My favorite part, “Luke, I’m your father.”
I was so happy when I heard that Stars Wars was finally doing a complete boxed set. The one thing I have waited for. Yes, I am a Jedi Junkie, and when I heard it was only on Blu-ray, I went ballistic. So I did some research.
Everyone has bragged about the quality of Blu-ray. The picture is clearer, there are more bonus features, the sound quality is better. I say (expletive deleted). What some people don’t know about Blu-ray, I will now tell you.
First let’s talk price. I am a full-time student with two kids and working part time. A Blu-ray player does not come cheap, not to mention the price of the discs. But I hear everyone talking about their players and how great they are. So I go and check out some prices. The cheapest Blu-ray I found by a decent name brand was $89.99, and that was on sale. For a Sony DVD player, it was $35 regular price. Wow! That is one heck of a price difference.
I know what you are saying. “Chris, the quality is so much better.” Well, you can kiss my (expletive deleted). Here is the secret that studies and research don’t tell you. If you don’t have a big screen television with HD, you can’t tell the difference. I have seen it first hand. A friend of mine has a Blu-ray without a HD big screen. I have a big screen without HD as well, only I have a DVD player that is built into mine. He put “Avatar” in his Blu-ray, and after 3 minutes of listening to him use many different expletive deleted words, the movie finally finished loading. We watched the movie and I really enjoyed it. He had bought the double pack that also comes with the regular DVD and let me borrow it so my kids could enjoy it. Guess what? No (expletive deleted) difference whatsoever.
So now, if I want the quality of the Blu-ray, I have to go out and buy a new big screen with HD. I don’t think so. I will give Blu-ray discs kudos for their ability to hold a lot more bonus features, which I am a sucker for deleted scenes and gag reels, and they don’t scratch as easily. But the price difference between DVD discs and Blu-ray still has not convinced me to go out and spend all that money. I am happy with the quality of my DVD and do not plan on changing anytime soon.
And what is the deal with the mixed set anyway? I have seen movies coming out only on the Blu-ray with the regular DVD included. What good does that do me if I don’t have a Blu-ray player? Now I have to spend extra money for something I don’t need. I guess I can always sell the Blu-ray to someone and regain that extra money I just spent.
In closing, if you have your 76-inch HD TV, your Dolby digital surround sound, and your Blu-ray disc player, I hope you enjoy it. For those of you who are like me, living week to week, don’t worry about a Blu-ray player unless you have a couple of thousand dollars to waste. Stick to your DVD player and your 36-inch TV, and hope they will put out a Star Wars boxed set for us soon.
