# Blu Ray noob. Worth buying for a 720p PJ?



## Phrankoff (Dec 5, 2012)

Model is Epson 705HD 720p.

It down scales the incoming 1080p cable box pretty well and live sports are crystal clear.

Someone mentioned on a different forum, not HT related, that it may not be worth it to get a Blu Ray player if the PJ is 720 native.

Blu Ray is the only thing I really know nothing about. I always watch tv/live sports and play xbox.
It wasn't until I got this PJ that I wanted to start watching movies in my spare time.

For what its worth, I've ordered movies from Comcast and they play very well but my DVD player is very lackluster


----------



## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

Most of what you are watching on your cable box is probably either 720p or 1080i and I would say that if you are enjoying that then you will really like blu-ray. 
New players have become so affordable that I consider it a no brainer at this point plus most players have lots of internet apps that allow you to watch netflix, youtube, hulu etc and depending on how much you spend on a player your standard def DVD's can look a lot better too!


----------



## Phrankoff (Dec 5, 2012)

typ44q said:


> Most of what you are watching on your cable box is probably either 720p or 1080i and I would say that if you are enjoying that then you will really like blu-ray.
> New players have become so affordable that I consider it a no brainer at this point plus most players have lots of internet apps that allow you to watch netflix, youtube, hulu etc and depending on how much you spend on a player your standard def DVD's can look a lot better too!


right, the price of the Blu Ray isn't the issue- I was just stopped in my tracks when someone said it wouldn't be worth it as my PJ is 720 native. I was confused

Decided I better ask people here.


There is no doubt I like my HD quality I just wanted to make sure the PJ would actually display it as crisply as it does my cable


----------



## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

It will just down convert to 720p 1080i.. your going to lose some of the sharpness


----------



## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

Sure you will lose some of the sharpness (compared to a comparable 1080p display) but it still will look better than the cable box and certainly a lot better than SD-DVD.


----------



## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

typ44q said:


> Sure you will lose some of the sharpness (compared to a comparable 1080p display) but it still will look better than the cable box and certainly a lot better than SD-DVD.


Absolutely


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Agreed! you cant replace lines that are missing but removing some of the lines in a 1080p signal down to 720p will still yield much better results.


----------



## Phrankoff (Dec 5, 2012)

thanks for all the responses guys, it is kind of what I thought.

so you say it will look better than the cable box? crazy 

I shall purchase a Blu Ray player then.

Any pros/cons to buying a separate unit vs. a receiver with one built in?


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Phrankoff said:


> so you say it will look better than the cable box? crazy


Most defiantly, Cable companies compress the video signal so your not getting all the quality that BluRay has by a long shot.


> Any pros/cons to buying a separate unit vs. a receiver with one built in?


Stand alone is the best the ones built in break down and then you have a receiver with a non working player that you cant replace.
Panasonic makes some of the best BluRay players for well under $150.


----------



## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

Phrankoff said:


> thanks for all the responses guys, it is kind of what I thought.
> 
> so you say it will look better than the cable box? crazy
> 
> ...


Well it looking better is all down to the source material (there are some poorly done Blu-ray disks) but same content on a cable box and on blu-ray will look better on blu-ray 

I am a fan of keeping things separate, it gives you the option to replace broken components (or upgrade) at a much lower cost. I have had my receiver for many years and am on my 4th blu-ray player plus had a HD-DVD player connected to it too.


----------



## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

What receiever do you have make sure its compatible with the blu ray I had an older receiver that couldn't run it..which in my case was great because I upgraded to the 805 thanks to Tony!


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I could not agree more about the compression that is used by both Cable and Satellite Providers. I actually use an Antenna for OTA Broadcasting of HD Networks and the difference is profound. Granted, I only use it for special occasions as I tend to be lazy and just use Comcast, but it certainly is an eye opener to see the difference.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## Phrankoff (Dec 5, 2012)

JQueen said:


> What receiever do you have make sure its compatible with the blu ray I had an older receiver that couldn't run it..which in my case was great because I upgraded to the 805 thanks to Tony!


hey I am trying to convince the fiance that we need to upgrade to this..

Onkyo HT-S9400


----------



## jimbodude (Jul 26, 2011)

I've got the Epson HC720 - the predecessor to the 705, if I'm not mistaken. BluRay is noticeably better than DVD on that projector - even to my fiance, who swears she doesn't care about that sort of thing, but then "ooo's and ahh's" after upgrades. Now she is disappointed or decides to go do something else when we "only have that movie on DVD"...

Definitely go separate BluRay and Receiver. The combined units don't give you the upgrade flexibility. You can probably get a better receiver with more advanced features by going separate also. It's also important to get a BluRay player that will get frequent software updates if you decide to get streaming stuff - so stick to reputable manufacturers.

Cable compression makes me angry... I spend all this money on equipment, just for the cable people to go ahead and put all sorts of artifacts in the picture by compressing things... This is typically not a problem for main-stream movies on BluRay - the difference is stunning, actually. I would be surprised if you didn't notice a difference. You'll probably see it at the disc menu before you even get to the movie... Again, something that the fiance notices and enjoys - even if she won't admit to it directly.


----------

