logo Sign In

Blu Ray movies look...wrong

Author
Time

Maybe it's the transfers, I don't know, but I really don't like the look of movies on blu ray. They look, well, cheap; almost like home video.

So I'm not concerned about the lack of blu ray OOT. It's the lack of a nice SD transfer that kills me.

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

“It is only through interaction, through decision and choice, through confrontation, physical or mental, that the Force can grow within you.”
-Kreia, Jedi Master and Sith Lord

Author
Time

theprequelsrule said:

Maybe it's the transfers, I don't know, but I really don't like the look of movies on blu ray. They look, well, cheap; almost like home video.

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

I'll see you, and raise you that HD TV can look wrong.

I don't know what it is either... can't phrase it but it looks TOO real, too clean, to 'fast' somehow. I'm sure the more tech saavy memebers here can clarify the terms for us.

Partly it's that our eyes are trained to recognize certain types of images as certain things: home movies, standard films, security cameras, Mexican soap operas, and even if we dont consiously identify the different aspects of the video image, our brain categorizes how it looks.

Super HD Blu Ray on a nice HD super TV is a new kind of image, and frankly I'm not sure I prefer it.

Author
Time

TheBoost said:

theprequelsrule said:

Maybe it's the transfers, I don't know, but I really don't like the look of movies on blu ray. They look, well, cheap; almost like home video.

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

I'll see you, and raise you that HD TV can look wrong.

I don't know what it is either... can't phrase it but it looks TOO real, too clean, to 'fast' somehow. I'm sure the more tech saavy memebers here can clarify the terms for us.

Partly it's that our eyes are trained to recognize certain types of images as certain things: home movies, standard films, security cameras, Mexican soap operas, and even if we dont consiously identify the different aspects of the video image, our brain categorizes how it looks.

Super HD Blu Ray on a nice HD super TV is a new kind of image, and frankly I'm not sure I prefer it.

I must admit, I loved me some NBA Finals in HD though.

“It is only through interaction, through decision and choice, through confrontation, physical or mental, that the Force can grow within you.”
-Kreia, Jedi Master and Sith Lord

Author
Time

theprequelsrule said:

TheBoost said:

Super HD Blu Ray on a nice HD super TV is a new kind of image, and frankly I'm not sure I prefer it.

I must admit, I loved me some NBA Finals in HD though.

I watch a lot of pro wrestling... and when I got HD it was too much. I don't need to see needle tracks, boob-job scars, and decades of skin damage from tanning beds.

Author
Time

They can look phenomenal when done correctly and when viewed on proper equipment that is calibrated. However, few films are done correctly and many to me seem off. HD projection does work better for films than HDTV viewing IMO.

Sometimes you just feel like watching a laserdisc.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

Author
Time

It's a combination of things.

Some discs, both BD and standard DVD, have all the grain digitally scrubbed out of them.  Do a search for comparisons of "Predator: Ultimate Hunter" edition (in the blue packaging) vs the original release with the black artwork.

It also depends what size screen you have.  Anything below the mid 40's and the image isn't getting stretched as much, so it will naturally look more intense.

Another factor has to do with the 120Hz and higher refresh rates on the newer HD TVs.  Since its inception, TV refresh rate has been 60Hz - 60 lines drawn down the screen every second.  With 120Hz (and 240, and 480, and so on), more lines are being digitally created to go in between the existing ones, so now you're getting more detail and resolution than is actually on the disc.

And yes, it is "more" detail because it has to be drawn in the same amount of time.  If it was just a "faster" refresh rate, the film would only run 1 hour instead of 2 and it would look like you're watching it on fast forward.

The first time I noticed the difference was watching TPM on Spike on my sister's new 120Hz set a year or so ago.  It looked fake, like a fan film shot on a store bought video camera.  I tried to explain the difference to her but she didn't get it.  Then a couple of weeks later, a neighbor of hers experienced the same thing and described it as "too clear".  Then she got it.  She's not a videophile so she doesn't really care one way or the other as long as the TV works, but she understood the difference in what I saw.

So go back and check the specs on your equipment and see what some menu options are set to.  If you have a 120Hz+ TV, you might have a menu option to force the set to run at the standard 60Hz.  Set that and see if the "video" look goes away.

That being said, yes, certain things don't need HD.  I don't need to watch the local news in 1080p HD 5.1 surround sound.  Reality though is that we're in a transition phase right now - studios across the board are upgrading to HD equipment so there will eventually come a point where what's "high def" now will be "standard def" in the future when an "even higher def" is invented.  It's a continuous cycle.

My outlook on life - we’re all on the Hindenburg anyway…no point fighting over the window seat.

Author
Time

I love HDTV, I love BluRay movies, as I just don't get what you guys are watching??  Are your TV's HDMI ready, cause I know alot of older HDTV's don't have that option.

I still have a few channels on my cable lineup that are still standard , and I honestly can't even watch them anymore.

Author
Time

Yes, Ziz is correct. Almost all of the time it isn't a problem with the source but in fact the TV you are watching it on. Many HDTV's now have 200hz (or greater) motion. This is supposed to eliminate motion blur and judder but will give the "video" look you mentioned. I have it on my Samsung HD3DTV. On default setting it makes films look like video. The first thing i watched on it was one of the new episodes of Doctor who and the film look wasn't there.It has that 70's Doctor Who video look. But luckily you can adjust /turn it of. The problem was gone and HD films once again looked like film.

