Did You Know These Things about Blu Ray Discs?

Faro on 23/11/2022 - 08:20
Last edited 23/11/2022 - 08:23

I often have discussions with people who still view Blu Ray as just a "more expensive DVD" which is what prompted this post.

VS DVD

  • Blu Rays usually display at 1080p compared to DVD's 576i. This is in the range of 5x the resolution bump

  • Blu Ray discs have a scratch-resistant coating meaning you're far less likely to suffer corrosion or scratches from repeated use like your old DVD collection

  • Blu Ray discs can store up to 50GB of Data compared to a maximum of 8.5GB for DVDs. 4k Blu Rays can store up to 100GB.

  • Australia uses region B Blu Rays which means we share a region, and can therefore play any discs from the UK. Some Blu Rays are entirely region free, though this is not the norm with the exception of…

  • All 4k Blu Rays are region free

VS Streaming

  • Blu Ray discs have a higher encoded bitrate for playback. This means less compression and 'banding' artifacts. The general bit rate for a Blu Ray disc is approx. 40mb/s. 4k Blu ray is 128mb/s. Streaming has different rates, but generally hovers around ~7-10 mb/s. A significant reduction compared to disc.

Poll Options

  • 59
    I knew all of this
  • 48
    I knew some of this
  • 9
    I knew none of this
  • 8
    I just want to stream She Hulk and The Office US because thinking is hard
Entertainment Blu-Ray

Comments

  • AustriaBargain on 23/11/2022 - 08:39
    +3

    Streaming uses a more efficient codec or whatever, so bitrate isn't a fair comparison. But you're right, 4k blu ray is better quality and especially noticeable with things like banding.

    • Faro on 23/11/2022 - 08:41

      Ever since I've started watching a lot of top films on Blu Ray lately I've noticed the significant dip in quality when streaming. Especially Prime Video. Disney's use of Dolby Vision might be the reason it looks better to my eye, but not sure

      • AndyC1 on 23/11/2022 - 09:49
        +3

        Streaming bit rate is adjusted to stop buffering (in theory) and as such it will drop in quality if there is any speed issue or packet loss.

        I notice that on Prime the quality varies depending on day of the week and the time of day.

    • payless69 on 23/11/2022 - 08:54

      Banding? Regardless of H264 or H265 or whatever, all you need is to do it right.
      Youtube receives over 1000 hrs of footage every minute or so. Just how they manage to store and manage it is truly magic.
      Somehow they must have an algorithm to downgrade resolution of never watched stuff before dumping it off their data centers?

      • AustriaBargain on 23/11/2022 - 08:57

        Maybe YouTube only optimises stuff that is getting a lot of views?

    • Axelstrife on 23/11/2022 - 18:00

      Netflix's 4K content uses the same codec as 4K Blu-ray's the only difference is the bitrate, Yet they recently started to offer AV1 but almost nothing supports that vs HEVC.

  • payless69 on 23/11/2022 - 08:47
    +1

    I remember Sony's very first player at head office. It had 7 built in computers in a die hard effort to preserve copyright. Hence it took ages to boot.
    It got imported with Sony's first 14" prototype Oled screen.
    Also along came a bunch of Blu Ray movies.
    So much money, a 24h security guard got hired. Despite that the discs vanished overnight!
    So the press release had to be demonstrated on 576i resolution until another plane arrived from Japan.
    Toshiba had a competing system called HD DVD!
    Sony had to waste more money to bribe Hollywood to kill its rival!

    How much do we pay now for the cheapest 64G flash ram?

    • skillet on 24/11/2022 - 09:56

      Flash and RAM are two different things.

  • MS Paint on 23/11/2022 - 09:03
    +6

    Checks calendar

    Just as I thought, it's not 2007.

    • Faro on 23/11/2022 - 09:10
      +6

      You'd think more people would understand how a 16 year-old medium works. Or at least the benefits over a 25 year old one.

      They, however, do not. Hence the post.

      • MS Paint on 23/11/2022 - 09:35

        That makes sense. Cheers

      • trustnoone on 23/11/2022 - 09:36

        Yeah I guess to be fair, I never knew how VHS Tapes worked, the fact it has data? on a cellophane like ribbon that translates to a picture and audio. And somehow a "tracking" button can fix fuzzy video?

      • iDroid on 23/11/2022 - 10:07
        +2

        Likely because almost no one uses either Blu Ray or DVD in 2022.

        Now get off my lawn.

        • Faro on 23/11/2022 - 11:23
          +5

          I totally understand because streaming is exponentially cheaper and easier, but there are still benefits with disc

  • mapax on 23/11/2022 - 09:22

    I’ve never seen a Blu Ray, watch dvds at the holiday shack when it rains too much to access any of the tracks and roads though.

  • mskeggs on 23/11/2022 - 11:16

    DVD was fine for nearly all users. People building a home theatre might benefit from Blu-ray, but most people just want to watch a show, and would choose whichever displays it first. So streaming wins.

    Worth remembering that nearly every DVD player sold for the first 10years on the market was hooked up to an SD tv.

    Nearly nobody selects their media consumption based on fidelity of the image. They want to watch the show, preferably right now.

    • Faro on 23/11/2022 - 11:27

      Sure. But if you're watching films as art, the way the director intended the film to look is going to be best matched on blu ray or 4k.

      The Criterion Closet videos on YouTube are testament to that

      • Baysew on 23/11/2022 - 11:36
        +1

        If you're watching films as art, the way the director intended the film to look is going to be best (and sound the best) at a cinema.

