This past Saturday I purchased my first Blu-ray player. I know Blu-ray has been around for a while now but I was a bit skeptical about getting into it. Firstly, I didn’t have enough money to even get my first HD TV until this past summer, but even then I suppose I was waiting for the price of Blu-rays to go down and for anime to start being released more steadily on BD here in the U.S. But now I feel the time is finally right for me to move up as far as my anime/movie viewing experience…
Besides seeing bits of movies on Blu-ray being played at electronic stores like Best Buy, I haven’t watched any full-length feature on BD before this past weekend. I know many people who don’t even have a Blu-ray player can watch anime BDs via torrents online. However, I’ve never been able to do that because my now 6-year old computer can’t handle such large media files. I was originally going to purchase a PS3 instead of a Blu-ray player (since it can play BDs too) but I decided against it. The reason being is that I didn’t want to spend that much, but mostly because having a PS3 will make me want to buy games for it and I really don’t want anything else eating up my extra time and money.
To get me started, I purchased two BDs along with my player. As some of you may know, I’m also a big fan of Disney/Pixar animated movies. Unfortunately most of my old favorites haven’t yet been released on BD. I actually haven’t even bought DVDs to replace all the old Disney movies I have on VHS – perhaps I knew even back then that I should just save my money for the eventual BDs XD But one of my old favorites, Beauty and the Beast, recently had a BD release so I picked up a copy. Thus, Beauty and the Beast became the first full-length feature I’ve watched on Blu-ray.
Beauty and the Beast on Blu-ray
So how was my first BD experience? As expected, it looked stunning and was almost like seeing the movie for the first time. One thing I noticed in the Beauty and the Beast BD is that you can see the distinct outline of the characters against the background because the picture is so clear and pristine. I feel like I’m seeing the movie “raw” rather than “filtered,” if that makes any sense. I don’t know much about animation techniques but it could be because Beauty and the Beast is an older movie that still used cel animation in which cels of moving characters and objects are placed over the already painted backgrounds, which is why the BD quality makes it easier to see the distinction. I didn’t have a problem with it or anything, it just looks very unique.
The second BD I purchased was Funimation’s release of Evangelion 2.22, making it the first anime I’ve watched fully in Blu-ray. Once again, it looked gorgeous and incredibly realistic, especially in the scenes that would pan out and focus on the detailed settings. Of course, the Angel and Eva battles looked great as well. Unlike the Beauty and the Beast BD, the characters and backgrounds in Eva 2.22 looked more blended and “on the same plane,” which again I believe is because the latter is digitally animated while the former used cel animation.
Evangelion 2.22 on Blu-ray
So now, where will I go from here as far as BD purchases? Since it hasn’t even been a year since I got my HD TV, I’m still enjoying just watching even regular DVDs on a big HD screen. Since I’m still having fun with upscaled DVDs, I don’t need to buy a ton of BDs right away, nor can I afford to since I’m currently saving up for AX ’11 (and possibly a new computer). So I’ll have to build up my collection gradually. A few of my favorite Disney movies such as The Lion King and Aladdin will be having their BD releases this year so I’ll certainly be getting those. Disney has a bad habit of re-releasing their old movies in new sets and giving them fancy names like “diamond” or “platinum” edition and including all these extras that you don’t want (like a regular DVD of the movie in a BD set) so they can rack up the price and scare you that they’ll be putting the movie “back in the vault” after a certain amount of time so you’d better buy it now. They certainly know how to make people give them their money.
Anime-wise, currently there’s only a few U.S. anime BD releases I’m interested in buying sooner rather than later (Evangelion 1.11 and Summer Wars being two of them). The upcoming releases I’m looking forward to the most are of course Bandai’s BD of the Haruhi movie (which is supposed to be spring ’11 but spring’s almost over ~_^) and Sentai’s eventual BD set of Angel Beats!. LOL, their official synopsis of the series is kind of funny – the sarcastic tone is a bit annoying but tolerable, however they mention “high-caliber action” and “locked-and-loaded comedy” but fail to mention “heart-wrenching drama that only Visual Art’s/Key/Jun Maeda can deliver!” From the look of what anime is currently available, it looks like the U.S. anime BD market is still starting slow and hasn’t fully taken off, which is fine with me since I want to build my collection gradually anyway XD
I was there when DVDs were just coming out and everything would get dually released on VHS and DVD, then eventually just DVD, currently DVD and Blu-ray, and soon it will be just Blu-ray. But now I’m prepared for that time whenever it may come. What will be next? From what I’ve been seeing at Best Buy, apparently fully 3D movies are the next big thing. Personally I’d rather have clear and pristine than popping out…but who knows if I’ll feel the same way several years from now. Oh the wonders and frustrations of technology.
I have a Playstation 3 from three years ago when I graduated high school. It had the capabilities to play Playstation 2 games, which the newer models couldn’t. Back then, Blu-ray players cost like over 400 dollars and the Playstation 3 is the only upgradable Blu-ray player until the newer ones came out… Then again, I’m a hardcore gamer and I play numerous games… like the horribly disappointing Final Fantasy XIII and others.
