TEK’s First Impressions of Blu-ray

Here at TEK, it’s not a secret (at least not much of one) that we love high-definition. Who doesn’t, really? The picture, sound quality and overall experience is unbelievable in comparison to the long-running standard definition stuff. We’ve already done a review of the Xbox 360’s HD-DVD Player, which really kind of worked as a review of both the product in question and HD-DVD as an entity. We thought it only fair to do a review of Blu-ray as an entity with a newly acquired PlayStation 3.

It’s very much worth noting that until the 1.80 Firmware was released on May 24th, PlayStation 3 actually could not run Blu-ray movies in 720p. So we felt it necessary to make a note that this review is based on the current 1.80 firmware edition of the PS3. There are an incredible amount of video and audio settings to play with in the XMB on your console, including “Super White”, HDMI output and many, many others. If you can’t find an optimal setting on your HDTV, playing around in the settings can certainly help increase the picture or audio quality.

I also couldn’t help but admire the casing that Blu-ray movies ship in as well. They’re a fair bit shorter and thinner than their DVD counterparts, which means that you can put more in most existing DVD racks. Since they are a little different, it’s possible (but not very likely) that it won’t fit inside your existing DVD storage solution. The movie cases are a translucent blue, which allows the publisher to print artwork on the reverse of the cover. For example, the movie I first watched on the PS3, “The Prestige“, featured a screenshot of Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale behind the disc itself. On the other side, Scarlett Johansson was featured alongside a list of the chapter titles. Much handier than having a loose slip of paper, I found. On the back of the case, you’ll find a synopsis of the movie, perhaps some review quotes of the film and a list of bonus material. You’ll also notice the billing and MPAA rating, almost identical to those found on DVD movies. It always annoyed me on DVD cases when they didn’t tell me any details about the resolution or audio specifications, so it pleased me greatly to see that on virtually every single Blu-ray disc shipped is a list of technical specifications of the movie, including screen resolution, (which is unnecessary, since all Blu-ray movies are required to play in 1080p) aspect ratio, audio codecs supported, and the available subtitles. These are also listed for the bonus content included on the disc, which I find to be a very nice addition.

Upon inserting the movie into the drive, one thing was very evident quickly - The picture quality is outstanding. Since this is high-definition and it’s actually running locally (as in, not being transmitted), the quality is actually better than the HDTV programming you can get. Blu-ray and HD-DVD are already compressed. HDTV programming is compressed again to be able to be sent over cable or over the air. It’s similar to watching a DVD and standard-definition programming on a regular television. That difference between those is close to the difference between Blu-ray and HDTV programming, visually. You can actually see detail that has never before been possible. Rust on the chain-link fences, the pattern of bark in trees, the different layers of snow… Basically, it’s the next closest thing to actually being there.

Since the PS3 features HDMI and optical output, it can support all of the audio files that Blu-ray itself can. Definitely a big plus over the competing 360 HD-DVD player. This particular PS3 console was connected to a Dolby Digital 5.1 system, so I can’t really attest to the new audio codecs’ quality just yet. Considering the size of a Blu-ray disc, I would think that audio would be one of the more impressive aspects of Blu-ray, and at least in 5.1 it certainly delivered in that respect.

Overall, my first experience with Blu-ray has left me wanting quite a bit more. I’ve already made a solemn pledge to myself to purchase all of my upcoming films on Blu-ray from here on out. They cost a bit more than their DVD counterparts, but the enhancements you’re getting for the early adoption of Blu-ray is well worth the cost of admission.