        • Faro on 23/11/2022 - 13:08
          +2

          Cinemas have fluctuating quality control too.

          That doesn't mean movies should only be watched in Cinema. That's unrealistic.

          Oscar winning Director, Bong Joon-Ho:
          https://youtu.be/qBgZQCkUp7E

  • spackbace on 23/11/2022 - 12:36

    4K Remux library ftw :P

  • boomramada on 23/11/2022 - 17:15

    I just want a cheap blueray writer for backup.

  • payless69 on 23/11/2022 - 17:25

    Any ANU alumni here who remember the invisible drive that held more than music?

  • jakka on 23/11/2022 - 18:45

    I’ve watched a number of 4K Blu Rays, and think it is great for documentaries. I have struggled to watch a number of movies in 4K though. I find that there is too much detail, such as clearly being able to differentiate prosthetics, wigs, make up, etc and it spoils the movie.
    First world problems, I know.

    • Faro on 23/11/2022 - 19:48

      Are you watching movies for art or entertainment?

    • Boogerman on 24/11/2022 - 08:11

      Ha ha. It was really noticeable in Back To The Future

  • Benoffie on 23/11/2022 - 19:30
    +3

    Its why i still buy my favourite shows on disc.

  • Buttocks on 23/11/2022 - 22:17
    +1

    My Rank Arena telle and VCR work as good as the day grandfather bought them…hooked VCR up to the AWA HiFi and wow. Not sure of quality if using in stream…don't think they are water proof.

  • Boogerman on 24/11/2022 - 08:10

    Streaming cannot provide true Dolby Atmos or DTS X

    • Faro on 24/11/2022 - 08:36

      Didn't know this!
      Why isn't it true out of curiousity?

  • kincho on 24/11/2022 - 08:43

    Out of interest in your promotion of the virtues of bluray, what are your views on the audio output of music CDs using a bluray player rather than a dedicated audio CD player with a quality DAC (digital analogue converter)?

  • asCMSas on 24/11/2022 - 09:00

    I knew none of this. Been thinking to get an Xbox series X for the Blu-ray player but upon further reading it seems sub-par. Although our cheap Aldi TV is 4k, we dont have any blu-rays.. I just like the idea. We mostly stream so no point in the Series X I guess. The PS5 blu-ray player is better apparently.

    • Faro on 24/11/2022 - 09:17
      +1

      To be fair I've been using the Xbox One X as my main Blu Ray player for years. Only recently came to know about the lack of Dolby Vision.

      Honestly it's still a pretty reliable player. Noticed a few minor glitches over the years, but overall it's been great

      • kincho on 25/11/2022 - 07:30

        How about my question to you about the audio output?

        • Faro on 25/11/2022 - 08:12
          -1

          Oops. Missed that comment.

          Don't know enough about that area to answer.

  • Loopholio on 24/11/2022 - 19:38

    I "know" none of the poll options. I assume these poll options where chosen by someone who is, well, a bit of an entitled dick. Just a bit. Nothing major.

    Sure, bluray/dvd may be better. Maybe. Taking all thing in the universe into consideration. As hard as I try, I can't bring myself to give a single shit.

    • Faro on 24/11/2022 - 19:59
      +2

      Yet you brought yourself to comment 🤔

      I feel a lot of projection here…

      • Loopholio on 24/11/2022 - 20:07

        I mean, fudge you, but yeah, I have three fudges to give every day to give and one of them was for this comment. One for existing, one for very basic exercise and one for OzBargain.

        • Faro on 24/11/2022 - 20:08
          +1

          That's… That's 4

  • Loopholio on 24/11/2022 - 20:14

    Oh ffs. You trumped my very, very late edit. Well, okay, next day edit..

    Shizer, I seem to have four sharts to give. This (for me and no one else) is a tiny amount of human existence progress!

    • Faro on 24/11/2022 - 20:18
      +1

      I have no idea what your point is, but I've enjoyed this back and forth. Have a great night!

  • Loopholio on 24/11/2022 - 20:44

    Much love to you Ninternet. I am not entirely sure.. wait.. damn it.. efwsdfasz. Yep, one sec….

    Okay spellcheck is working again.

    My point is, as small as it might be and no doubt absolutely is, is current media, maybe all media, is disposable. It has so little meaning. Take for example, Big Bang Theory. It's not worth the effort needed to find high quality versions.

    Another example may be, schizer, when did I last watch something that was good or better than?.. okay, Joel Haver's "We Have to Leave Here Together". Sure, it's in 4K, but it doesn't matter. It's the content that matters.

    Either way, yay for the new Avatar movie. The one with Unobtainium in it. I will watch it if the tickets, and they very likely will be, free because it kinda doesn't, but does, look 3D.

  • Oatmeal on 25/11/2022 - 10:12

    Ninternet, thanks for taking the time and effort to post this. Love blu-rays.

  • Loopholio on 25/11/2022 - 15:16

    My head is a lot clearer today.

    Yes Blu-ray looks and sounds much better than 4K streamed content. The 4k content available at Netflix is garbage. For example, parts of an episode of Orange is the New Black was so bad I couldn't see what was going on. It was a mess of blocky green artifacts. So far Amazon streams look okay.

    I don't watch blu-ray or DVDs because I don't have a player. The discs themselves are bloody cheap at my local vinnies. $1 each for DVD and Blu-ray. Some great titles too.

    • Faro on 25/11/2022 - 15:38
      +1

      Blu rays are disappearing everywhere around me. Local cash converters will no longer take them except as an exception now which is a bit of a shame. Generally just means unwanted movies are more likely to end up in landfill I guess

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