact most can't even listen to 5.1 DD surround)

- most consumers sit too far from their HDTVs to see the difference between 1080p and 720p (and in many cases even 480p)

- Many consumers have less than perfect vision

- a 37" or larger 1080p HDTV (watched from close enough) is considered necessary to fully benefit from Blu-ray.

- (Well) Upscaled DVD is not much inferior to downscaled 720p Blu-ray

- Resolution is only the 4th most important determinant of image quality (after contrast, color accuracy and saturation) ... all of which are often poorly adjusted by consumers (The majority of consumers never calibrate their displays ... or even adjust the factory setting)

- many Blu-ray disks (while being the most faithful format to the original movie) have grain or colour caste or are poorly remastered and are NOT the razor sharp video that Blu-ray is capable of).

- Many consumers don't care if a comedy or drama is a bit less sharp on DVD ... they are into the story ... and can't A/B compare to Blu-ray anyway.



You are probably right that a fair proportion of consumers are watching DVD or Blu-ray on SDTVs, poorly adjusted, small HDTVs (not even considering the ~50% of consumers without an HDTV), watching from too far away and without their glasses ... but so what? The bottom line is that Blu-ray is a premium priced format for those who have the equipment, knowledge and financial wherewithall to enjoy it. The majority of consumers will never buy Blu-ray (just as they will never buy a Mercedes or a 6 burner Thermador gas range or Macintosh Receiver) unless DVD disappears (and even then they'll be satisfied with VOD).

Answer 2

Most people have screen size of 40 inch or less if they have HDTV and the HDTV at that is probably of lower quality and they listen to movies through the TV speakers you answered your own question when you said the difference on the right set up...most people cannot see the difference because of the screen size they watch on the quality of the TV and the distance they sit from the TV...in order for the difference to really be remarkable you need a high quality set of at least 47 inches using HDMI connections and sitting at a distance no further than 12 feet away...further away with a larger set will also work....but with a smaller set the eye will not be able to differentiate the additional resolution at a further distance....

Answer 3

"The difference on the right setup is quite significant." There is your answer. I didn't bother to read beyond that. Your old 14" analog color TV probably looked fabulous @ 9' but would it have if you were sitting @ 2' away from it? Most people's TV sets are probably <40", watching from a distance of 8-10'. No wonder they don't see any difference... even hooked up via component. Heck, I used to be one of 'em, so I couldn't find a compelling reason to upgrade to blu-ray.



But once you're in the 46"+ range, the difference is hard to ignore, as in your case. So, yes, intrinsically, blu-ray is orders of magnitude superior to DVD... it boils down to the equipment we use to harness its potential.

Answer 4

Also consider that people don't understand refresh rates on tv sets too. They don't want to pay the extra $ for a 120hz or 240hz so they get the standard 60hz hdtv. Its quite a difference. Some people also think that just because they have an hdtv that everything they watch IS hd! The general public just doesn't do the research or understand what they are really buying when it comes to electronics.

Answer 5

Try researching about the people who owns big screen HDTVs and HD front and rear projectors and it will be the other way around..maybe about 99.9%.