Saga The Official Star Wars Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

Well, you actually need a 6.1 surround system to showcase it.

Were the Prequel DVD's and OT 2004 transfers considered very good for DVD standards, or were they viewed as disappointing (not talking about the changes).

I have seen the DVD versions of the films so many times that I didn't really notice a major change in the blu rays. But I can definitely spot the change in other movies.....

I mean I do see that there is a difference it just doesn't jump out at me very much.

The transfers for episodes 2 through 6 dvds were considered very good for dvd standards. Episode 2 was the first digital movie to be put on dvd, so it looked amazing (unless you dont prefer the "glossy" look of digital). 3 also looked amazing because Lucasfilm had fully embraced digital when that movie was made. Episode 4 through 6 dvds were considered great because Lowry had done a very good job of cleaning up those movies - basically making them look like they had just been made a few years ago. They made a new transfer for those movies when they came out on dvd in 2004. But some people were really bothered by some color timing issues and some bad lightsaber mistakes. Overall I thought they were impressive. Episode 1 dvd was considered good at the time it was released in 2001, but by 2004 it was so obsolete that the OT dvds actually looked far better than the episode 1 dvd. By the end of the decade it looked horrible.

There is a HUGE difference between TPM dvd and TPM blueray. THere was a new transfer made for TPM blue ray, and as a result, watching TPM blue ray is like watching TPM for the first time again. TPM blue ray is by far the most improved from its dvd counterpart. No new transfers of the other movies were made, and therefore dont look much different from thier dvd counterparts, except for some of the effects that were cleaned up in the OT bluerays - such as lightsabers. The episode 3 blue ray does stand out a little because it looks the best of all 6 bluerays.

FWIW AOTC and ROTS were originally shot in 1080p, so I donno what if any transfers could have been done.

Maybe its your tv set making them look the same?

I don't know.... I watch the recent bond outings like Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, and it looks really, really good.

I will compare the star wars dvds and blu rays, Im sure that will clear it up.

Just to add that audio wise, A New Hope's DVD is not very good ( it was fixed on the Blu-ray version, though). There are many audio glitches. As for the rest, including Episode I, the audio was great and of reference.

I don't even know but MAN _ just got a blu ray player & it made ROTJ dvd look beautiful!! I have not even watched the other 5 yet, but ROTJ on dvd looks so much better when being played from a blu ray player. I can only imagine how good the Blu Ray version would look!! Wowsers. I may have to hold off on the blu ray set because just playing the dvd in the blu ray player enhanced them buy a lot.

The colors, the detail, the grit, even the sound quality was better When playing ROTJ whiich I think is the worst of the dvds

In terms of video, here are the rankings of how much improved the Blue Rays are from thier dvd counterparts

TPM Blueray >>>>> TPM Dvd
AOTC Blueray > AOTC Dvd
ROTS Blueray >>> ROTS Dvd
ANH Blue Ray >> ANH Dvd
TESB Blue Ray >> TESB Dvd
ROTJ Blue Ray >> ROTJ Dvd

What about the green tint?

The quality of the DVD doesn't change with a Blu-ray player.

Indeed. I'll keep watching AotC on DVD until they remove that thing.

Some DVDs I've watched on a Blu-ray player seem to look better than they did on a DVD player. Then again it's a new TV so it's hard to tell. But it has been said that Blu-ray can have this effect.

Man if you are on a budget this is the route to go!!I still have not watched the other 5 episodes & I'm watching ROTJ again right now. The thing I notice the most is all the colors. I am seeing things in Jabbas palace I've never noticed, I never knew Jabba sidekick wore blue gloves, I also thought they were black. The Deathstar II looks a lot more detailed than I've ever seen it. The greens on Endor are vibrate & I notice the ewoks are all a different shade of browns & grays. I've seen the entire saga hundreds of times & ROTJ is my least favorite. If you only have the dvds, then go ahead & pick up a blu ray player use the HDMI cord and you WILL see all the detail packed into the dvds, I can only imagine hoe good the Blu Rays look.

What!? Dude your talking out of your ass guy. I'm wtchin the movie right now. Don't try to insult me.

There is no need to get upset. There is a green tint on the AOTC film now via blu ray. Just look it up.

Most likely it has more to do with the connection from the player to the TV. The majority of people tended to connect a DVD player to a TV via a composite feed (effectively the same as VHS), although many used a component (three cables) video connection where available. Still both analogue signals, however.
New TVs & Blu-Ray players tend to be connected via a digital HDMI feed, so there's probably going to be an improvement anyway.

I haven't noticed any difference in DVD picture quality between my DVD player (component video) and Playstation 3 (HDMI), both connected to a Sony Bravia HD TV. If anything, DVDs looked a bit better on my old Sony Vega TV, but that's more to do with the bigger HD TV showing the flaws of DVD.

However, on a recent job I faced a similar situation - I work in TV, and we recently had to upconvert a heap of old Standard Definition footage to HD. There was a slight improvement transferring it via hardware (to XDCAM discs using a deck), then re-ingesting the material, rather than simply using software to transcode the media, so it's possible that a Blu-Ray player does something similar.

I'm not. What I said is true. It's not up to the player, but the cable.

CoolyFett - I suggest you live up to your username and cool it.

480p is still 480p. There can be a minor improvement with upconverting a DVD, but nothing near what the Blu Rays look like.

My question is with Disney purchasing Lucasfilm does that mean we finally get the Theatrical Release on Blu-ray. That alone will make the purchase worth it.

In my experience, DVD in a BR player looks the same as a DVD in a DVD player.