As for Blu-ray, I don’t really see a difference since my HDTV is 32 inch and only supports 720p. Blurays may have higher picture quality, but they are expensive and I cannot play them on any of my own, my sisters and mother’s laptops since the Macbook Pros don’t have a Blu-ray player.
For now, Blu-rays will only be used for gaming…
I didn’t know Blu-ray players were that expensive back then nor that the PS3 was originally the only one that could be upgraded. Glad I waited until now to get mine for $99.
Actually, Blu-ray discs aren’t that much more expensive than regular DVDs – the average movie on BD (not a “special edition” or anything) costs around $24-$30.
Yeah, I heard a 720p HD TV won’t show the BD quality quite as good. I actually can’t remember if my TV is 1080p or 720p now ~_^ But either way BDs do look better though to some it’s not a huge difference. I think it depends on what you’re watching too.
Congrats on the Blu-Ray player!
Thanks!
Interesting. I know why Disney does that though. It’s because all the new movies that they have come up with haven’t been that good, so, the make their moneh this way. The only new movies that i liked of theirs is Princess and the Frog and Tron: Legacy. That’s it.
bye.
–End–
I agree that once Disney decided to mostly focus on CG movies, their overall storytelling quality decreased (that was actually the topic of one of my first blog posts XD) Now they’re putting so much effort into hyping up re-releases of their old classic movies rather than make new movies like the old classics. Lately I’d rather just stick to watching their old movies and watch new Pixar movies, which are getting increasingly better.
Welcome to the age of the Blu-Ray! :P I’m impressed that you’re actually planning to build up a collection, considering how expensive Blu-Ray movies/anime tend to be… but good luck with that.
Personally I have a PS3 myself, since I’m a semi-avid gamer (only during the holidays, haha), but I’ve only ever connected my laptop to my TV via an HDMI cable and watched Blu-Ray movies that way. However, since my computer can handle the files, I usually can’t be bothered rerouting it to the TV.
Yeah, I’m gonna take it slowly with building up my collection ’cause there’s no way I could afford a lot at once. Some individual BDs can be found at decent prices, but yeah, anime box sets are probably expensive.
My HD TV is my computer and gaming monitor, as well as my movie screen all in one. But since my computer can’t handle BD files I’ll have to watch them using the actual discs in my player for now.
Just FYI, Beauty and the Beast did not use cel animation. It was colored entirely with the CAPS system, a.k.a. colored on the computer. Disney tested the CAPS system in 1989 with portions of The Little Mermaid, then used it fully on The Rescuers Down Under and all films after that, through The Little Matchgirl. You are right about the backgrounds being hand-painted, though; all the backgrounds for the traditionally animated Disney films are still hand-painted to this day.
Cool, thanks for the info! I remember hearing about the CAPS system but I had forgotten =)
Yay Blu-Ray! I’ll hold of getting one until I get a bigger (than 19-inch) TV. The higher definition simply doesn’t show up well on a smaller screen. Now I only wish they would adopt Blu-Ray technology for laptops and notebook computers. It would be great to watch some anime on Blu-Ray on the train ride between Riverside and L.A.
They have HD computer monitors and DVD drives have been in computers for several years, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Blu-ray will become standard in comps as well =)
Congrats! I’ve never had an HD TV, so I can’t personally compare, but my friend did get one yesterday for his birthday. The picture quality is amazing, and I think anyone who can afford it should get one. The difference between HD and SD is incomparable. Do DVDs looks any better on an HD TV?
If you connect your HD TV to a DVD or BD player using this cable called an HDMI cable, regular DVDs will automatically be upscaled into HD. They’ll certainly look better than on an SD TV, but not as good as Blu-ray of course. I think they’ll look better on an HD TV even without the cable but I’m not sure.
Hey, grats on the blue-ray player :) Movies look really awesome on blue-ray, but it does take a little time to get used to it. There can be a thing as too much detail :S
The first movie I was on blue-ray was WALL-E, and it completely blew me away. Any movie that is made specifically for blue-ray will look incredible.
I would have recommended investing a little more in a PS3 instead of a regular blue-ray player. With a little tweaking, you can configure your computer to stream video to your PS3, and watch it on your big screen TV with great sound as well. I can watch all AVI, MKV, and anything in my computer on my PS3. Heck, I can even watch it on my PSP through my PS3 :) I’ve actually used my PS3 more to watch anime from my computer, than to actually play games :S
Yeah, I haven’t yet watched a Pixar movie in BD. I’m planning to pick up a copy of Up or The Incredibles soon =D Wall-E is a masterpiece but it’s not one I’d want to watch a lot of times.
That’s cool that a PS3 can do all those things. I might get one eventually, it’s just very low on the priority list of things to spend my money on XD