Oh and don't get me started on that Predator Blu-Ray with the plastic faces.....

I love HD. It's just evolution baby ;)

 

ANH:REVISITED
ESB:REVISITED

DONATIONS TOWARDS MATERIALS FOR THE REVISITED SAGA

Author
Time

I don't really buy the "Super HD Blu Ray on a nice HD super TV is a new kind of image" argument. Bluray, at its best, on a large, properly-calibrated LCD TV at 60 Hz (or better yet, a high quality HD projector), looks like watching a pristine 35mm print. Maybe if you're incredibly used to VHS and DVD, it might seem strange in a home environment, but - the plethora of bad transfers aside - high definition discs and files are only bringing the clarity of film to the home theater. Not a new image, just a new location.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

LMAO! Blu-ray movies look wrong? you must have a very bad set up, these look GREAT, and sound GREAT to, granted some Blu's are not up to par with some, but overall, Blu's blow away everything else to date LOL, to funny.

OH, and Blu-ray 3D, now this look GREAT, it has cool depth, and the pop outs are very cool.

Author
Time

theprequelsrule said:

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

You are crazy. And possibly very old.

Author
Time

TV's Frink said:

 

theprequelsrule said:

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

You are crazy. And possibly very old.

 

Kettle, meet pot. :p

Author
Time

As was mentioned, it's just the refresh rate. Film is projected at 24 frames per second and the higher refresh rate exceeds this effect and creates the 29.97 frames per second of video.

The other fact may be that films shot in HD video have a sharper look than film. Film has softer edges and less contrast, while things shot on HD video have a mirror-like clarity to them. So, combined with the refresh rate, it will not resemble the motion picture film you are used to seeing.

If you have your TV settings properly then HD releases shot on film and the film-like 24fps video cameras will look as they should. A lot of newer TVs have the default being the higher refresh. I don't know where this setting would helpful, maybe broadcast HD like sports that doesn't film at 24fps?

Author
Time
 (Edited)

theprequelsrule said:

Maybe it's the transfers, I don't know, but I really don't like the look of movies on blu ray.


It's the non-Euclidean geometry ;-)

Author
Time

Leonardo said:

TV's Frink said:

 

theprequelsrule said:

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

You are crazy. And possibly very old.

 

Kettle, meet pot. :p

Ric Olie, meet Leonardo. :p

Author
Time

A well-mastered Blu-Ray disc (i.e., that hasn't had all the grain scrubbed out of it), played back on a nice tv monitor, is a huge step up from SD. I suspect that there just aren't many people on this forum who were lucky enough to have seen movies in 70mm.  Good HD reminds me of that experience.  Anyone who thinks that DVDs look better, either needs to have their setup examined, or their head. :)

"Close the blast doors!"
Puggo’s website | Rescuing Star Wars

Author
Time

I agree with those in favor of bluray.  When done correctly, it's the closest we've ever come in home video to having a 35mm print to screen in your home (it can even show film at it's native 24fps!!) I watched the bluray of  North by Northwest recently & it seriously felt like I was watching a newly struck print in my living room!  And I also agree that the bigger the tv, the more film-like stuff looks (assuming it's a good tv & is set up properly).  If you're watching this on a 32 inch Vizio LCD, then of course it looks "wrong"!  You get what you pay for...

I remember these same arguments when DVD started gaining popularity.  I specifically remember my sister saying they were just too "clear & sharp looking" that it was unnatural.  Then she said the same thing about bluray/HD the first time she saw it.  But the fact remains that when you go to the movies today, you're still seeing a higher resolution image than even 1080p (again, assuming it's a quality print...or digital presentation I guess... and that it's being projected properly - something that seems to be becoming rarer...) but you don't see complaints about properly done projections in movie theaters looking "wrong" or "too clear".  Again, I think this is partly because size does matter.  Really high resolution images tend to look odd when squeezed down onto tiny screens.

Regarding HD video, I agree it can look strange when the production values are low or the people doing it aren't very good at it.  But then, video has always had a tendancy to look "off" compared to real life and poorly done HD video just exacerbates these issues, imo.

Author
Time

canofhumdingers said:


If you're watching this on a 32 inch Vizio LCD, then of course it looks "wrong"!  You get what you pay for...


That explains the ever-present pixelation ...

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Davnes007 said:

This was a Star Wars thread?

Can't be. skyjedi hasn't chimed in about Lucas destroying Star Wars forever yet.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

END OF LINE

(It hasn’t happened yet)

Author
Time

TV's Frink said:

Leonardo said:

TV's Frink said:

 

theprequelsrule said:

Please correct me if I am crazy for thinking this.

You are crazy. And possibly very old.

 

Kettle, meet pot. :p

Ric Olie, meet Leonardo. :p

Now there are two of them!

Author
Time

Higher refresh rates are so good for old video games that lag! It makes it feel like there's much less. Movies, however, bother me that way. I'm glad a lot of TVs have the option to turn off the high refresh rate; it's a shame people buy the ones that don't without realizing it.

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

Author
Time

I'm in the don't have an issue camp.  They seem fine to me and as others have mentioned, very much like a 70mm theater experience. I'll go with it being a settings issue also.

That said, I do have one qualifier to my view on any home release and maybe this is also what some people are mistaking for Bluray looking wrong.  If the film has been cleansed of grain or had the contrast & color pushed, it looks bad to me in general.  Bluray makes it even worse.  It could be that the studio made the film look wrong, not the player or the TV.

Forum Moderator